METSCENTRIC

The Mets May Not Contend, But At Least They’re Trying To Be Fan-Friendly

2010-12-28T12:34:00.000-08:00

Some brilliant mind in the Mets’ hierarchy, or maybe a few, decided that if the Mets weren’t going to spend any money this year and even pretend to be contenders, they would have to appease their fans in a new and different way.

So, what we now have are the spend-nothing but exceedingly fan-friendly New York Mets. Mets’ Bloggers i.e. the voice of the Mets fan, have been invited to participate in conference calls and meetings just like the writers. And how many e-mails has each of us already received telling us everything Sandy Alderson and staff are up to ? They’ve devised this cute, but corny video message that you can personalize so it seems like Sandy is actually making a personal phone call to you with your name appearing on the screen. His message ? Support your New York Mets, buy season tickets, or at least a package.

Now frankly, I didn’t expect the Mets to be players for Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, or anyone else costing $100 million. I did however think that this brain trust would pluck some low-cost intriguing prospects, even if it meant dipping into the independent league pool, signing a player coming off a terrible year, but still healthy (Kevin Millwood ?) or bringing back a player from a foreign professional league as the Rangers did a year ago with Colby Lewis. Unfortunately, it seems to me that even the player acquisitions so far have been made more to appease the fans than because Alderson and company have spotted some potential that no one else could see. Examples ?

If you checked out the message boards on the various Mets blogs prior to the Rule 5 Draft, you’d have seen that the most popular choices for players that the Mets should pick were Brad Emaus and Pedro Beato. Emaus, fans reasoned, because he could play second base and Ricciardi should know him from Toronto. Beato, because the Mets had drafted him, failed to sign him and saw him go to Baltimore. So, who did the Mets draft ? Surprise. How much scouting did it take beyond reading fans’ comments ? So, of course, after the Mets drafted them, everybody who suggested them was happy ! Again, fan-friendly.

Now we have the latest acquisition, Dodgers’ utility infielder Ching-Lung Hu. Do you remember Alderson’s introductory press conference when a female reporter from a Chinese newspaper asked if the Mets were going to get some Chinese ballplayers ? Sure, we have enough Latino utility infielders - that was Omar’s doing, so let’s listen to Flushing’s Asian community and get a Chinese one.

I’m not giving up on the Mets’ future, either short or long-term, but so far, I’m unimpressed.

The Johan Santana Saga

2008-02-03T10:37:00.001-08:00

After their devastating collapse in 2007, it was apparent that the Mets needed to do something big to get an ace pitcher to lead the rotation. It soon became known that one of the best, Minnesota's Johan Santana, would be on the trading block because he was entering the final year of his contract and the Twins were unlikely to meet his deservedly astronomical salary demands.

Because the Mets were one of the few teams that could both afford and were probably willing to pay what it took to get Santana, Mets' fans and local writers speculated on what possible package the Mets could put together to offer for Santana. The first names that came to mind were Lastings Milledge, a talented young major league-ready outfielder, and Mike Pelfrey, a recently well-regarded potential staff ace who was disappointing in almost every chance the Mets gave him in 2007, with one exception, a dazzling win over the Braves that offered hope that he just might turn out to be good.

Milledge and Pelfrey probably wouldn't be enough so the names of almost every other player in the farm system who showed any potential was suggested by someone - Deolis Guerra, Hector Pellot, Francisco Pena, Mike Carp, etc. In the meantime, it seemed that the Twins were talking to both the RedSox and Yankees, who were able to offer some pretty good packages out of their farm system and probably be able to afford to throw a major leaguer or two into the deal as well.

Rumors were that the Mets wouldn't be a strong contender for Santana and should probably concentrate on one of the A's starters or maybe Baltimore's Erik Bedard. Then, out of nowhere the Mets traded Lastings Milledge to Washington for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider. Seemingly, the best chip they had to obtain an ace was dealt away for a part-time outfielder and light-hitting catcher. Then, word spread that the Mets had found few takers for Milledge and neither the A's or Twins wanted him as the key player in a package.

Another name came to the forefront - Carlos Gomez. The young outfielder was pushed to the big leagues because of multiple injuries to the Mets' outfielders in 2007 and showed himself to be a potentially electrifying talent with dazzling speed and centerfield skills. But his hitting was unrefined, and just how it would develop remained in question. Plus with Beltran a fixture in centerfield, and Reyes providing base stealing speed at the top of the lineup, Gomez's talents were a little redundant for the Mets' needs. I still didn't see Gomez as the key to a Santana deal and I proposed that the Mets offer him to Minnesota for a well-regarded young pitcher, Matt Garza. Soon after that, the Twins traded Garza for one of the best young hitters in the game, Delmon Young. Clearly, Gomez wasn't enough to get Garza.

Then, Dan Haren, another of the Mets' targets was traded to Arizona for an imposing group of prospects that "experts" told us were far superior to anything the Mets might offer. Meanwhile, various Erik Bedard rumors, none of which seriously involved the Mets, began surfacing. It seemed that another potential target was going off the market.

We heard how the Mets were "close" to signing either Livan Hernandez or Kyle Lohse to fill the last spot in their rotation. There was apparently not going to be an ace coming to the Mets, just a seviceable innings-eater. Or so it seemed.

Then, talk of Santana got hot again. Apparently his agent wanted something to get done quickly after he rejected the Twins' "last best offer". We again heard the names of the Red Sox and Yankees bandied about. Which one woud cave in and toss in that additional player that would seal the deal ? Meanwhile, Omar Minaya and the Mets lurked in the background with their offer - Gomez, Phil Humber, Deolis Guerra, and Kevin Mulvey. With the Yankees and Red Sox not showing any great desire to increase or possibly even match what had been their best offers to that point, the Mets suddenly became a stronger possibility.

Now, the rumors said the Mets would have to toss in their very best prospect, Fernando Martinez, or perhaps a proven major leaguer like Ryan Church or Aaron Heilman to get the deal done. It looked like too much to give up and at the same time not enough to entice the Twins. I didn't think it was going to happen.

I recalled when the Mets traded away Tom Seaver in what to this day is still considered a disastrous trade for the Mets and yet at the time it seemed much better than what the Mets were offering for Santana. After all, the Mets got Pat Zachry, just off a Rookie of the Year season, Steve Henderson, one of the best hitters in AAA and considered major league ready, a potential starter at second or short named Doug Flynn, and a pretty good young power hitting prospect in Dan Norman. Did the Mets have anything comparable to offer for Santana ? I suggested that an equivalent deal might be John Maine, Gomez, Ruben Gotay, and since they didn't have anyone with Norman's credentials, maybe another young pitcher like Kevin Mulvey. I thought such a package would be appealing enough to make the deal, but the Mets absolutely could not afford to give up Maine. Yet, I thought ultimately they might do it and then sign someone like Livan or Lohse to fill Maine's spot.

As it turned out of course, the Mets didn't have to give up Maine, Martinez, Church, or Heilman. With the Yankees and Red Sox on the sidelines, Omar didn't have to sweeten his offer and Santana was a Met. Sure, they still had to sign him, but that was practically a foregone conclusion, because if it didn't get done, well I won't even speculate what kind of hit the Mets would have taken for that !

PLAY BALL !!

Congratulations, Omar

2008-01-29T18:43:00.000-08:00

Well, Omar Minaya waited out the Twins and got the prize he's been after all along, Johan Santana. The offer on the table for weeks turned out to be the one that was accepted without including Fernando Martinez, Ryan Church, Aaron Heilman, Jorge Sosa, or for that matter anyone who figured to help the Mets in 2008. Now, it's just a matter of working out a contract extension. It's hard to believe either side will hold firm on something that will sabotage the deal, but until the contract is signed, nothing can be taken for granted.

As far as what the Mets gave up, Deolis Guerra has the potential to become a star, but that's OK. Unless you expect him to become the best pitcher in the game, you have to agree to let him go in this kind of trade. As for Carlos Gomez, as I've said bfore, at his best, he duplicates/overlaps the skill of two Mets already signed long-term, Jose Reyes, and Carlos Beltran, so he was expendable. Phil Humber and/or Kevin Mulvey could develop into middle of the rotation starters, or not. This was a deal the Mets had to make.

So, assuming Santana gets signed, does that put the Mets in position to win the division ? Well, they would have to be considered favorites. Still, I'd like to see an addition or two. A solid righthanded hitting outfielder to share time with Ryan Church or spell Moises Alou on occasion might be nice. And maybe another bullpen arm, in case Sanchez is not ready to open the season. But the outlook seems a lot brighter today. So, congratulations to Omar Minaya for standing his ground, putting forth his best offer, and not succumbing to pressure from the fans and media to throw another good player in to hasten the deal.

Old Time Mets - John Stearns

2007-12-18T08:35:00.000-08:00

In the 1973 Amateur Draft, right after the Texas Rangers selected the highly regarded and ultimately ill-fated David Clyde with the first pick, the Phillies used the second selection to take catcher John Stearns out of the University of Colorado. The next two picks both turned out to be hall-of-famers, Robin Yount and Dave Winfield. Since Bob Boone was just starting what would turn out to be a long tenure as the Phillies' #1 catcher, it's a little hard to understand why they would have taken Stearns over Yount and Winfield. Stearns, of course, never achieved anything close to HOF level, but after being traded to the Mets, he had a pretty good career. He might have fit in even better with a contending team, but the Mets were awful during Stearns' entire tenure as catcher, while the Phillies with McGraw as bullpen ace and Boone as catcher were perennial contenders in the '70's and early '80's.

The December 3,1974 trade that involved Stearns and Tug McGraw was an interesting one. McGraw had some shoulder trouble during the 1974 season, and the Mets had some doubt whether he would return to form. So, trading McGraw along with two nondescript outfielders for Stearns, one of the best young catching prospects in the game, Del Unser, an experienced centerfielder and well-regarded leadoff hitter, and Mac Scarce, a lefty specialist who looked like a cinch to win a spot in the bullpen seemed almost like a no-brainer.

Stearns wasn't quite ready for big league duty, but by 1977, he became the team's number one catcher and despite a string of injuries, was good enough to represent the Mets in the All-Star game 4 times. Stearns was solid all-around with exceptional speed for a catcher being his trademark, but he never really became a big star and certainly wasn't in the class of Yount or Winfield. Also, Stearns was injury-prone leading to a lot of missed time and ultimately a shortened career, and in retrospect, his numbers weren't all that good, although they were better than what most of his teammates produced.

Stearns will be remembered as a hard-nosed, hustling player on some terrible Mets teams. Unser and Scarce were both disappointing, so the trade will ultimately be remembered as McGraw for Stearns, so Stearns was in effect, "replacing" a true Mets' hero and one of the game's great personalities, and it was kind of unfair to put that onus on him.

John Stearns later served as a coach and minor league manager with the Mets. He is still managing in the minor leagues, and who knows, may yet become a big league manager. Like so many young players who came to the Mets in trades, the fans had high hopes for him which were never quite fulfilled, but Stearns was solid and did put in a few good years with the team.

Mets Trades Of The Past - Dumping The Heroes of '69

2007-12-02T05:14:00.000-08:00

The 1969 Miracle Mets inspired dozens of books and for those of us who were Mets fans then, they represented an iconic team that will live in our memory forever. What made them so special was that pitching aside, they were primarily a very ordinary team of journeymen, disappointments, and discarded veterans who came together for one great and totally unexpected season. I can assume that nearly every Mets fan has at one time or another seen the video of this series and the amazing catches made by Tommie Agee, a talented outfielder and Ron Swoboda, who was regarded as a less than adequate one.

Now, no one plays forever (with the possible exception of Satchel Paige and Julio Franco), but it seemed to me that both Agee and Swoboda should have ben effective players for a few more years, and while I'm not one to say that someone should be untradeable, I remember how disheartened I was when both Swoboda and Agee were traded away. Had they brought back legitimate young prospects (several years later, a seemingly fading Jerry Koosman did bring back Jesse Orosco), it might have softened the blow, but I remember how hard I tried to justify the players the Mets received in exchange, knowing all along that they weren't very good.

Prior to the 1971 season, at the age of 26, Ron Swoboda, at one time the shining hope for a legitimate power hitter in the Mets lineup was traded along with minor league infielder Rich Hacker to the Montreal Expos, for of all people, Don Hahn. Now the fact is that Swoboda never got any better after leaving the Mets, but at the time, despite the fact that he wasn't living up to the potential everyone thought he had since he first burst on the scene, this looked like an incredibly awful dumping of a still young player who was clearly a fan favorite. His contribution to the 1969 Miracle team keeps his name alive, but that aside, yes, he was clearly a major disappointment. But to trade him for Hahn, a good outfielder with zero power, and little hope of being anything more than a defensive replacement was a real downer. And plus, it was the Mets who had to throw in a player to make the deal. The fact is that the trade did little to help either team, but at the time, it seemed utterly ridiculous from a Met fan's point of view.

A couple of years later, Agee, for no reason I could figure out, had seemingly lost his centerfield job to a combination of 40-year old Willie Mays and the aforementioned Don Hahn. The Mets traded him to Houston for the uninspiring pair of outfielder Rich Chiles and pitcher Buddy Harris. Now, Agee had a poor year in 1972, but he was still barely 30 years old, and it wasn't like the Mets had someone like Amos Otis ready to replace him. They had Mays, Hahn, and maybe Dave Schneck. The Mets, no doubt, would have been better off keeping Otis and trading Agee after the 1969 season, but that was all water under the bridge. So, when I heard the deal, I kept trying to convince myself that maybe this guy Chiles was really going to be a star. Both Chiles and Harris had some impressive seasons in the minors, but had been busts when given a shot in the majors.

Well, Chiles had maybe 3 hits for the Mets before they dumped him and Harris never even played for the team. It turns out Agee WAS just about done, and he didn't even last a full season with the Astros, but that hardly softened the blow for Met fans.
Remember at the time of these trades, most Mets fans thought that Agee and Swoboda were still pretty good and in Swoboda's case, still young enough to get better. As it turned out, the Mets might have been right about them, but to me, these trades really hurt at the time.

You Gotta Have A Catcher - Part 1

2007-10-20T06:59:00.000-07:00

In the 1961 expansion draft, the Mets made Hobie Landrith, a journeyman catcher, their very first pick. Why Landrith rather than someone who could be considered a prospect? Manager Casey Stengel had a simple explanation - "You gotta have a catcher or you're gonna have a lotta passed balls".

Throughout their history, the Mets have done an absolutely awful job of drafting catchers - Steve Chilcott, Butch Benton, Rich Bengston and John Gibbons were first-round busts. Admittedly, catching is probably the most difficult position to draft for. With the exception of Todd Hundley, the best homegrown Mets' catchers were Mike Fitzgerald, Ron Hodges, Duffy Dyer, Alex Trevino, and Vance Wilson, not the most impressive group. Yet the Mets managed to have an almost unbroken string of quality catchers that they acquired in trades.

In the winter of 1965, the Mets traded a mediocre pitcher by the name of Tom Parsons to Houston for a young catcher named Jerry Grote. The Astros felt they already had their long-term catcher in John Bateman who was a far better hitter than Grote who projected as no more than a backup. But Grote became the heart and soul of the Mets and was the regular catcher for the better part of the next 11 seasons.

When it became obvious that none of the farm system products were ready to take over, the Mets engineered a trade for the very highly-regarded Phillies prospect, John Stearns, who had been the #2 choice in the 1974 amateur draft, after David Clyde and just before future Hall Of Famers Robin Yount and Dave Winfield. Getting Stearns required giving up Tug McGraw and it can be argued that Stearns never really lived up to his potential, but he still filled the Mets' first-string catching job for the next 6 years.

Faced with the prospect of Mike Fitzgerald and Ronn Reynolds as their catching corps, the Mets dealt a package of players headed by Hubie Brooks, and including Fitzgerald for perennial all-star Gary Carter. Gary had 4 solid years for the Mets from 1985 to 1988. The Mets were contenders each year and probably should have won at least one more championship.

After getting by with the likes of Barry Lyons, Mackey Sasser, and Rick Cerone for the next few years, the Mets had their one and only homegrown star catcher, Todd Hundley, take over the regular job in 1992. He held on to the job, setting home run records in the process, for the next 6 years, until he was injured and the Mets once again needed a catcher.

In 1998, the Mets, probably spurred on by public opinion, dealt for Mike Piazza, who the Dodgers had traded to the Marlins and was made available almost immediately for the best offer. The Mets surrendered Preston Wilson, Ed Yarnall, and Geoff Goetz in return and reaped the benefits of Piazza for the next 8 seasons before allowing him to leave when it was clear he was becoming a liability behind the plate and couldn't make the move to first base.

THe new #1 catcher was to be Paul LoDuca who was acquired in a trade with the Marlins in exchange for a couple of prospects. Ramon Castro was signed as a free agent prior to the 2005 season. Together, the 2 have provided a solid tandem, but now they are both free to go and the Mets once again need to make a move.

A Different Kind of Trade Talk

2007-10-13T07:03:00.001-07:00

This is the time of year that everybody proposes trades. Now that there are so many blog writers that allow for instant feedback in the form of fan comments, it's interesting to note that the same trade proposal usually gets back at least one comment that it would be a terrible deal for the Mets and another that says the other team would never do it in a million years.

Among the very best deals ever made by the Mets, you'd have to rank the trades of Robert Person to Toronto in exchange for John Olerud and of course, the Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey for Keith Hernandez deals right near the top. I actually remember back in 1983 when somebody in my office suggested the Mets offer Neil Allen and "a couple of prospects" for Keith Hernandez only to be immediately shot down and laughed at. And who would have thought the Mets could have obtained one of the best hitters in the American League who was also a gold-glove first baseman in exchange for a AAA pitcher wo had already been through 3 organizations and didn't figure prominently in the Mets' plans ?

Sometimes there are circumstances that go beyond mere statistics that affect a player's value. In Hernandez' case, it was a perceived casual attitude and innuendoes of drug use. As far as Olerud, it was a matter of Toronto wanting more power from the first base position and Olerud's average having slipped to the point where the Jays felt he was on the decline. Whether or not there was some kind of personality clash between Olerud and Cito Gaston was never reported, but possibly the quiet, stoic Olerud was not one of the manager's favorites. Who knows ?

These trades worked out spectacularly well for the Mets, but that is not really my point here. I am just trying to show how what looked like one-sided trades on paper did, in fact, turn out to be just that. And yet, they WERE made. So, don't slough off reports packaging some Mets' prospects for a #1 pitcher or all-star caliber catcher. No doubt some team will make a steal of a deal on this winter's trade market. Met fans can only hope the Mets are that team.

Trades From The Past - Bob Ojeda

2007-09-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

Continuing this series of posts on the best trades the Mets ever made, if Bernard Gilkey was the only hitter to have a career year after being traded to the Mets, then Bob Ojeda was clearly the first, last, and only pitcher to similarly have a career year after coming to Flushing.

Ojeda had been a decent, if unspectacular starting pitcher for the Red Sox for a few seasons. The Mets had been impressed with the work another former Boston lefty, John Tudor, had done with the Cardinals and were seeking a similar pitcher, so they inquired about Ojeda. Coming off a 1985 season in which he was 9-11 with a 4.00 ERA, Ojeda was definitely obtainable, but the Sox were still able to attract what seemed like a pretty hefty price from the Mets.

Calvin Schiraldi was among the Mets' best young pitching prospects, Wes Gardner looked like the Mets' best young reliever and John Christensen and Laschelle Tarver were AAA outfielders who looked ready to contribute on the big league level. The Mets sent all 4 to Boston for Ojeda, a pretty good minor league pitcher named John Mitchell, and a couple of other minor leaguers, Chris Bayer, and Tom McCarthy. At the time of the deal, few fans expected Ojeda to be anything more than a fourth or fifth starter and it looked like the Mets were overpaying in prospects for a mediocre pitcher.

But Ojeda had a tremendous year for the World Champion Mets in 1986, going 18-5, 2.57 and placing fourth in the Cy Young balloting. An off-season freak injury made 1987 a lost year for Ojeda, and after that, he was just so-so for the Mets, but his big year in 1986 made this trade one of the best ever for the Mets.

Although the Mets have dealt for one-time aces throughout their history from Warren Spahn and Dean Chance to Frank Viola and Bret Saberhagen, it was the Ojeda deal that brought them their very best starting pitching acquisition. Whether Oliver Perez or John Maine ultimately prove to be better long-term is as yet unknown, but Ojeda will remain the only established pitcher to have a career year right after the Mets acquired him.

Trades From The Past - Bernard Gilkey

2007-09-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

When discussing the outstanding trades the Mets have made over the years, the acquisition of Bernard Gilkey from the Cardinals is usually forgotten. In part, this could be because Gilkey really had only one good year for the Mets - although it was a terrific one, and also because even with Gilkey, the 1996 Mets weren't a very good team. Yet, Gilkey remains possibly the only experienced hitter ever to come to the Mets and immediately respond with the very best year of his career.

Gilkey had been the regular left fielder for the Cardinals for a few years and always was solid, if unspectaular. In 1995, Gilkey batted .298 with 17 homeruns and 69 rbi's. Then in December of 1995, St. Louis signed Ron Gant as a free agent and suddenly Gilkey was out of a job. Based on his past performances, it would have seemed that the Cardinals could have dealt Gilkey for much more than they got in return from the Mets in January, 1996 - minor league pitchers Eric Hiljus and Eric Ludwick (brother of current Cardinal of Ryan Ludwick) and outfielder Yudith Rosario. It seemed like a trade the Mets really couldn't lose on, unless one of the young players they sent away became a star. Of course, that didn't happen. Remarkably, though, Gilkey had an exceptional season for the Mets in '96, .317, 30, 117 - career highs in every department (compare to Gant's .246, 30, 82 for the '96 Cardinals). Gilkey sort of reverted to form in 1997 and was soon gone from the Mets, but his legacy remains as possibly the only hitter in the 46-year history of the Mets to post a career year immediately after being traded here. If anyone can think of another, please let me know !

Trades From The Past - Sid Fernandez

2007-09-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

When you think about the really good trades the Mets have made, the Cone and Hernandez deals come to mind first, but although few and far between, the Mets have made some other pretty good trades in their history, so as things continue to fall apart for this year's team, I thought I'd try to inject a positive note by looking at a few of the other good deals the Mets made.

Following the 1983 season, the Mets traded a middling relief pitcher, Carlos Diaz, and the veteran utility man Bob Bailor to the Dodgers for a pair of minor leaguers, Sid Fernandez and infielder Ross Jones. Although I'd never seen Fernandez pitch, he had compiled some eye-popping minor league numbers and it was a surprise to me that the Dodgers would let him go for a couple of run-of-the-mill players with little potential to get better. Before long, we all found out that Fernandez had a major weight problem, didn't have extraordinary stuff or a blazing fastball and had the kind of laid-back attitude befitting a Hawaiian surfer dude. He relied primarily on a deceptive motion. But he was plenty good enough.

