MY FAVORITE METS PLAYER by Tom Brennan
Writers can deeply
analyze, or look for the next shred of news or potential news, to write about
something deep. Let me take another approach.
I am no kid, but I reflect
back on the days when I was a kid and the Mets were brand new. Good or
bad, I was a fan. Watched every game when I wasn't in school. I loved my
team, I loved my players. I was excited the season Dennis Ribant of all people
suddenly did well. Stuff like that.
When I was 13 years old
and played with my brother Bob at St Greg's in Bellerose, and the 2 story
school was just to the right of the right field foul pole, 175 feet away, and
I'd jack beat up baseballs (stitching split or the cover off altogether) onto the roof and pretend to be Ed Kranepool. (OK, if I really
smashed one, more like the Pirates' Willie Stargell at Forbes Field, where he landed many moon
shots up on the roof).
Well, the 2016 Mets team should be really good, not bad at
all, and I want to write about my favorite players on the team, as a fan.
No sabermetrics in my upcoming articles, just fan stuff. Who wows me? It is a kid's game.
Today, I will start with
my favorite Met. Many to choose from but my #1 player is: NOAH
SYNDERGAARD!
Growing up a huge Thor
comic book fan aside, I first got REALLY psyched about the Mets as a kid watching Nolan
Ryan throw gas as a teenager in his first game. Whew! Never saw THAT before.
Loved Seaver, so let me not skip him, but there
was nothing like the teenage Doctor, Doc Gooden, electrifying fans, including
me, right from the get-go in 1984. Wow, what a fan moment that was! Goose bumps
and K cards.
Back to Syndergaard. Thor comes up last year, and naturally smokes a 430 foot
homer, like all pitchers do (in their dreams) and then starts smoking hitters.
Man, how awesome was it to see him come in firing laser beams in the
playoffs. I loved that game where we needed a great performance and
everything in the first inning was 100, 101, 102. Wow. I'm too good
for you mere mortals.
And throwing over that guy's head on Kansas City?
"Have a seat, sir, this is MY game. Now...do you feel lucky...punk?
Well, do ya?" And then letting the Royals know that if they
wished to have a cordial discussion about it, he'd be on the mound waiting.
As an opposing player, I'd take a pass, knowing Thor deadlifts and leg
presses well over 400 pounds.
NOAH may not yet be the best player on the team at this point,
but kids like me can pick their favorites, right? Mine is Syndergaard. He
may just be the Next Roger Clemens - but a nice and fun variety. Except when he
is throwing cheddar cheese near someone's noggin. Not so nice, not so polite. Lots
of fun.
Next article? My runner up favorite. Tune in then to
find out who.
One of the really nice things about this team is their likability. Seems like a bunch of really good guys, and it's pretty clear listening to them that they are a close knit group who genuinely like and root for each other. To me, that makes them even more fun to root for. heading into this season, it seems like Neil Walker is a genuinely good guy, that Bastardo is an old friend of (and maybe even a bit of a mentor to) Familia... In other words, more of the same. 2016 should be a fun season.
ReplyDeleteAdam, it is great indeed to like the players you root for. No Albert Bells in the bunch.
ReplyDeleteADAM -
ReplyDeleteThe pitchers are especially tight. They are very proud of their collective talent and strut around together pre-game.
So they should really support one another's successes and struggles. And all will be better for it. Scary thought for other teams.
ReplyDeleteHey I've been around since the beginning as well and never in our illustrious history have we had a team were a player cried when he thought he was traded another player call the GM and asked NOT to be traded and another who pasted up a 100 million plus contract to play for us. You couldn't ask for more as a fan and for the first time since 09' I'm really looking forward to THIS season.
ReplyDeleteThe one scary note of course is were ALL buying into this LOL. LETS GO METS!
ReplyDeleteJust curious if anyone on this site would like to talk Mets with me..phone or skype whatever you want. I live in Sarasota Fl. and there aren't any Met fans to talk to. If your interested my email is seagren@verizon.net Thanks
ReplyDeleteThor's growth last season was off the charts. Just a pleasure to watch him mature so quickly in front of our eyes. When looking forward to this season one of the most exciting things to think about is that while he's still learning, there won't be the same kind of learning curve there was last year. We'll have this monster from the gitgo. And, yes, the guys on this team seem to all be on the same page, and genuinely love playng for the Mets. Like the Royals last year, their goal is to get back to the World Series and win it. Baseball's a funny game and lots can happen during the season, but it's hard not be as excited about this team's prospects as any in the team's history, and I've been there for all 54 of 'em.
ReplyDeleteDave Schups, I agree. These guys are exciting, and I think Thor has Hall of Fame potential - but potential and getting there are two very different things at this stage of his career. Thor was older than Doc Gooden was when he made his debut, but his 2015 bore a lot of resemblance to Doc's 1984 trajectory...and we know what he did in 1985. Maybe Thor is a 20 game winner on this team in 2016.
ReplyDeleteReally liked this small piece you wrote here. Thor is a great choice and as much as you like him, the cool part is that he loves you right back. The guy loves being a Met and has embraced New York. Thor is a winner Tom. Harvey on the other hand has embraced the lime light of NY but not necessarily the NY Mets.
ReplyDeleteGreat piece again but it soured a little when you mentioned the loser Roger Clemens. That lying juice head who threw and hit one of my hero's Mike Piazza, in the head.