Jim McAndrew, the former pitcher for the New York Mets amid the 1969 Marvel Mets season and again in 1973, passed away at 80. Mets representative Jay Horwitz said Friday that McAndrew passed on Thursday at HonorHealth Scottsdale Shea Medical Center in Arizona after a brief sickness. As fans and colleagues grieve his passing, they celebrate his enduring effect on baseball and the lives of those he touched. Early Life and Career Beginnings Born on October 14, 1943, in Lost Nation, Iowa, Jim McAndrew grew up cherishing baseball. He spent endless hours practicing on sandlots and high school areas, exhibiting…