2/23/12

NYM -15 Most Deadly Base-Stealers in Franchise History - Frank Gray


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The New York Mets have had many good stolen base threats in their 50 years
Nick Laham/Getty Images
When a baseball fan looks at MLB teams that are known for stolen bases, they may not immediately think of the New York Mets. There are teams much more legendary than the Mets in this category.
The Cincinnati Reds of the 1970s and the St Louis Cardinals of the 1980s come to mind. Names like Willie McGee, Joe Morgan, Pete Rose and Ozzie Smith are all synonymous with speed and hard baserunning. However, the Mets have had several burners of their own.
Several Hall of Fame candidates, members and other standouts in MLB history have donned the blue and orange at one point in their careers.
Names like Brett Butler, Roberto Alomar and Rickey Henderson are all former Mets who never made their mark on the basepaths in Queens as expected.
While they may not have caught fire swiping bags, there are plenty of others who did. The following is a list comprised of the greatest threats to steal a base in team history, not just based on numbers.
There are exceptions, however. Some of these are that the player must have at least 45 stolen bases as a Met and have been considered a legitimate base-stealer in their era.
In addition, players that have had extended careers with the club but minimal season averages in this category will not be considered.
Some of these players may be high on the list statistically, but due to their long careers, were not truly considered "deadly base-stealers".
That means players like Cleon Jones, who has 91 stolen bases in 12 seasons, may be ruled out despite ranking 14th overall in team history.
Other players, like the aforementioned Rickey Henderson will not even be considered for this list as a result.
His 42 Mets stolen bases in 152 games across two seasons do not meet the criteria despite the fact that he is the greatest base-stealer of all time.
In other words, just because they were great somewhere else, don't necessarily expect them to be on this list.
With all of this explained, let's belly flop right in.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1066821-new-york-mets-15-most-deadly-base-stealers-in-franchise-history 

1 comment:

Brian Berness said...

You mean to say that the deadly Kevin McReynolds (67/82 and a 21 for 21 in 1988) doesn't merit consideration?