Since this season technically marks the fiftieth anniversary of the New York Mets, I posed a question last night to everyone and anyone who reads this blog , Who are the top 50 Mets of all time ?
A few other blogs are tackling this same subject , but they are basing it on their own observations as well as opinions. I am puting you the fan in the drivers seat here. I asking , begging, pleading ( do I have to bribe all of you ?!?) to please e-mail me your lists at rustyjr@realdirtymets.com. You can send me a list of as many players as you desire , whether it be 10 players or 75 players. The list doesn’t have to be just the greats, such as Seaver, Reyes, Wright, Piazza etc. If you feel that players George Theodore, Rusty Staub, Steve Henderson and Ron Swoboda belong on the list include them – you are in charge !! You can even count coaches and managers such as Gil Hodges, Bobby Valentine and Mel Stotelmyre. Everyone but Oliver Perez that it ( your list will be instantly deleted if his name appears !!).
I will be accepting lists until this Friday night , and I hope to tally all votes over that weekend. Hopefully next Monday I will be able to start counting down the players for 50 days.
So please send me your lists. These players fates are in your hands !!!
And with that said… HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!
Mets alumni celebrating birthdays today include :
Original Mets reserve outfielder from the ’62 season, John DeMerit is 75 (1936) .
Mets third base coach from ’79-’81, Chuck Cottier is 75(1936) .
Mets outfielder from ’04-’05, Mike Cameron is 38 (1973) .I was never a big fan of his , and I liked him even less when he came to the Mets.
Sadly today would have been one time Mets pitcher, Geremi Gonzalez’s 36th birthday (1975) . He was tragically killed in ’08 when he was struck by lightening on a Punta Canta beach in Venezuela .
Outfielder from ’09-10, Jeff Francoeur is 27 today (1984) . With his big smile and warm personality , Jeff was easy to root for – that is until he got upset when he was told he would be platooning in left field with Angel Pagan when Carlos Beltran came back – then he wanted out of Flushing.
Sadly on this date the Mets lost two members of their coaching staff of the ’60′s. Third base coach from ’64-65, Don Heffner in 1989 and pitching coach from ’66-’67 Harvey Haddix in 1994 .
New York Mets traded reliever, Ray Searage to the Cleveland Indians for utility infielder, Tom Veryzer on January 8, 1982.
New York Mets signed free agent catcher, Tim Spehr of the Atlanta Braves on January 8, 1998.
New York Mets released middle reliever, Joe Crawford on January 8, 1998.
New York Mets signed free agent South Korean reliever, Dae-Sung Koo on January 8, 2005.
And while you gear up for tonight’s Jets versus Colts playoff game tonight, just remember that there is just 83 days until the Mets open the 2011 season against the Florida Marlins in Miami and 90 days until the Mets 2011 home opener against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field.
Mo Vaughn ranked himself at number 51 on his list of the top 50 Mets of all time !!!
30 comments
njstuckintx
1/8/2011-10:30am at 10:30 am (UTC -4)
Top all time based on stats or by how much the fans loved them? Or both?
rustyjr
1/8/2011-10:33am at 10:33 am (UTC -4)
base it on whatever you want – mix and match the best talent with the most beloved – hell ill accept choo choo coleman lol
njstuckintx
1/8/2011-10:34am at 10:34 am (UTC -4)
Well Choo Choo is definitely on the greatest 50 Met names of all time!
rustyjr
1/8/2011-10:35am at 10:35 am (UTC -4)
lol as was pepe manguel
hazmet
1/8/2011-10:39am at 10:39 am (UTC -4)
Great question, I’ll have to think about it but I’m already trying to justify:
Calvin Schiraldi: for helping net us Bobby O in a trade and then for his performance in games 6 & 7 of the ’86 World Series.
and,
Bernard Gilkey: C’mon the poor guy lost the ball in the spaceship in MIB and got clonked on the gnogin by the ball. Seriously though, his 1996 season was sick.
rustyjr
1/8/2011-10:43am at 10:43 am (UTC -4)
please email me your list when assembled
hazmet
1/8/2011-10:49am at 10:49 am (UTC -4)
But of course my good man, I’m house broken, lol.
