Regardless, Maddox went into the season with the Mets. His wish to play right field was granted, however, a mid April ankle injury knocked him out of the line up for eighteen games. Meanwhile, Joel Youngblood, who was in a similar positionless situation as Maddox, took over in right field. In Maddox's absence, Youngblood batted .327 with four home runs & eleven RBIs to take the right field job away. When Maddox returned, his role was, once again, undefined. He was sidelined a second time in late July by a pulled hamstring, which kept him out of the line up for another month.