So other than the arthritically slow pace that the Bengie Molina negotiations are taking ( my wife’s Saturn Ion moves faster) there has been not a whole lot of anything happening in the land of the Mets. So since I have had a lot of downtime ( face it being a security guard isn’t exactly heavy lifting) , I pondered which non championship Mets team in my opinion was my all time favorite. I came to the conclusion that it had to be the rebirth of the franchise in ’84. It is funny, in ’84 I was a rabid twelve year old Mets fan who year after year took his lumps from Yankee fans everywhere. But little did I – or anyone else for that matter expect the Mets to rise like a fiery phoenix from the ashes of several years of futility and become a overnight contender , re-energizing this fan base. Look at all those quality players that were on the roster that year – Keith Hernandez, Hubie Brooks,Rusty Staub, Mookie Wilson, Darryl Strawberry,Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, Jesse Orosco and this young awkward looking kid who single handily made coming to Shea Stadium a event. His name – Dwight Gooden !! But the team was anchored by one of the best coaching staffs ever. Davey Johnson was the tough as nails manager who was possibly the first manager to explore the use of sabermetrics . He was the real heart of that team in my opinion. The soul was pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre along with third base coach Bobby Valentine and hitting instructor Bill Robinson. These men, all winners in their own right drilled into this young up and coming team that they were winners and not the door mat for the National League. I went to many games that season, but the one I have the best recollection of was of the final series between the Mets against our arch enemy at the time – the Chicago Cubs. It was early September if memory serves me right , and the pitching match-up was between their ace- Rick Sutcliffe and our number two starter Ron Darling. Unfortunately that night Ron pitched well enough to lose while Sutcliffe stymied the Mets bats. But it’s funny, I had been to at-least thirty Mets games up to that point and I don’t remember the electricity I felt prior to that night. Shea was rocking that night, the wave was out in full force !! The Curley Shuffle was being played on the Diamond Vision. The Mets were relevant again !!!! Yes the ’84 Mets came up short that year, but it paved the way for us obtaining Carter and Ojeda, and down on the farm were two bull dogs chomping at the bit to make their major league debuts ( Roger McDowell and Lenny Dykstra). And in two short years we would have our parade down the Canyon of Heroes.
So I now ask you -excluding the two Championship teams , what is your all time favorite Mets team?
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                                                                              “ Do you remember 1984?”
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And now ON WITH THE INFAMY !!!
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Happy Birthday wishes go out to the unsung hero of the ’86 team – Kevin Mitchell (1962) .
Also a year older is current minor league pitcher ( who will more than likely see action in Flushing this season) Elmer ” Uncle” Dessens (1971)
New York Mets selected catcher Francisco Estrada in the fifth round of free agent draft on January 13, 1971.
New York Mets selected outfielder Herm Winningham in the first round (ninth pick overall) of free agent draft on January 13, 1981.
New York Mets selected outfielder Randy Milligan in the first round (third pick overall) of free agent draft on January 13, 1981.
New York Metstraded infield prospect Mike Davis to the Boston Red Sox for past his prime pitcher Mike Torrez on January 13, 1983. Sadly the only thing Torrez would be known for after donning a Mets uniform was the unintentional beaning the Houston Astros rising star Dickie Thon. Thon suffered a severe concussion , and although he attempted to come back from his injury, he ultimately retired soon afterwards.
The Los Angeles Dodgers  signed relief pitcher Lee Gutterman of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 13, 1993.
New York Mets signed free agent pitcher Rob MacDonald, on January 13, 1996. He pitched in twenty games for the Mets that year – but I don’t remember him.
New York Metssigned free agent pitcher Masato Yoshii on January 13, 1998. If memory serves me right , Yoshii was the first Japanese player the Mets ever signed.
And lest we forget – There are just 82 daysuntil the Mets open the 2010 season against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field.
17 comments
trs86
1/13/2010-7:43am at 7:43 am (UTC -4)
“…the thing is, he, again, was pulled for a pinch runner when he got a hit… i am not 100 percent, but i think he has not yet run the bases…”
OK someone help me out here. Is the winter league ran like coach pitch baseball? How is it that Delgado can have 7 hits and 2 multi hit games but has yet to run the bases?
prismo
1/13/2010-8:21am at 8:21 am (UTC -4)
Recap from January 9th game:
# Carlos Delgado singles on a ground ball to right fielder Jorge Padilla.
# Pedro Valdes grounds into a force out, second baseman Radames Nazario to shortstop Edwin Maysonet. Carlos Delgado out at 2nd. Pedro Valdes to 1st.
(so yes, he’s run the bases)
prismo
1/13/2010-8:25am at 8:25 am (UTC -4)
I left a friendly comment on MB…but it’s awaiting moderation.
prismo
1/13/2010-8:40am at 8:40 am (UTC -4)
Ready for this?
Delgado ran the bases *twice* on the 7th – once after a fielder’s choice and once after a walk. He later hit a home run in the game.
He ran the bases once on the 4th, after a single.
He ran the bases once on the 3rd, after a single as well.
In almost all (if not all) of these cases he was out at 2nd after the next batter hit a grounder, but it still counts as running the bases.
trs86
1/13/2010-8:47am at 8:47 am (UTC -4)
Well that’s interesting huh?
prismo
1/13/2010-8:49am at 8:49 am (UTC -4)
To be fair, MC did say that he wasn’t 100% about the info. He could have been only 90% or maybe only 10% sure.
trs86
1/13/2010-8:54am at 8:54 am (UTC -4)
Thing is again, this is not anti-Matt but I would mention this even on one of us. How hard would it be to find out?
prismo
1/13/2010-9:01am at 9:01 am (UTC -4)
Agreed. And as I said, I left a very friendly comment on MetsBlog pointing out the facts. It’s in moderation – nothing else I can do.
