Reese Kaplan -- Rookie of the Year is Not Quite a Lock

With Pete Alonso having apparently shaken off the post Home Run Derby doldrums, it’s time to think once again about his campaign for Rookie of the Year and what it portends for his baseball future and the Mets.  Let’s take a look at some of the previous winners with Mets ties and see how their first year success translated into future stardom. 

Tom Seaver

The Mets first ever winner of the Rookie of the Year award is deservingly Tom Terrific.  He carried the team on his back for many years and was rightfully rewarded with a plaque in Cooperstown.

Jon Matlack

Many people seem to forget how very good Matlack was for the Mets.  He played for some awful Mets and Rangers teams, finishing his career a game under .500 but also with a sparkling 3.18 ERA over those 13 seasons in the big leagues. 

Pat Zachry

Back in 1976, then with the Cincinnati Reds, Zachry shared the honors of the Rookie award with another future Met, San Diego’s Butch Metzer.  Zachry was the only pitcher who came back to the Mets in the horrific Tom Seaver trade, so there was no way he was going to ever measure up in the fan’s eyes.  He was not a bad pitcher, but surely not Hall of Fame material.  His middle-of-the-rotation stuff had him finishing with a 3.52 ERA.  Nowadays that would land him a $15 million or more per season contract.

Butch Metzger

After starting his career with 10 games in San Francisco, Metzger moved to the Padres where in 1976 he led the league in games finished, sported an 11-4 record and secured 16 saves and a 2.92 ERA.  That was apparently good enough in the eyes of MLB to have him share honors with Zachry.  He came to the Mets as a waiver wire deal from the Cardinals, but was horrible and was out of the majors at age 26 never to return. 

Darryl Strawberry

A mid-season callup in 1983, Strawberry flashed power and speed as well as formidable right field skills.  He finished the year in 122 games with a .257/26/74 slash line to go along with 19 SBs.  Yup, that looked pretty good for a rookie indeed.

Dwight Gooden

The following season Doc Gooden exploded onto the NY Mets with a remarkable 17-9 season in which he struck out 276 in just 218 IP to go along with a stellar 2.60 ERA.  I can remember his starts back then as if it was only yesterday, but just like his teammate Darryl Strawberry, his career went off the rails due to substance abuse issues.  Ironically, as remarkable as he was in the early stages, he finished with a Pat Zachry-like 3.51 ERA for his career. 

Vince Coleman

As a 23-year-old rookie for the St. Louis Cardinals, Vince Coleman hit a rather pedestrian .267 en route to his Rookie of the Year award.  However, it was not what he did with his bat, but rather his legs that got him noticed.  He stole a remarkable 110 bases that year, the first of six consecutive seasons leading the league in that category.  He came to the Mets as a part time player for three years at age 30.  While he still contributed speed, he’s unfortunately best remembered for a number of off-the-field incidents.  He was part of a trio of players cited by a Florida woman in a sexual assault incident along with Darryl Boston and Doc Gooden.  The case was eventually dropped.  He argued with management personnel, including Mike Cubbage, Jeff Torborg and Bud Harrelson.  He injured Gooden by swinging a golf club in the clubhouse, striking him on the pitching arm.  However, the one most people remember is when he threw a lit firecracker into a crowd of autograph seekers in the Dodger Stadium parking lot, injuring two children.  Dallas Green may not have done much as the Mets manager, but one thing he got right was dumping Coleman after that season.

Mike Piazza

Like Tom Seaver, what can you say about Mike Piazza except that his career and trip to Cooperstown were well deserved.  The fact that the Dodgers decided to part ways with him in his prime, banishing him to the Marlins along with Todd Zeile for Gary Sheffield, Charles Johnson, Jim Eisenreich, Bobby Bonilla and Manuel Barrios was a sign of transition from the winning traditions of the O’Malley family to the corporate ownership concerned more with bottom line costs and Piazza’s impending free agency.  The Marlins flipped him to the Mets 8 days later for Preston Wilson, Geoff Goetz and Ed Yarnall.  (They also flipped Zeile to the Rangers who, ironically, also later became a Met). 

Hideo Nomo

Another former Dodger on the list, the well-traveled Nomo made an undistinguished 16 starts for the Mets in 1998, going 4-5 with a 4.82 ERA.  He finished his career with an ERA north of 4.00, but was one of the early high-ticket imports from Asia to have an extended career in the majors.

Jason Bay

It seems hard to imagine Jason Bay once hit .282 with 26 HRs and 82 RBIs in less than a full-time role for the Pirates to earn his ROY award.  We only remember the latter stage of his career where he is the poster child for bad contracts (concussions notwithstanding).  What makes it worse is that he was once a NY Mets minor leaguer who they dispatched to the San Diego Padres along with Josh Reynolds and Bobbly Jones for Jason Middlebrook and Steve Reed.  Yup, that was a stinker for sure.  Then the Padres turned around and traded him to the Pirates along with another former Met, Oliver Perez, and Cory Stewart for slugging outfielder Brian Giles (not to be confused for the weak hitting gloveman who manned the infield for parts of three seasons in the early 1980s. 

Jacob deGrom

That brings us to reigning Cy Young Award winner and current Mets ace, Jacob deGrom.  His career ERA is a remarkable 2.68.  If he played for a team with more offense, his record would be far better than the 62-48 he’s compiled since winning Rookie honors back in 2014. 

So how does Pete stack up against the competition?  Well, there’s not a whole lot there at his level.  Chris Paddack of the Padres was at one point demoted to AA but he’s currently sporting a 7-5 record and a nice 3.19 ERA, good for 2.0 WAR.  (Pete is at 3.9 WAR, but who’s counting?)  Alonso’s only other competition would seem to be Paddack’s teammate, Fernando Tatis, Jr.  He’s have a great year with a .322 AVG, 20 HRs and 48 RBIs to go along with 14 SBs while playing the physically demanding role of shortstop.  He’s also at 3.9 WAR. 

If I had a vote it would go to: