Reese Kaplan -- A Hot Start and a Cold Finish for Mets Players

The recent departure of Steven Matz was a bit of an unfortunate close to a chapter in Mets history when a seemingly top-of-the-game quality starter got plagued by a combination of inefficiency, injury and perhaps just plain stress to deliver bottom-of-the-rotation type of stuff.  If he regains positive form, good for him.  If not, then it was a move that made sense.  

As I suggested yesterday, it was more about the salary recovery and ongoing frustration at his inconsistency that led to his departure, not the value of the players received in return.

It's not the first time the Mets have had a seemingly good player all of the sudden fall into a distant second tier when it came to performance.  Many here vividly remember the 2012 season when the tall lefty launched 32 HRs and drove in 90.  He suggested to the Mets management and fan base that he was a long term solution at first base who could make people forget the exploits of others who attempted to take over that position.  

Of course, between his illness and his slumping, he never again approached anywhere near that kind of productivity.  For the rest of his career from 2013 through 2016 he managed to log 23 more HRs and 105 RBIs, but the batting average already suspect at .227 dipped a few points to .222 and it took nearly twice as many at-bats to produce that much offense. 

Unfortunately, there are others in Mets history who have similarly dropped off the edge of the cliff after getting everyone excited about what might have been.  The whole Generation K which included Bill Pulsipher and Paul Wilson was highly disappointing, but it was the start of the professional career of Jason Isringhausen that fit right into this hot start and dismal drop-off scenario.  

In his rookie season in 1995 Isringhausen finished fourth in the Rookie-Of-The-Year voting with a 9-2 record in 14 game starts, including a 2.81 ERA.  He surely looked to be one of the anchors for a mid-90s pitching rotation.  Unfortunately he followed up that hot start with 4.77 ERA in 1996 and a 7.58 ERA in 1977.  He missed significant time with injuries, but after moving onto Oakland and St. Louis he was converted into a closer where he excelled from 2000 through 2008 before ending his pro career in 2009. 

Of course, it’s not always incompetence or injury that derails a player’s career.  Reliever Grant Roberts looked like he had promise to be a long term solution.  After a rookie season in which he finished with a respectable 3.81 ERA and 10 Ks per 9 IP, he followed that up the next year with 34 games in which he delivered a 3-1 record with a sizzling 2.20 ERA.  

Then the following season a photo surfaced which was reminiscent of former Mets Mark Corey and Tony Tarasco getting high together.  This one featured Roberts enjoying his bong.  Needless to say, the Mets dropped him and his MLB career ended by age 26.

Back in 1991 pitcher Anthony Young had a short but impressive introduction to the major leagues by delivering 8 starts in 10 appearances, fashioning a very impressive 3.10 ERA which suggested he would be a key part of the five member starting rotation for years to come.  Unfortunately, he is remembered for his accomplishments with the Mets, but not in a good way.  He set a team record of 27 straight losses.  

To be fair to the man, you don’t get to start that many games without exhibiting more quality than would be expected with those results.  After all, Jerry Koosman won 21 games in 1976 then went onto lose 20 games in 1977.  Overall, Young wasn’t a bad pitcher.  His career ERA of 3.89 these days would net him over $10 million per year, but he just was baseball’s walking embodiment of bad luck. 

Who are some of your most significant examples?

Of former Mets who seemed to have everything on their side...

 

And then soon thereafter couldn’t do anything right?