Dwight Hood - Finding Nimmo: The search for excellence in a mass of perceived mediocrity

It was early in the 2017 season. I was with the family at Citizen’s Bank Park in Philadelphia.

Why was I there, you ask? I’m a transplant from NYC. I came to the Philadelphia area in 1995 to attend Temple University and to work. Fast forward circa 22 years later. I’m still in the area, married with children and working in the community.

PC - Ed Delany

Back to Citizen’s Bank Park. It is early in the 2017 baseball season. It is April. We are there to see deGrom pitch. Even though he usually receives a minimum of run support from the Mets, we own Philly. It always seems that when we are here, there is an exceptional level of “exit velocity” when our bats hit the balls here at CBP. The Mets usually win against the Phillies at this point.

I was confident Mets fan. After all, out of 30 teams, we ranked 3^rd in team pitching. Our stalwart veteran, Bartolo Colon, “Big Sexy”, won 15 games for us. Noah Syndergaard, “Thor”, won 14 games for us. deGrom and Matz combined for another 16 wins. Gsellman and Lugo were coming into their own as consistent options out of the pen with the ability to start if needed.

About 2 years removed from our World Series 2015 appearance, there are huge question marks. Would Harvey regain his 2015 form after multiple injuries? Could Cespedes at least stay on the field for the 132 games he played in 2016?

We were 26^th in team batting in 2016. I felt we could not put together a consistent contender without offense.

I was walking with the family to find our seats at Citizen’s Bank Park. Who did I bump into? None other than Sandy Alderson. Sandy. Our general manager. I often thought of him as smug, money manager, concerned with saving money for ownership in the wake of the Madoff scandal. I did not perceive him to be responsive to or even aware of fan frustration. Why were we perceived to be operated as a “small market” team? This is NYC. We are competing with the “Evil Empire” and Brian Cashman. The Yankees always seem to be able to just write a check for the players that they want. Their free agents push them to glory. Our free agents just seem to push the fan base to tears.

Okay. Let me get back to the Sandy story…

I smiled at Sandy and shook his hand. He was very personable as he greeted my wife and children. We were all wearing the DeGrom jerseys my wife had recently purchased for us. There was no mistaking our fandom. I inched in closer to Sandy. He was fully engaged. I prefaced my statements with a coy, “I don’t mean to bother you, but I just want to ask a question…” type of inquiry. He obliged me. I asked him about Lorenzo Cain. I said he would be a great veteran addition, and center fielder who could give us that leadoff hitter we have been missing since the heyday of Jose Reyes. He could patrol the vast acreage of Citi Field’s center field, and corner outfielders like Cespedes, Conforto, and NIMMO could play in their “natural” positions. The signing would also provide use with depth, since he would join Gold Glover Juan Lagares, who was still have difficulty staying healthy.

Then it came. Sandy’s response. I guess, deep down in my core, I was expecting it. I guess I took for granted that my advanced degree in Psychology had earned me some level of expertise in the art of persuasion. I felt that my “obvious” passionate fandom could persuade a Major League Baseball front office executive to make a multi-million-dollar commitment that could possibly lead “my team” to consistent victories. I could then sit back on my couch, beverage of choice in hand, and “blogger brag” that I had a hand in changing the course of Mets history…

Alas, it was not to be. Sandy’s answer brought my elevator crashing from the penthouse self-absorption to the ground floor of reality.

Sandy’s response was something that sounded like the following:

“Cain is an option that we may wish to look into. We are probably still looking at a Nimmo/Lagares platoon in center.”

I smiled. Sandy smiled. He told us it was great to see us. He told us to enjoy the game. I watched him walk away. I understood his response. Cain would be a costly addition. What if we signed him, and he turned out to be another Jason Bay?

PC - Ed Delany

But, why was I discounting Nimmo. Brandon Nimmo. Our exuberant outfielder who loved playing the game. He just wanted to get on base to help us win. He could hit for power. He could walk with the bases loaded if he needed to. He could play all outfield positions, and demonstrated a great eye for the strike zone. Even when he was slumping, he would always seem to get on base. Hell, he RAN to 1^st based on a walk.

Why did I want to push him aside? Push him aside like Daniel Murphy, Justin Turner? Here’s one. Amos Otis. Here is another. Kevin Mitchell. Here is another. Jeff Kent. Need I go on?

Sandy Alderson is no longer our GM. Suffice to say, we Mets fans have mixed feelings about his tenure. Most of us feel that Cespedes was probably his best free agent signing, and he was helpful in the 2015 World Series run. However, his tenure here was not one of consistent winning with a competitive team. Most of the impactful youth like Harvey and deGrom are remnants of the Omar Minaya days. Sandy is now in Oakland. He was able to survive a health scare. I personally wish him the best. He seemed like a good person. I would like to personally thank him for his service to the Metropolitans.

I don’t want to ignore the brief Alderson tutorial that I was provided with on that chilly April Sunday in Philadelphia. The Giants “found” Mitchell and Kent after we essentially gave up on them. Both had MVP seasons. Last time I checked, Kent was being considered by the baseball writers for the Hall of Fame. After we introduced Justin Turner to Marlon Byrd and left him open to the other 29 teams in the MLB, he was “found” and signed by the Dodgers. In LA, he is power hitting 3^rd baseman with a massive leg kick and maximum “exit velo”. After the 2015 NLCS, we decided not to sign the “net negative” Daniel Murphy. After he was “found” knocking around baseballs for the Nationals and Cubs as a .300 average “doubles machine”, he is in the process of settling in to Coors Field, a veritable high altitude, “hitter’s paradise.”

It seems like everyone else in the MLB can “find” talent. Can “find” those “diamonds in the rough” that we cast away.

Maybe Sandy is helping me, helping us, to “find” Nimmo. Not “Neeemo” as his surname is mistakenly pronounced throughout the league, but “Nim-Oh”, our speedy, high OBP, multi-position, “home-grown” Met. In Nimmo, we have the tools for winning. He may or may not be a superstar. But, on that 1986 team that won it all, were Backman, Santana, Hearn, Wilson, Aguilera, and the like superstars? May not according to the statisticians, but we could NOT have won without them.

Maybe, just maybe, Sandy wasn’t smug, but thoughtful. Maybe, just maybe, Sandy wasn’t cheap, but anticipatory. Maybe Sandy knew that we would need to sign deGrom and Syndergaard long-term, and that we needed to “find” the potential in players like “Nim-Oh” and Lagares, so as not to repeat the Mitchell-Kent-Turner-Murphy miscues of the past.