Although Sid never duplicated the astonishing numbers he had put up in the minors, he did put up some very impressive ones and fit nicely with a Mets' team that had some other outstanding starters whose styles were totally different.

Fernandez' hits per inning ratio was among the best in baseball history and he won 114 games in his major league career, most of which was spent with the Mets. Sid tried to make a few comebacks. I believe the last time was in spring training with the Yankees in the late '90's.

Sid was fun to watch and a highly effective, if, unorthodox starting pitcher. On the other side, both Diaz and Bailor did pretty much what was expected during their short tenures with the Dodgers. So, this was definitely one of the Mets' all-time best trades.

M. Donald Grant, Chairman Of The Board

2007-09-15T09:14:00.000-07:00

The person most responsible for the Mets' worst years was probably M. Donald Grant. He is best known for sending Tom Seaver away, but his influence in the organization was a detriment toward building a competitive team, or keeping one, and things didn't get better until he was out of the picture when the Mets were sold to Wilpon and Doubleday.

Grant, a stockbroker, was Mrs. Payson's close personal advisor when she became the original owner of the Mets. He probably had very little influence in player movement for the first several years, and in the days before free agency, no one could say that the Mets were particularly cheap. But unlike, say a George Steinbrenner who took full advantage of baseball's free agent system from the start, Grant did not believe that a ballplayer deserved to be making as much money as a stockbroker or real estate magnate, and probably didn't think they belonged at the same parties or meetings, either.

Grant could be described as a patrician, a snob, a man with a plantation mentality. He was known to bring his fellow Mets' stockholders to the clubhouse, where he would introduce his players as a fine bunch of boys and single out the recent trade acquisitions and players up from the minors by calling out "new boys over here". He, indeed, belonged to a different generation, but at a time when his fellow owners were prepared to face baseball's new reality, he was lording over the Mets in a manner befitting Charles Comiskey and the 1919 White Sox.

Grant's meddling, no doubt, played a part in driving Mets' GM Bing Devine,who was doing a nice job of trying to build a winner, back to St. Louis. It was probably after Mets' GM Johnny Murphy passed away in 1970 that Grant's influence began to increase. Whitey Herzog was Mets' player development director and heir to the GM job, but Grant passed him by because he knew he wouldn't stand for any interference from someone who in Whitey's words "knew nothing about baseball". The next two Mets' GM's Bob Scheffing and Joe McDonald probably had their hands tied by Grant, his frugality, and his belief that ballplayers should be quiet, sign their contracts, and just play ball. When a player became outspoken about salary issues such as Tom Seaver and Dave Kingman did, it was only a matter of time before they would be sent away. When Gil Hodges died just before the 1972 season began, Grant again chose to bypass the outspoken Herzog, driving him out of the organization, in favor of Yogi Berra.

Probably the best example of how out of touch M. Donald Grant was with the average fan was when he tried to explain the Tom Seaver negotiations and subsquent trade in terms of bluffing and playing tricks in a hand of bridge. How many Mets' fans have any idea how to even play bridge ?

The above are my thoughts and recollections of Grant. To read more, go here :
http://ultimatemets.com/profile.php?PlayerCode=6624

Old Time Mets - Cliff Cook

2007-09-08T08:43:00.000-07:00

One of the very first trades the Mets made after the 1962 season began was the one that sent veteran Don Zimmer, who had just broken an 0-for-34 slump, to the Reds for lefty Bob Miller (not to be confused with righty Bob Miller, an original Mets' draft pick) and third baseman Cliff Cook.

The previous season while the Reds were winning the National League pennant, Cliff was the MVP of the AAA American Association, batting .311 with 32 home runs and 119 rbi's. If the league's defending champion had no room for a player who tore up the minor leagues, certainly the fledgling Mets did. Or did they ? Cook was pretty awful from the day he arrived. Not only didn't he hit, but he had a bad back that inhibited his ability to play third base, and he wound up being used more in the outfield, where he wasn't much better.

Cliff hit .232 as a part-time player with the '62 Mets, but after hitting .142 in 106 at-bats with the 1963 team, he was sent to AAA Buffalo where he hit .260 and never played in the major leagues again. Cook turned out to be one of many examples that being a dominant player in AAA doesn't always translate to being a good one in the big leagues. It should be noted that 2 days after trading for Cook, the Mets made a deal for another player who had torn up AAA in the past - Marv Throneberry.

Old Time Mets - Felix Mantilla

2007-09-07T11:32:00.000-07:00

Felix Mantilla, not to be confused with Felix Millan, was an original expansion draft choice of the Mets. He had been a utility infielder for the Milwaukee Braves for the previous six years, and had that tag when the Mets drafted him.

Mantilla might have been a better choice for the Mets at third base than Don Zimmer, or Cliff Cook, who came to the Mets early in 1962 in exchange for Zimmer, but Mantilla quickly established himself as a poor defensive player and it wasn't until all the other options proved unsuccessful that Felix got his crack at the third base job. His offensive numbers with the Mets in '62 weren't all that shabby - 11 homeruns, 59 rbi, and a .275 average, all career highs to that point. But at the end of the season, no one was too excited about Felix's future with the Mets. So, when the Mets were able to deal him to the Red Sox for 3 players in December of 1962, it looked like a good trade.

Coming back to the Mets were Tracy Stallard, best known for giving up Roger Maris' 61st homerun in 1961, who was regarded as a hard thrower and still a prospect at the age of 25, Pumpsie Green, Boston's first black player who hadn't accomplished much with the Red Sox but who seemed likely to take Mantilla's spot as the Mets' semi-regular third baseman, and a minor league shortstop, Al Moran, who was reputed to be a good-field, no-hit type.

Stallard was decent for the Mets. Actually he was brilliant at times, and awful most of the time, but he did sort of establish himself as a regular starter with the Mets before being traded away. Moran became the regular Mets' shortstop, almost by default, and batted .193 with 1 homerun in over 300 at bats for the Mets in 1963. Green was a huge disappointment who didn't make the Mets out of spring training and spent most of the year in AAA. He never became a major league player of any note.

But Mantilla surprisingly had 3 pretty good years for Boston. In 1963 he was a utility player who got only 178 at bats, but hit .315. In 1964 and 1965, he was more or less a regular player, In '64, splitting his time between the outfield and second base, he batted .289 with a remarkable 30 homeruns and 89 rbi's. In 1965, as Boston's regular second baseman, he went 18,92,.275 and made the all-star team for the first and only time in his career. He took advantage of Fenway's Green Monster, constantly pounding hits over or against the wall. Yet, surprisingly, at season's end, he was dealt away for light hitting shortstop Eddie Kasko.

So, Mantilla, like Jim Hickman was an original Mets' draft pick who eventually managed to live up to his potential, if only for a short time. Unfortunately, for Mets' fans, it came too late to help the Mets.

Mets Trades Of The Past - The Biggest One Ever

2007-09-05T05:02:00.000-07:00

On December 8, 1977, the Mets were one of four teams involved in one of the most complex deals in the history of baseball. This was it :

The Mets sent John Milner to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Atlanta Braves sent Willie Montanez to the New York Mets. The Texas Rangers sent Adrian Devine, Tommy Boggs, and Eddie Miller to the Atlanta Braves. The Texas Rangers sent a player to be named later and Tom Grieve to the New York Mets. The Texas Rangers sent Bert Blyleven to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pittsburgh Pirates sent Al Oliver and Nelson Norman to the Texas Rangers. The New York Mets sent Jon Matlack to the Texas Rangers. The Texas Rangers sent Ken Henderson (March 15, 1978) to the New York Mets to complete the trade.

I wish I could tell you who conceived this deal and how it fell into place, but frankly, I have no idea. For the Mets' part, they replaced John Milner with Willie Montanez and sent Matlack away for Tom Grieve and Ken Henderson. Montanez was considered a better all-around player and certainly flashier than Milner, but I think that Met fans were disappointed with Willie's production and expected a major upgrade from Milner. Actually, the one full year Willie spent with the Mets wasn't bad statistically, but he seemed to fail a lot in big spots and hit his best in one-sided games. Ironically, the following season, the Mets sent Montanez to Texas, another of the parties in the original deal, in exchange for Ed Lynch and Mike Jorgensen and a couple of years later, the Pirates traded Milner even-up to Montreal for Montanez.

As for the other part of the trade for the Mets, it turned out to be a lot less than either side expected. Matlack had one solid year for the Rangers, but that was about it. Neither Grieve nor Henderson was anything other than a part-time player, though the Mets were expecting more, I'm sure.

The big names in the deal were Blyleven and Oliver, so maybe the deal started out as a one-for-one and other general managers just joined the party. I suppose after giving up Blyleven, the Rangers needed another pitcher and that's how Matlack got involved, but it looks to me like the Mets were a pawn in this trade, and they were probably fortunate it didn't turn out any worse than it did for them.

Old Time Mets - Jim Hickman

2007-09-01T06:51:00.001-07:00

If Marv Throneberry symbolized the bumbling incompetence of the early Mets, Rod Kanehl the everyman quality, Ed Kranepool the hope for the future, and Roger Craig the frustration, nobody symbolized all of these qualities wrapped into one player the way Jim Hickman did.

If Al Jackson was the Mets' best expansion choice, Hickman was clearly second. The tall, rangy outfielder was basically the Mets' regular centerfielder for their first four seasons, although it seemed like the organization was always trying to replace him. Hickman would show flashes - the first Met to homer 3 times in a game, the first to hit for the cycle, the guy who homered to end Roger Craig's ridiculously long losing streak - and yet, Jim was a target of boobirds for his frequent strikeouts and double play grounders in clutch situations. Defensively and on the bases, Jim was okay, but his long strides and gangly build somehow made it seem like he wasn't trying because it looked like he should have been better.

When the Mets finally disposed of Hickman as the throw-in sent to the Dodgers along with Ron Hunt in the Tommy Davis trade, most Mets fans either didn't care or said "good riddance" and his performance with the Dodgers, a .163 batting average in his only season in L.A. seemed to confirm what some Mets' fans thought all along - that this guy was no major league player.

Yet, incredibly, and seemingly from out of nowhere, in 1970, Hickman then with the Cubs produced a remarkable season, a .315 batting average, 32 homeruns, 115 rbi's, a spot in the all-star game where he drove in the winning run, and an eighth place finish in the NL MVP race. Suddenly he was among the most feared hitters in the league. Who was this guy ?

The following year, he hit just .256 and his rbi's were down to 60, more typical of the kind of years he had with the Mets, and before long, he was gone from the major league scene. But if ever a mediocre player had one shining year, living up to the potential that Mets' fans once hoped he had, though most eventually abandoned that idea, Hickman was the one. In retrospect, his 1970 season is still a little hard to believe.

One-Game Wonders: Truly Obscure Mets of the Past

2007-08-22T08:47:00.000-07:00

From 1962 to 1996, here's a list of players who played exactly one game for the Mets. The stats are taken from "Total Mets", a 1997 publication, but the recollections are my own.

HITTERS :

Luis Alvarado - a utility infielder who I remember with the Red Sox and Tigers, he played one game for the Mets in 1977 at second base, going 0 for 2.

Francisco Estrada- a catcher from the Mexican League, he was up for one game with the 1971 Mets, going 1 for 2 before being sent to the Angels in the infamous Nolan Ryan deal. He never played another big league game.

Dave Liddell - a catcher who was behind the plate for a game in 1990, perfect at the plate, going 1 for 1 and scoring a run before his return to obscurity. He came to the Mets from the Cubs for Ed Lynch.

PITCHERS :

Bob Gibson - NOT the Cardinals Hall Of Famer, he gave up no hits in his one inning of work in 1987, striking out 2. He also pitched for the Tigers.

Kenny Greer - pitched in one game, one inning, struck out two, and picked up a win for the Mets in 1993. I think he also got a brief shot with the Yankees.

Manny Hernandez - pitched 1 inning for the Mets in 1989. Although the record books show him appearing in 15 other big league games with the Astros, I must admit I don't remember him at all. He would get my PERSONAL vote as the most obscure Met of all.

Jesse Hudson - A lanky lefty product of the farm system, he surfaced in 1969 at age 21, pitching in one game for 2 innings, giving up a run, 2 hits, and 2 walks, striking out 3. I don't remember how Jesse went from hot young prospect to one-game wonder, but he never appeared in the big leagues again.

Doc Medich - certainly the most accomplished player in this group, Medich won 124 games in an 11-year big league career. The Mets acquired Doc at the end of the 1977 season, gave him one start in which he pitched 7 innings, giving up 3 runs and taking the loss. Presumably, the Mets expected to sign him long-term, but didn't. Otherwise, it's hard to explain why they would have picked him up for one appearance.

Don Rose - regarded as a pretty good prospect, Rose got into one game, pitching 2 scoreless innings for the 1971 Mets before going over to the Angels in the Ryan trade. Rose got another brief shot in California, but never made it.

Mac Scarce - I was surprised to see that Scarce only pitched in one game, faced one batter and gave up a hit in his only Met appearance because he was regarded as the likely replacement for Tug McGraw or at worst, a situational lefty when he came over from the Phillies, where he had some success.

Trades From The Past - Millan and Stone for Gentry and Frisella

2007-08-21T09:45:00.000-07:00

The Mets' recent acquisition of Luis Castillo brought to mind another Mets' second baseman with similar skills - Felix Millan. Like Castillo, Millan was a low-profile, but excellent player who excelled in handling the bat and playing an outstanding second base. Felix was one of the main reasons the Mets surprisingly made it to the World Series in 1973, and he remains, arguably, the best overall second baseman the Mets ever had.

I was on vacation in Japan when the Mets acquired Millan in the winter of 1972, so I found out about the trade - Millan and lefty pitcher George Stone from the Braves for starting pitcher Gary Gentry and reliever Danny Frisella - via a tiny box in the International Edition of the New York Times. 1972 had been a very disappointing, injury-filled season for the Mets. Prior to the season, the Mets had acquired perennial all-stars Jim Fregosi and Rusty Staub and adding them to the lineup to go along with the best pitching in baseball figured to make the Mets a strong favorite for another championship. By the time the season ended, the pitching was intact, but the lineup was in shambles. In addition to the injuries, regular second baseman Ken Boswell finished the season at .211, bad any way you look at it, but especially for a second baseman whose bat was considered his best asset. So the Mets looked for a replacement.

Millan was a former all-star coming off his worst season, but undoubtedly a better second baseman than Boswell. Gentry was, at 26, still young enough to become a star, although he was no better than a third starter with the Mets. Stone was a fringe major leaguer and Frisella a good reliever who was behind Tug McGraw in the Mets' bullpen hierarchy. At the time, the deal didn't look all that good to me, because Millan at best was "steady" and Stone looked like he'd struggle to make the Mets, while the two pitchers the Mets gave up were young enough and good enough to have long, productive careers. But it turned out to be a steal for the Mets.

Millan gave the Mets 4 very solid seasons before tailing off in 1977. He finished his career playing in Japan. George Stone was remarkable for the 1973 Mets, finishing 12-3 with a 2.80 ERA in 148 innings. After '73, Stone did little to help the Mets and was gone after 2 more mediocre seasons. But clearly, this trade put the Mets in the 1973 World Series as much as anything.

As for Gentry and Frisella, elbow problems plagued Gentry for the rest of his career and he never really helped the Braves. He got one last spring training shot with the Mets a few years later, but was quickly released. Frisella was a mediocre reliever the rest of his career before his untimely passing in a dune-buggy accident before the 1977 season.

Old Time Mets - John Stephenson

2007-08-05T16:55:00.000-07:00

If Johnny Stephenson is remembered at all by fans of the early Mets, it's as the last out of Jim Bunning's perfect game. He was so overmatched in striking out, the Mets might as well have plucked a fan out of the stands at random and asked him to get a hit off Bunning. At the time, if I remember correctly, Stephenson was hitting a feeble .149 and it didn't get much better for him. Yet, almost amazingly Stephenson spent parts of ten years in the major leagues and was regarded as a decent lefty bat off the bench who could also fill in at a few positions by the time the Angels picked him up in the early '70's.

Stephenson came to the major leagues in 1964 solely because of the rule in effect at the time which required a big league team to carry second-year pros on their 25-man roster all season or risk losing them on waivers. To say that Stephenson was not ready is an understatement. He had a terrible "sweep" swing, the kind that's usually corrected in Little League, and although he was considered primarily a catcher, the Mets didn't play him there at all in the 1964 season. If Stephenson ever had a big hit for the Mets, I don't remember it. If ever there was a player I thought would never return to the majors after his one-year "trial", Stephenson was the one. But somehow after getting to the Cubs, his swing was reconstructed and he actually became kind of a threat as a lefthanded pinch-hitter. When you look at his lifetime numbers, a .216 average in nearly 1000 at-bats with little speed, and below average defense, you marvel at how he managed to have such a lengthy career. When anyone says it's a lot easier to get to the big leagues these days with more Major League teams and fewer farm teams, I point to the improbable career of John Stephenson, a player of minimal talent who managed to hang around for parts of ten years with four different teams.

TradeDeadline Passes - Part 1 - Deals Made

2007-08-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

The acquisition of Luis Castillo for a couple of grade C prospects is a no-brainer. Unless you feel that Ruben Gotay has earned he second base job and this deal will only retard his progress. Even if Castillo leaves as a free agent at the end of the season, the draft pick the Mets get as compensation should be worth more in the long run than Butera and Martin. Butera at best projects as a solid defensive catcher who will be a backup in the big leagues. Martin figures as no better than a AAAA outfielder who will shuttle between AAA and the big leagues. It is also possible that neither one will even advance to AAA, so although Castillo really doesn't excite me, I can't fault this move.

The Braves certainly improved their chances of overtaking the Mets this year with the acquisitions of Mark Teixeira and Octavio Dotel, but they paid a high price in prospects. The Phillies helped themselves, too, but not to the point where the Mets have become an underdog.

If the Mets get Pedro Martinez back and get the kind of production they should expect from Carlos Beltran when he returns, they should still make it to the post-season. I still expect an addition or two to the bench before September.

AS fallout from the Braves' recent acquisitions, they've DFA'd Julio Franco who helped them even less this year than he helped the Mets. Does anyone take a flyer on him or is it time to retire to a coaching career ?

2007-07-07T05:11:00.000-07:00

OLD TIME METS - TOMMY DAVIS

Although he spent just one season with the team, 1967, Tommy Davis was a principal in 2 of the biggest trades the Mets made in their formative years, the one that brought him to the Mets and the one that sent him away.

Prior to the '67 season, the Mets sent two of their top players, Ron Hunt, the first genuine Mets all-star and arguably their most popular player and the talented but flawed regular center fielder Jim Hickman, to the Dodgers for one-time batting champ Tommy Davis and a promising young third baseman, Derrell Griffith.

Few Mets' fans lamented the loss of Hickman, but Hunt was another story. The general feeling was that the front office never appreciated Hunt as much as the fans did and felt he was easily replaceable at second base. Also, Davis was from Brooklyn and was probably expected to be a fan favorite. Davis was one of the premier hitters in the game, but after busting up his ankle sliding into second base, lost much of his speed and he became something of a liability in the field and on the bases. Still, there was no denying that the Mets never had a hitter with his capabilities and he turned in a solid season for the Mets, batting .302 with 16 home runs and 73 rbi's. Griffith was dealt away before he ever played for the Mets and never amounted to much, anyway. Hunt and Hickman still had some very productive years ahead of them, but primarily after both left the Dodgers.

As for Davis, after one season with the Mets, he was dealt in a package deal that brought the Mets Tommie Agee (the Mets also had to give up Jack Fisher, one of their better pitchers), who was of course, instrumental in the Mets' winning the 1969 World Series, but faded quickly after one more excellent season. Helped by the American League's adoption of the Designated Hitter rule, Davis racked up another 10 years in the major leagues after leaving the Mets. His reputation always was as a skilled line-drive hitter and one of the most proficient pinch-hitters around.

Having traded their regular centerfielder in the package for Davis, and seeing their new heralded centerfielder Don Bosch disappoint terribly, the Mets gave Cleon Jones the majority of playing time in center field in 1967. Flanked by Davis, and Ron Swoboda, this had to be one of the worst defensive outfields around, and thus the need for Agee. In the short run, of course, this trade worked out, although Davis ultimately had a better career than Agee. But while Agee was flashy and exciting, Davis was steady and reliable. Both good players. But while Agee has become a Mets hero for the ages, Davis' tenure with the team has been practically forgotten.

Great Mets' Trades of The Past - Hernandez for Allen and Ownbey

2007-06-17T05:42:00.000-07:00

As it becomes apparent that the Mets, as currently constituted, will not run away with the NL East this year, Mets' fans are all anxiously anticipating this year's upcoming deals feeling certain that Omar Minaya will plunge into the trade market. Of course, Mets history has given us many more bad trades than good, but let's look on the positive side, beginning with one of the best trades ever made by the Mets, in this case GM Frank Cashen, certainly the best Mets' GM to this point.

The Keith Hernandez trade of June 15, 1983 is explained in detail in one of the finest baseball books I have ever read, White Rat - A Life In Baseball by Whitey Herzog and Kevin Horrigan. As Cardinals' manager/GM, Herzog made some outstanding deals and a couple of real clinkers. Even worse than the Hernandez deal is an earlier one that may rank as one of the worst trades ever - Ted Simmons, Pete Vuckovich, and Rollie Fingers for Sixto Lezcano, Lary Sorensen, Dave LaPoint, and David Green (then considered the best prospect in the game). But back to the Hernandez deal.

As the 1983 season went on, Herzog felt that Keith Hernandez was dogging it. Herzog said he knew nothing of Keith's drug use, but he couldn't believe how lazy Keith was becoming. He wasn't running out ground balls and he seemed to be spending most of his time before games smoking cigarettes and doing crossword puzzles. Other players were complaining to Herzog about Keith's lack of hustle, and Whitey's coaches told him that even though the club was in first place, Hernandez was "poisoning" the whole team. Herzog also thought the Cardinals needed pitching and felt that Hernandez still had excellent trade value and that Hernandez' salary demands for his next contract were going to be far out of line with his value to the team. The Cardinals also had a red-hot minor league hitter in Andy Van Slyke who deserved a chance in the big leagues. So, Herzog decided that moving George Hendrick to first base and Van Slyke to the Cardinals' outfield and dealing Hernandez for pitching help was the way to go.

When Lonnie Smith came forward admitting to a cocaine habit and possibly insinuating that he was not the only member of the team doing drugs, some suspicion arose concerning Hernandez. The Cardinals began shopping Keith, but there were few interested parties. All the other team were scared of his contract and there was a definite buzz of drug rumors. Only Frank Cashen of the Mets showed any interest. The deal was to be Neil Allen who the Cardinals were going to turn into a starter, and the Mets' most promising young pitcher, Rick Ownbey, in exchange for Hernandez. When Cashen agreed, that was it.

