Ron Hunt, first Mets All-Star starter, in hospice while battling multiple illnesses

Ron Hunt, the first Mets player to start an All-Star Game, is in hospice in St. Louis while suffering from multiple illnesses.

Longtime Mets vice president of media relations Jay Horwitz shared the news Saturday, asking fans to keep the 85-year-old Hunt in their thoughts.

“No one played the game harder than Ron Hunt, our first All-Star,” Horwitz wrote on Medium. “He would do anything to help win a game.”

Hunt played four seasons for the Mets from 1963-66 and became the first player in team history to start an All-Star Game when he took the field at second base for the National League in the 1964 Midsummer Classic at Shea Stadium.

That season, Hunt hit .303 while receiving some down-ballot NL MVP votes. 

A year earlier, Hunt finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year race behind Pete Rose.

In 1966, his final season in a Mets uniform, Hunt made his second All-Star team.

New York Mets infielder Ron Hunt at Shea Stadium. Steve Moore

He went on to play eight more big league seasons with the Mets, Dodgers, Giants, Expos and Cardinals, finishing his career with 1,429 hits and a reputation as one of the toughest players of his era. 

Hunt was hit by a pitch 243 times, which is still the sixth-most in MLB history.

Horwitz, who currently runs the organization’s alumni relations, said he had the “honor and privilege” of meeting Hunt and his family during a visit to Citi Field a few years ago. He treasured their later phone calls.

Former Mets player Ron Hunt addresses fans after the game between the New York Mets and the Florida Marlins at Shea Stadium on September 28, 2008 in Flushing, New York. MLB via Getty Images

“Loved hearing his stories about Casey Stengel,” Horwitz wrote. “So please think of Ron today. He needs our support.”

In 2018, it was revealed that Hunt was dealing with Parkinson’s disease.