Have a great weekend
njstuckintx
1/8/2011-10:59am at 10:59 am (UTC -4)
http://billybeaneismyhero.blogspot.com/2010/12/top-10-worst-rotations-2011-edition.html
ranks the 30 rotations in the league. number 27… Your New York Mets!
metsfan4decades
1/8/2011-12:21pm at 12:21 pm (UTC -4)
Yeah, O.K., fine…..I don’t even know what are starting 5 will be yet. Although I’m realistic enough to know that no matter who we sign, it’s not likely to propel us into the top 10.
Our pitching was more than suspect going into last season as well. Turns out our pitching was not our biggest problem.
hazmet
1/8/2011-12:48pm at 12:48 pm (UTC -4)
So a guy who likes Billy Beane has a blogspot and rates the rotations, and this means??? It’s not even Olney’s ratings he refers to. The author goes for an easy target Glenn Beck slam to get a few comment hits which is a transparent and shallow tactic imo. Maybe the elastic band of his Keith Olberman tighty whitey’s cut of the circulation to his brain. I hate when political slants morph into sports discussions one either side of the aisle. Beck’s gone fully monty nut job but no more so than Keith. I go to sports sites to escape the daily crap of politics but to each their own. Back on topic: they said the same thing last year even with Johan and we ended up 5th or so in the NL. Granted we don’t have Johan but I find 27th difficult to believe before an innings even been pitched. Can’t wait for ST.
metsfan4decades
1/8/2011-12:16pm at 12:16 pm (UTC -4)
I’ll email you my list sometimes this week, Rusty.
rustyjr
1/8/2011-4:22pm at 4:22 pm (UTC -4)
thanks my lady
Precious
2/15/2012-7:50am at 7:50 am (UTC -4)
That kind of tikhinng shows you’re an expert
Mr North Jersey
1/8/2011-12:34pm at 12:34 pm (UTC -4)
TOP 50?
Ollie can’t be in it? My daughter will not like to hear that. lol
Man my Mets days don’t start till 85. I think if I gave you 50 Mets that list would be different every time I did it.
01. Dwight Gooden
02. David Cone
03. Keith Hernandez
04. Howard Johnson
05. Darryl Srawberry
06. Mike Piazza
07. David Wright
08. Edgardo Alfonzo
09. Hubie Brooks
10. Carlos Beltran
11. Jose Reyes
12. Lenny Dykstra
13. Sid Fernandez
14. Todd Hundley
15. Wally Backman
16. Roger McDowell
17. Mookie Wilson
18. Dave Magaden
19. Lee Mazzilli
20. Terry Leach
After that basically add any player that played a major role from the 1986,1988,2000 and 2006 team and it would basically round out 50.
rustyjr
1/8/2011-12:40pm at 12:40 pm (UTC -4)
Lol email me the list
Krusty The Klown
1/8/2011-5:25pm at 5:25 pm (UTC -4)
Joe McEwing? Just on pure love for the game….Rusty, can you clarify a little better on the guidelines? Is it just on talent and how they performed? What about a crappy player but he was a wack job? Like Todd Zeile? He was a NUT!!! LOL…. he wasn’t crappy though ROFL (hope you get my point
rustyjr
1/8/2011-5:41pm at 5:41 pm (UTC -4)
It’s who you feel is most deserving of the list – it can be stars and scrubs
njstuckintx
1/8/2011-6:17pm at 6:17 pm (UTC -4)
Humber got DFA’d.
hazmet
1/8/2011-6:26pm at 6:26 pm (UTC -4)
So I guess he’s been upgraded from DOA’d. :p
Gonzo Will
1/8/2011-6:47pm at 6:47 pm (UTC -4)
For me, it’s Gary Carter, Robin Ventura, Mike Piazza and Super Joe Mc. Can I put in Bob Murphy?
