It is a well known fact that the Mets de facto strength over their 53 year history has been their pitching. When you look through the list of the men who have donned the Mets uniform while taking the mound, you will see a impressive list of names that include Seaver, Gooden, Darling, Koosman, Ojeda, Matlack , Leiter. It looks as though their current crop of phenoms such as Harvey, deGrom, Syndergaard, Matz and Wheeler may soon join this list of elite pitchers. But standing in the shadows of these men are pitchers that were just as integral to the pitching rotation but are overlooked by the fans.
Here is in my opinion the top 5 overlooked starters in Mets history.
5. Craig Swan: “Swannie” spent a total of 12 years with the Mets and amassed a record of 59-71 with a E.R.A of 3.72. But Craig suffered from being on those Mets teams of the late ’70’s and early ’80’s that failed to give him any type of run support or defense. He also suffered from a torn rotator cuff injury that required surgery. I still maintain that he would have been a number 2 pitcher on any other team of that era.
4. John Matlack: Yes Matlack was the ’72 Rookie of the Year winner, but he was always in the shadows of Seaver and Koosman. He like the aforementioned Swan also suffered from a lack of run support and by the time he was traded to the Rangers in ’77 he had amassed a record of 82-81 with an E.R.A of 3.03 and 65 complete games.
3. Sid Fernandez: Fat jokes aside, what can you say about “El Sid” that hasn’t been said already. His heroics out of the Mets bullpen were legendary and he could have been another teams number 2 starter, but when you have Gooden, Darling and Ojeda in your rotation it is easy to see how his 98-78 record and 3.14 E.RA could be overlooked !
2. Bobby Jones: Probably one of the most under appreciated starting pitchers in Mets history. In his 8 year career as a Met Jones went 74-56 with an E.R.A of 4.13. He will always be remembered for that one hitter that he threw against the San Francisco Giants during the ’99 NLDS.
And coming in at number one of my list of the most overlooked pitchers in Mets history is none other than Rick Reed. Rick Reed was a journeyman pitcher who had crossed the picket lines to pitch for the Reds during the ”94 players strike (this in later years didn’t endear him with his fellow teammates) He would win a spot on the ’97 Mets rotation and man did he pitch ! In his 5 year stint with the Mets Reed went 59-36 with an E.R.A of 3.66. His best season with the Mets was in ’98 when he went 16-11 with an E.R.A of 3.48. He was always referred to as the “poor man’s Greg Maddux.
So here is my list do you agree ? Do you disagree ? Who would you add or omit from this list ?
And with that said…. HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!!
Current Mets captain and the teams all time hits leader, third baseman, David Wright is 33. (1982)
Current Mets middle reliever, Erik Goeddel is 27 (1988)
Other transactions of note include:
The New York Mets traded starting pitcher, Jim McAndrew to the San Diego Padres for minor league pitcher. Steve Simpson on December 20, 1973.
The New York Mets traded center fielder, Juan Samuel to the Los Angeles Dodgers for reserve first baseman/outfielder, Mike Marshall and middle reliever, Alejandro Pena on December 20, 1989. Samuel never was able to ingratiate himself with Mets fans after being traded for both Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell,. His .228 batting average three home runs and 28 rbi’s didn’t help either.
Middle reliever, Jeff Musselman was granted free agency on December 20, 1990.
The New York Mets signed free agent reserve outfielder, Jeff McKnight of the Baltimore Orioles on December 20, 1991.
The New York Mets signed free agent second Willie Randolph of the Milwaukee Brewers on December 20, 1991. Randolph – the one time Yankees great played one season with the Mets before retiring. He as we all know would end up managing the Mets for three and a half seasons before being fired midway into the ’08 season.
The New York Mets signed free agent reserve outfielder, Gary Thurman of the Seattle Mariners on December 20, 1995.
The New York Mets traded middle reliever, Robert Person to the Toronto Blue Jays for premiere first baseman, John Olerud on December 20, 1996. This had to be one of the best trades in Mets history.
The Baltimore Orioles signed shortstop, Mike Bordick of the New York Mets as a free agent on December 20, 2000. And Mets fans everywhere cheered !
The New York Mets signed free agent outfielder Cliff Floyd of the Boston Red Sox on December 20, 2002. “Uncle Cliffy” would provide a much needed veteran presence to a very young and inexperienced group of Mets players.
The Atlanta Braves signed middle reliever, Joe DePastino of the New York Mets as a free agent on December 20, 2003.
The St Louis Cardinals signed back up first baseman, Brian Daubach of the New York Mets as a free agent on December 20, 2005.
The Atlanta Braves signed utility man,Chris Woodward of the New York Mets as a free agent on December 20, 2006.
The Milwaukee Brewers signed reserve outfielder, Trot Nixon of the New York Mets as a free agent on December 20, 2008.
Mo Vaughn isn’t fat !!!! He’s just big boned !!!
