Just Mets

Original Met and current pitching consultant Al Jackson had a stroke on Tuesday, and is in, “bad shape,” according to MLB.com’s Marty Noble.

Jackson, 79, went 8-20 with a 4.40 ERA in 36 games and 36 starts for the Mets in 1962. He was 43-80 with a 4.26 ERA from 1962-1965 and 1968-1969 for the Mets.

Jackson has spent 47 of his 54 years in baseball with the Mets. After retiring in 1970, he was a minor league pitching instructor for the Mets through 1975, then again in 1980, 1982, and from 1985-1988. He managed two rookie ball clubs – one in Marion in 1976 and one in Kingsport in 1981. He was also a coach at Triple-A Tidewater from 1983-1984.

He rejoined the organization in 1991 as a minor league pitching coordinator. He then served as the team’s bullpen and assistant pitching coach under Bobby Valentine in 1999 and 2000, and then as a club advisor from 2001-2004.

He’s been a pitching advisor and a strong presence at the club’s minor league complex in Port St. Lucie since becoming a pitching consultant for the organization in 2005.

Jackson threw out the first pitch prior to the team’s game against the Phillies on April 15.