 Apodaca played third base in high school, but converted to a pitcher at Cerritos College.After transferring to California State University, Los Angeles (where he was the Golden Eagles' MVP as a senior), he signed with the New York Mets as an amateur free agent in 1971.He spent three seasons in their farm system, going 24–11 with a 2.73 earned run average before making his major league debut as a September call-up in 1973.