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	<title>Mets &#187; Cliff Floyd</title>
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		<title>The Mets of Montreal</title>
		<link>http://mets.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/04/13/the-mets-of-montreal/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Apr 2016 10:00:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sara Novic]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cliff Floyd]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gary Carter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pedro Martinez]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rusty Staub]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Montreal called and it wants its baseball back. For several years, rumors have been swirling about the potential return of MLB to Quebec, and they picked up again at the start of this season. According to The Montreal Baseball Project—a group founded by former Expo Warren Cromartie—Montreal is currently the largest city in North America [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Montreal called and it wants its baseball back. For several years, rumors have been swirling about the potential return of MLB to Quebec, and they picked up again at the start of this season. According to <a href="http://montrealbaseballproject.com/en/about/">The Montreal Baseball Project</a>—a group founded by former Expo Warren Cromartie—Montreal is currently the largest city in North America without a team, with a population of over four million in the metropolitan area. The Project does everything from public engagement on social media to feasibility studies about new stadium construction to support the return of baseball to the city.</p>
<p>The Expos franchise relocated to Washington D.C. in 2005 after years of poor attendance in Montreal, but baseball supporters say things have changed since. First, Montreal&#8217;s mayor has made bringing the Expos back part of his platform, and has been campaigning for baseball’s return to the city <a href="http://globalnews.ca/news/2309915/montreal-mayor-taking-big-swing-to-bring-baseball-back-to-city/">since he took office in 2013</a>. Impressive attendance numbers at exhibition games over the past two pre-seasons, too, suggest the public’s renewed attraction to the sport; notably a two-day Mets and Blue Jays series in 2014 brought a crowd of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/19/sports/baseball/baseball-fever-remains-in-montreal-with-hope-of-a-new-team.html?_r=0">96,000</a>, with a 2015 Reds/ Jays series racking up similar attendance figures.</p>
<p>Fans also point to the death of former Expos star Gary Carter, and the fact that there are now two French-Language sports channels available in Montreal as other catalysts for the public’s resurgent interest in the game. Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, too, is more open to the idea of a team in Montreal than Bud Selig, calling a return “<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/19/sports/baseball/baseball-fever-remains-in-montreal-with-hope-of-a-new-team.html?_r=0">a viable possibility</a>,” provided the MLB finds itself in a position to relocate a team or expand.</p>
<p>Both expansion clubs of the 60s, Expos and Mets fans have, over the years, shared the familiar heartbreak of rooting for a fledgling young team. Fans have also shared a love of several key players who starred on both teams at some point in their careers. Given the low budget preventing the Expos from resigning strong players once they were eligible for arbitration, many teams can probably say the same; nevertheless, here are a few stars close to our hearts who’ve worn blue pinstripes on both sides of the <a href="http://www.internationalboundarycommission.org/">International Boundary</a>.</p>
<h3>Rusty Staub (<a href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=29332">WARP 56.2</a>)</h3>
<p>An Expo from the team’s inaugural 1969 season and the first guy to win the Expos’ Player of the Year award, outfielder/ first baseman Rusty Staub is arguably the most-beloved of the Expo-Met trajectory players. While in Montreal he took French lessons in an effort to connect with Francophone fans, telling <a href="http://www.si.com/vault/1970/07/06/611444/in-montreal-they-love-le-grand-orange"><em>Sports Illustrated</em></a><em>: </em>“I felt I should be able to communicate with the people of Montreal in their own language. After all, they were interested in baseball. I thought I should be interested enough in them to learn how to converse with them.” As a result, Staub became a fan favorite and was gifted perhaps the best nickname in all of baseball: “<em>Le Grand Orange,</em>” for his red hair. He remains the franchise leader in OBP for players with over 2,000 team plate appearances at <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/WSN/leaders_bat.shtml">.402</a>, and the Expos retired the number 10 in his honor in 1993.</p>
<p>Despite a series of injuries, Staub continued to perform well with the Mets, leading the team in hits and RBIs in 1974. In 1975 he became <a href="http://m.mets.mlb.com/news/article/2211657/">the first Met ever to surpass 100 RBIs in a season</a> (with 105 total), a team record he would hold until 1986 when he was inducted into the <a href="http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/nym/history/nym_history_halloffame.jsp">Mets Hall of Fame</a> and his record was tied by …</p>
<h3>Gary Carter (<a href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=17845">WARP 65.3</a>)</h3>
