HAPPY MARCH, EVERYBODY!!
I drafted up an article the other day on how lethal Rico Carty was in his career against the Mets. It'll publish in a few days.
Essentially, now that I whet your appetite a slight tad:
He could really hit in the 1960s. The Mets? They really stunk in the 1960s. So, put the two together, and of course...he hit .380 against the Mets in 300 at bats.
But, over the two team's long history against one another, there were other Mets Killers, some pitchers, some hitters.
Let's start with 3 Hall of Fame pitchers. The Mets were padlocked out of the playoffs for many a season in the 1990s by Braves' pitching.
Greg Maddux actually was drafted in the second round by the Cubs, not the Braves.
At ages 20 and 21, he was not GREG MADDUX yet, going just 8-18, 5.58 for the Cubbies in 1986 and 1987. Some Cubs fans then probably couldn't wait to get rid of the bum. "LOSER!"
The bum, though, ended up winning 355 games. He began to hit his stride totally as he headed into the 1990s.
The Mets actually did pretty well over Maddux's career against him, relatively speaking - he was "just" 35-19, 3.36. Much of the Mets' success against him, I'd imagine, was in his early days when the Mets had terrific 1980s teams.
But those 35 wins vs. the Mets were by far the most he won against any team. Naturally. That's what Met Killers do.
John Smoltz I thought would have more notable Met Killer numbers, but he was just 18-15, 3.44 against them. But, look a little closer - he also finished 28 games against them and racked up 24 saves. He killed them out of the bullpen.
As I recall, he fanned David Wright in his first career at bat, catching him looking on what I remember to be a VERY favorable call for Smoltz by the ump. Smoltz ended his career with 213 wins and 154 saves. He was, BTW, a stinky 2-7, 5.48 as a rookie - Braves, no doubt, were glad they stuck with him.
Tom Glavine was another young stinker, just 9-21 in his first two seasons, with an ERA close to 5.00. So, if you take Maddux's first two seasons, Smoltz's first season, and Glavine's first two seasons, they combined to go 17-45. No one had Cooperstown on speed dial for the trio back then.
But they won nearly 900 games between them along with all those Smoltz saves. Morale of that story? Be careful of the guys who go 17-45 early. They might just turn into juggernauts like Paul Sewald and Chris Flexen.
Glavine, the man who, before he joined the Mets, often seemed to have an infinitely wide strike zone thanks to generous umps, was an "OK" 61-56 as a Met, but was a simply superb 244-147 as a Brave. Figures.
And he was 17-7, 2.82 against the Mets while he was a Brave.... ouch. Definition of a Met Killer.
One last Braves pitcher I remember putting a severe hurting on the Mets was (future Hall of Famer?) Craig Kimbrel. As an Atlanta Brave for 5 seasons out of their pen, he was simply other-worldly against everyone:
15-10, 1.43 ERA, 289 IP, 186 saves, 476 Ks, just 153 hits.
An utter beast. Even with a few bad years with the Cubs, in his entire career against the Mets, he is 1-0, 1.29 ERA, 28 saves, 55 Ks in 35 innings. Mercy!!
Enough about the pitchers. They also had Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews and Joe Torre (as well as Rico Carty) to kill them in the 1960s, but more recently, they had the Wood Chipper, the less than splendid splinter, Hall of Famer Chipper Jones, and also (future Hall of Famer?) Freddie Friggin' Freeman to kill them.
Chipper as Met Killer? What he do, bruh?
858 at bats, 46 doubles, 49 HRs, 159 RBIs, .309/.406/.543. Good grief!
And Freddie?
699 at bats, 50 doubles, 28 HRs, 115 RBIs, and .305/.390/.499 against some pretty strong Mets pitching during the Freddie years. Met Killer.
Look at those names and you know why for so many prolonged periods over the decades, the Mets have played second fiddle to the Braves.
There were just too many Met Killers roaming the earth with Braves uniforms on. And too many Mets' scalps hanging in their trophy rooms.
But the Mets had Crazy Horse - just ask Yoenis Cespedes.
4 comments:
13 HOURS OF NEGOTIATIONS YESTERDAY?
They must be getting serious. I guess serious = good.
Honestly, if they pushed the season back a week, it would still start days earlier than when the Mets first opened in 1962. I think opening in March in the north is stupid, personally, and another week is another week warmer. Do that, have some doubleheaders, all good.
Nice article on Mets.com today showing tape of Carlos Cortes, Jake Mangum, and Cal Ziegler being interviewed.
I remember a fella named Ralph Garr hitting and running wild against us.
Garr was career .281 against the Mets - but .306 career. So relatively speaking, he was not a Mets killer.
There was a guy who hit .300 or better 6 times, started to show slippage at age 32 and 33, then was done at age 34. Beware long term contracts.
In 1971-77, he averaged nearly .320 - why not give him a 10 year deal until he was 38 after he hit .353 at age 28? Would have been an enormous mistake.
Every time I see this sort of thing, I hope Lindor is good for more than 5 years of that huge contract.
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