When thinking Mets offensive stars, one immediately thinks of Pete Alonso, David Wright, Mike Piazza.
What about...Lance Johnson?
Johnson moved from the White Sox to the Mets for the 1996 season. The speedster had hit .306 for the Sox in 1995 and has stolen 40 of 46 in 142 games.
But speedsters often go into decline around age 32. Was that the case for the Mets with Johnson?
Not by a long shot.
Before 1996, the Mets’ pathetic season hits record was 191 by Felix Millan. Pete Rose had 10 seasons with 200+ hits. In that perspective, the 191 hit record had bothered me for years.
Lance Johnson having had 186 hits in 142 games made him a possibility in my mind in 1996. (His 1995 season highlight, BTW, was a 6 for 6 game with 3 triples). He actually led the AL in hits. Imagine if he played all 162 games?
But he did better in 1996...a lot better...he SMASHED the Mets’ hit record, with an NL-leading 227 hits in 160 games, or 36 more than Felix Millan’s old record. 20% more!
Only comparable record buying situation was Alonso hitting 53 homers, or 29% more than the old paltry team record of 41.
Lance not only had 227 hits, he stole 50 of 62, and had 21 triples (another team record that still stands) to go along with 31 doubles, 9 HRs, 69 RBIs and 117 runs scored. He fanned just 40 times in 724 plate appearances. He was an All Star, but surprisingly, only 18th in MVP voting. No doubt, the Mets' 71-91 record had a lot to do with that.
His 21 triples were the first time a National Leaguer had 20 or more triples since Willie Mays did it 39 seasons earlier in 1957. Say Hey!
Sadly, the next season, Johnson had severe shin splints in spring training, causing him to miss a lot of early time and affect his speed gift. He hit .309 in 72 games and got shipped to the Cubs at mid-season.
You may argue that Pete’s 2019, or one of Piazza’s seasons, was the Mets’ best ever. I couldn't argue that you were wrong.
But Lance Johnson’s 1996 was something extraordinary.
It was amazing that just 4 seasons later, in 2000, Johnson went just 9 for 30 in 18 games and hung up the spikes.
How fleeting baseball careers can be, how fast one can go from the pinnacle to the end. But what a memory that season was for me.
12 comments:
Not the best, but my favorites...
My favorites at 1B were Montanez and Kingman; 2B I can go with Wally - the human vacuum Doug Flynn runner-up; SS, Roy McMillan - loved him going into the hole for grounders - and Kevin Mitchell; Ed Charles at 3B; Jerry the Gun Grote at catcher; Lance Johnson (my 9:30 article topic, coincidentally!); CF Tommie Agee; and yes, Kevin McReynolds, who could go quick into the left field corner and gun down guys trying for doubles - and hit well, too.
Good one.
You got me here.
Yes, Lance Johnson was even better than those three spectacular years from oft-neglected John Olerud.
No respect for Felix Millan? And Mr. M. E. T. (Marvelous Marv?
Without diving into the specifics, the year Bernard Gilkey had in '97 or '98 is often overlooked.
Gilkey was way up there, Holmer, but I think the combo of Johnson's hits, steals, and slew of extra base hits gave him the edge in my books. It was pretty close, though
Triples are so much more fun to watch than HR's.
Johnson, Gilkey and Hundley all had career years in 1996. Johnson had over 20 triples and 200 hits, Gilkey hit over 30 homers and Hundley hit 41 homers.
Too bad they didn't have any pitching.
Bob W, it is amazing you could have 3 guys like that in the same year and still be under .500. That team had lousy starting pitching.
Hobie, I wonder how many triples Johnson would have had playing in the parks Willie Mays played in. 30? I love HRs - but triples really are exciting.
Actually, the 1996 Mets pitching was not too bad. They were 7th in the majors in ERA at 4.22. What killed them was the defense. They were dead last in fielding percentage with 159 errors - 39 more than the MLB average that year. This resulted in 104 unearned runs. "Defense will rings, championship rings."
Also, for all their hitting, their 1996 OBP was 16 points lower than the MLB average and only higher than 3 other teams. Dead last in walks, 130 below the MLB average.
Luckily the Mets finally have a manager in their system that drilled players on defense everyday, lead the league in defense and won the NY Penn league championship last year...Edgardo Alfonzo. Can't wait until they bring him up the ranks. Wait, what's that? He's no longer the manager in the Mets' system?
But who needs defense. The 1996 Mets didn't and look how great they turned out.
In 1996 Butch Husky made 15 errors, Lance Johnson in Center made 12 errors, Jeff Kent made 21 errors (and he was traded mid-way through), and a young Rey Ordonez made 27 errors! He learned on the job and a great run the next few years until he was hurt in 2000 and was never the same player.
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