<p>Catcher for the Expos from 1974 to 84 and then for the Mets from 1985-89, Carter was another player to earn acclaim from both teams. After a decade of strong hitting for the Expos, his number eight was retired by the organization in 1993. A street near the Expos’ former park was renamed for him in 2013.</p>
<p>Carter was an important part of the Mets’ 1986 World Series win, with two home runs and nine RBI, one of which was the sacrifice fly in Game 6 that tied the score. He was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 2001, and won Manager of the Year Awards for his work with the Gulf Coast Mets and St. Lucie Mets in 2005 and 2006.</p>
<p>An <a href="http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20060109&amp;content_id=1293116&amp;vkey=pr_nym&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;c_id=nym">11-time All-Star and three-time Golden Glove winner</a>, Carter was also inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003. He died in 2012 after suffering from brain cancer.</p>
<h3>Cliff Floyd (<a href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=1317">WARP 27</a>)</h3>
<p>Floyd made his MLB debut with the Expos in 1993 as the <a href="http://www.amazinavenue.com/2012/8/13/3226565/top-50-mets-44-cliff-floyd">National League’s youngest player</a> at the time. He played in Montreal until 1997, then again in 2002, before being picked up by the Mets in 2003. A rookie with the Expos, and hindered by injuries during his time with the Mets, Floyd actually put up his best batting average with the Marlins (.317 in 2001), but he had a particularly successful 2005 season with the Mets, hitting his career-high of 34 home runs &#8230; also the Mets’ highest total that year.</p>
<p>Floyd was on the <a href="http://baseballhall.org/hof/2015-bbwaa-ballot/floyd-cliff">BBWAA Ballot for Hall of Fame in 2015</a>. He currently broadcasts games with Sirius XM.</p>
<h3>Pedro Martinez (<a href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=1333">WARP 80.4</a>)</h3>
<p>Full disclosure: I had a giant crush on Pedro Martinez growing up, so please excuse any fangirling. But honestly, can you blame me? Debuting with the Dodgers in 1992, Martinez hit his stride after joining the Expos, including pitching nine perfect innings against the Padres before they scored a hit in the bottom of the 10th. His 1997 season saw him go 17-8 with a 1.90 ERA and 305 strikeouts, earning him the Cy Young Award and the honor of being the only Expo ever to win one.</p>
<p>As a Met from 2005-2008, Martinez started strong with a record of 15-8, leading the National League with a 0.95 WHIP, his sixth time topping in the category. He was injured and needed surgery in 2006, but played well in 2007 upon his return and recorded his 3000<sup>th</sup> strikeout that year (against only 701 walks), becoming the first Latin American pitcher to do so. Though a Met at the end of his career (the less said about his Phillies run, the better), the whole career was such an impressive one—219 wins and 100 losses, an ERA of 2.93, and the highest winning percentage by a right-handed pitcher since 1893—his continued celebration is much deserved.</p>
<h3>Bartolo Colón (<a href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=395">WARP 38.6</a>) (was on Expos in 2002)</h3>
<p>Okay, so he was only an Expo briefly in 2002–after his career was underway with several seasons in Cleveland–but how could I resist the chance to sing the praises of Big Sexy? With a 20-8 record, including three shutouts and eight complete games, his time in Montreal was pretty damn impressive. Plus, as of March 4 of this year, Colón remains the <a href="http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/04/bartolo-colon-new-york-mets-montreal-expos-mlb">last active player to have played for the Expos</a>. After the retirement of LaTroy Hawkins last year, Colón is also the oldest active player in the MLB.</p>
<p>In 2014, Colón took his 200<sup>th</sup> win in a game against the Phillies, and in 2015 he broke the team record previously held by Dwight Gooden for <a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=350618114">most consecutive decisions as a starter (26)</a>.</p>
<p>Though <a href="http://nypost.com/2016/02/24/why-bartolo-colon-turned-down-more-money-to-stay-with-mets/">he was offered more money elsewhere</a>, Colón chose to stick with the Mets, signing a one-year contract for 2016. That, combined with the extensive <a href="http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/get-to-know-bartolo-colon-1.2826262">charity work</a> he does in his hometown of Altamira, and these <a href="http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2015/02/23/110133974/heres-photographic-evidence-that-bartolo-colon-is-the-happiest-player-at-spring-training">photos of him in spring training</a> show his true colors as not only a talented pitcher, but an all-around good guy.</p>
<p>I’ve got my fingers crossed for the baseball lovers of Montreal that a team makes its way back to Quebec soon. In the meantime, motion to get a poutine stand at Citi Field?</p>
<p><em>Photo Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Our Favorite Non-Stars</title>
		<link>http://mets.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/03/28/our-favorite-non-stars/</link>
		<comments>http://mets.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/03/28/our-favorite-non-stars/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Mar 2016 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[BP Mets Staff]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lineup Card]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bobby Jones]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brian Bannister]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cliff Floyd]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dae-Sung Koo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Daisuke Matsuzaka]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Daryl Boston]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ed Kranepool]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Endy Chavez]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eric Young]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erik Goeddel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gregg Jefferies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jose Valverde]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lucas Duda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mike Baxter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rey Ordonez]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rick Reed]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[staff posts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Todd Hundley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Turk Wendell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ty Wigginton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wilmer Flores]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mets.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=9</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I think that perhaps the best way to introduce you to the staff here at BP &#8211; Mets is to let our staff members tell you a little bit about their favorite Mets. But it&#8217;s too easy to talk about Doc Gooden and David Wright and Tom Seaver. No, it&#8217;s much more interesting to talk [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I think that perhaps the best way to introduce you to the staff here at BP &#8211; Mets is to let our staff members tell you a little bit about their favorite Mets. But it&#8217;s too easy to talk about Doc Gooden and David Wright and Tom Seaver. No, it&#8217;s much more interesting to talk about our favorite Mets who were never stars: the guys who spent years (or months) in Flushing grinding away, doing the things that endear them to some, but not all.</p>
<p>Below you&#8217;ll find our staff&#8217;s picks for some of their favorite former (and current!) Mets non-stars, and why.</p>
<p><b><i>Ed Kranepool &#8211; 4.8 career WARP</i></b></p>
<p>Kranepool is perhaps the Metsiest Met in team history, and one of my personal favorites. One of only three Mets who spent his entire career with the team (alongside Ron Hodges and David Wright) Kranepool made his major league debut in 1962 as a 17-year-old from the Bronx fresh out of James Monroe High School. Kranepool played 18 seasons with the Mets as a first baseman, then pinch hitter, before retiring in 1979. With an unspectacular career WARP of 4.8 and batting average of .261, Kranepool nevertheless managed to lead the organization in hits, total bases, sacrifice flies, and total plate appearances for several decades before being overtaken by Wright; he still holds the record for most games played. Kranepool earned himself a spot in the Mets Hall of Fame just by sticking around, the posterchild for the loyalty and heart any true fan needs to weather those inevitable Mets-related heartbreaks. Plus, he’s a leftie, and we southpaws have to stick together. &#8212; Sara Novic</p>
<p><b><i>Turk Wendell &#8211; 4.5 career WARP</i></b></p>
<p>Would <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wendetu01.shtml">Steven John Wendell</a>–the only major leaguer in Quinnipiac College Bobcat history, the one-time Mets single-season record holder for pitcher appearances, and the setup man who posted a solid 3.34 ERA over five seasons in Flushing–have imprinted on the hearts and minds of turn-of-the-century Mets fans if he wasn’t the Turk?</p>
<p>Turk’s quirks are <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/38720-turk-wendell-10-reasons-to-love-the-eccentric-pitcher">legend</a>. His name immediately brings to mind three widely-televised superstitions. Wendell chewed black licorice on the field, brushed his teeth in the dugout, and wore a necklace made from the bones and teeth of animals he’d hunted and killed. But few fans realize that Turk chewed licorice because he never chewed tobacco. As a devout Christian (he drew three crosses on the mound before every inning – then licked the dirt off his finger), Wendell didn’t drink, either. With another colorfully-nicknamed New York reliever making <a href="http://bronx.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/03/11/gossages-criticism-of-bautista-on-shaky-ground/">recent news</a> for misguided anti-bat-flip sentiment, it’s notable that for all Turk’s eccentricities, he was unafraid to speak his mind while he played. Unlike most of his contemporaries, Wendell was willing to comment <a href="http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1744043">on the record</a> when Barry Bonds’s trainer was indicted.</p>
<p>As today’s relievers throw harder than ever, they’re seemingly also more fungible–in both repertoire and personality. Let’s all remove our “<a href="http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/a7b4953d">useless</a>” socks in tribute to one of the originals. &#8212; Scott D. Simon</p>
