I really enjoyed SNY’s 50 Greatest Mets special and highly encourage the Mets to continue to develop (or purchase) such non Beer Money filler.
Below are my notes as I watched the special not knowing what was to come. I did find the special to be “Generation Piazza” heavy, likely because of the availability of footage.
50. Wayne Garrett
49. Bobby Bonilla. As I said in the walk-up to this special, if you played more than two seasons you’re probably on the list. Luckilly Bobby’s part of the special was shorter than it took you to read this sentence.
48. John Milner
47. Ron Hunt
46. Ray Knight
45. Hubie Brooks. Glad he made it. Kids, you woulda loved him back when “Hubie and Mookie” were paired the way “Doc and Darryl” often are. Why’d he leave? You wanted Gary Carter didn’t you?
44. Roger McDowell
43. Rick Reed. The first surprise.
42. Wally Backman. I can’t wait to see the 41 who are better.
41. John Stearns. Great to hear Howie talk about him.
40. Ron Swoboda. The special shows a modern day Ron wearing the horrible black cap. Horrible.
39. Dave Kingman. At this stage I think he should be higher but I haven’t seen the next 38 yet. Definitely deserved more time in the special.
38. Frank Viola. Yeah, Kingman should be higher.
37. Bob Ojeda. Yeah, Kingman should be higher.
36. Ed Kranepool
35. Carlos Delgado. Hmmm. Kingman should be higher. (KSBH) Holy cow Delgado got a LOT of time. Like more than everyone above combined.
34. Kevin McReynolds. Come on. KSBH.
33. Felix Millan
#1A. Lee Mazzilli
31. Robin Ventura. I see how this goes..the more footage of you they have, the longer the segment.
30. Todd Hundley. KSBH.
29. John Olerud. KSBH.
28. Johan Santana
27. Lenny Dykstra
26. Tug McGraw
25. Jesse Orosco
24. Jon Matlack. Niiiiiiccce.
23. Sid Fernandez
22. Rusty Staub. Man Rusty always seemed huge back in the day. Not when I look at old videos with 2012. I guess players got a lot bigger once they started taking vitamins and working out more around 1995. I’m also sad that everything I liked is now 30 years old.
21. Tommie Agee
20. Bud Harrelson. I think Buddy is starting to be forgotten so I’m glad the old guys stuck up for him.
19. Howard Johnson. 30/30 when that was a novelty. Played SS some days. Yeah.
18. Jerry Grote. Another name I’m glad the old guys stuck up fpr.
17. Al Leiter. This shows how few great players the Mets have had. Al Leiter at 17?
16. David Cone. I will STILL rather have TODAY’s David Cone than Ryan Thompson or Jeff Kent in their prime.
15. Mookie Wilson. What was that clip they were showing? Never heard of it.
14. John Franco. Longevity. I know people like him and he seems nice and he was a captain but I never once thought a game was locked down. Sorry.
13. Edgardo Alfonzo.
12. Ron Darling. Koosman to Doc’s Seaver.
11. Cleon Jones
Ok here we go..the Top 10!!
10. Gary Carter
9. Jose Reyes. Don’t start.
8. David Wright. Hmmm the special went out of its way to mention he is the leader.
7. Carlos Beltran. Never appreciated when he was here. I’m struggling with the names at 8, 9, 10 being below him though.
6. Mike Piazza. At six. Discuss! (I still personally find that 2001 home run to be overrated. I know people treasure it but I’ve never “gotten it.”)
5. Darryl Strawberry
The names coming are obvious to me….
4. Jerry Koosman. Glad he’s up there!
3. Keith Hernandez. The Captain.
2. Dwight Gooden
1. Do I have to say his name? Do I have to say his name? The Franchise. Number 41.
It would take forever to argue and complain about this whole list so I will just stick to the top 10. I just don’t know what they were basing this list on. Is it talent? Impact on the franchise?
I always feel like we overrate Gary Carter because in reality he had 2 good years with the team. Yes he was a leader and was huge in the WS run but I just can’t say he deserves his number retired. With that said he is likely in the right spot on the list.
Keith is another one who gets overrated in my book. He is definitely top 10 but #3 is 3 spots too high. Darryl and Piazza certainly deserve to be higher than Keith. Carlos Beltran although extremely underrated during his time here still needs to be dropped below DW & Jose. He drops IMO for not being here long enough/healthy and not being homegrown. He still deserves top 10. If I had to choose my Top 10 it would likely be as follows:
Seaver, Piazza, Doc, Strawberry, Koosman, Keith, Wright, Jose, Beltran, Carter
At the end of Wright’s career I expect him to easily be top 5. He could potentially become #2 on this list with a WS win.
Before watching the show someone asked me who #2 was and I picked Keith. I thought he was that important. But we all agree we could all argue all day.
That’s the thing. What may be really important to you may not be so important to me. These types of lists are so subjective and as you go through a list of 50, criteria may change as you get deeper into the list. One thing we can all agree upon is Tom Terrific is #1. I wish I was alive and old enough to appreciate the greatness that was The Franchise.
This special should have been 90 minutes…they breezed by way too quick, especially on the early ones.