Hernandez' initial reaction to going to the Mets was negative and he was pretty sure he would opt out and become a free agent, but the Mets' young talent and Hernandez' quick adjustment to New York City changed his mind, and Keith put his drug problems behind him and became an integral part of a Mets' team that won a World Championship and probably should have won a couple more. Allen faded quickly and Ownbey surprisingly never made it at all, making this one of those one-sided deals the Mets were famous for, only this time it was in their favor.

Taking A Closer Look At Some Past Mets' #1 Draft Choices

2007-06-08T04:29:00.000-07:00

Now, that I've completed my review of all of the Mets' #1 amateur draft choices, I thought I'd take a closer look at a few of them. It would be nice if I could see a pattern or general philosophy, but there clearly is none. Some of this lack of pattern can be attributed to the fact that the organization, like most others has gone through many changes, not only as far as General Manager, but also Scouting Director, Regional Scouting Directors, and of course, individual scouts.

In past entries, I've already commented extensively about Rohr, Chilcott, Matlack, and Foli. For purposes of evaluating the choices, I looked at the next few picks to see if the Mets "could have done better". This assumes, probably incorrectly, unless the Mets had the Number 1 pick, that those players who followed the Mets' choices were on the radar. So, it's easy to say that Rich Puig was a poor choice when the next selection was Jim Rice. It would be hard to fathom that the Mets gave equal attention to Puig and Rice and ultimately decided Puig was going to be the better player. It's much more likely that they never saw Rice or saw him on a bad day.

But there's more to it than that. Evaluating a player is extremely difficult for many reasons. Since there are literally thousands of possible draft choices, even if a team has an unlimited scouting budget and the best scouts in the business, it would be impossible to see every player in every game. This is obvious and yet is a pretty good explanation why the draft will always be something of a crapshoot. You could see a player on his best or worst days, a player can be pitched around or even intentionally walked when your scouts are trying to evaluate him. There are just so many other factors not even including the possibility of future injury, which primarily affects pitchers.

Still, you can look at any first round draft pick and say "what were the expectations" ? In 1996, the Mets used their first round pick on Jason Tyner, a college outfielder with minimal power, good speed, solid defense, a fair arm, and the ability to hit for average. Eleven years later, Tyner is a spare outfielder with his third major league team, who depending on whether his bloop hits fall in or his line drives are caught might hit .320 or .220 in any given season. Now, his career has no doubt been more succesful than at last half of the Mets' other first round picks. The problem is that no major league team is going to make a commitment to playing Tyner on a regular basis, because he has zero power and his other tools are not so overwhelmingly impressive. You would always expect to find someone who can do a better overall job. Best case scenario for Tyner, I suppose, would have been developing into a Brett Butler clone. Solid major league player, but worth a first round pick ? I don't think so.

Two years later, the Mets selected a raw high school outfielder named Robert Stratton. He had tremendous power, but throughout his minor league career never hit for a good enough average to rate a major league chance. The Mets actually traded Stratton away as a young player, only to reacquire him before the next season started. Several other organizations took a chance on Stratton after the Mets gave up on him. I have never seen him play, and I cannot find him on any current minor league roster, so I don't know if he's playing in an independent league, in Asia, or has retired. It would appear that uniquely among all Mets' first picks, Stratton was selected solely on the basis of his power. What was his ceiling ? Dave Kingman ? Adam Dunn ?

Another interesting Mets' selection was Al Shirley in 1991. Al was a tools guy -speed, power, arm, but Al struck out way too much and although he'd display his tools at time, he never really learned to hit. He hung around in the minors, getting as high as AA in 1998, but for eight years, he had "potential" that was never fulfilled.

So there are 3 examples - three very different ballplayers, all of whom could be classified as disappointments. You could ask could the Mets have done better and then find someone chosen a few picks later that turned out a whole lot better, but I don't think that really provides an explanation. Fans can only guess why a certain player was taken. Only those who worked for the Mets at the time can answer the question. But obviously, anyone who was chosen first had some glowing scouting reports, and except in rare cases, I tend to doubt that whoever made the ultimate decision had actually seen the player in action.

Amateur Draft Hits And Misses - Part 3

2007-06-05T07:05:00.001-07:00

1996 - Robert Stratton. A big, strong powerful hitter who spent lots of years in the minors hitting the long ball and doing little else. Surprisingly, never earned a big league shot. Eric Milton and Gil Meche were taken several picks later.

1997 - Geoff Goetz. Sixth pick. Mediocre minor league pitcher, dealt to Florida. Later first round picks included Michael Cuddyer, Jon Garland, and most notably Lance Berkman who was passed up by 15 teams.

1998 - Jason Tyner. Still in the big leagues after all these years, so maybe not such a bad pick after all. C.C. Sabathia was chosen one pick before, but no one taken soon after Tyner has come close to achieving his level of success.

1999 - The Mets had no first round pick. Their second pick was pitcher Neal Musser.

2000 - Billy Traber. Sent to Cleveland as part of the Roberto Alomar deal. Has battled arm trouble off and on, even since before signing. No obvious "better" picks were available.

2001- Aaron Heilman. Again, considered something of a reach, and then, a bust, Aaron has turned it around with good work out of the pen. So, in retrospect, this was quite a good choice, although Jeremy Bonderman went eight picks later.

2002 - Scott Kazmir. The Mets were fortunate that he fell to them. But, alas, he was dealt for Victor Zambrano. Good choice, bad trade.

2003 - Lastings Milledge. I am still convinced that Lastings will be a star in the major leagues. Whether with the Mets, or elsewhere, we shall see. It will take a few years before we can say whether this pick and the next two were great, ok, or awful.

2004 - Philip Humber. Has already undergone Tommy John surgery and appears to be making a nice comeback. Of course, how good he'll turn out to be is still unknown. It's interesting to note that #1 pick Matt Bush, by the Padres looks to be a bust, while several of the other first-rounders would appear to be top prospects.

2005 - Mike Pelfrey. It's too early to pass final judgement, but frankly, I haven't liked what I've seen. He's already reached the big leagues as have 3 other pitchers taken later in the first round. At this time, it's too early to tell how good or bad this selection was. It's just that the reports on Pelfrey were so good, that when I finally saw him pitch, I was very disappointed, because I don't see a future ace.

2006- Again, no first round pick. Kevin Mulvey at #62 was the Mets' earliest choice. Mulvey appears to be making good progress at AA.

In retrospect, the Mets' draft history has a few notable mistakes, and a few excellent selections. Although we bemoan picks like Chilcott, Thurberg, Presley, Jaroncyk, and several others, every team has a similar history of mistakes. It is interesting to note that some of the choices that were criticized at the time for being made for reasons beyond talent, such as "local boy" Mazzilli or "Mookie's son" Preston Wilson actually turned out to be among the best ones.

Amateur Draft Hits And Misses - Part 2

2007-06-05T05:45:00.000-07:00

Continuing my look at Mets' #1 selections year-by-year :

1980 - Darryl Strawberry. #1 pick in draft. Apparently, there was some thought given to taking Darnell Coles or Billy Beane, but in the end, the Mets went with the consensus and selected Strawberry, and it turned out to be the right move.

1981 - Terry Blocker. This was a fascinating draft, full of prospects. The Mets eventually wound up with several of the other first rounders including Ron Darling, Keven McReynolds, and Daryl Boston, all chosen AFTER the Mets took Blocker, as well as Dick Schofield who was taken one pick before Blocker. Terry was a speedy guy who never fulilled his potential.

1982 - Dwight Gooden. With the #5 selection, the Mets definitely got the gem of this draft. Surprisingly, Gooden was considered a bit of a reach by many observers as he was projected to go around the middle of the round.

1983 - The Mets had 3 first round picks and they turned out to be Eddie Williams, Stan Jefferson, and Calvin Schiraldi. There were a lot of highly touted players in the first round, and almost all of them turned out disappointing. Roger Clemens was the #19 selection by Boston, one slot before the Mets took Jefferson. Since the Mets had previously drafted Clemens out of high school, we can only wonder if they would have picked him again if the Red Sox had passed him up.

1984 - Shawn Abner. First choice in the draft. Rumor had it that the Mets were all set to pick Mark McGwire, but wanted a firm commitment that he would sign. When they didn't get it, they went for Abner and McGwire lasted another 9 picks. Imagine the late '80's, early '90's Mets with Clemens and McGwire! Or would they have traded them both to get Kevin McReynolds, as they did with Abner, who never really made it ?

1985 - Gregg Jefferies. Considering this was a late first round pick, it was remarkable in that Jefferies seemed to be player of the year every year throughout his minor league career. About his career with the Mets and beyond, it is a fascinating story which I won't go into here.

1986 - Lee May Jr. A huge disappointment almost from the time he began his minor league career. There weren't many better picks later in the first round. It's interesting to note that the last pick of the second round was Todd Zeile, who soon became the #1 prospect in all of baseball. Before he was chosen, the Mets had already made their second selection, Fritz Polka!

1987 - Chris Donnels. Turned out to be a fringe big leaguer. Craig Biggio had gone 2 picks earlier and Pete Harnisch went a couple later.

1988 - Dave Proctor. A pitcher. Never came close to the big leagues. Later first rounders included Rico Brogna, Ed Sprague, and Brian Jordan.

1989 - Alan Zinter. A catcher when drafted, he was switched to first base and later traded for Rico Brogna. Finally surfaced in the majors 13 years after the Mets drafted him, but not for long. Mo Vaughn was selected just before Zinter, and Chuck Knoblauch right after him.

1990 - Jeromy Burnitz. Considered a reach at the time, but actually a pretty good pick, although his best major league years were the ones he didn't spend with the Mets. Mike Mussina went 2 picks later.

1991 - Al Shirley. One of only 2 of the top 20 picks that year who never made the big leagues. A toolsy outfielder who struck out way too much. Players chosen soon after him included Benji Gil, Allan Watson, and Aaron Sele.

1992 - Preston Wilson. Outstanding choice with #9 pick in draft. Derek Jeter was taken 3 slots earlier, and Johnny Damon 26 picks later, but otherwise no one else in the first round was a better choice. Wilson was, of course, sent to Florida in te Mike Piazza trade.

1993 - Kirk Presley. Pitcher who seemed to have arm trouble from the minute he signed (if not before). Later first round picks included Billy Wagner, Derrek Lee, and Torii Hunter. But Presley did get a few columns written about him being Elvis' cousin, despite never pitching effectively anywhere once he signed.

1994 - Paul Wilson. #1 pick in the entire draft. Expected to be great, despite starting minor league career 0-7. Has come back to show occasional flashes of solid big league pitching between serious injuries. Traded to Tampa Bay before re-surfacing with some success with the Reds. The next pick, by Oakland was Ben Grieve, and everyone expected him to be great, too. Funny how this draft turned out. In retrospect, #12 selection Nomar Garciaparra, who was shunned by 11 teams because he was considered a defensive shortstop who couldn't hit, quickly became the best player to come out of what was considered a strong draft.

1995 - Ryan Jaroncyk. A perfectly awful pick, who quit baseball when he revealed that he hated the game, and was only playing to please his father. He later tried a comeback with the Dodgers' organization (at his father's urging?), but didn't last long there. The next pick in the draft was Juan LeBron and the Mets later traded Joe Randa for him. He never made it, either. Carlos Beltran was taken by Kansas City in the second round, one pick after the Mets took Brett Herbison.

Next up, 1996 - 2006

Amateur Draft Hits And Misses Through The Years

2007-06-05T04:25:00.000-07:00

The Mets don't get to pick until the 42nd selection in this week's annual entry draft, which, incidentally will be televised for the first time. For the next few days, I'll review the Mets' first choices through the years.

1965 - Les Rohr. Never developed. Best minor league year was 1969 in the Texas League. By then, the Mets already had a talented young pitching staff and Rohr was already out of the picture. Ray Fosse was available, but overall there weren't many good first round picks.

1966 - Steve Chilcott. Passed up Reggie Jackson. Enough said.

1967 - Jon Matlack. Excellent choice with fourth pick in draft as he turned out considerably better than the three players taken before him.

1968 - Tim Foli. Became a decent major league player, but not what you'd expect from an overall number one. Thurman Munson, Bobby Valentine and Greg Luzinski were available.

1969 - Randy Sterling. Had a cup of coffee with the Mets, but never really dominated in the Minors. Another bad year for the draft. Next choice was Alan Bannister by the Angels who was projected as a power-hitting shortstop, but wound up as a utility man. Don Gullett, chosen 10 picks later was the gem, especially with his quick rise to the big leagues.

1970 - George Ambrow. A high school ss who never signed, went to USC and was an 18th round pick by the Angels 4 years later. Obviously, his stock had fallen considerably and didn't figure to have helped even if he had signed. World Champs had low pick that year. No one chosen in the second round turned out very well, so Mets get a bye here.

1971 - Rich Puig. Awful pick considering the next selection was Jim Rice. Previous pick was Frank Tanana. The rest of that year's first round was terrible.

1972 - Rich Bengston. Another poor pick. Another bad first round overall. The likes of Chet Lemon, Jamie Quirk, and (current Mets' coach) Jerry Manuel were chosen later in the first round, but really no one to be upset about.

1973 - Lee Mazzilli. An outstanding choice with the 14th overall selection. John Stearns, Dave Winfield, and Robin Yount were taken early in the first round, but there were a bunch of never-to-be's chosen between Winfield and Mazzilli, and a lot of bad choices after Maz, so even if Mazzilli didn't turn out to be a superstar, this was a great pick. And don't forget Mazzilli eventually turned into Ron Darling and Howard Johnson.

1974 - Cliff Speck. Righthanded pitcher who labored in the minors for a long, long time. Willie Wilson was chosen with the next pick, and Rick Sutcliffe a few picks later, so the Mets could have done better.

1975 - Butch Benton. He never made it, but this was another downer draft. The best of the first round choices were probably Rick Cerone, Clint Hurdle and Dale Berra.

1976 - Tom Thurberg. Who ??? Not a great first round, although future major leaguers like Bruce Hurst, Mike Scioscia, Leon Durham, and Pat Tabler were all taken later in the first round, so the Mets could have fared better.

1977 - Wally Backman. Took him awhile to develop, but it's hard to fault this selection, as there were a bunch of guys taken before him who never amounted to much.

1978 - Hubie Brooks. Very solid selection with #3 choice in draft. Was close to major league ready when chosen. Had some pretty good years with the Mets before going to Montreal in the Gary Carter deal. Had a decent career. Kirk Gibson was taken 9 picks later, but hard to fault this selection.

1979 - Tim Leary. Second overall pick looked like he was going to be a great one. Leary made the Mets in 1981, only to be injured in his first start on a cold April day at Wrigley Field, then missed all of 1982 with an injured nerve. He moved to Milwaukee in a six-player, four-team trade in 1985 and was 12-12 for the Brewers in 1986 before being traded to Los Angeles with Tim Crews for slugger Greg Brock. Leary started and lost Game Six of the 1988 LCS for the Dodgers, but he pitched well out of the bullpen in the World Series. After the season he received the NL Comeback Player of the Year Award. He was traded to the Reds in mid-1989.

So, among the Mets' 15 first-round picks, there were some real good ones, some terrible ones, and some okay, but could have done better types. Not quite as bad as I would have thought. Of course, Chilcott over Jackson was the worst choice ever and Puig over Rice was a close second.

Tomorrow -the next 15 years, starting with Darryl Strawberry in 1980.

Old Time Mets - Rod Kanehl

2007-05-25T20:12:00.001-07:00

With all the posts I've done on the early days of the Mets, I never once mentioned the name of Rod Kanehl, who in his way symbolized the 1962-64 Mets as much as anyone. If Marv Throneberry and Choo Choo Coleman represented Mets' ineptitude, then Kanehl was the embodiment of the everyman quality that helped to popularize the Mets.

For those of you too young to remember Kanehl, he was the all-purpose utility man for the early Mets, who played every position except pitcher and catcher, and no doubt, would have played those, too, if only he was asked. How good a ballplayer was Rod ? Well, let's just say if he was a better hitter, a better fielder with a better arm, and a better base runner, he might have been Joe McEwing. That might be a little unfair, because Kanehl was actually a pretty good base runner. But so are a lot of guys who never get the chance to play pro ball.

Rod's "best" position was second base. Unfortunately, he never mastered the double play pivot, which is fairly important for a second baseman. He also played a lot in the outfield where he would pursue flyballs with reckless abandon. In fact, that's what made Casey Stengel notice him in the first place.

Kanehl spent several seasons in the Yankees' organization, mostly at the lower levels, but one year in training camp, he impressed Casey with his constant hustle. So, it was on Stengel's recommendation that the Mets drafted Kanehl for their AAA team prior to the 1962 season. Every knowledgeable baseball man, including Mets' President George Weiss saw Kanehl as no more than minor league fodder, but he hustled his way on to the roster with Casey's support and hung around for three seasons.

What endeared Kanehl to Mets' fans was his genuine "regular guy" quality. Today, with even utility infielders making a million dollars a year, it's tough for the average fan to identify with any big league player. But Kanehl, who was probably making no more than the average school teacher, cop, or truck driver, was truly the ordinary guy who happened to be playing in the big leagues. Kanehl would ride the New York subways and buses, and converse with fans on a man-to-man basis without any condescension whatsoever. Rod would hang out with fans all the time. He appreciated their support and they appreciated his hard work, hustle, and desire, even if you got the feeling that maybe the fellow who played shortstop on your weekend softball team was just as good a ballplayer as Rod Kanehl and maybe he was.

Kanehl was certainly grateful for the opportunity to play in the big leagues. Had Stengel not brought him north, he no doubt would have been doomed to a lifetime in the bushes. In appreciation, Kanehl attended Casey Stengel's funeral, reportedly the only ex-Met player to do so. In spite of his limited ability, Kanehl will always have a place in Mets' lore.

Remembering The Mets

2007-05-03T04:40:00.000-07:00

On yesterday's SNY broadcast of the Mets-Marlins games, as an extension to a trivia question, Keith Hernandez and Gary Cohen discussed how the long history of the Mets should be celebrated at the new CitiField. Keith said how he'd like to see pictures of Bobby Klaus (who, it was pointed out, had the longest hitless streak at Shea Stadium) and Choo Choo Coleman (who was just legendary for no apparent reason) as well as many of the other Mets who were there and played a part in the early Mets' history. I was happy to hear Keith mention names like Joe Christopher and Jerry Buchek.

For those of you who visit this site frequently, you can see why I was so glad to hear those comments. I have tried to paint a picture of the early pre-'69 Mets always struggling to build a team by promoting players who had a big year in the minor leagues, always trying to trade for young players who could develop into stars, mostly without success, and just generally taking chances on players who had failed elsewhere in the hope that by giving enough players the chance to succeed, the cream would rise to the top and eventually the Mets would develop into contenders.

It didn't quite work out that way of course, as the Mets went from ninth place to a World Championship in one year, 1969, a year that would change the course of Mets' history forever.

We have heard how CitiField will memorialize and pay tribute to Jackie Robinson and how parts of its structure pay homage to Ebbets Field, probably because Fred Wilpon was a Dodger fan as a kid. But this is not the new Dodger Stadium, it is not a multi-purpose structure for all New York teams, it will be the new home of the Mets, and I would hope that an area can be devoted to celebrating the history of the Mets, which doesn't jump directly from Casey Stengel to Tom Seaver. I'm sure I'm not the only life-long Mets fan who didn't care a bit about the Brooklyn Dodgers, especially considering the first Mets teams were led by ex-Yankees Weiss and Stengel, the team's roots were hardly sprung from the Dodgers. I have no nostalgia for Brooklyn, but plenty for Queens.

Sometimes when I write about players like Dennis Musgraves, Darell Sutherland, Danny Napoleon or Greg Goossen, I wonder if anyone really cares. But they were an important part of Mets' history. They were among the great prospects that were going to lead this team to glory, and in their day, they were among the reasons to believe that this downtrodden team would begin a road to success. I am just trying to keep their memories alive, but it would be so much more impressive if Mets' ownership would make an attempt to do the same, with a gallery devoted to every year in Mets' history on display when CitiField opens its doors.

Yes, do not forget Bill Shea and Casey Stengel. But why not consider installing video display terminals that would let fans view pictures and statistics of EVERY Met player, manager, and coach by season, or alphabetically, with more elaborate video entries for 100 or so of the most prominent ones, including not only latter-day stars like Hernandez, Piazza, and Strawberry, but early ones like Thomas, Hunt, and Jackson ? That would make CitiField worth the trip for me.

Old Time Mets - Luplow, Stahl, and Elliot

2007-04-26T04:35:00.000-07:00

I don't remember if the mid -'60's Mets' careers of Al Luplow, Larry Stahl, and Larry Elliot overlapped at any point, because they were all virtually the same player. Lefthanded hitters with good speed, good power (when the pitcher made a mistake, anyway) and good enough range to play centerfield. Unlike Cowan, Lewis, and Bosch, they were all obtained in cash deals, so the fans' expectations weren't all that high. All were around 26 years old when the Mets got them, beyond the prospect stage, but not old enough to be characterized as veterans. It was kind of like "they must be better than what we've got". And statistically, they weren't terrible, batting in the .240 range, which was a lot better than the Mets had been getting from the likes of Billy Cowan, Danny Napoleon, and Hawk Taylor, who struggled to hit .200.

None was a regular with the Mets, not even on a platoon basis. They would get an occasional start, but seemed to be used more often as pinch-hitters and late inning defensive replacements. They all represented a "threat" at the plate, but my most vivid memories of all three was that in a clutch situation when a bloop single or even a sac fly was needed, you could almost always count on them to strike out.

Luplow had been a semi-regular with the Indians, Elliot a big minor league home run hitter in the Pirates' organization who had no chance to win a spot in Pittsburgh's outfield, and Stahl was an extra outfielder with the Kansas City A's who had a reputation for hitting some long home runs, though not on a consistent enough basis to cause much excitement.

I can't remember a single highlight for any of them, and I guess that's telling. But they were there, they were Mets, and Luplow and Stahl managed to find job with other big league teams after their Mets' days were over, so I guess they weren't all that bad.

Old Time Mets (1966) - Bob Friend, Bob Shaw, and Ralph Terry

2007-04-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

In 1966, in the days before Seaver, Koosman, Gentry, and Ryan, when the Mets' young pitchers were named Selma, Rusteck, Sutherland, and Gardner, the Mets tried to provide some veteran presence on the staff to help carry the team to respectability while the young pitchers developed.

