McAndrew was called up by the Mets in July 1968 when the Mets were short of pitching for a doubleheader. In the words of reporter Jack Lang, he was a “sacrificial lamb”: he opposed the Cardinals Bob Gibson, that season’s Cy Young winner, and lost 2-0. McAndrew then proceeded to set new standards for bad luck, with considerable help from the Mets’ weak offense. He lost five of his first seven starts by shutout, including a ML-record four in a row. He had to shut out St. Louis and Steve Carlton, 1-0, to record his first win, but Carlton returned the favor in McAndrew’s next start, beating the Mets 2-0. McAndrew finished the year 4-7 with a 2.28 ERA. Despite generally respectable pitching through most of his career, his only winning season came in 1972 (11-8, 2.80), and although he was on the postseason roster in both 1969 and 1973, he wasn’t used.
