Reese Kaplan -- Memorable is Not Always Good

Many of you have likely seen Mack’s daily columns about your all-time favorite Mets players broken down by position.  Sure, it’s easy to gravitate to a David Wright at 3B, a Mike Piazza behind the plate or even a Keith Hernandez at 1B (though I throw my support to John Olerud).  However, there are players who become favorites for other reasons, if not the thundering bat, vacuum-like glove or blazing running speed.  Towards that end, I wanted to offer up a top team of players you remembered watching (if not always for good reason).

First Base

I can see a great many contenders at this position, including out-of-position catchers, anemic hitting benchwarmers and others not destined for the All Star Game nor Cooperstown.  Dave Kingman, for example, was not playing 1B due to his defensive acumen.  Todd Zeile was shifted across the diamond essentially to fit his bat into the lineup.  Still, the sideshow candidates there like Mo Vaughn, singles hitters like Dave Magadan or catchers like Todd Pratt probably still don’t hold a candle to the flashiness of Willie Montanez or the brief ascension to the majors of minor league thumper Val Pascucci. 

Second Base

Personally, I find the shifting of All Star shortstop Jose Reyes to play 2^nd base to make room for the immortal Kaz Matsui one of the more interesting (and questionable) strategies.  I’m open to suggestions here, including guys whose defensive acumen was more well suited to protecting their adult beverages than to fielding their position.  Wilmer Flores comes to mind. 

Shortstop

There is the unforgettable Omar Quintanilla who logged a lot of innings there without showing much on either side of the diamond.  Wilmer Flores once again rings the bell as a DH in the making.  Let’s not forget the aforementioned Kaz Matsui, too.  Then there was Kevin Mitchell…

Third Base

It would seem like you could write a whole book on this position as the Mets have treated it more-or-less as a treadmill.  Leave out the respectable players like Robin Ventura, Edgardo Alfonzo, Howard Johnson and David Wright.  Beam in on the unusual residents of the hot corner, including Mr. Kingman, Joe Torre (whose 3^rd base days were clearly behind him), John Stearns, Alex Trevino, Zach Lutz, Anthony Recker or Jose Bautista.

Catcher

Sure, the Mets have enjoyed some highly respectable guys behind the dish calling the game, including Mike Piazza, Gary Carter, Jerry Grote and John Stearns.  Then, of course, they succumbed to less memorable folks back there, including Clint Hurdle, John Gibbons, Tucker Ashford and others.  However, for me the most significant was the hard hitting but enigmatic throwing Mackey Sasser.

Outfield

Rather than isolate them to one position or another, let’s just tackle them as a group.  Who can forget the relief pitcher/outfielder stunt of Jesse Orosco and Roger McDowell rotating between the mound and the wide open spaces of the outfield during a 1986 season game against the Cincinnati Reds.  Then there was the idea of turning Todd Hundley into an outfielder upon the arrival of Mike Piazza.  A fan favorite, Rusty Staub, was inexplicably playing when he could barely move and couldn’t throw.  Stolen base king Roger Cedeno was always worth a watch trying to navigate underneath a fly ball. 

Starting Pitcher

To me the crown jewel here has to be the late Anthony Young who, from May of 1992 through July of 1993 managed to lose 27 consecutive decisions.  He was 0-13 out of the pen, but bested that by going 0-14 as a starter.  Before those of you too young to remember him write him off as a talentless hack, remember he pitched to a career 3.89 ERA, so you’re talking about someone who would be looking for Zack Wheeler money today. 

Relief Pitcher

Here’s an interesting trail to take as well, as there were many relievers who flashed some talent but control, odd delivery or something got in their way to prevent them from finding any extended success.  There were strikeout artists like Jack Leathersich and Josh Smoker who couldn’t seem to find the plate often enough to fan the batters.  Screwball pitchers like John Franco could make some batters seem powerless.  Knuckleballers lived and died in the slow lane.  Still, the pitchers that probably make the most vivid (and not good) memories would include Mel Rojas, Frank Francisco and many others who didn’t even last that long.