This Day In Mets Infamy With Rusty: The “My Least Favorite Mets Of All Time” Edition

Well Spring Training so far has been interesting to say the least. Whether it is about the soon to be published book detailing Sandy Alderson’s tenure as the Mets General Manager, the unbridled  excitement of an apparently healthy Matt Harvey or the Mets struggles to find a competent lefty handed relief specialist, there is no shortage of stories for the beat writers that cover this team.

For the most part the players on this team are a likable bunch. David Wright and Curtis Granderson both have great work ethics as well as high wattage smiles. The newly signed Michael Cuddyer is saying all the right things and Matt Harvey is well…. Matt Harvey. So this got me wondering. I have been a fan pretty much since my birth almost 43 years ago and many people can attest that I am a rabid fan that roots for almost every Mets player to succeed. But were there players for whom I couldn’t bare seeing in a Mets uniform ? Well the answer to that is a resounding YES !!

Here are the top 5 least favorite Mets players off all time.

5. Mike Cameron: Yes Mike was a pretty decent outfielder during his rather short tenure as a Met (’04-’05) but I was hoping the Mets would have acquired a higher profile offensive player and yes he did hit 42 homers over his 2 seasons here but at the time I still think there were better options available.

4. Todd Zeille: There are 2 reasons why I never warmed up to Todd – first he had never played one game at first base and second I was pissed that the Mets didn’t go the extra mile to re-sign John Olerud. Yes Zeille was better than adequate in his time here and helped the Mets get to the ’00 World Series but like I said I was a Olerud guy and I feel his bat could’ve propelled us to our third title.

3 Rich Rodriguez: Does anybody else remember him ? Well his claim to fame was he was one time Mets general  Manger, Steve Phillips roommate when both were players in the Mets farm system. Rick who I always will affectionately refer to as “Hair breath Harry” spent the entire ’00 season with the Mets even though he stunk up the joint blowing ballgame after ballgame.

2. Oliver Perez: If you don’t know why “Oh Pee” is on this list then maybe you’ve spent too much time in a monastery !

And lastly at number one is Vince Coleman. The signing of Coleman before  the ’91 season pretty much signaled the end of the halcyon days of the ’80’s and ushered in the lean years of the ’90’s. Besides he was a Met killer when he was a member of the Cardinals and he killed us as a member of the Mets. And he pretty much stamped his own ticket out of here when he threw a lit fire cracker at a young child after a game in Los Angeles which led to his suspension by ownership.

Is there a player or players that you think are more deserving to be on this list > feel free to write your list in the comments section.

And with that said …. HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!!

Mets alumni celebrating a birthday today includes:

Reserve outfielder from the  ’65-’67 season, Al Loplow is 76 (1939).

Utility man from the ’65 season, Gary Kolb is 76 (1940).

Possibly one of the woefully overlooked pitchers in Mets history, Terry Leach is 61 (1954). In 7 seasons with the Mets Leach went 24-9 as a starter and reliever.

Mets third base coach from the ’98 season, Luis Aguayo is 66 (1959).

Reserve catcher from the ’98 season, Jorge Fabergas is 45 (1970)

The ace of the Mets staff from ’08 until he went down with major shoulder surgery in ’12, Johan Santana is 36 (1979).

Transactions of note include:

The New York Mets traded middle reliever, Mardie Cornejo to the Detroit Tigers for middle reliever (and one time Shea Stadium beer vendor), Ed Glynn on March 13, 1979.

The Detroit Tigers claimed reserve outfielder, Shane Halter of the New York Mets on waivers on March 13 2000.

Mo Vaughn loves taking long walks on short beaches !!!!