If Wright stays, he has a chance to get to #2…remember, as of now, our #1 and 2 all time hit leaders COMBINED don’t have 3,000 hits, which is utterly pathetic.
Piazza got screwed here I think…I thought him walking out of Shea with #1 would put him higher.
Piazza deserved to be #2 for some of the same reasons Seaver is #1.
Seaver was the Mets, he was the face of the franchise. When you thought of the Mets in the years Seaver was on the team the first guy you thought of (I am guessing here as I wasn’t alive) was Tom Seaver. Same thing goes for Piazza. He was the face of the franchise and his arrival made the team relevant again.
it did move quickly.
And again we each have our own list. Some of you might think I’m a little high on Mazzilli ;)…whereas I didn’t see Swoboda so I don’t appreciate him as much as someone else who did. Nobody’s right or wrong for once!
there is no way McReynolds should be anywhere near this list. Totally agree with you re: the overrated Big Mouth, John Franco. And yes, Piazza has to be No. 2.
Can’t believe Bonilla and Kingman are on the list. How do Gil and Yogi not make the list. Both played AND managed the Mets.
Yogi had nine at bats with the mets. 9.
I don’t know Gil’s numbers off the top of my head.
Agree with Piazza at #2. I don’t even think it’s close right now. Also, I thought Wright should have been higher possibly even to #3. He’s closing in on a full decade with the team and is amongst the top 5 in virtually every offensive category. I also believe Carter gets overrated and while I “get” how important Keith was, I don’t want to see either of their numbers retired at this point. Keith before Gary, obviously, but c’mon. I have a Fernando Tatis 17 shirt. Retired numbers are for no-brainers and when it takes 20 years, and Limas and Baergas to wear them in between, the issue should be put away.
How about Turk Wendell and/or Dennis Cook? I certainly have very fond memories of both of those guys who were enormously important/effective relievers in the late 90s/early 2000s.
i think keith should have been a little lower, and i think piazza should have been higher
also i think rey ordonez should have been on the list
There’s a lot of regret out there about the Santana contract, but I think that regret is idiotic. It’s not his fault the Mets can’t win. He has been their best pitcher, season to season, since maybe Seaver. Ok, since Gooden. If the Mets had been a better team, he’d have at least one championship here. The man comes to play, and comes to win. Talent and drive.
Carter should be higher too.
Piazza’s stats are probably fueled by roids, and yeah, baseball players have lied enough for me to feel free to air my suspicion, based on his size. He did not exhibit drive in the 2000 World Series, got pushed around by Clemens. Stats are nice, but winners win when the chips are down.
I’d boot Bonilla and Viola off the list in favor of Clendenon and Bobby Jones. Piazza, Wright, Alfonzo, Olerud should all be higher. Beltran, Santana, and Hundley should be lower. Love that Beltran is getting props, but he’s not a top 10 Met.
kingman should be higher. missed g.foster, hofamer robbie alamor, mo vaughn, any 4th outfielder they always have, santiago, ricket henderson, vince coleman, sid finch,timo/acbyanni, those 4 prized rookie pitchers, , todd pratt- the only team leader who was a b/up catcher in ml history!……..
missed seriously- c.swan, d flynn, j youngblood, r.taylor, w.montenez was actually a good met, j.torre/j.fergosi, tim foli
on the list- john franco had about 20 saves in six years and they made him capt.!!!!ron hunt is in the top 20 expos,
traded mets who made list for other teams(actually a more fun list)-n.ryan, a. otis, k.singleton, r. staub, k.mitchel, t.foli, j.kent, that italian guy 2nd base/ who did steroids/ beat everbody up, duffy dyer, jay payton (rockies don’t have a good fifty)..,j.oquendo not really but had a cult-, izzy,
I was surprised how balanced the top 50 was. Being as I am 51 years old I’ve seen most of the players mentioned. Even not ‘seeing’ a player, learning Mets history is important. A 10 year old making a list of Great Yankees would still include Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle right?
Rick Reed was an interesting choice but he was a solid pitcher for us who (With Leiter) helped us get back into playoffs. But Bobby Bonilla does not belong I don’t care what his numbers are. He wa a bum through and through.
Bobby Ojeda had one great year but loses points for gardening in the 1988 playoffs.
The big omission in my book is Donn Clendennon who was the MVP of the ’69 World Series and was a leader for that young team. Other names: Neil Allen, Craig Swan, Randy Myers,
As for the ranking I was surprised Beltran made top 10 and agree that Piazza should have been number 2. His homerun on 9/21/11 was a great moment – but he had far greater moments in leading us to the playoffs in ’99 and World Series in 2000.
Ed
Dave Kingman and Bobby Bonilla cannot be on TOP 50 list. They contributed ill will for the most part and did not contribute to cultue of winning. Replace with deserving Daniel Murphy & Donn Clendenon.
Franco would be out – replace with Billy Wagner or Amando Benitez – his record against non Yankee /Braves teams was amazing. Ron Swoboda out and replace with Al Jackson. his record with early Mets teams playing at .250 -.317 during 1962-64 while he pitched at .400 winning percentage was astounding. pitched 20 or mores games for four years.