In the early '60's, you could make up a pretty good core of a major league rotation with the likes of Bob Friend, Bob Shaw, and Ralph Terry - all workhorses who each had one outstanding season, and some other pretty good ones. Couldn't they help the Mets ? Well, Shaw and Friend did, but only in the short term and when a team goes on to lose 95 games, maybe it would have been better to look at some younger pitchers. Still, it made sense to take a chance on these veterans to help stabilize the pitching staff. After all, the Mets were willing to pay the "big" salaries that came along with these pitchers, even though their best years were behind them. They were each acquired in cash transactions, so no prospects (or non-prospects) were sacrificed to get them.

On June 10th of 1966, the Mets purchased Bob Shaw from the Giants. The previous season, he had gone 16-9 with San Francisco, but was off to a shaky start at 1-4 in '66. Shaw was 34 years old at the time but proved he still had one good season left in him. From the time he arrived, he was arguably the Mets' best starting pitcher, going 11-10 in 25 starts. After a 3-9 start in 1967, Shaw was sold to the Cubs. Shaw always seemed like the type of guy who had to be doing a good job in order to keep his place on any team. I don't remember exactly why, but I seem to recall that he was pretty set in his ways and not exactly the easiest person to get along with.

Five days later, the Mets purchased veteran Bob Friend who had previously starred with the Pirates, but at the time was with the Yankees. At age 35, having thrown a ton of innings when he was in Pittsburgh, his career was at its tailend. He managed to post a 5-8 record with the Mets that season, but the Mets were 6-6 in the games Friend started, not bad for a team that would finish 66-95.

On August 6, 1966, the Mets purchased former Cy Young Winner Ralph Terry from Kansas City. A 23-game winner for the Yankees in 1962, Terry was never quite the same after that, with unsuccesful stints with Cleveland and Kansas City. The A's gave him 10 starts in 1966, where he went 1-5. By the time he came to the Mets, he was little more than a mopup man, although the fans and the organization were probably hoping for a lot more, since Terry was still only 30 years old. Terry made the Mets' roster again in 1967, but appeared in just 2 games and was released in May. That was the end of his baseball career.

Of course, throughout their history, the Mets (and in general, every other basebll team), tried to mix in some veterans along with younger pitchers. For the Mets, it finally clicked in 1969, when pitchers like Cardwell, Taylor, and Koonce were integral parts of the staff along with younger arms like Seaver, Koosman, Gentry, Ryan, and McGraw.

The 1966 edition was nowhere as successful, but the Mets did manage to escape the cellar that year for the first time and certainly part of that could be attribued to the contributions of Shaw and Friend.

Old Time Mets - Larry Bearnarth

2007-04-15T15:12:00.000-07:00

With all the posts I've done about pitching prospects of the early years, I'm a little surprised I completely overlooked Larry Bearnarth. But then again, based on his 2-13 record with a 6.67 ERA in his only minor league season, it was hard to even consider him as a prospect. The Mets signed Bearnarth out of St. John's and sent him to their AAA Syracuse farm club in 1962 where he had, at least statistically, an awful season.

Nevertheless, he was a member of the Mets' pitching staff opening day the following year and remained with the Mets for the better part of the next four seasons. Bearnarth, who featured a sinker and slider, was almost exclusively a reliever, starting only 7 games, but never registered a single save for the Mets. When the Mets started getting better, Bearnarth was sent to AAA in 1967 where he remained for the next four years. He got a brief and extremely ineffective shot with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1971, but later became a successful pitching coach.

As for his major league career, you'd have to say Bearnarth was in the right place (the Mets' organization) at the right time (when the team was in desperate need of pitching). Had he signed with another organization, it's entirely possible he would never have even gotten a shot at the major leagues. I wish I could recall some highlights of Larry's Met tenure, but frankly, I can't. So, I looked it up and here they are :

1. In a game against San Francisco, Stengel went out to talk to Bearnarth with two on, no outs and future Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda at the plate. "Tra-la-la," was all that Stengel said before walking off, leaving a puzzled Bearnarth. On his next pitch, Cepeda grounded into a triple play to end the inning. Bearnarth couldn't wait to ask Stengel what "Tra-la-la" meant. "Tra-la-la, triple play," replied Stengel.

2. In a relief appearance for the Mets on June 14, 1965 in Cincinnati, Bearnarth came on in relief in the 9th. To that point, the Mets had not yet managed a single hit off Jim Maloney, but Bearnarth was able to keep the game scoreless until the 11th, when right-fielder Johnny Lewis broke the no-hitter with a lead-off home run. Bearnarth pitched another scoreless inning in the bottom of the 11th and got the win.

Few pitchers in the Mets' early years lasted as many as four seasons with the team, so that was an accomplishment in itself. However, unlike a lot of other young pitchers, Bearnarth really didn't show a whole lot of promise of getting much better and it just seemed like a matter of time before he'd be displaced.

In retrospect, Bearnarth was a hard working and dedicated student of the game who did the most with what he had, but simply didn't throw hard enough to be anything more than what he was.

Old Time Mets - Jon Matlack

2007-04-06T07:23:00.000-07:00

Jon Matlack's career record of 125-126 may be as mediocre as you can get, but Matlack was a much, much better than average major league pitcher. In fact, he was one of the very finest lefthanded pitchers ever developed by the Mets' organization. His other career marks - 3.18 lifetime ERA (better than Steve Carlton, who was considered the best lefty of his generation), 97 complete games, and 30 shutouts attest to the fact that he was a workhorse, who when he was on, was as good as anyone.

Matlack holds several important distinctions as a Met, although not necessarily statistical ones. To begin with, he was the Mets' very first GOOD #1 amateur draft choice. In '65 with the second pick, the Mets selected the forgettable Les Rohr. With the first pick in '66, they opted for Steve Chilcott over Reggie Jackson and we all know how that turned out. In 1967, having advanced to ninth place the previous season, they didn't get to pick until the #4 slot. The first three picks were Ron Blomberg, Terry Hughes, and Mike Garman. The Mets, up next, chose Jon Matlack, a 6-foot-3 lefthanded pitcher out of high school in West Chester, PA. Certainly you could make a case that later first round picks like John Mayberry and Ted Simmons turned out better, but there's no doubt that the Mets' selction of Matlack was better than the three choices that preceded him that year and a whole lot better than most of the Mets' #1's through the years.

Next, Matlack was the first of the Mets' hot young pitching prospects to be brought along slowly, getting 3 full seasons in AAA before being brought up for a cup of coffee in 1971. Prior to his extended hitch in AAA, in his first full year in the minors, 1968, Matlack had a superb year, going 13-6 2.76 with 188 strikeouts in 173 innings for Class A Raleigh-Durham.

Considering how the likes of Les Rohr, Dennis Musgraves, Ron Locke, Tug McGraw, Grover Powell, Tom Seaver, et al were force-fed to the big leagues based on single year minor league performances, you would have almost expected Matlack to be given a shot at the Mets' rotation in 1969 or 1970 at the latest, but starting pitching was the Mets' strong suit and that gave the organization the luxury of nurturing Matlack until he was unquestionably big-league ready. And in 1972, he certainly was, going 15-10 2.32 with the Mets, and winning the National League Rookie Of The Year Award.

Matlack was a solid starter for the Mets for six years, although he never really surpassed his rookie season, so he could be regarded as something of a disappointment i.e. he never became Tom Seaver or Jerry Koosman. Matlack was dealt away to Texas prior to the 1978 season in a bizarre 4-team trade involving a lot of big name players. I won't go into the details here, but I've always wondered how that one came about.

Matlack pitched decently for the Rangers, but was out of baseball before he turned 34. In 1989, at the age of 39, Matlack resurfaced in the late, lamented Senior Professional Baseball Association (topic of a future post here at Metscentric) where he had a solid 10-2 record, making him one of the few well-known players in the league to deliver more than "name value".

Recently, Matlack became the Organizational Pitching coordinator for the Detroit Tigers, and no doubt, was instrumental in helping to develop the talented young staff the Tigers have today. But I'll always remember him as a true quality starter who unfortunately pitched on too many Mets' teams that couldn't score enough runs to make a pitcher with a 3.00 ERA a winner.

Old Time Mets - Tim Foli and Bill Almon

2007-03-28T07:07:00.000-07:00

There are some interesting parallels in the careers of Tim Foli and Bill Almon. Both Foli and Almon had two separate stints with the Mets, each 7 years apart. Each had a big league career that lasted around 15 years. Both played primarily shortstop although Almon became more of an all-around utility type as his career wore on. Both had all their best years with teams other than the Mets. Both were traded to the Montreal Expos by the team that originally drafted them. But most significantly, Foli and Almon were both the number one amateur draft pick in the country, Foli to the Mets in 1968, and Almon to the Padres in 1974. Which is the main point of this post.

Is it fair to say that the #1 pick in the draft is expected to be more than an average major league player ? Looking at Foli and Almon in retrospect, it's hard to see why either ws rated so highly as an amateur, but it's worth pointing out that in the days prior to Jeter, A-Rod, Tejada, Garciaparra, etc., a shortstop who might hit .280 with some pop was considered a prize, and conceivably, that's how Foli and Almon were projected. In the '68 draft, the Mets could have opted for Bobby Valentine, whose career might have been a lot better if not for the terrible injury he suffered. Still, Foli was a reasonable pick who was probably ready for fulltime duty in the major leagues when the Mets dealt him away in the Rusty Staub trade. Bud Harrelson was entrenched as the Mets' shortstop at the time and Foli got his chance to blossom with the Expos. He was a regular at shortstop for the better part of the next ten years, although never an all-star.

When Almon was selected in 1994, Dale Murphy, selected by the Braves 4 picks later was probably the best choice. If you wanted a shortstop, Garry Templeton was drafted by the Cardinals a few picks later. Almon got more of a chance with the Padres than Foli did with the Mets, but after several ordinary years as the San Diego shortstop, he was traded to the Expos for Dave Cash.

Both Almon and Foli were useful major league players and that's more than you can say for a lot of other #1 draft picks, but in retrospect, it's hard to see what the "wow" factor was with either one that would have made them the top pick in the country.

Old Time Mets - Greg Goossen

2007-03-18T10:39:00.000-07:00

Greg Goossen may have been the first "big time" catching prospect the Mets ever had. He just looked like a catcher and had some pretty strong hitting credentials. Yet today, he is probably best-remembered as the subject of Casey Stengel's famous quote "We got a young catcher right here, he's 20 years old and in 10 years, he's got a chance to be 30".

Goossen came to the Mets on a first-year waiver claim from the Dodgers in 1965. He debuted in the Dodgers' system in 1964, batting .331 in Rookie League ball. His Dodgers' Scouting report in the March, 1965 issue of Baseball Digest summed it up :
"Big fellow, likes to play. Hits well and with power. Major League potential." Whether the Dodgers' internal report was not as glowing, or they simply had too many other young players to protect, they let him go to the Mets on waivers.

He seemed to be coming along nicely in the Mets' organization, hitting over .300 with power in the NYP League and getting a cup of coffee with the big club at the end of the season. Fans were excited about this big, strong, young catcher, but Casey's comments may have put a damper on this. Plus, as Jerry Grote, already a far superior defensive catcher, developed into a decent hitter, Goossen's star began to fall with the Mets.

Goossen had shots with the Mets every year from 1965 to 1968 and never showed much, but he continued to produce in the minor leagues. In '68, the Mets converted him to first base, where he was decent, but he didn't hit enough to win a job. In the spring of 1969, the Mets sold him to the expansion Seattle Pilots, where he finally had a pretty good season, batting over. 300 and hitting 10 homeruns in just 139 at bats, although curiously, all of his homeruns were hit at the Pilots' home field, Sicks Stadium.

Goossen never had another good year in baseball, but he did not quite fade into oblivion. After his baseball career, Goossen was a private detective, boxing corner man (two of his brothers are prominent in boxing), and movie actor, most notably as Gene Hackman's stand-in in more than a dozen films, as well as playing minor on-screen roles in Mr. Baseball (coach), The Replacements, and Get Shorty among many others. To quote Goossen who has been a stand-in for Gene Hackman in every movie Hackman has made the past 18 years despite no obvious resemblance "We met when I was managing boxers with my brothers, and Hackman was doing research for the 1988 film "Split Decisions. He just took a liking to me, we just got along very well. He took care of this old, befuddled, used-up baseball player."

Mets' Top 10 Prospects - 1981

2007-03-01T07:59:00.000-08:00

When I wrote that the 1967 crop featuring Seaver, Ryan, and Koosman was probably the strongest group of prospects the Mets ever had, I was weighting it heavily on the future success of those three pitchers. But in terms of potential and depth, it would be hard to top the 1981 list.

Here's what a list of the Top 10 Mets' Prospects for 1981 may have looked like. Injuries and addictions certainly played a role in limiting the success of some of these players, but it was a talent-rich group.

1. Tim Leary rhp - Just off a season where he was the best pitcher in the Texas League as a first-year pro, Leary looked like the best Mets' pitching prospect since Seaver.

2. Daryl Strawberry of - The previous season's #1 draft pick now had a half season of pro ball under his belt and though he was far from dominant, his star potential shone through.

3. Mookie Wilson of - The International League's All Star Centerfielder would soon make Lee Mazzilli expendable leading to a chain of deals that brought the Mets Ron Darling and Howard Johnson.

4. Hubie Brooks - if/of - The Mets hadn't yet decided if Hubie would be an infielder or outfielder, but he was coming off a solid year in AAA and looked major league ready.

5. Wally Backman 2b/ss- Tidewater's switch-hitting second baseman would later abandon righthanded hitting and emerge as a solid #2 hitter and gritty infielder.

6. Rick Ownbey rhp - with a big year at Class A Lynchburg followed by a successful stint at AA Memphis, Ownbey was coming on as a future star in the Mets' rotation. He never made it, but was a valuable chip in the Keith Hernandez trade.

7. Mike Scott rhp - Tidewater's #1 starter was ready for the big leagues although he wouldn't blossom until dealt away.

8. Ed Lynch rhp - a solid starter for Tidewater who was pencilled in as a likely #4 starter type, which is just what he became.

9. Juan Berenguer rhp - The International League's strikeout leader, he was a strong candidate to shift to the bullpen, where he enjoyed a measure of big league success although not with the Mets.

10. Brian Giles 2b - this smooth-fielding second baseman hit .286 in the Texas League and it looked like his glove could propel him ahead of Backman as the 2nd baseman of the future.

Mets/Indians Trades - Losers All Around

2007-02-25T08:57:00.000-08:00

I found it interesting that over the years, the Mets and Indians have made several trades that were considered major at the time, but wound up being highly disappointing for both teams.

The Roberto Alomar and Carlos Baerga trades come to mind first, of course. Both were perennial all-stars as Indians, but total failures as Mets. What keeps these from being steals by the Indians is that the players they got in exchange didn't turn out that well for them. Baerga brought them future Hall Of Famer Jeff Kent (I can't believe I'm writing that, but his stats will get him in) as well as the versatile Jose Vizcaino, who's still around, too. The Indians' problem is that they traded both of them to the Giants for Matt Williams, which made Mets' fans drool at the time because he was one player the Mets always coveted, except that turned out to be a great deal for San Francisco. And as far as Alomar, the Mets sent over Matt Lawton, who never duplicated his earlier success in Minnesota, as well as "top prospects" Alex Escobar and Billy Traber, both now members of the Washington Nationals who will struggle to make the team. Escobar remains a shining example of how "the #1 prospect in baseball" label is no guarantee of future sucess.

But I also recall a much earlier trade which was considered a big one at the time, although younger Mets fans will no doubt look at these names and think "who were they ?"

On November 27, 1972, the Mets obtained relief pitcher Phil Hennigan from the Indians for young pitchers Bob Rauch and Brent Strom.

The 1972 Mets got off to a 25-7 start before they were devastated by injuries. On paper, they were one of the strongest Mets teams ever with recent acquisitions Rusty Staub, Jim Fregosi, and Willie Mays and a superb starting staff led by Seaver, Koosman, Matlack, Gentry, and McAndrew with Tug McGraw and Danny Frisella anchoring the bullpen. In November of 1972, the Mets dealt Gentry and Frisella for Felix Millan and George Stone, a deal which worked out very nicely, but at the time it created a void for a righthanded reliever.

Phil Hennigan had just had a solid season for Cleveland, posting a 2.67 ERA in 67 innings. Going on 27 years of age, he figured to be entering his prime years. He had already had 3 pretty good years in the Indians' pen and the Mets were expecting him to anchor their relief corps for several years.

Brent Strom had 3 years in the Mets' organization and was probably considered their best pitching prospect at the time. Rauch was one of the Mets' better prospects too, although his ceiling was probably just a middle man in the bullpen.

How badly did this deal turn out ? Hennigan appeared in 30 games for the 1973 Mets, pitching to a record of 0-4 and 6.23 ERA and never threw another inning in the big leagues after that year. Strom went 2-10 4.61 for the '73 Indians before being dealt away and never amounted to much. Rauch never made the team.

Fortunately, Harry Parker filled what was supposed to be Hennigan's role very nicely in 1973, helping the Mets to an improbable pennant. But this trade was certainly a letdown for both teams.

What Do Met Fans Want ? What do any fans want ?

2007-02-18T06:59:00.000-08:00

The starting pitching is uncertain, but there are plenty of candidates, including several age 25 and under, with several younger ones on the horizon. There are a bunch of future closer candidates in the system led by Ambiorix Burgos and newly-acquired Marcos Carvajal. Lastings Milledge, Carlos Gomez, and Fernando Martinez are among the best outfield prospects around. Francisco Pena may be the next great young catcher. Now, most likely not all of these prospects will become stars, but suppose a couple of them did every year, Omar continued to fill holes with free agent signings and judicious trades, and Willie Randolph cements his place as one of the all-time great field leaders in baseball history.

The Mets go to the World Series 5 out of the next 7 years and win it 4 times. Heaven ? Is this what Met fans want ? Or do they secretly wish for some of these prospects to fall flat on their faces ? For Omar to make a bad, maybe horrible trade or two so they can all criticize him ? For a couple of key injuries that will always have the team scrambling to come up with replacements ? Do Met fans want a team that wins over a hundred games every year, or one that's in a close race to make the playoffs ?

As my "profile" for this blog relates, I was a Yankee fan as a kid, but I found it much more interesting to follow a team that was always trying to improve, rather than one whose season didn't start until October. If the "new" Mets become the old Yankees, how would I feel? I'm pretty sure I'd still root for the Mets, but wouldn't watch nearly as many games or find it necessary to check box scores or team news nearly as often.

Personally, I'd like my team to be a contender every year, but not a runaway favorite. What if the Mets had gone all the way last year and won the World Series ? To be honest, I probably wouldn't follow them as closely this year. And if they win it all this year, it will be a thrill, and I'm sure I'll be less interested in the team next year.

I recall what I think was an old Twilight Zone episode where an inveterate gambler begins winning every time, and can't bear it. What is the thrill of gambling if you know you are going to win ? Similarly, how much enjoyment can one derive from rooting for a team that is always favored ? There can only be disappointment !

Opinions, please.

McCovey an Original Met ? Gil Hodges as the Mets' FIRST manager ?

2007-02-14T04:26:00.000-08:00

Using the online Sporting News archive that I wrote about in my last post, I accessed the issue of September 20, 1961 just before the Mets made their choices in the expansion draft. In this issue, NY writer Joe King speculated on who might be chosen by the Mets and Colt .45's as well as who the Mets might select as manager. (Interestingly, a year before, TSN printed the ACTUAL lists of players made available in the AL expansion draft, but no such list was ever published for the NL.)

Although the player lists were only about half accurate, few of those who didn't get chosen would have made much of a difference. But certainly one name mentioned as a possible Met choice would have made QUITE a difference. King wrote matter-of-factly that the Mets could wind up with Willie McCovey as their first baseman. No doubt, the Giants came to their senses and substituted the likes of Sherman "Roadblock" Jones and Joe Amalfitano as available talent. Looking back, McCovey certainly stands out among the players listed as potential choices. Presumably, King decided that with the Giants having two natural first basemen in Orlando Cepeda and McCovey, they could afford to part with one of them. The Giants would make some dumb moves like trading Cepeda for Ray Sadecki as well as giving up on slugging outfielders like George Foster, Felipe Alou, Leon Wagner, and Willie Kirkland, but I don't think they were dumb enough to put up McCovey. Had they done so, I'd like to think the Mets would have grabbed him with the first pick.

The other very interesting item in this issue (same page) stated that "with all indications that Casey Stengel will not return to managing, signs point to Gil Hodges as the No. 1 choice to be manager of the Mets". There was even speculation that there would have to be an arrangement allowing the Mets to pick Hodges in the draft for the purpose of being their manager, so Houston wouldn't take him.

Had the Mets opted for Hodges to lead them, it's very likely they would have taken more young players. Or maybe they knew they would be taking mostly older ones, so Hodges was not the best choice as manager. Whatever the case, a 1962 Mets team with Gil Hodges as manager and Willie McCovey at first base would have probably put this team on a whole different course.

Mets Trades Of The Past - Tim Teufel

2007-02-03T18:29:00.000-08:00

Ask me who the Mets traded for Keith Hernandez and I'll immediately tell you Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey. Who'd they trade for Sid Fernandez ? Bob Bailor and Carlos Diaz. I remember most Mets trades like they were yesterday. But when I thought about Tim Teufel, an important member of the 1986 World Champion Mets, who was even better in 1987 when he batted .300, I remembered he came from the Twins, but couldn't for the life of me recall who the Mets gave up to get him. So I looked it up.

Turns out the Mets gave up 3 young players who were still regarded as prospects- Billy Beane, Bill Latham, and Joe Klink. Beane was a former first-rounder who never panned out with the Mets, but obviously he was the key player in the deal for Minnesota, because they gave him a fair amount of playing time in 1986. He hit all of .213 with no power, pretty much sealing his fate as a failed prospect. Beane, of course, later became one of the fast rising young executives in baseball and has been firmly entrenched as the Oakland A's GM for quite awhile now. Latham and Klink were young lefthanded pitchers. Latham was probably considered the better prospect, but Klink had some success in the major leagues as a lefty specialist a few years later, while Latham had no more than a cup of coffee.

Teufel had been the Twins' regular second baseman, yet the Mets were pretty well-set with Wally Backman. The thing is that Backman was a failed switch-hitter who was terrible from the right side, so the Mets figured they would be better off with a Teufel-Backman platoon and they were right. Teufel was never a star, but had a lot of key hits for the Mets, and was one of the quiet, unsung heroes of the team. This was clearly a good deal for the Mets and a gamble for the Twins that didn't pay off. Not only did none of the prospects the Mets sent them help much, but Teufel's successor at second base, Steve Lombardozzi, never amounted to much either.

So, this was a fairly low profile deal that turned out quite nicely for the Mets.