But some of their commenters are now using the claim that Delgado has yet to run the bases as reason not to sign him. There are plenty of reasons not to sign Delgado, but obviously this isn’t one of them.
It’s not about Matt or MetsBlog; it’s about finding the facts and not making assumptions. It took me literally 5 minutes to find the first recap that showed Delgado has ran the bases. It’s not that difficult.
I’d really rather that fans not be misled.
saltygary
1/13/2010-9:10am at 9:10 am (UTC -4)
Probably the 99 Mets. They were so exciting to watch, the hype around the infield defense, and this was the first year they showed they can compete with the Braves (no need to get into K-Rogers game)
If Olerud stuck around for another year, they would of had a damn good shot at winning the series. He added so much to that lineup. Ziele was fine but Olerud was just a better player all around and Ventura was the only other lefty which hurt.
dirtysanchez
1/13/2010-9:11am at 9:11 am (UTC -4)
mine was the 2000 team. I would love to say the 80′s team but frankly…i was born in 85 and didnt really grow up with that team. From what it looked like on film, they were bad a$$. I grew up with piazza\valentine and thus the 2000 never say die teams was one of my fav…
CaseStreet
1/13/2010-9:25am at 9:25 am (UTC -4)
Knowing the positions yet to be filled, who would you like the Mets to sign?
For me:
C – Molina (Upgrade over Brian “I squat for a living” Schneider)
1B/OF Bench – Garko (RH platoon for Murphy if necessary)
2B/3B/SS Bench – Lopez (Could start if Castillo gets injured or traded)
SP – Pineiro or Garland, whoever is cheaper (anyone would be an upgrade over Niese or Nieve)
RP – Beimel (Feliciano needs help)
I’d still like to find a spot for Ankiel. I don’t see any market for him to be a starter (in the field, not in the rotation) and he’s probably the best OFer to have on the bench as he’s LH, hits for power, and plays all OF positions.
Lopez may not want to sign for the bench, but maybe Omar can imply that Castillo will be moved within the year. Plus, between Lopez, O-Dog, Adam Kennedy and Belliard still available and with Tejada, Cabrera, Crede, Amezega, and others still available too, Lopez may not find a starting job.
dirtysanchez
1/13/2010-9:32am at 9:32 am (UTC -4)
yea, there are alot of IF FA’s that are unsigned…did you hear odog wants 9 mill…i want what that guy is smoking lol. I dont think castillo will get moved to be honest…I guess kennedy would be a good option as lopez and odog may want starting jobs and will be more expensive. A guy like wiggy I would take and if we dont sign laroche/gado then i would look at garko on a one year deal, since they feel Davis will be up here full time next year. No sense in having murph/Davis/Garko all on the bench for one position
saltygary
1/13/2010-9:49am at 9:49 am (UTC -4)
Yea Beimal would be a good thing to add. Feliciano has been so overworked for so long.
The rest I would rather save the cash for mid-season and look to trade for a pitcher now like Arroyo.
trs86
1/13/2010-10:19am at 10:19 am (UTC -4)
To me Beimel may be one of the most overrated relievers in baseball. I don’t get what we see in him. Yes his ERA stays decent but he gives up more hits than innings, has a high WHIP, average K rate, and pitched last year as a mop up man. He faced more batters in low leverage situations than he did in high and medium leverage combined. 13 innings in save situations and 42 in non-save situations. At best he is a LH Brian Stokes that will get paid more. Problem is he did worse against LH hitters than he did RH hitters.
CaseStreet
1/13/2010-10:46am at 10:46 am (UTC -4)
Don’t know how you can say Beimel did worse against LH than RH.
Looking at 09, .282 vs. RHB and .258 vs. LH
There’s not many LH available. As a backup to Feliciano, he’s got to be better than Takahashi.
metsfan4decades
1/13/2010-10:51am at 10:51 am (UTC -4)
I loved the ’84 season too. Finally, after a decade of teams some almost too painful to watch (that ’80 team comes to mind), we were fielding a pretty good team.
But I’ll tip my cap to the ’85 team. We had arrived, for the first time in a decade I really believed we would win the division. Tried never to miss a Doc start, thought Straw was capable of hitting a HR with every at bat, and last but not least, probably my favorite Met of all time up to that point, Keith….
GravediggerHebner
1/13/2010-11:53am at 11:53 am (UTC -4)
Rusty I also have zero recollection of Rob MacDonald.
My favorite non-championship team is the same as yours, the ’84 team. Having been a fan of the team for roughly a decade at that point, it was some combination of refreshing and astounding to see the team actually play well over an extended period and win more games than they lost, so that will always stand out in my memory. The fact that so many players were young and fresh from the minors made it that much better because you just knew they would be good for a while, together.
For the sake of discussion, since ’84 has already been picked I’ll go with the ’90 team. For me the ’90 team represented a kind of rebirth/extension of the ‘dynasty’ that began in ’84. After the post season disappointment of ’88 and the failure to make it there in ’89, the ’90 team winning 91 games utilizing a combination of holdovers from the mid-’80s and new young blood like Dave Magadan and Gregg Jefferies gave me lots of hope that the Mets were in the midst of a period of domination unlike they’d ever put forth before.
It quickly sputtered out and went all to hell, but what was the last gasp at the time didn’t seem like a last gasp at all to me, it seemed like a resurgence of what I expected to be a perennial contender for years to come. So that ’90 team is one of my favorites because at the time they seemed to be continuing/reinvigorating a winning legacy.