Tom Brennan - 2017 Mets’ Quiz Questions! And Enough Hitters for 2023?

 2017 was not a fun Mets season. 

The answers below these 11 questions re: 2017 spell out why.

But first, a 2022-23 question:

The Mets’ top 8 HR hitters of 2022 are all on the roster still, and hit 146 HRs. The rest of the team (in a ton of at bats) smacked just 25.  

Only Guillorme and Nido were out of that top 8 and they combined for just 5 disappearing baseballs in 580 at bats. 

My guess is, absent further trades, Baty, Alvarez and Vientos will be good for at least 30 Mets’ HRs next year.

So, do the Mets really need another big, expensive bat that retards the development of Baty and Vientos, who don’t require a huge multi-year deal? Fire away.

2017 Quiz Questions:

1. Former Mets ace Jake deGrom hit .211, which was better than which 2 part time Mets sluggers?

2. Which Met was allergic to RBIs in 2017?

3. Which catcher in 348 at bats had 9 more HRs than all Mets catchers in 2022?

4. The Mets had 4 hitters with slug %'s over .500 and 11 in total above .400.  So, how did they win just 70 games?

5. Which ex-Met was 5-2, 2.37 with 14 saves this year, but a terrible 5-11, 5.58 as a 2017 Met?

6. Which 2 ex-Mets were 3-12, 6.00 in 2017, but 24-9 in 2021 with their new team?

7. Which ex-Met hit .322 in 144 games with 69 extra base hits and 93 RBIs with his new team that season?

8. Which lefty reliever in 2017 had the same 6-0 record as lefty Aaron Loup did in 2021?

9. If the Division leading Nats had taken the final month off, would the Mets have caught up to them in wins?

10. Did Noah Syndergaard win more games in 2017 or 2021?

11. Was he or wasn’t he?

Fabulous questions can have equally fabulous answers:

1. "Sluggers" Dominic Smith and Travis Taijeron trailed Jake by hitting .195 and .173, respectively. Maybe Mr. Smith should have gone to Washington, after all.

2. Travis DA had 16 HRs and 57 RBIs to boot.

3. Juan Lagares plated a mere 15 runners in 272 plate appearances, making Bud Harrelson feel better about his scant annual RBIs.

4. A team ERA of 5.01 will lose you a lot of games.  Zack Wheeler and Matt Harvey, three members of the Young Aces, went 10-21 with an ERA of 6.00. 

5. Rafael Montero. 

6. Paul Sewald and Chris Flexen. Something in the water in Seattle. In fact, those two and Rafael Montero were a Roger Craig-like 10-41 as Mets, but have gone 49-29 as ex-Mets. Pretty radical difference.ci know, nothing to be learned there, let’s move on.

7. The Irish Hammer, Daniel Murphy.

8. Jerry Blevins.

9. No. In fact, on August 15, 2017, the Nationals picked up their 71st win, while the pitching challenged Mets won just 70 all year.

10.  Thor won more games in 2017 - that year he won one game. 2021, not so much. ZERO.

11. Yes, he was, when he wasn’t hurt. Yo Yo Cespedes had 292 ABs, and hit 17 HRs and batted .292. That would have fit perfectly on the 2023 Mets team. But that Cespedes no longer exists - in 2020 and this year in winter ball, just 17 for 95. La Potencia is now La Washedupia.

A quiz about a team that finished 27 games out of first place is not apt to be a happy quiz. 

I prefer 101 team win quizzes.