Mets Top Prospects 30 Years Ago - ADDENDUM

2007-01-26T04:49:00.000-08:00

I think it is only fair to point out that the 4 best "prospects" the Mets had in 1977 had already played a little in the majors, thus disqualifying them from the list. Those players were Lee Mazzilli, John Stearns, Bruce Boisclair and Nino Espinosa. Presumably, all would have been listed ahead of Roy Jackson if they were eligible. I also remember Jackson Todd as a well-regarded prospect at that time and I'm not sure why he didn't make the list. Also, in the infamous Tom Seaver deal in 1977, the Mets acquired the Reds' #1 prospect in Steve Henderson, as well as #6, Dan Norman.

The Mets Top Ten Prospects - 30 Years Ago

2007-01-24T16:07:00.000-08:00

In retrospect, as good as the 1967 crop proved to be, including Seaver, Ryan, Koosman, and Boswell, the 1977 edition of the Mets' prospect list was a pretty good portent of the lean years to come. The list actually produced just one good future major leaguer - Neil Allen. He did a decent job as a reliever, but his greatest value to the Mets was as the key player used to acquire Keith Hernandez. A few of the others made the big leagues, but did little for the Mets. Top hitting prospect Marshall Brant had a cup of coffee in the majors after the Mets let him go, but he basically stalled at AAA. Top pitching prospect Roy Jackson was eventually traded for Bob Bailor, who was later part of the trade for Sid Fernandez. But probably the most fascinating future belonged to Ed Cipot, who became an actor after retiring from baseball, appearing as a New York Knight in The Natural and was later ordained as a Catholic priest !

Here then is the Mets' Top 10 Prospect List for 1977 from "Baseball Scouting Report -1977".

1. Roy Jackson - Will be ready for big league rotation with one more solid year in minors. One of best pitchers in Texas League, needs a year in AAA.
2. Marshall Brant - Big, slow power hitter. Bat may take him far. Needs to make better contact, but has chance for long big league career. Pencil him in as Mets' first baseman of the future.
3. Juan Berenguer - Hard thrower, but still very wild. May develop into big league reliever. Needs work.
4. Butch Benton - High draft pick had poor year defensively, leading Midwest League in errors by a catcher and passed balls. May move to first base, but doesn't hit enough to make it unless his catching skills develop. Still in Mets' plans. Should improve.
5. Ed Cipot - Sweet-swinging lefty hitter, makes better contact than Brant and will eventually battle him for Mets' first base job. Can also play outfield.
6. John Pacella - Shows good stuff, but inconsistent. Might make majors in a couple of years.
7. Neil Allen - Good curve, raw, but good arm and could come fast.
8. Juan Monasterio - Good outfielder. Needs 3 years before he gets his shot at the big leagues. Needs to hit more.
9. Dave Von Ohlen - Raw lefty with potential. Decent stuff. A few years away.
10. Cliff Speck - Not coming along as expected. Just fair in all aspects. May pitch in big leagues, but more likely to top out at AAA.

Mets Memories - The Ones Who Got Away # 1 Paul Blair

2007-01-24T04:52:00.000-08:00

In their long history, the Mets have had more than their share of young players who were dealt away and became stars with other teams. Nolan Ryan and Amos Otis are probably the 2 names mentioned most often. And the trading of future MVP's Kevin Mitchell and Jeff Kent were in retrospect, major mistakes, too.

But the very first star the Mets let get away was Paul Blair who became nothing less than the premier centerfielder in the American League for 10 years while the Mets were constantly trying to fill the void. The Mets tried Jim Hickman, Johnny Lewis, Billy Cowan, and Don Bosch among others before landing Tommie Agee to fill the role nicely for a couple of years. Then, the drought began again with the likes of Don Hahn, Dave Schneck, Jim Gosger and Del Unser getting most of the playing time in centerfield while Blair and then Otis were still among the best centerfielders in the game.

Blair had always been a shortstop, until he got into the minor leagues. The Orioles made him a full-time outfielder, and he quickly became the top non-pitching prospect in their organization. The Dodgers refused to sign Blair out of high school, because they thought he was too small to make it the big leagues. He was signed by the Mets originally, for a $2,000 bonus. He played one year for the Mets' Santa Barbara club in the California League in 1962, batting .228 while playing both infield and outfield.

The Mets didn't have many prospects following the 1962 season, so their failure to protect Blair by putting him on the 40-man roster is tough to excuse. Obviously, the Orioles saw something in him that the Mets didn't and drafted him as a first-year player for $8,000 while the Mets were still searching for anyone who could play centerfield.

Blair went on to have an excellent career. While his hitting was never his strong suit, in 1969, Blair hit .276 with 26 HR's and 76 RBI. Oddly, the exact HR and RBI totals that Tommie Agee put up for the Mets, and with a better average than Agee. And of course, Blair had a much longer and more consistent career than Agee. So, letting Blair go was a mistake of major proportions. Especially when you figure that if the Mets had kept Blair, there would have been no reason to make deals for Cowan, Bosch, or Agee. So, the Mets could have used what trading chips they had for help in other areas.

When you talk about the ones that got away, no doubt Nolan Ryan will head that list, but Blair should be right behind him.

Mets Memories 1964 - Ron Hunt, Pete Rose and Bobby Klaus

2007-01-23T04:53:00.000-08:00

In the 1963 NL Rookie Of The Year voting, the top two were both second basemen - Pete Rose of the Reds and Ron Hunt with the Mets. Neither had been expected to even make it to the big leagues that season. Rose had just finished a great season in the minors, but it was at Class A Macon. Hunt was a conditional purchase from the Braves after a good season in the Texas League. Going into the 1963 season, veteran Don Blasingame was the incumbent for the Reds and Larry Burright, who had just come over from the Dodgers was expected to win the Mets' 2B job.

In 1964, Hunt surpassed Rose (very temporarily) when he was voted as starter on the NL All-Star team which was played at Shea Stadium. Hunt had an outstanding year, finishing the season at .303, and being named the second baseman on the post-season Sporting News All-Star team as well. Hunt and Rose remain forever linked for another less-remembered reason. Despite their great rookie years, both were briefly supplanted by Bobby Klaus.

Klaus had been the All-Star second baseman in the Pacific Coast League and certainly seemed ready for the majors, but the Reds weren't yet prepared to move Pete Rose to another position. Klaus had a reputation as a great defensive second baseman and a decent hitter. Rose began the 1964 season struggling to get his average above .220. So the Reds gave Bobby Klaus a brief shot at the job. But on June 27th and 28th, Rose had 8 hits in 9 at bats, raising his average from .214 to .240 and although he did go back into a slump for a while, it was clear that the Reds were sticking with Rose.

Meanwhile, Klaus still seemed like a pretty good prospect. Now, the Mets of 1964 certainly needed a lot of help. But if there was one spot that seemed to be in good hands, it was surely second base. Yet less than 2 weeks after Ron Hunt started the All Star game, the Mets purchased Bobby Klaus from the Reds, immediately installed him at second base, and moved Hunt (who had played some third base in the minors) over to third. I'm not sure how Hunt took this, but to Met fans it seemed like a pretty stupid move at the time. The experiment lasted about a week, at which time, Hunt moved back to second and Klaus moved to third. Even though he hit around .220, pretty bad no matter how good his defense may have been, Klaus hung around for another season and filled in when Ron Hunt suffered through an injury-filled season in 1965, but was eventually dealt away when Hunt returned. Bobby Klaus had a fairly brief and undistinguished major league career, but in one season he was given a shot to replace both Pete Rose, who of course, went on to become baseball's all-time hit leader, and Ron Hunt, the Mets' all star second baseman and their best and most popular player of that era.

Was this a case of scouting reports being given more credence than on-field performance ? Did the Mets really think that Hunt's future was at third base ? Was Hunt really a much worse fielder than I remember ? If anyone can recall more about this move, please leave a comment.

Mets Memories - 1964

2007-01-13T11:37:00.000-08:00

In 1964, their third year of existence, the Mets moved from the dilapidated old Polo Grounds to brand new Shea Stadium in Flushing Meadows. This was especially good news for me, because while getting to the Polo Grounds meant taking a bus and 2 subway lines, Shea Stadium was either a long walk or an easy bus ride down 108th Street for me.

I went to a lot of games that year, most notably the Father's Day doubleheader against the Phillies who looked pennant-bound at the time, where Jim Bunning pitched a perfect game in the opener and then, almost equally surprising to me, 18-year old Rick Wise beat the Mets in the second game. And then there was the all-star game, the only one I've ever attended, where the Phillies' Johnny Callison won the game with a 9th inning home run. Also significant about that game was that the Mets' Ron Hunt was the starting second baseman, the first Met to legitimately make the all-star team. And if you think it was a hometown vote, Hunt was also the all-star 2nd baseman on the 1964 post-season team as chosen by the Sporting News.

1964 may have been Hunt's best year wih the Mets, but it was a really disappointing one for the team. They won only 53 games, 2 more than the year before despite adding proven major leaguers like George Altman and Jack Fisher, getting a solid .300 year out of Joe Christopher, and fielding much more of a set lineup than they ever had before.

Two names, since lost to history, stand out in my mind in conjunction with the disappointment of 1964: Bill Haas and Bobby Klaus. Next post will discuss Klaus. Here's the story on Haas.

Following the 1963 season, the National League, realizing how badly they had treated the Mets and Houston in the original expansion draft, decided to hold a "special draft" where once again each of the established teams could protect a set number of players in their organization and all the rest were subject to selection by the Mets and Houston.

The buzz leading up to the draft was that there weren't a whole lot of good players to take, but there was one gem that both the Mets and Colt .45's/Astros (I'm not sure exactly when the name change occurred, so I'll keep calling them Houston) couldn't wait to get their hands on. After the Mets won the coin toss and got to pick first, Houston reportedly offered all of their other picks in exchange for the right to pick first. The Mets stood their ground and made the pick - Bill Haas.

And who was Bill Haas ? Well, he was a first baseman in the Dodger organization, who had hit over .300 with power at both the A and AA levels in 1963 and was considered a future star. There was even some speculation that Haas would start the 1964 season for the Mets at first base. But Haas never made the majors, hit in the low .200's in AAA ball for the Mets, hit around .250 with middling power in AAA the following year and was soon out of baseball. Not the first failed prospect for the Mets, nor the last, but other than seeing his face on a Topps rookie card, I never saw or heard about Haas again.

And the rest of that special draft ? Houston took Claude Raymond, the Mets took Jack Fisher and that was it. In retrospect, Haas may not have been regarded as a can't miss prospect after all, but the point was that he was indeed a prospect with "star potential" whereas most of the other available players were proven mediocrities. Raymond was a decent major league relief pitcher, both before and after he was picked by Houston and Fisher was a competent starter. But both second division teams were looking for a future star and Haas was considered the one player who just might be it. Of course, he wasn't. Not even close.

The Early Years - How The Braves Helped The Mets

2007-01-10T04:03:00.000-08:00

Those early Mets teams were awful, of course, but they would have been even worse if not for Milwaukee Braves GM John McHale who regularly sent his team's excess talent to the Mets, both young and old, usually in return for cash considerations or players of minimal value. Not every one worked out, but those who did certainly made a difference. Here are some examples of players who came over to the Mets from the Braves between 1962 and 1965 :

1. Frank Thomas - Shortly after the expansion draft, the Braves sent Thomas to the Mets for cash and a PTBNL (Gus Bell). Thomas was the Mets' first and only true power hitter in the early years, clubbing 34 HR's in 1962.

2. Ron Hunt - Sold to the Mets after hitting over .300 in the Texas League in 1962, Hunt became the Mets' best player in 1963 and their first legitimate all-star in 1964. More about Hunt in a future post.

3. Carl Willey - A once highly regarded pitching prospect who was sold to the Mets before the 1963 season. He was probably the Mets' best pitcher that year, with a 9-14 record and 3.10 ERA and figured to be a mainstay of the rotation for a few more years. Unfortunately, Willey broke his jaw when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of Gates Brown in a spring training game in 1964, and that was basically it for his career.

4. Roy McMillan - The veteran shortstop was traded to the Mets during the 1964 season for Jay Hook. Although McMillan batted just .214 that year, he provided a good glove, valuable steadying influence, and significant upgrade from the likes of Al Moran. Mc Millan was later named manager of the Mets.

5. Warren Spahn - the greatest Braves' pitcher of all time was sold to the Mets prior to the 1965 season. He was considered the #1 starter for the Mets when the season began and also served as pitching coach. It didn't turn out well for the Mets (see my previous post on Spahn), but the move illustrated once again that the Braves turned to the Mets first whenever they wanted to move a player.

6. Dennis Ribant - He was the #1 pitcher at AAA Denver when the Braves sent him to the Mets in August of 1964 for veteran Frank Lary. The following year, Ribant became the Mets' first starting pitcher to post a winning record and Lary was sent back to the Mets before the 1965 season began.

7. Hawk Taylor - A one-time $100,000 bonus baby who never made it with the Braves, he was sold to the Mets before the 1964 season. He didn't do that much for the Mets, but he was given the chance at both catcher and outfield.

8. Amado Samuel - In retrospect, not a big name at all, but this shortstop was considered a very hot prospect out of the Dominican Republic in the early '60's with the Braves. He was sold to the Mets after the 1963 season and got a shot at the shortstop job, but didn't cut it.

9. Dave Eilers - He was the best relief pitcher in the minor leagues in 1965 when he was sold to the Mets. His impact was minimal, but he did stick around for a couple of years before going to Houston.

10. Gary Kolb - he came to the Mets in a trade for Jesse Gonder and was given a shot at the centerfield job. He was later dealt to the Pirates along with Ribant for Don Bosch and Don Cardwell.

After a while, it got to the point where I would check the Sporting News for the Braves' minor league stats as well as the Mets' when I was looking for potential Mets' prospects.

Mets Memories - Ron Swoboda

2007-01-08T04:46:00.000-08:00

To most younger Mets fans with a sense of history, Ron Swoboda will always be remembered for his great catch and clutch hits that helped the Mets win the 1969 World Series against Baltimore. But for those of us who remember when he first came up in spring training of 1964, Swoboda represented great hope. Prodigious power, loaded with potential, hard working, bursting with charisma, and yet in need of a lot of experience.

Signed to a $30,000 bonus contract out of the University of Maryland, Swoboda first attracted manager Stengel's attention by hitting some monumental home runs in intra-squad games in spring training in 1964. "Suhboda hits the ball over buildings", Stengel said and was further (likely mis-)quoted as saying that the young slugger could be to the Mets what Mickey Mantle was to the Yankees. Of course, this was rather unrealistic, because aside from his power, Swoboda had none of the skills that Mantle possessed. But it didn't seem improbable that Swoboda could become say, another Ralph Kiner, good for 40 or more home runs and 100 rbi's a season, even if his defense was barely acceptable.

Swoboda, as a 19-year old with no professional experience, started his pro career at AAA Buffalo in 1964 and was later sent down to AA Williamsport. His numbers weren't spectacular, but a combined 17 home runs and 72 rbi's at the minors' highest levels for someone so green was impressive. Back then, for some reason I never understood, after a player had spent his first year in the minor leagues, the major league team had to carry him on their 25-man roster the following season, or risk losing him to amother organization that could send him out. This rule accounted for the major league status of such otherwise unqualified Mets players as Ron Locke, Jim Bethke, and Danny Napoleon, among others. Occasionally, there was a player who had to be carried under this rule who proved he was ready for the big leagues. Tony Conigliaro was perhaps the best example of this. Larry Dierker was another.

Anyway, the point is, that the Mets knew that Swoboda would be part of the big club in 1965 even though his fielding was still brutal and his judgment of the strike zone, on defense and on the base paths could have all benefited from further minor league seasoning.

And so it was, in 1965, Swoboda, playing a full season with the Mets, although batting just .228, hit 19 home runs, many of them prodigious shots into the left field parking lot. If Swoboda, who appeared to be a truly dedicated player could improve his defense and learn the pitchers around the league, the possibility of stardom was definitely there. Worst case scenario it seemed would be a shaky rightfielder who'd still be good for 25 homeruns and 80 + rbi's and couldn't the Mets build around someone like that ?

For whatever reason (but likely the pitchers around the league adjusted to him a lot better than he adjusted to them), Swoboda never even approached the 19 homeruns he hit as a rookie. In his second season, he hit just 8. Then, he'd hit between 9 and 13 a year. And although he worked hard to improve his defense, he was always capable of breaking your heart. I still remember crying myself to sleep the night Swoboda muffed a flyball against the Cardinals with 2 outs in the ninth inning, causing 3 runs to score, and turning a sure win into a crushing defeat.

In 1969, of course, things sort of came together for Swoboda, leading to his memorable performance in the World Series. His regular season numbers were nothing special, 9 homeruns and a .235 average, but he did have some big games, notably aginst Steve Carlton, and of course, he was an instrumental piece of the Miracle.

Swoboda played one more season with the Mets before the organization gave up on him, sending him to the Expos even-up for Don Hahn, who was no more than a defensive replacement type. Mets fans half-expected Ron's career to blossom after he was dealt away, but instead, Swoboda played sparingly without doing much of anything. In the end, his career numbers were sadly disappointing.

But there was 1969, and for that, Met fans will always be grateful. Shortly after his active career concluded, Swoboda surfaced as a sports anchor on CBS Channel 2 in New York. He was very raw at the time and didn't last long, but he's since moved to New Orleans where he's been a popular on-air sports personality for many years. With the Mets' AAA club now relocated in New Orleans, Swoboda who serves as color commentator for Zephyrs games resumes his association with the Mets and that's nice to hear.

For a recent interview with Swoboda, check this out :

http://www.xmfan.com/swoboda.php

What's The Catch ? The Mets' Strange History With Catchers

2007-01-04T08:28:00.000-08:00

In December, the Mets lost their best catching prospect when Jesus Flores, inexplicably left off the 40-man roster was selected by Washington. Sure, he may be offered back to the Mets, but more likely the Nats will carry him as a bullpen catcher and who knows just what he may become. Whether this turns out to be a major gaffe, or a meaningless blip in the scheme of things, it was just one more chapter in the unusual history the Mets have had with the catching position.

In their 45 year history, the Mets' farm system has been able to produce just one solid major league catcher - Todd Hundley. Jody Davis, a Mets' farm system product had some good years with the Cubs, but never played an inning with the Mets. What other catchers did the Mets' farm system contribute to the big club ? Well, there was Ron Hodges, Alex Trevino, Duffy Dyer, Ed Hearn, Ronn Reynolds, Vance Wilson, Barry Lyons, Jason Phillips, Mike Fitzgerald, Johnny Stephenson. Some contributors there, but mostly as backups.

Several times the Mets made catchers their top pick in the amateur draft. Steve Chilcott, Butch Benton, and John Gibbons were all colossal disapppointments. Yet, despite this failure of the farm system, catching has been one of the Mets' most solid positions through the years, thanks to a series of excellent trades. And probably the best trade the Mets ever made involved giving up a catcher produced by their system. So, it is a rather unusual history.

Look at the trades the Mets made to acquire their regular catchers :

In 1965, the Mets traded rhp Tom Parsons for Jerry Grote, who was the Mets' regular catcher for the next 11 years. When it was clear that farm system products Ron Hodges, Jay Kleven, and Luis Rosado weren't capable replacements for Grote,
John Stearns came along with Del Unser and Mac Scarce from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Tug McGraw, Don Hahn and Dave Schneck on December 3, 1974. Sure, McGraw was missed, but Stearns filled the Mets' catching spot for 6 years.

While farm system product Mike Fitzgerald served as the Mets' #1 catcher in 1984, he was packaged along with Hubie Brooks and Floyd Youmans to obtain the great Gary Carter. After Ed Hearn surfaced as a backup in 1986, the Mets used him in possibly their best trade ever to get David Cone. After Carter's tenure, the likes of Barry Lyons (farm system product), Mackey Sasser and Rick Cerone held down the position until the one and only solid catcher the system would ever produce, Todd Hundley, was ready to step in. Hundley did a great job for several years before he was injured and the Mets' deal for Mike Piazza (for Preston Wilson, Geoff Goetz, and Ed Yarnall) made Hundley superfluous.

The Mets were able to trade Hundley in a 3-team deal for Armando Benitez and Roger Cedeno, two players who in retrospect were hated by most Mets' fans, although each had a couple of solid seasons while Hundley never panned out for the Dodgers. When Piazza's contract ran out, the Mets wisely dealt for Paul Lo Duca, continuing their tradition of solid deals for catchers.

As of today, there isn't a single catcher in the Mets' farm system who is regarded as having major league potential with the bat. So, who'll be the next in line ?

Mets' All-Time Homegrown All Star Team

2007-01-01T10:12:00.000-08:00

There have been many all-time Met teams listed in the past, but most of those include a few players such as Keith Hernandez, Howard Johnson, and Mike Piazza who were acquired in trades. So here's an all-time 25-player Mets team made up strictly of players who came up through the Mets' organization. It doesn't include players nurtured in the Mets' organization who enjoyed their best years elsewhere, such as Nolan Ryan. I was surprised how tough it was to fill out the roster. Was Ron Hodges really the second best catcher ever developed in the Mets' system in 45 years ?(Well, Jody Davis was certainly better, but that was after he left the Mets' organization.)

Starting Pitchers - Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden, Jerry Koosman, Jon Matlack, Bobby Jones, Craig Swan
Bullpen - Tug McGraw, Roger McDowell, Doug Sisk, Aaron Heilman, Randy Myers
Catchers- Todd Hundley, Ron Hodges

Infield - Ed Kranepool, Edgardo Alfonzo, Bud Harrelson, David Wright, John Milner, Jose Reyes, Hubie Brooks

Outfield - Darryl Strawberry, Cleon Jones, Mookie Wilson, Len Dykstra, Lee Mazzilli

I found it most interesting that although the bullpen has been one of the great strengths of every good Mets' team, almost all of the team's best relievers came in trades or as free-agent signees.

Turn Back The Clock - Mets' Top 10 Prospects 40 Years Ago

2006-12-26T05:45:00.000-08:00

With the proliferation of web sites now dedicated to evaluating minor league prospects, fans have a fairly easy time reciting their team's top prospects, usually "in order". Back in the '80's, there was only Baseball America to provide this glimpse into the future. In retrospect, there were many more misses than hits, but it's fun to look back on these lists and reflect on them. Like, whatever happened to one-time Mets' top prospects like Tito Navarro and Rick Ownbey ?