rustyjr
1/8/2011-7:31pm at 7:31 pm (UTC -4)
lol email me it
njstuckintx
1/8/2011-7:32pm at 7:32 pm (UTC -4)
Throw in Ralph Kiner too
hazmet
1/8/2011-8:21pm at 8:21 pm (UTC -4)
2 Big Thumbs Up!
One of the formative baseball moments of my youth was finally getting my ex-Dodger fan Dad who’d yet to return to baseball to watch a Met game with me and him hearing Ralph and being all aglow telling me how he used to see him play at Forbes Field. Dad had been a huge baseball fan, even specifically got an apartment across from Fenway Park when he worked out of Boston after WWII military service just so he could go to Red Sox games when he wasn’t travelling. He gave up on baseball when the trolley-Dodgers left Brooklyn. Later that year after hearing Ralph I got my Dad to take me to my first game and Dad re-discovered the game he loved. For that reason alone Ralph will always be special in my book.
wriughtfan05
1/8/2011-6:48pm at 6:48 pm (UTC -4)
Noi particular order:David Wright,Keith Hernandez,Ron Darling,Tom Seaver,Tug Mcgraw,Bobby Ojeda,Sid Fernandez,Mike Piazza,Darryl Strawberry, Doc Gooden,Gary Carter,Mookie Wilson,Buiddy Harrelson,Edguardo Alfonso, cant think of any more but there ius I knoiw
pfh64
1/9/2011-12:45am at 12:45 am (UTC -4)
In no particular order, and remember that while I have been going to games since 1969, my first real memories do not come around until 1973. This is no particular order, and while the top ones are easy, there are what you might call some unusual choices.
1. Hodges
2. Seaver
3. Piazza
4. Strawberry
5. Wright
6. Gooden
7. Koosman
8. Jones, C.
9. Agee
10. Weis, G.
11. McGraw
12. Matlack
13. Mazzilli
14. Carter, G.
15. Clenndenon
16. Kranepool
17. Hernandez, K.
18, Staub
19. Kingman
20. Franco, Jo.
21. Ventura
22. Wilson, M.
23. Dykstra
24. Beltran
25. Harrelslon
26. Boswell
27. Garrett
28. Milner
29. Stearns
30. Grote
31. Lockwood
32. Johnson, H.
33. Hunt, R.
34. Jackson, A
35. Taylor, R.
36. Kingman
37. Reyes, J.
38. Hundley
39. Orosco
40. McDowell
41. Jones, B.
42. Millan
43. Cone
44. Leiter
45. Santana, J
46. Olerud
47. Valentine
48. Nelson, L.
49. Kiner
50. Murphy, B.
rustyjr
1/9/2011-10:28am at 10:28 am (UTC -4)
ummm.. you mentioned kong twice
njstuckintx
1/9/2011-10:34am at 10:34 am (UTC -4)
that’s cause he was THAT good!
rustyjr
1/9/2011-10:36am at 10:36 am (UTC -4)
how much is our ong paying you to say that lol
pfh64
1/9/2011-4:16pm at 4:16 pm (UTC -4)
Oops. Kingman, second time, should have been Alfonzo.
dckip
1/9/2011-10:46am at 10:46 am (UTC -4)
top 51 Mets all time- Piazza, Seaver, KHernandez, GCarter, DWright, Strawberry, Gooden, Koosman, Matlack, Leiter, Mookie, Dykstra, Ojeda, SFernandez, Cone, HoJo, Knight, JReyes, Staub, Tug McGraw, Darling, Mazzilli, Kingman, Nolan Ryan, Kranepool, Grote, Hundley, Lance Johnson, Gilkey, Clendennon, Harrelson, Pedro Martinez, Johan Santana, Olerud, Zeile, Ventura, Cleon Jones, Agee, Alfonzo, Backman, Carlos Beltran, Hubie Brooks, Rickey Henderson, Carlos Delgado, Elster, John Franco, John Milner, Randy Myers, Billy Wagner, Bret Saberhagen, and Frank Viola