Before Baseball America, prospect hunters looked forward to the annual March issue of Baseball Digest which was dedicated to providing scouting reports on every rookie listed on every major league team's 40-man roster. These reports were usually extremely conservative. For example, several future Hall Of Famers were tagged with "has a chance at the big leagues". Baseball Digest listed the prospects alphabetically by team, so you'd have to read the reports in order to make a mental 1 to 10 list. Thankfully, I've saved all of these issues from the sixties. Just prior to the 1967 season, the Mets were loaded with prospects. 17 were listed although a few like Al Schmelz and Bart Shirley weren't even projected for the big leagues at any time. These lists also were restricted to the 40-man rosters, so #1 draft pick Steve Chilcott doesn't show up (although he would have certainly rated near the top for potential alone).

Here then is my list of the Mets' top prospects for 1967 with scouting reports courtesy of Baseball Digest. The rankings are mine, based on how BD's report projected the player's chances, but the words are verbatim from Baseball Digest's published scouting report :

1. Don Bosch cf - Good speed, fine fielder. Can be a good centerfielder. Sure to make big leagues.
2. Tom Seaver rhp - Good fast ball. Curve only fair. Control and fielding OK. First year man with hard fast one. Best of futures on Jacksonville club.
3. Greg Goossen c - Has power at bat. Very good looking young hitter. Crude catcher and needs work. Should improve and have chance for a solid long major league career.
4. Nolan Ryan rhp - Must be considered a major league future at this time. Fast ball good and poise better than average.
5. Les Rohr lhp - Has tools including good arm. All he needs is to learn to move ball around and improve curve. Fast ball is alive. If he continues improvement, has good future, even majors.
6. Ken Boswell 2b - Hitting improved from beginning to end of '66. Fairly good fielder now and should get better. Not ready yet, but should be with another year of 3A.
7. Jerry Koosman lhp - Fair fast ball. Average curve. Control only fair. Needs curve ball and help in control. Needs to pitch more.
8. Joe Moock if - Pretty good hitter. Good arm. Needs improvement in field.
9. Terry Christman lhp - Has one of best moves to first seen in minors. Also has better than average curve and poise. Fair fast ball, curve, and control.
10. Bob Heise if - Good competitor. Good hustler. Hits better than average with fair power. Throwing fair.

Looking back on this list, of course Bosch was a major disappointment, Seaver, Ryan, and Koosman were severely underrated and Rohr never lived up to his "raw potential". Goossen had a decent major league career after he left the Mets, but never was a star. Boswell basically became what was expected. So, even though this was 40 years ago, the list is not unlike the recent typical Top 10 Prospect lists when viewed in retrospect.

Of course, most teams' annual prospect lists don't include 2 future Hall Of Famers and another who was almost in that class. This was possibly the Mets' best group of prospects ever.

Looking Back To 1962 - Al Jackson -The Mets' ONLY good pick

2006-11-29T06:19:00.000-08:00

If you know your Mets' history, you are probably aware that George Weiss was hired as the Mets' first general manager, although technically his title was President because upon being fired by the Yankees, Weiss had to agree not to become the GM of another big league club. Weiss then proceeded to hire his long-time associate, Casey Stengel, who was similarly dismissed by the Yankees. Ultimately, Casey became the face and focus of the early Mets. As awful as the Mets were on the field, Stengel used his influence with the press and his colorful persona to keep the Mets in the news and always provide something to write about, win or (usually) lose.

Weiss, with the assistance of his advisors and scouting staff proceeded to the expansion draft, seeking name recognition along with some younger talent with potential. It turned out that the 1962 Mets were an assemblage of past all-stars well past their prime, decent if flawed offensive players who couldn't play defense, career second and third-stringers hoping for the chance to play regularly and mainly a lot of failed prospects from other organizations.

It's interesting to note that the best of the 1962 Mets were Frank Thomas who was acquired in a deal with the Braves after the expansion draft and Roger Craig, a legitimate fourth starter type who became the de facto "ace". Looking back over the draft crop, there was only one really good choice, that is to say, a player who lived up to his potential as a prospect, even if his record didn't reflect it.

That player was Alvin (Al, Li'l Al) Jackson, the crafty young lefty out of the Pirates chain. The Mets were fortunate that the Pirates were loaded with starting pitching, because Jackson was a legitimate major league starting pitcher who couldn't crack a solid Bucs rotation. If Jackson was around today, he'd probably be making $8 million a year. With a team like the 2006 Mets, Jackson could have been a 15-game winner easily. Unfortunately, almost all of Jackson's major league career was spent with pathetic Mets teams that couldn't field and couldn't hit and it seemed like Al had to pitch a shutout to win. When you look at his record, a couple of 8-20 years, sandwiched around 13-17 (for a team that won 51 games) and 11-16, it's hardly impressive, but when you realize that in his 4 seasons as a regular in the Mets' rotation, he had 41 complete games and 10 shutouts, you get a better picture of how good he was with dreadful teams. No one is saying Jackson was a great pitcher, but when you look at the contracts being handed out to mediocre starters today, you'd have to say that Al was born 40 years too soon.

Of course, the majority of Mets fans aren't old enough to remember Jackson, except maybe as the Mets' bullpen coach or minor league pitching instructor, but he was a pleasure to watch, and by all accounts, a great guy, too. He unquestionably had a very frustrating career. After all those years pitching for miserable Mets teams, Jackson was actually a member of the 1969 Mets, but was sold to the Reds in mid-season before the Mets made their incredible run.

I will always have fond memories of him.

WHAT IF ? Turning Back The Clock To 1966

2006-11-01T12:25:00.000-08:00

It's June of 1966 and the Mets have already experienced the good fortune of getting their name picked out of a hat to win the signing rights to Tom Seaver. Seaver goes directly to AAA Jacksonville where manager Solly Hemus is calling him "Wonder Boy" and projecting him as a star of the future. Now, draft day is approaching and the Mets have the Number One Pick.

There are 2 prime choices for the pick. Slugger Reggie Jackson of Arizona State is probably the consensus choice, but there is also sentiment for Steve Chilcott, a lefthanded hitting high school catcher out of California. Of course, we all know which way the Mets went, but what if they had taken Jackson instead ? After all, the Mets had a quality defensive catcher in Jerry Grote and Greg Goossen still had potential. So, why take another catcher ? Although there has always been speculation that there were non-baseball reasons for the move, I won't go into that here.

Let's just change history and say that the Mets decided they needed a power-hitting outfielder with the potential to make the big leagues quickly more than they needed a catcher who was a few years away, at best. So they take Jackson. No doubt, Reggie would have gotten at least a cup of coffee in 1967 and by 1968 would be the talk of spring training, favored to unseat Ron Swoboda in right field. Assuming that Jackson would have put up the same numbers for the Mets that he did in Oakland, during the period 1968-1975, a few more Met pennants would not have been inconceivable. Imagine that great pitching staff led by Seaver and Koosman with a legitimate slugger and cleanup hitter to anchor the offense. Also,the Mets would have had much more trade leverage trying to fill their other holes instead of always looking for a power hitter.

Of course, no one will ever know. Maybe Jackson would have turned down the Mets' offer and gone back into the draft the following year, when the Yankees had first pick, so Reggie could have spent his whole career as a Yankee. Imagine that.

It's just painful to look back at this move. The difference between selecting a Hall of Fame slugger who was also one of the most colorful baseball personalities of his time as opposed to a catcher who never came close to making the big leagues. No doubt, the Mets have made other big mistakes, but this one has to be at the top of the list.

1986 Mets DVD Collection

2006-08-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

In this, the 20th anniversary of the Mets' great 1986 World Championship season, A&E Home Video has released a Collectors' Edition 9 DVD set containing the full play-by-play of all 7 World Series games, game 6 of the LCS vs. the Astros and a supplemental disk with interviews and highlights of the clubhouse celebrations. I would like to thank the people at A&E for sending me a set to review.

If you're a devoted Mets fan who's not old enough to remember 1986 or who has never seen these games, then clearly, you should own this set. Watch them in sequence and enjoy. If, on the other hand, you remember the Mets' 1986 season as I suspect most people who were fans at the time do, then watch the bonus disk first, then watch either of the game 6's anytime you need some cheering up or just want to put yourself in a good mood.

At the time of these games, I had just returned from the hospital where I had undergone elective surgery. I don't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure when the doctor gave me a choice of dates, I picked the one I did so that I knew I would be home and on sick leave from my job so I could watch every inning of every game of the playoffs and World Series on TV, which is what I did. And what a job these games did of helping to put me back into good health and leaving a smile on my face. That said, I see no point in re-watching most of these games, although it's nice to know they are available.

Would I have done the set differently ? Absolutely. If you're in to completeness, then I suppose a full disk devoted to each game makes sense. But how often (if at all) would a Met fan want to watch a 1-0 game won by the Red Sox where the only run was scored on an error ? (And if you remember who made the error, who hit the ball, and in what inning, you definitely don't need to watch it.) I suppose part of the reason for this release was to be the definitive record of the series and not just a highlight reel, which has been done before. Yet, I would have included more of the Houston series, more in-depth interviews especially with Frank Cashen and Davey Johnson examining how the team was built player by player, and probably a profile of every player on the team including a "where are they now ?". I would have also liked to see some regular season highlights. While I can recall the playoffs and World Series in intimate detail, I don't remember much about the regular season. Obviously the Mets won 108 regular season games, but a month by month summary with game highlights could have brought back some memories.

Is this set worth owning ? If you're a Met fan, the obvious answer is "yes", but for me, it could have been so much better. Still, I appreciate receiving a copy and recommend it highly as a gift, especially for Mets' fans who came on board after 1986, and I applaud its release.

The '86 Mets and more

2006-08-20T06:18:00.000-07:00

I was glad that MLB Extra Innings carried the complete tribute to the 1986 Mets last night. I enjoyed watching it immensely. I also enjoyed the in-booth interviews with Dykstra, Orosco, and Strawberry. A nice job all around.

Dave Williams was impressive and efficient before leg cramps forced him out of the game. A nice comeback by the Mets, led for the first time in awhile by Lastings Milledge. Good to see. Judging by his work yesterday, I can see now why Cincinnati thought Williams was worth Sean Casey. Williams looks like he can be a valuable bottom-of-the-rotation guy on a high scoring team.

Oliver Perez pitched a gem for Norfolk last night. Unless he gets bombed next time out, that should earn him a September audition with the Mets. He certainly has the stuff to be an ace, so it will be interesting to watch.

Now, for some bad news. Tom Glavine apparently has a blood clot in his arm. Diagnostic tests this week will determine his immediate future. With Pedro still on the shelf, the Mets' championship aspirations will dwindle if Glavine is done for the season.

It's looking more and more like the Yankees will win their division and they'll certainly be a favorite in every post-season series. I DON'T want another Subway Series. I'd probably rather see both the Mets and Yankees out of it, than see them both in it. I'm not sure if other Mets' fans feel this way, but I'm probably rooting more for the Yankees to lose than I am for the Mets to win, come post-season time. Mets in the World Series, Yankees not, would of course, be the best. Go Mets, go Tigers !

I'm still a little bothered by Preston Wilson's signing with the Cardinals, especially when I read that his agent had contacted the Mets. Of course, the Mets don't need Wilson to win the division, but it seemed like a no-brainer to bring him back here. Shawn Green has quickly faded out of the Mets' picture, although us "outsiders" don't know how close this deal really was. It could have been no more than a figment of Steve Somers' imagination, since a day after he reported that a Green for Diaz and Ring deal was done, an Arizona paper was still reporting that Green might approve a deal to the Mets which could get done "if the Mets agree to part with Lastings Milledge". The real story - who knows ?

Old Time Mets - Jesse Gonder

2006-08-10T20:13:00.000-07:00

In 1960 and 1961, Jesse Gonder was a good hitting young catcher in the Yankee organization who had no chance of making a team that already had 2 of the best catchers in the league in Yogi Berra and Elston Howard. Plus Jesse had a reputation as one of the more outspoken black ballplayers at the time. The Yankees were beginning to add some black players to their team, but they were generally quiet guys like Howard and Harry "Suitcase" Simpson. Gonder may have also had a better chance at a good major league career if the DH rule existed in those days, since he was a lefthanded hitter with a sweet swing, but since his only position was catcher, and he frankly, wasn't all that good defensively, he languished in the minor leagues. After leaving the Yankees organization, he put up great numbers in the PCL in 1962 and got a shot with the Reds, but the team already had a pretty good lefty-hitting catcher in Johnny Edwards.

The 1963 Mets, of course, could use all the help they could get, and if Gonder was an incomplete player, he was still a better hitter than any catcher the Mets had. In fact, Howard Cosell, who in those pre-Monday Night Football days, did the Mets' post-game show (one of the few authorized post-game shows that always seemed to take a negative slant on the team they covered !) called Gonder "one of the best natural hitters in the major leagues". That may have been overstating it, but Gonder was certainly going to hit more than Sammy Taylor, the catcher they traded for him (along with a practically washed up Charley Neal).

Jesse actually had a pretty good year with the bat as the Mets' #1 catcher in 1964, hitting .270 which was quite impressive for a Mets' catcher back then. But he was dealt away and his defensive deficiencies coupled with a disappointing record as a pinch hitter shortened his major league career. Gonder needed to play full time in order to keep his batting eye sharp, but he couldn't play any position other than catcher and was well below average defensively behind the plate, not a good combination. My most vivid memories of Gonder recall his throws in the dirt attempting to nail runners at second and his sweet lefthanded stroke. Jesse was one of many "incomplete" ballplayers who surfaced with the early Mets, but he did at least have one solid year as a regular.

Old Time Mets - Would You Believe Wilbur Huckle ?

2006-08-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

Every so often on eBay, someone auctions off a political button that reads "Wilbur Huckle For President - Metropolitan Party". Who was Wilbur Huckle, some obscure third (or 4th) party candidate ? Not at all. In fact at the time the button was printed, Huckle wasn't old enough to run for president, nor did he have any interest in the job. The whole thing grew out of a banner that some Mets fans made up around the time of "Let's Go Harkness - Put One In The Darkness" or "Is Ed Kranepool Over The Hill ?".

Wilbur was a Mets farmhand in the '60's, a shortstop who also played some third base. There was really nothing special about him except for his name and the fact that he looked exactly the way you might expect someone named Wilbur Huckle to look, with red hair and a million freckles. He peaked at AAA with Jacksonville, where he had a typical season, hitting in the .260 range. He never even got a cup of coffee with the Mets and as bad as they were back then, that's a pretty good indication that he was never considered anything more than an organizational player. Still, to older Mets fans like myself, his name evokes a time of hope, when someone with no more than a funny name could become a fan favorite without any of these fans ever having seen him play !

Old Time Mets - Warren Spahn

2006-08-01T07:55:00.000-07:00

Warren Spahn was one of the greatest lefthanded pitchers of all time. Warren Spahn also pitched for the Mets. Unfortunately, those two facts are mutually exclusive.

Spahn was a great pitcher for the Braves for many years, a perennial 20-game winner and a real workhorse, regularly logging over 250 innings and 20 complete games a year. In an era when most pitchers called it quits at around age 35, Spahn was still a big winner, a 23-game winner in fact, at the age of 42 in 1963 with a 2.60 ERA, one of his very best years. With his big high kick and great assortment of stuff, he was truly a legend in his own time.

Then, in 1964, he seemingly lost it. His record with the Braves plummeted to 6-13 with an ERA over 5 and only 4 complete games. His Hall Of Fame career was coming to an end, and perhaps it was time to bow out gracefully. But Spahn was convinced he could still pitch and following the 1964 season, his contract was sold to the Mets.

The Mets not only expected him to be their number one starter, but also gave him the job as pitching coach, presumably assuming that someone who had been so successful as a pitcher would be highly qualified to teach their pitchers. Big Mistake.

Not only did Spahn never regain his form, but he was constantly focused on doing so, to the detriment of the rest of the Mets' pitching staff who needed all the help they could get. Spahn appeared to be a coach in title only. His primary job was trying to get Warren Spahn back on track. Maybe at the age of 44, he had just had it. In July, with a 4-12 record, the Mets released Spahn. He immediately got picked up by the Giants where he ultimately ended his career, posting a 3-4 record and pitching decently.

He was later deservedly elected to the Hall Of Fame, but his brief tenure as a Met may be best forgotten.

Ed Kranepool

2006-07-01T06:18:00.000-07:00

The Mets are slumping, not hitting, beset by nagging injuries, and the most exciting player in the major leagues has been optioned to Norfolk. But they still have a double-digit lead, so no analysis will be forthcoming at this point.

On to another topic. The other day, I caught an SNY feed of a Mets game and Ed Kranepool briefly joined the Mets' broadcasters for a non-eventful chat. Gary Cohen, I believe, referred to him as one of the most popular Mets of all time. As someone who was there from the start, I beg to differ. I'm sure Ed is a nice guy, good family man, very bright, business savvy, and wealthy beyond my wildest expectations. This doesn't change the fact that he was one of the biggest disappointments in Mets' history. I will grant that he had some very big hits in 1969. His contributions to the team over time were considerable, if only because he kept getting chances, probably because no one else wanted him. But to me, he will always be the prime example of how frustrating it was to be a Mets' fan in the sixties.

The Mets signed him for a huge bonus. He was a local kid from the Bronx who shattered Hank Greenberg's records at James Monroe High School, big and strong, and proclaimed as the young star who would lead the way. He was thrust into the major leagues, but from the start he played much older than his age. He was not only slow, but he always looked like he was playing in slow motion. His power numbers were extremely disappointing. He'd get off to a blazing start one year, but before long, he was down to his customary .260 range. There have been many worse players on the Mets for sure, but how many teams can win a pennant with a slow-footed first baseman who'll hit .260 with 10 homeruns and 50 rbi's. Yet, that was a typical season for Kranepool. Despite that, the Mets kept him around for years and years. At the time Kranepool signed, the Houston team, the Colt .45's, signed the similarly touted Rusty Staub. The Mets were very fortunate to later acquire Staub who did some fabulous work for them. Did Kranepool have even one year to compare with Staub ? If you're not old enough to remember him, just take a look at Kranepool's year-by-year stats on baseball-reference.com. Then, ask yourself, how did a guy with these kinds of numbers, (and whose "intangibles" were either to put it kindly, negligible, or probably more accurately, negative) stay on the same team year after year ? Because no one else would want him, that's why. Kranepool does not even have another major league equivalent - baseball-reference lists Jim Spencer, but I always thought Spencer was a superior glove, and anyway, how many people would proclaim Spencer as anything other than a journeyman. Kranepool was no journeyman. He never played anywhere in the major leagues, except for the Mets. He was merely mediocre. And considering the expectations for him, that makes him my least favorite Met ever.

My Favorite Mets - Part 3 Hunt and Christopher

2006-03-17T11:39:00.000-08:00

In 1963 and 1964, it seemed that everybody's favorite Met was 2nd baseman Ron Hunt, and for good reason. Hunt came to the Mets in a deal with the Braves with no AAA experience, grabbed the 2nd base job early in the 1963 season, finished 2nd to Pete Rose in Rookie of the Year balloting and had an even better season in 1964. Fans voted him as the very first Mets' all-star starter in '64, a game played at Shea Stadium, the first, last, and only All-Star Game I ever attended (or probably ever will - you can't get tickets to an All-Star game for $2.10 anymore).

Hunt was the consummate hustler, down and dirty type of player. If you're a younger Mets fan who's unfamiliar with Hunt, but can remember Wally Backman, you get the picture. Definitely a fan favorite, but not quite MY favorite Met, probably because I had the impression that if I ever met up with Hunt in person, he'd be as likely to spit tobacco juice on my shoes as sign an autograph. Hunt later became famous for his skill at getting hit by pitched balls, but he hadn't yet developed that talent as a Met. To be a real favorite of mine, you had to be a good guy as well as a good ballplayer.

Joe Christopher was used mostly as a pinch-runner in his brief tenure as a Pittsburgh Pirate. When he came to the Mets in the expansion draft, he was probably expected to be a good defensive outfielder who might not hit too much. But it turned out, he wasn't much of an outfielder and his first 2 years with the Mets included some more minor league time and rather disappointing play all around. Then, in 1964, he put it all together and had a solid year - batting .300 with 16 HR's, 76 RBI's, improved defense and a continuous positive outlook on baseball and life in general. He just seemed like the kind of guy who'd gladly sign an autograph with a kid or sit down and talk hitting with any fan who'd ask. Joe faded the next year, was dealt to Boston for Eddie Bressoud, where I felt sure he'd duplicate Felix Mantilla's success and tattoo the green monster on a regular basis, but it wasn't to be. Joe had exactly 1 hit in 13 at bats with Boston and his big league career was over. Joe had one shining season sandwiched between a bunch of miserable ones. Why do things like that happen ? I certainly don't know, but for one season, Joe was my favorite Met.

For more on Joe, go here :
http://members.aol.com/vibaseball/christopher.html

My Favorite Mets - Part 2 The Very Early Years

2006-03-14T05:44:00.000-08:00

Frank Thomas (for those of you under 30 ,I'm not talking about the one who's been playing for the White Sox for the past 10 years) was easy to like. For one, he was easily the Mets' most productive hitter in 1962, and while his defense was below average, he gave it his best in left field, third base, or first (where he probably should have played more, but the Mets had plenty of guys who could ONLY play first, so Thomas did his thing mostly in left field). He was also a big, friendly guy who, just for fun, liked to catch anyone's hardest fastball in his bare hands. Fortunately, there was no incident of this practice damaging his career in any way. He was also, apparently, quite a cutup, the Roger McDowell of his day, as opposed to someone like Marv Throneberry, who was taciturn, but became a joke. Thomas had the bad luck to play with the Pirates until they finally got good in 1960, then was shuttled among several losing NL teams until winding up with the 1962 Mets. As awful as the first-year Mets were, imagine how much worse they could have been without Frank and his 34 HR's and 94 RBI's. And he was NOT part of the expansion draft, but a trade acquisition from the Braves.

After being a good soldier with the Mets for 2 1/2 seasons, he got what looked like the break of his life by being dealt to the pennant-bound Phillies in mid-1964 for Gary Kroll (see failed prospects) and Wayne Graham (great college coach, washout as major league player). Thomas did his best to help the Phillies coast to the pennant, and I rooted for him all the way, with the Mets, of course, nowhere in the race, but Gene Mauch's squad managed to blow what looked like an insurmountable lead and it was disappointment once again for big Frank.

To me, Frank Thomas was just the kind of guy you have to root for, and easily my favorite Met from the early years.

Next up, Joe Christopher.

My Favorite Mets - Part 1

2006-03-12T11:50:00.000-08:00

When Kirby Puckett passed away last week, I cried. At first, I didn't know why, because as a Mets fan, I didn't even see him play all that much. Then, I realized that Puckett was just one of those likable ballplayers who didn't have the physical gifts or natural talent of so many others who accomplish much less. And I always admired those players with sunny dispositions and a positive outlook on life. So, even though Puckett had no connection to the Mets, he was a favorite of mine, at least subconsciously.

The Mets have had some good players over the years, and a handful of great ones, starting (and maybe ending) with Tom Seaver. And of course, I rooted for Seaver as long as he was wearing a Mets uniform, and knew that when he was on the mound, the Mets chances of winning were always good. But, I can't say that Seaver was a favorite of mine. In spite of his being railroaded by M. Donald Grant who, like most Mets fans, I couldn't stand because he was the dictionary definition of "effete snob", I never rooted for Seaver when he was pitching elsewhere. I guess I thought he was a bit of an egotist and let his label as the "franchise" go to his head. And when the Mets brought him back as an announcer because he was the primary link between "Mets" and "greatness", I wasn't all that excited. And frankly, he was a lousy announcer, who let his ego shine through. I won't miss him. So Seaver doesn't make my list of all-time favorite Mets.

Reminiscing from the early days, 2 names do make the list - Frank Thomas and Joe Christopher, from the championship team of 1969, it's clearly Tug McGraw. But my all-time favorite is Mookie Wilson. More about all of them, and some more names from my list later this week. And let me know who your all-time favorite Met is, and why.

Mets Send Top Pitching Prospects To Marlins - It's Happened Before !

2005-12-08T05:22:00.000-08:00

The recent trades for Carlos Delgado and Paul LoDuca cost the Mets 2 top pitching prospects in Yusmiero Petit and Gaby Martinez. Will they develop into stars or will they become the latest in a long line of one-time prospects who never make it ?

Projecting any young pitcher is always difficult. Remember the names Jose Martinez, Jesus Sanchez, and Juan Castillo ? All were once regarded as top pitching prospects in the Mets' system. Martinez was rated highly enough to be the Marlins' first choice among all pitchers available in the expansion draft, coming off a 20-win season in the FSL. Sanchez was considered the jewel acquired in the Al Leiter deal, much more highly regarded than "throw-in" A.J. Burnett. And Castillo dominated the Eastern League on his way to obscurity. And if you read my early blogs, you'll find out about other great prospects like Les Rohr, Dennis Musgraves, Jerry Hinsley, Ron Locke, etc., etc.

It is MUCH easier to project a hitting prospect and that's why I am so opposed to dealing Lastings Milledge. Will he become the next Willie Mays or even Torii Hunter or Marquis Grissom ? Tough to say, but barring serious injury or other unforeseen events, he will almost certainly be a major league player, and that's more than you can say for ANY young pitching prospect, no matter how highly touted.

Trades From The Past: Ken Boyer

2005-09-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago, I read an article about how Ken Boyer should be considered for the Hall Of Fame. I had almost forgotten about Boyer's brief time as a Met and what a major acquisition it was considered at the time. Of course, it didn't work out for the Mets or Boyer and in my opinion, considering Boyer for the HOF ahead of Keith Hernandez or Gil Hodges to name just two others with Met connections, is ludicrous. Anyway, let's look at the deal.

In 1964, Ken Boyer was the NL MVP and led the Cardinals to the World Series. A year later, after a somewhat disappointing season, the Mets got him in a trade for Al Jackson and Charley Smith. Jackson was arguably the Mets' best pitcher in their early years. The term "crafty lefty" fit Al to a T. But, it seemed that he'd have to pitch a shutout to win a game. It wasn't quite that bad, but somehow Jackson managed to post 8-20 records for the Mets twice in 4 seasons. Al was without a doubt one of the all-time hard luck pitchers. Every Met fan knew he was a lot better than his record and he was bound to do better with another team, but the bottom line was that the Mets could throw just about anybody out there who could equal (or hopefully, better) that 8-20 mark, so he was expendable. As for Smith, he struck out way too much to be considered anything more than a stopgap at third base, even if he was one of the team's few power hitters.

So, Jackson and Smith for a player one year removed from MVP and still in the prime of his career seemed like a can't miss deal for the Mets. Of course, like the majority of Mets' trades, this one didn't work out at all.

Boyer was mediocre at best for the Mets, batting about .250 over a season and a half with the Mets, showing little of the clutch hitting, great defense, or leadership qualities that were his trademark with the Cardinals.

Smith was no great shakes for the Cardinals either, but a year later they traded him even up to the Yankees for Roger Maris in a deal that may have started the Yankees decline from powerhouse to cellar dweller. Jackson turned in one decent year as a Cardinals starter before moving to the bullpen. He eventually returned to the Mets briefly, but was cut during the 1969 season, so he never got to be a part of the Miracle Mets, which could have been a nice reward for his years of suffering with a team that didn't give him any support.

So, unlike several other deals that backfired on the Mets, this one wasn't so bad because of the players the Mets gave up, but rather because they thought they were getting a bonafide star and a team leader and instead, got an aging veteran who really did nothing that his predecessor (Smith) couldn't have done.

The Mets eventually dealt Boyer to the White Sox, where he didn't do much, either. J.C. Martin came to the Mets in that deal which seemed at the time to be another dud of a deal for the Mets - a player who was still thought of as a star for a backup catcher. I hesitate to say this was a GOOD deal for the Mets, but Martin's memorable contributions to the 1969 World Champions certainly helped to erase the memory of Boyer's disappointing tenure.

Trades From The Past: Staub for Lolich

2005-09-13T04:44:00.000-07:00

In 1975, Rusty Staub had his best year for the Mets, driving in 105 runs. Then, in the offseason, for reasons few fans could understand, the Mets traded Staub to Detroit for veteran lefthanded pitcher Mickey Lolich. Actually, the trade was Staub and AAA pitcher Bill Laxton for Lolich and AAA outfielder Billy Baldwin.

I remember thinking that maybe this guy Baldwin was some super prospect (he wasn't) because otherwise, this trade was hard to justify. Trade Staub ? Maybe not unthinkable, because the Mets thought they had his replacement in the much younger Mike Vail. But for Lolich ? Was that the best they could do ?

Mike Vail came to the Mets as a throw-in minor leaguer in an otherwise inconsequential swap of utility infielders with the Cardinals. But Vail quickly established himself as a superior hitter on the AAA level, and was a sensation when the Mets brought him up, with a 23-game hitting streak that made fans and team officials think they had found a future long-term fixture in right field.

So, Staub could be a valuable trade commodity to a team that had a solid starting 3 in Koosman, Seaver, and Matlack, but needed an established 4th starter. Lolich was the pitching star of the 1968 World Series, but by 1975, he was still a workhorse, but a 35-year old, terribly out of shape workhorse who had lost 39 games in 2 seasons and didn't figure to get much better. Would a change of leagues return Lolich to glory ?

Well, Lolich went 8-13 for the Mets and soon departed, while Staub continued to hit for years. Fortunately, Rusty returned to the Mets a few years later where he became baseball's premier pinch-hitter.

And Vail ? He injured his knee playing basketball in the off-season, leaving a gaping hole in the Mets' lineup and when he returned, he never lived up to his potential with the Mets, although he hung around with a few other teams for a while as a 4th outfielder and pinch hitter.

The 1976 Mets finished 86-76 with neither Vail or Lolich making many positive contributions. Could the Mets have been a legitimate contender if they had kept Staub ? We'll never know.

Trades From The Past : Rusty Staub

2005-09-07T07:32:00.000-07:00

Just before the start of the 1972 season, Mets' manager Gil Hodges died suddenly of a heart attack. A few days later, the Mets announced that Yogi Berra was the new manager and that they had completed a major trade, possibly the biggest in their history up until that time.

The Mets sent all 3 of their best young players to the Montreal Expos in exchange for the Expos' best and most popular player, Le Grand Orange, Rusty Staub. The trade gave the Mets the look of a powerhouse. Their solid pitching staff would now have one of the best hitters in all of baseball to drive in some runs. Staub was clearly an outstanding hitter. And, the Mets may well have won in 1972 if not for an incredible string of injuries that left them decimated. But, was this a good trade for the Mets ? In retrospect, it was certainly an interesting one to analyze.

The Mets gave up Ken Singleton, a legitimate power-hitting prospect who put up great AAA numbers and appeared to be on the brink of major league success, Mike Jorgensen, a local Queens kid, a slick-fielding first baseman who was a pretty good hitter, and Tim Foli, the former #1 draft pick in the country, a pepperpot shortstop who was a pretty decent all-around player, but neither a premier defensive shortstop or a better than average bat. All 3 were major league ready, but not quite able to break into the Mets lineup, although Singleton was likely to be the right fielder if this trade wasn't made. At the time, I thought it was worth the gamble. There's an old adage about multi-player trades that whichever team gets the best player out of the trade made a good deal. Was that the case here ? Probably, although with all the injuries the Mets suffered in 1972, all 3 of the players sent to Montreal would probably have gotten extensive playing time with the Mets.

Rusty Staub was one of the most popular Mets ever, and after being dumped for Mickey Lolich in a terrible trade with the Tigers (more about that next time) was brought back as a pinch-hitting specialist, a role that he thrived in. Never the best defensive player at first base or the outfield, and slow on the basepaths, Staub hustled and played all-out all the time and was an outstanding clutch hitter who also made some great defensive plays when they mattered most.

Singleton developed into a solid player with the Orioles after the Expos sent him there in one of their worst trades ever. Foli remained a middling shortstop throughout his career and returned to the Mets a few years later. Jorgensen earned a reputation as a slick fielder who was capable of putting up some decent numbers with the bat in a good year as well (think Doug Mientkiewicz).

Was this a good deal for the Mets or a bad one ? I'd say positive, although Singleton was tough to lose, but I always got the feeling that the Mets weren't going to give him the chance he needed. As for Jorgensen and Foli, they could have helped, but neither blossomed to be any more than projected; in Foli's case, somewhat less than projected.

Next, a look at Mike Vail, Staub for Lolich and how it all turned sour.

THANKS TO MIKE FOR SUGGESTING THIS POST

The First Amateur Draft - Part 2

2005-09-02T06:43:00.000-07:00

Although first-round pick Les Rohr was a bust, the Mets did very well overall in the 1965 Amateur Draft. In retrospect, it was one of the best drafts in their history. Unfortunately, they didn't get to reap the full benefits of their haul since they traded away their best pick, Nolan Ryan, in what, of course, was one of the major trade blunders in baseball history.

Their second round pick, a catcher named Randolph Kohn never signed. I'm not sure if he played pro ball at any time. I'd like to think that maybe he really was better than Johnny Bench who got drafted several picks later, but just maybe he had better things to do than play baseball. If anyone knows anything about him, please pass it on. Other than the memory of seeing his name in The Sporting News as the #2 Mets pick, I don't remember ever hearing another word about him.

Third-round pick Joe Moock was a fairly-well hyped infield prospect who peaked at about AA. I do recall him appearing in the Mets' broadcast booth right after he signed (Kiner pronounced his name to rhyme with spook, while Murphy pronounced it to rhyme with book) and I think he had a very solid year in the NYP League, but I don't know where it fell apart for him.

Some of the notable picks included Ken Boswell in the 4th round, who became more or less the regular second baseman for several years. He was a good lefthanded hitter, considered a better bat than glove, and had to be considered a good pick for the 4th round.

Jim McAndrew was chosen in the 11th round and was an effective 4th or 5th starter for the Mets for several years, one of those guys who did much better statistically in the big leagues than his projection. Another good pick.

Nolan Ryan in the 12th round was a gem, of course. Scout Red Murff loved this skinny righty out of Alvin, Texas and Ryan became an immediate strikeout sensation in the Mets' system, averaging about 2 K's an inning from Rookie Ball to AAA, before the Mets brought him up. Ryan's future numbers could, of course, fill a book, or several books, as they already have, so I won't go into them here. Suffice it to say, this was a great pick and subsequently a great loss.

Steve Renko in the 24th round was an important part of the Donn Clendenon trade and did quite well for himself as a starter with the Expos after going over there. Nice selection.

Don Shaw was the 35th round choice. He was a favorite of M. Donald Grant for reasons I've never figured out, but I do recall reading that Grant was opposed to trading him in several proposed deals. Shaw eventually went to the Expos in the 1969 Expansion Draft. He was a decent lefty specialist for a little while. Of course, any 35th round pick that even makes it to the big leagues has to be considered a plus.

Other picks who surfaced briefly in the major leaguers included Joe Campbell in the 44th round (0 for 3 with the Cubs in his major league career) and Barry Raziano in the 47th round (1-2 in a brief career in the American League).

So, overall, the Mets got one future Hall Of Famer (Ryan), 3 Major League Regulars (Boswell, McAndrew, and Renko), one player who enjoyed brief major league success (Shaw) and 2 who got a cup of coffee. A great haul ? Maybe not, but certainly better than a lot of future Mets' drafts. And any draft in which you select even one future Hall Of Famer (how many other Mets draft picks can make that claim ?) has to be considered positive.

The Mets And The Amateur Draft - 1965

2005-08-29T13:55:00.000-07:00

In 1965, baseball went to a draft system in which all eligible amateur players were selected in reverse order of record from the previous year - a system that had been used effectively in pro football and the NBA for many years. The idea was to keep bonuses down by preventing bidding wars and at the same time to give the poorer teams a chance to become competitive. The system worked very well until just recently when agents such as Scott Boras established asking prices for their top amateur clients that caused teams that were both talent-poor and money-poor to bypass them in favor of more signable players. But, it's hard to argue with the original premise of the draft when the teams that had the first selections in the first 2 drafts, namely the Kansas City/Oakland A's and New York Mets became competitive and, in the A's case, dominant in the years following the draft. The A's, in fact, could have been a true dynasty, if it wasn't for owner Charles O. Finley deciding to cut back and rebel against high salaries and attempt to trade off practically every key member of his championship teams.

But this blog is not about the Oakland A's, but about the Mets, and this post is specifically about the 1965 draft. With the second pick in the draft, following the A's making the obvious #1 selection in Rick Monday (who became a good major league player, but not as good as a lot of players taken much later in the draft), the Mets made the consensus selection as the number 2 pick in lefty pitcher Les Rohr, a high schooler out of Montana. To say the Mets could have done better would be obvious - Johnny Bench was available, but everyone passed on him at least once and some teams twice - but most of the players drafted right after Rohr turned out to be no better. Ray Fosse was probably the best of the first rounders, but here are some others - Ken Plesha, Rick James (no, not "Super Freak"), Doug Dickerson, Rick Grant, Bill Burbach.

Rohr was a big, strong lefty with a big motion - kind of a lefty Gary Kroll. Armed with a big bonus and not much experience, Rohr was fast-tracked through the minor leagues and came up to the Mets for parts of the 1967, 1968, and 1969 seasons, winning a total of 2 games. Rohr never had a really good season in the minor leagues, either. He had size and stuff, but never learned how to pitch. A bad choice, for sure, but the Mets did get some good ones in subsequent rounds. My next installment looks at the rest of the Mets' 1965 draft and the one future superstar they selected.

Power Hitting Prospects of The Early 1960's

2005-08-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

Over 44 years, the Mets have done an abysmal job in developing power hitters in their organization. Of course, there was Darryl Strawberry and David Wright looks like a real good one, too, but that's been about it.

Back in the early '60's, the Mets thought they had some potential sluggers in Ed Kranepool, Ron Swoboda, Greg Goossen and Danny Napoleon.

Of course, just about every Mets fan knows about Kranepool and Swoboda, although younger fans may not know how much they were hyped when they first came up. Although Kranepool lasted for years and years with the Mets and both he and Swoboda were integral parts of the 1969 Miracle Mets, neither ever became the stars they were expected to be, and other than a few prodigious clouts by Swoboda, neither showed signs of the power they were expected to supply. Kranepool's best home run output in a season was 16, while Swoboda hit 19 in his rookie year, but never came close again, once pitchers figured him out.

The lesser known Goossen and Napoleon were also considered major long-ball prospects. Napoleon had one year in the New York Penn League where he either won, or came close to winning the triple crown and was forced onto the major league roster the following year by the same stupid rule that required the Mets to carry Ron Locke, Jim Bethke and Tug McGraw one year after they made their pro debuts. But unlike them, Napoleon was already 23 years old, which probably meant that his big numbers the year before were probably attributable to the fact that he was a 22-year old with college experience playing against 19 and 20-year olds. Had Napoleon been allowed to progress step-by-step through the farm system, who knows if he may have had a better career. But, rushed to the big leagues, other than one big triple that won a game for the Mets, he did little to prove he belonged. He played for awhile in the minor leagues after that cup of coffee, but was rarely mentioned as a prospect again, either with the Mets or the Cardinals, to whom he was subsequently traded in a big package deal. He NEVER hit a homerun in his big league career.

Goossen was a big catcher who had undeniable power and was a pretty good hitter for average, too, at least in the minor leagues. He came out of the Dodgers' organization as a first-year waiver claim. He did well enough in AAA to get a legitimate shot with the Mets, but never seemed to develop the consistency to stay in the lineup. Plus, it was obvious that the Mets had better defensive options at catcher. After hitting the grand total of 2 homeruns during his Mets career, in early 1969, he was sold to the expansion Seattle Pilots, where he had a .300 season, with 10 HR's in 139 at bats, but that was about it for his career.

Next, I'll look at how the Mets did in the very first free-agent draft, 1965.

Pitching Prospects of The Past - Dillon, Bearnarth, and Gardner

2005-08-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

Steve Dillon was a little lefthander drafted out of the Yankee organization who never accomplished much on either the Major or Minor League level. He was with the Mets as a drafted player who had to stay up or be sent back to his original team. I can't say I remember him pitching in any games, although he undoubtedly did.

Larry Bearnarth was a relatively high-profile signee out of St. John's. A big, solidly built righthander who didn't have overwhelming stuff, but who was almost ready for the majors when he signed. If I recall correctly, the Mets sent him to AAA where he had a record of something like 2-13 and a high ERA. Seemed like he wasn't ready, but he quickly became the "ace" of the Mets bullpen over the next three years. Whether Bearnarth would have even reached the big leagues for a cup of coffee weith another organization is questionable. But as early Mets prospects go, he was one of the more successful ones.

Richard "Rob" Gardner was a lefty drafted out of the Twins organization who got a shot at both starting and relieving for the Mets in 1965 and 1966. He had some great games, but they were few and far between. He was traded away to the Cubs for the more experienced lefty, Bob Hendley, who had some bright moments for the Mets. Interestingly, Gardner eventually wound up with the Yankees and had a good season for them in 1972, but then faded.

Next, a look at some early Mets' hitting prospects who didn't quite live up to their hype like Danny Napoleon and Greg Goossen.

Pitching Prospects of the '60's - Before The Amateur Draft Part 2

2005-08-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

Anytime the early Mets acquired a pitcher under the age of 30 from another team, he could have been considered a prospect, since they were hungry for any dose of young blood they could find. Three young pitchers who got good shots with the Mets were Tom Parsons, Darrell Sutherland, and Gary Kroll.

Parsons had proven himself in Triple-A with the Pirates organization, but the Pirates of the early '60's had a solid veteran pitching staff headed by Vern Law, Bob Friend, Al McBean, and Bob Veale with Elroy Face in the bullpen. A couple of other promising young pitchers out of the Pirate chain had to go elsewhere to get their shot at the big leagues - Al Jackson with the Mets, and Tom Cheney with Washington. Parsons was tall and thin and didn't throw too hard. He was about average in every way and had a woeful record with the Mets. Something like 2-12. The Mets eventually traded him for a young catcher with Houston who was being blocked from the #1 catching spot by the far more productive and equally young John Bateman. That catcher was Jerry Grote and this was probably the best trade the Mets made to that point. Parsons did nothing for Houston, and Grote, of course, was one of the sparkplugs for the Mets over the next few years, a great handler of pitchers, top-notch defensive catcher and a clutch hitter.

Darrell Sutherland was another stringbean, who somehow wound up with the Mets' AAA team in Buffalo, out of the Phillies organization, and had a terrific record there, something like 10-1. So, as prospects go, this suddenly made him a very hot one. But when the Mets brought him up, he was very ordinary, and thus, a big disappointment. He faded away, eventually being drafted by the Indians, but his major league career was pretty much over.

Gary Kroll came over from the Phillies in the Frank Thomas deal and had carried the "potential" tag for a few years already. The Phillies, of course, were trying to win a pennant in 1964 and badly needed Thomas. At the time, if I remember correctly, they were very reluctant to give up Kroll, who looked like a future star. Kroll was a big righthander with a long windup, some deception, a nice fastball, and a wicked curve. He looked like he could be an ace. He just had to put it all together. He had a couple of decent outings with the Mets, but always seemed to run out of gas fairly quickly. He was sent to Houston after a couple of seasons with the Mets, a huge disappointment.

Next, a few of the other young pitchers who played for the Mets before 1965 like Steve Dillon and Larry Bearnarth.

Pitching Prospects of the '60's - Before The Amateur Draft

2005-08-23T04:20:00.000-07:00

Before baseball had a free agent draft and before the Mets produced a bumper crop of talented young pitchers like Seaver, Koosman, Ryan, and Gentry, the Mets had their share of legitimate pitching prospects who didn't quite fulfill their potential, chiefly because of injuries. Here's a look at 4 of the most prominent.

Dennis Musgraves was a College All-American when the Mets signed him to a considerable bonus. He was fast-tracked through AA Williamsport, AAA Jacksonville, and the big club in one season. In his only shot at the big leagues, Dennis posted a remarkable 0.56 ERA in 16 innings which gave hope that he would be the first true pitching star to come through the organization and the #1 starter that every team needs. What happened ? Well, in one start, he hurt his arm, needed 2 elbow surgeries and never got back to the bigs.

Dick Selma was a smallish righthander, brimming with confidence, and possessor of a fastball that Tom Seaver remembers admiring in high school in Fresno. Selma had a great year in the California League for Salinas and got a few shots with the Mets between trips to the minors. He had some outstanding efforts, but never established consistency, and the Mets let him go in the 1969 expansion draft where he was picked by the Padres. He wound up with the Cubs as a bullpen ace for a while, but never really achieved his potential.

Dick Rusteck is a name few Mets fans under 40 probably know at all. When he came up to the Mets, he hadn't been ballyhooed as much as some other prospects, but he'd been dominant in the International League and deserved a shot. If I recall correctly, he was brilliant in his first start (maybe even a shutout ?) then never won another game. What happened ? I don't remember at all.

Grover Powell actually predated all of the above, yet my recollections of him are minimal. I do remember having his 1964 Topps baseball card. He pitched for the Mets in '63 which might have made him the very first real Mets pitching prospect. Powell shut out the Phillies in his first major league start on 8/20/63. Then in his next start a week later at Forbes Field, he was hit in the face by a line drive off the bat of Donn Clendenon. That started his injury woes; Powell never won another game in the majors.

Next, I'll look at some of the highly touted young pitchers the early Mets acquired from other organizations - Darrell Sutherland, Gary Kroll, and Tom Parsons.

Pitching Prospects - Past and Present

2005-08-12T06:38:00.000-07:00

With Philip Humber's recent "Tommy John" surgery, another prime pitching prospect now faces a questionable future. This led me to recall some of the Mets' other top pitching prospects who fell far short of expectations. Of course, developing pitching has been the Mets' strength throughout their history with the likes of Seaver, Koosman, Ryan, Matlack and Gooden coming up through the system But there have been many other highly touted young arms who stalled somewhere along the line, whether in Rookie ball like Kirk Presley or in the big leagues like Les Rohr.

Going back to the pre-amateur draft era, there was a strange rule in the Major Leagues for a couple of years that required teams to keep FIRST-YEAR minor league players on the Major league 25-man roster all of the following year or risk losing them through a first-year $8,000 player draft or on "first-year waivers" for the same price. Expansion teams like the Mets and Houston loaded up with their own teenage prospects (Rusty Staub, John Bateman, Ed Kranepool, Ron Swoboda) as well as those they drafted as first-year players (Jimmy Wynn by Houston from Cincinnati, Jerry Hinsley by the Mets from Pittsburgh). In 1964 and 1965, 3 teenage pitchers with no more than rookie league experience were brought to the big leagues and became the Mets' first crop of organization-developed young pitchers. The 3 were Jim Bethke, a righthander, and 2 lefties, Ron Locke and Tug McGraw. First-year draftee Jerry Hinsley from the Pirates also was touted as a "great" prospect who was kept around all season. All were in need of more experience (a lot more) but the Mets didn't want to lose them, and besides, the team clearly needed a dose of young talent.

Of the four, Locke was probably considered most ready to help at the big league level. He had a dominant season in the New York-Penn league and showed poise rare for a youngster. Hinsley was viewed as a future star. McGraw was an engaging lefty who was signed as an afterthought (the Mets were more interested in his older brother, Hank, a catcher who never quite made it), but had pitched extremely well in the Florida Rookie League. Bethke was probably the best of the bunch for the Mets that year, but didn't project as anything more than a middle reliever.

McGraw emerged as a genuine star, both with the Mets and beyond, and became one of the most dominant and popular relievers of the era. The other three seemed to just disappear, although I recall Hinsley having a pretty good year in AA ball and trying to make the big league team again, unsuccessfully, a few years later. Locke and Bethke returned to the minors after their required big-league shot, and I don't even remember their names even coming up again in the Mets' plans.

Next, I'll look at Dennis Musgraves, one of the Mets' most highly regarded prospects before the amateur draft, and Les Rohr, their very first number one draft pick and the consensus best pitching prospect in the nation in 1965.

Trades From The Distant Past - Donn Clendenon

2005-07-30T07:19:00.000-07:00

One of the few Mets' trades that actually worked out for both teams was the one that brought Donn Clendenon from Montreal on June 15, 1969. Clendenon had actually been traded to Houston after being drafted from Pittsburgh by the Expos, but refused to report. So, he was still with the first-year expansion team when the Mets saw him as a nice platoon first baseman who'd split time with Ed Kranepool and provide both a productive bat and a veteran clubhouse presence.

On the June 15th trade deadline, the Mets swapped 3rd baseman Kevin Collins, who was a pretty good young hitter, and a trio of minor league pitchers to Montreal for Clendenon, who proved to be a key piece of the puzzle that turned into the Miracle Mets. Donn was also MVP of the 1969 World Series, so unquestionably the trade was a great one for the Mets. But although Collins never panned out, one of the three young pitchers included in the deal was Steve Renko, who became one of Montreal's most dependable starters for several years, so Montreal had to be happy with their end of the deal.

Trades From The Distant Past - Part 6 A Trade That Never Was

2005-07-09T13:14:00.000-07:00

It was late 1966 and the Winter Meetings had just ended. It was a Sunday night, and I'm not sure if I'd missed "Bill Mazer's Sports Extra" on Channel 5, or if that show hadn't been created yet. In any case, I put on the 11 o'clock news on WNBC-4 to hear if there was any Mets news.

The designated reader of sports news that night was Pat Hernon, who was better known as a weatherman, although he was kind of a utility man at Channel 4, hosting some community shows, St. Patrick's Day specials, and who knows what else. I don't know if Hernon was a sports fan, but he was no sports expert.

At the tail end of his report, he stated "At the Winter Meetings today, the Mets acquired Eddie Bressoud and Mickey Stanley". For whom or what, he didn't say, but since they were on 2 different teams, there had to be 2 separate deals. Bressoud, I thought, was a shortstop who could hit a little, hopefully, the Mets didn't give up too much, but Stanley was a very highly regarded defensive centerfielder in the Tiger organization, who (post-Billy Cowan and pre-Don Bosch) might be the long-term answer to the Mets' centerfield problems.

So, I knew that as soon as I got up the following day, I'd check the papers and/or listen to the radio to hear the WHOLE trades. It turned out that Bressoud was acquired for Joe Christopher, probably the Mets' best hitter at the time, but there wasn't a word about Stanley. Not in any paper. Not on any radio station. Not even that afternoon on Bill Mazer's show. Of course, as it turned out, the Mets never did get Stanley. Just where Pat Hernon got the information from, I will never know. But had the Mets really acquired Stanley, it would no doubt have changed the course of baseball history, since Stanley helped the Tigers to a World Championship in 1968, and furthermore, had the Mets gotten him, there would probably have been no Agee trade and who knows what would have happened in 1969.

But to this day, I wonder just what the trade was supposed to be, was there really talk of a trade, or did I just dream the whole thing ? (I don't think so). Does anyone else recall this ?

Trades From The Distant Past - Part 5 Amos Otis for Joe Foy

2005-07-04T13:26:00.000-07:00

In 1969, the Mets were World Champions, but management saw that there were still holes to fill. So, that winter, knowing that one of their third basemen, Ed Charles was getting on in years, and the other, Wayne Garrett was a very weak hitter for a third baseman, the Mets set their sights on getting someone who could be their regular third baseman for the next few years.

They did have a valuable chip to trade. Amos Otis was a highly regarded young prospect who had been drafted by the Mets from the Red Sox organization and made it to AAA Jacksonville in no time at all, playing all over the field. The Mets wanted him to play third, but he didn't really have his heart in it, and as a result, didn't do much when given the chance. He was convinced that his best position was centerfield, but the Mets had just gotten a spectacular year from Tommie Agee, and decided to stick with him, rather than commit to a young player, especially when they were trying to defend their championship.

Joe Foy was a still-young third baseman who had been Kansas City's first choice in the expansion draft, and had a solid season for them. Foy was also from the Bronx, and the Mets figured he'd be a popular addition as well as a potent offensive force combining speed and power.

The Royals wouldn't do the deal even-up, so the Mets had to throw in one of their top pitching prospects, Bob Johnson. This trade turned out to be the most disastrous in Mets' history up to that point (though they would certainly make some worse ones in the future !). Foy didn't hit, couldn't field, had all kinds of personal problems and was dumped quickly, leaving a gap at third that the Mets would have to try to fill repeatedly. Otis, of course, became an all-star centerfielder for years with the Royals and Johnson even had a good year or two in the big leagues before fading.

My Polo Grounds Memories

2005-06-28T14:49:00.000-07:00

Before Shea Stadium was built, the Mets played 2 full seasons at the Polo Grounds, which was right across the river from Yankee Stadium. I went to a handful of games and over 40 years later, these are the memories that linger.

First, there was the Memorial Day doubleheader against the Dodgers that attracted a packed house and although I had never sat in the bleachers before and didn't plan to that day, I had no choice if I wanted to get into the ballpark. Well, the bleachers were very, very, far out and this happened to be an unusally foggy day, so at times, all I could see was centerfielder Jim Hickman's head. I think Sandy Koufax pitched one game and I'm pretty sure the Mets lost both ends.

Another time, I asked for a seat "downstairs" and got this seat in the lower deck in rightfield that actually faced AWAY from the field, so I had to twist my neck all game to see the action. I think I left after 6 innings with the Mets 8 runs down.

Bad seats were very common in the Polo Grounds. If you were lucky enough to get one that wasn't behind a post, there's a good chance that it would be broken. Maybe if you could afford $3.50 for a box seat and bought it in advance, you didn't have to put up with this, but it always seemed that I did - oh well, suffering was definitely a part of being a Mets fan !

The player I remember most vividly was Jim Hickman. In retrospect, he probably symbolized the entire history of the Mets as well as any player could. He played more than any other outfielder because he had decent range and could hit the long ball, but struck out too much and appeared disinterested and lazy much of the time. Most Mets' fans were convinced that as soon as the Mets dumped him, he'd be back in AAA where he belonged. Surprisingly, Hickman later became an all-star and a .315 hitter for the Chicago Cubs. I attended a game where he hit for the cycle for the Mets - single, double, triple, homerun in that order in a game he started at third base to make room for newly acquired centerfielder Joe Hicks.

My final memory of the Polo Grounds occurred in one of the last games ever played there, late in the 1963 season. Near the end of the game, the Mets inserted a very young player named Cleon Jones into centerfield. The immediate reaction was "who?", but as an avid reader of The Sporting News, I knew Jones just had a solid season at Class B Raleigh and was touted as a top prospect. Was he ready ? No, it would be at least a couple of years, but of course, once Cleon arrived for good, he became the first real hitting star developed by the Mets and forty years later, still remains one of the best.

Trades From The Distant Past - Part 4 Tommie Agee

2005-06-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

Ask any Met fan under 40 with a sense of the past about Tommie Agee and he'll probably tell you that Agee was the terrific center fielder who helped the Miracle Mets win the 1969 World Series. And he'd be right. But, as trades for centerfielders go, after his first season with the club, Agee was right up there as a failure with his predecessors, Cowan, and Bosch.

The Mets traded Tommy Davis, probably their best all-around hitter, and Jack Fisher, their former #1 starter to the White Sox for Agee, Al Weis, and minor league catcher Buddy Booker. Agee was a former rookie of the year, a solid centerfielder with great speed and outstanding power who struck out an awful lot. Kind of like Billy Cowan. Except that Agee already had a ROY season behind him.

Agee promptly started spring training by getting hit in the head with a Bob Gibson fastball and struggled all season to get his average over .200. His final numbers, a .218 batting average with 5 homers and 17 rbi for the entire season were disastrous. But both the fans and manager Gil Hodges admired Agee's positive attitude and constant all-out hustle and their faith was rewarded when Agee had a super year in 1969 (and a better one in 1970) giving the Mets the gold glove defense, power hitting, and clutch play they were looking for in a centerfielder. Unfortunately, Agee only had a couple of good years with the Mets and he was later sent away for a couple of nonentities. But, if Agee's day in the sun was short, it was certainly bright and his play throughout the 1969 season and especially in the World Series (coupled with Al Weis' incredible hitting in the Series, especially for someone with a reputation as good field-no hit) made this one of the best trades during the Mets' formative years.

Tommy Davis had a long career as a DH in the American League. Fisher never did much once he left the Mets. But if Weis and Agee weren't long term-solutions for the Mets, their contributions to the 1969 Champions will long be remembered by Mets fans.

Trades From The Distant Past - Part 3 Don Bosch

2005-06-23T03:03:00.000-07:00

Since Johnny Lewis wasn't the next Willie Mays and Billy Cowan wasn't the next Mickey Mantle, the Mets were still going to need a long-term centerfielder. Maybe the search for a superstar wasn't the right approach. So, how about just getting a great defensive centerfielder who'd hit some line drives, beat out bunts, and get tons of infield hits while dazzling the fans with defense to compare with the greatest outfielders of all time ?

Don Bosch was the man. His AAA manager, Larry Shepard, compared his defensive abilities to Willie Mays. He was the International League's all-star centerfielder and a major winter league star in the Dominican Republic. Maybe he wouldn't hit a lot of homeruns, but another Bill Virdon would be just fine.

So, the Mets traded for Bosch, in what, ironically, actually turned out to be a good deal for the Mets. But Bosch, himself, became a joke the day he reported for spring training and stayed a joke until he became a pathetic disappointment and was dumped to Montreal, from where he soon faded into oblivion.

The trade was Dennis Ribant (the first Mets' starter to actually have a winning record at 10-8) and throw-in Gary Kolb for Bosch and veteran back-of-the-rotation starter Don Cardwell. Cardwell became a very important cog in the rotation for the Mets' 1969 World Champs (that still sounds good), while neither Ribant nor Kolb became anything more than journeymen. But, from the Mets' point of view, the trade was first and foremost about Bosch.

Who was this Bosch ? Remember, in those days, there wasn't in-depth coverage of the minor leagues in Major League cities, so no one seemed to know even what Bosch looked like. It turned out that he had grey hair and appeared so small that any bat he used looked bigger than him. He looked kind of like the scared little leaguer who had to take his at bat against the biggest and strongest pitcher in the league, knowing from the start that the best he could do was avoid getting hit by a pitch that would really hurt and hope if he swung hard, maybe he'd make contact and beat out an infield single. It seemed ludicrous that he was even playing in the big leagues. As it turns out, he hit .140 over the course of the season, and this alleged great centerfielder did absolutely nothing with the glove that couldn't have been duplicated by almost any minor league centerfielder. A year and a half later, failing even as a defensive replacement, he was sent packing.

Trades From The Distant Past - Part 2 Altman for Cowan

2005-06-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

Roger Craig was the Mets' #1 starter in 1962 and 1963. He valiantly went out there every 4th or 5th day and lost 46 games in 2 years. Craig was probably good enough to be a 4th starter with most good teams (back in the days of the 4 -man rotation) and it was only a matter of time before the Mets would find a trading partner who would give them a big bat in exchange for Craig. The Cardinals complied by trading George Altman, who had put up big numbers for the Cubs, but was a 1-year disappointment for St. Louis, to the Mets for Craig. Well, Altman was an even bigger disappointment for the Mets in his one year with the team.

The Cubs knew that Big George was at his best in Wrigley Field and offered their multi-talented rookie centerfielder, Billy Cowan, in exchange. Now, Cowan had put up some big numbers in the PCL, he had speed and power and was considered a good centerfielder. He was also considerably younger than Altman. This HAD to be a good deal for the Mets. Sure, Altman was capable of another solid year or two at Wrigley, but Cowan would be the Mets' centerfielder for years, a combination of speed, power, and glove. Cowan's only drawback was his propensity to strike out. But 25 HR's was not out of the question and if he could just hit .260 or so, this was going to be a great trade. WRONG AGAIN.

Although Altman didn't quite live up to the Cubs' expectations and later established himself as one of the best hitters in the Japanese League, Cowan was an unqualified disaster. He didn't hit, didn't field, didn't steal bases and seemed washed up at the age of 25. Following a disastrous season, in which his shining moment was when Ralph Kiner called him "the closest I've ever seen to Jimmy Piersall" (if you have nothing good to say about his playing ability, at least talk him up as a character !), he was dealt to the American League for a bag of balls, or their equivalent in minor league talent and was barely heard from again. Centerfield would remain a problem area until the Mets traded for the Amazing Don Bosch ! More about that one in the next installment.

Trades From The Distant Past - Part 1 Stallard for Lewis

2005-06-21T20:17:00.000-07:00

While Mets fans debate whether the Mets should be buyers or sellers at this year's trade deadline, I thought I'd begin a series of posts that take a look at some past Mets trades that were considered "major" at the time, but unfortunately, like most Mets trades, didn't help much, if at all. Let's start by going back to the early years when the Mets were trying to build a winner with little or no help from the farm system. We're talking mid-'60's and at that time, Bill Mazer was New York's Sports Talk King on 66 WNBC. So, with no Baseball America, Baseball Weekly or internet to tout prospects, Mazer, who had broadcast International League Games in Buffalo, was always a knowledgeable source about players coming up from the Minors.

Please note that I'm not looking up exact dates or statistics. This is all pure recollection from years gone by.

Back in 1964, the Mets had a very old outfield. The farm system hadn't produced anybody yet and people like Frank Thomas, Duke Snider, Joe Christopher, and a cast of unknowns were playing there. What the Mets did have as trade bait was a bunch of starting pitchers who had terrible records but seemed to come up with the occasional outstanding game that made other teams think that with some support, they could be pretty decent. One of those pitchers was Tracy Stallard who was rescued from the Red Sox scrap heap and who, if I recall, had a record something like 6-17 for the Mets, but 3 or 4 of the wins were excellent performances. So the Mets traded Stallard (who Mazer didn't like because he criticized Joe Christopher's fielding when it cost him a game and Mazer liked Joe Christopher, at least as a person, if not a ballplayer, although Joe did bat over .300 as a regular for the Mets one year) to St. Louis for a top prospect named Johnny Lewis.

Lewis was one of those 5-tool outfielders who could hit the ball hard, had good speed, and a great arm. His stats at AAA were not outstanding, but they were good, he was still young, and he certainly looked like a ballplayer. At the time, Bill Mazer called this a great trade for the Mets. Lewis will be remembered as a Met for one thing and one thing only, that he beat Jim Maloney with a HR in extra innings when Maloney was pitching a no-hitter. Other than that, he was a big disappointment and wound up back in the minor leagues, before rejoining the Cardinals organization as a coach. Stallard, I think, had one pretty good year for the Cardinals before hurting his arm.
And the Mets continued to look for outfielders. Next, Billy Cowan and Don Bosch.

The Art of The Amateur Draft

2005-06-09T14:08:00.000-07:00

Of course, only time will tell if Mike Pelfrey was really the best pitcher available in the draft and a future star. And despite Philip Humber's poor start at St. Lucie, he may be a solid major leaguer someday. Lastings Milledge can still be a good one, can't tell yet. But even if all 3 become stars and Aaron Heilman builds on his solid start this year to become a #2 or #3 starter, the Mets still have an abominably bad history of first round amateur draft picks.

Really, in 40 years, only ONCE did the Mets choose a player in the first round who became better than consensus pre-draft scouting reports would have indicated. That was Dwight Gooden. Sure, Strawberry was a real good one, too, but he was clearly the best prospect in the draft and any other selection would have been a reach. (I've read that the Mets considered Darnell Coles and Billy Beane, who they got later and became another "loser" pick). Hubie Brooks and Preston Wilson were other positive picks.

But, look at the other names : Steve Chilcott, Les Rohr, Rich Puig, Tom Thurberg, Ryan Jaroncyk, Butch Benton, Rich Bengston, Al Shirley, Kirk Presley and on and on. Scouts are often considered underappreciated and underpaid, but frankly, you could make better choices for the cost of a subscription to Baseball America, where they rate the top players overall, by position and by region. Just take the next name on the list and you'd have to fare better than the Mets have. Of course, there was no Baseball America back in the '60's and '70's to help.

St. John's closer Craig Hansen has drawn rave reviews from scouts who say he could pitch in the majors sight now, yet he lasts until the world champion Red Sox' first round pick. How many players picked before him will never make it out of AA ?

By getting the best starting pitching prospect available and another Boras client, the Mets are one team that can fairly say they made a reasonable choice in bypassing Hansen.

All-Bum Met Team

2005-03-21T14:18:00.000-08:00

A team of disappointments based on both past performance before coming to the Mets as well as performance and attitude with the Mets :

1B MO VAUGHN
2B ROBERTO ALOMAR
3B JIM FREGOSI
SS TONY FERNANDEZ
LF VINCE COLEMAN
CF JUAN SAMUEL
RF ELLIS VALENTINE
C The Mets have never really acquired a disappointing catcher; you can slot Hawk Taylor here based on his bonus to sign with the Braves, or Steve Chilcott, Butch Benton or John Gibbons, #1 draft picks who never made the major leagues, but the Mets have done better at this position than any other with Grote, Stearns, Carter, Hundley, and Piazza. Ron Hodges, Duffy Dyer and Mike Fitzgerald were farm system products who were very ordinary as first-string catchers, but none was highly touted. Did I forget anyone ?
SP MICKEY LOLICH
RP MEL ROJAS

Of all the above players, only Fernandez resurrected his career after leaving the Mets. All the others either retired as Mets or faded away after brief stints with other teams.

Memories of Steve Chilcott

2005-02-09T05:44:00.000-08:00

There are certain names that make Mets fans cringe whenever they hear them. Scott Kazmir is the latest as in "How can the Mets trade Scott Kazmir, maybe the best pitching prospect in all of baseball for Victor Zambrano, a mediocre 30-year old pitcher with arm trouble ?" Then, there's Greg Jefferies who seemed to win Minor League Player Of The Year every season on his way to being fast-tracked to the Major Leagues. Only when he got there, he proved to be a player in search of a position who was despised by most of his teammates for his (alleged) selfishness and immaturity. Despite a fairly productive career with the bat after leaving the Mets, Jefferies fell far short of his goals of surpassing Ty Cobb and Pete Rose for the all-time hits record and has become more of a "whatever happened to...".

But, old-time Met fans will always cringe at the mention of the name Steve Chilcott. For you younger fans who may not be up on early Mets history, let's go back to 1966. The Mets had the number one overall selection in the 2nd annual amateur draft and the choice clearly came down to 2 players. There was the star outfielder at Arizona State University, Reggie Jackson and a high-school catcher out of California by the name of Steve Chilcott. Of course, Reggie Jackson went on to a Hall Of Fame career, while Chilcott never made the Major Leagues. There had been some speculation that the Mets had some question about Jackson's character and associations, but at the time, most big league scouts were divided as to which of the two was a better prospect. Based on a personal scouting report from Casey Stengel, probably combined with Casey's philosophy that "if you don't have a catcher, you're gonna have a lot of passed balls", the Mets went with Chilcott.

That wasn't the first mistake the Mets made and it certainly wasn't the last, but it was definitely among the biggest. Anyway, I can say that I am probably one of the few people who actually saw Steve Chilcott play a professional game in New York City. No, not with the Mets or the Yankees, since Steve never made the big leagues, even though he got as close as AA and maybe a game or two in AAA with the Yankee organization after the Mets released him.

It was a special pre-Yankee game event at Yankee Stadium, a regular season league game between the Auburn Mets and Binghamton Yankees. Binghamton's Mickey Scott outdueled Auburn's Jerry Koosman, 1-0 in front of maybe 1000 fans, most of whom thought they were arriving early for Big League batting practice, although there were a handful of Met diehards like myself who came out to see the Auburn Mets, and more specifically, to see the future of the Mets - Steve Chilcott. Getting to see Jerry Koosman was, of course, a bonus. Koosman dominated NYP League hitters that season and after a quick jump to AAA the next season became a mainstay of the Mets' rotation.

As for Chilcott, he hit a double down the rightfield line, almost a HR into the short rightfield seats of Yankee Stadium, but he also struck out a couple of times and looked bad doing it. I was still sure that Chilcott would be starring for the Mets one day because that's what all the "experts" said. Little did I know that his appearance that day in Yankee Stadium would be the last chance I would get to see him play.