<p><b><i>Ty Wigginton &#8211; 7.0 career WARP</i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">The post-Subway Series malaise was not an enjoyable stretch, but there were some scattered bright spots in the Art Howe Memorial Tire Fire: Jose Reyes, David Wright … and Wigginton? While he didn&#8217;t have nearly the talent of the former two, there was something entertaining about him. Maybe it was the sight of a stocky dude trying his very best to man the hot corner. Maybe it was the surprise of his occasional pop—he took Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, and Josh Beckett deep in the same year. Maybe it was his </span><a href="http://imgur.com/gCfxFGA"><span style="font-weight: 400">odd resemblance</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> to the boss from Doki Doki Panic / </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">Super Mario Bros. 2</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">The 2002 Baseball Prospectus Annual released before his debut said “The expiration date on his prospect status is approaching.” It never really looked like he belonged, but he still forged an 11-year career. One particularly impressive Wigginton fact: he hit more homers than fine hitters like Kevin Youkilis, Mike Lieberthal, and the late Tony Phillips. Not too shabby. &#8212; Andrew Mearns</span></p>
<p><b><i>Wilmer Flores &#8211; 2.8 career WARP</i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">Writing against nationalism, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche foretold of a “super-national and nomadic species of man” who wasn’t bound to ally himself with a place of birth. In baseball, it’s a fun exercise to explore players who have embodied that nomadic spirit, but those men don’t exhibit the power of a hearty, positive example of this nationalism of sorts: team pride. When Flores cried on the field in late July last year amid rumors of his being traded from the Mets, he signaled that the power of sports and the familial nature of teams need not exist only between fans. Now, he’s playing quite well amongst a crowded infield during Spring Training, learning first base from Keith Hernandez and posting a .431 on-base percentage. But statistics don’t tell the full story: nobody wants to play in Flushing more than Flores. Who could ask for anything more? &#8212; Brian Duricy</span></p>
<p><b><i>Daryl Boston &#8211; 7.5 career WARP</i></b></p>
<p>Boston, who as the #7 overall pick of the Chicago White Sox never lived up to expectations for the Sox, Mets, Rockies or Yankees, was an easy pick as my favorite Mets non-star. One Friday night, in late August 1992 my Mom and I, age 10, headed to a Mets game, without my dad and sister for some reason. Anyway, because it was just the two of us, and the Mets were &#8220;The Worst Team that Money Could Buy,&#8221; we scalped a great pair of seats first base side, field level.</p>
<p dir="ltr">With one out in the bottom of the eighth inning on <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN199208281.shtml" target="_blank">August 28,</a> and the Mets down a run, Boston came off the bench as a pinch-hitter to to blast a game-tying home run off Scott Bankhead of the Cincinnati Reds. (I would have told you, before looking it up, that Boston hit a walkoff in game one of the doubleheader against a team wearing red. He didn&#8217;t. It turns out that Kevin Bass&#8217; sacrifice fly brought home Chico Walker with the winning run later in the eighth.)</p>
<p>Between games of the doubleheader, Boston, in a good mood, came out of the dugout. With his game one homer fresh, he earned star-level treatment by all the kids in the section. My Daryl Boston signed Mets hat became my most prized possession. It was a snapback with green fabric on the underside of the brim. I wore that De-Bo hat for years, until it was discolored and nearly falling apart, a reminder of one of my favorite nights at the ballpark of my life. &#8212; Toby Hyde</p>
<p><b><i>Eric Young Jr. &#8211; 2.8 career WARP</i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">On June 18, 2013, the Mets acquired the fastest man in baseball. (Possibly.) That’s damning with faint praise, as the Rockies designated Young for assignment two weeks prior. He was speedy &#8230; but also not very good. Before coming to the Mets, Young Jr. hit .242/.290/.352, with a True Average of .225 in 57 games for the Rockies. To boot, he had only stolen eight bags. Despite joining the club in June, Young Jr. logged the third most innings in the outfield for the 2013 Mets. That’s just damning.</span></p>
<p>Young Jr. witnessed a marginal reversal of fortune with more playing time in New York—he improved to .251/.318/.329 as a member of the Mets in 2013. That improved his TAv to .239, and he stole 38 bases, giving him 46 for the season. Young Jr. stayed on for 2014, and despite being around for the full year, he logged less playing time. Now a 31-year-old sojourner, he made a forgettable late season cameo with the Mets in 2015. And did I mention he was once the fastest man in baseball? &#8212; Eric Garcia-McKinley</p>
<p><b><i>Gregg Jefferies &#8211; 17.7 career WARP</i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">I was only five when the Mets won the World Series in 1986, so I don’t remember much about the great teams of the mid- to late-80s. One of my earliest memories is of Gary Carter, who became my favorite player when my father brought me an autographed photo after meeting him one day. The Kid was a star but Gregg Jefferies stands out as the other significant player in my burgeoning Mets fandom for an entirely different reason. Jefferies was named Baseball America Minor League Player of the year for both the 1986 and 1987 seasons–I did not know or care about that at the time–but my fascination with him was based solely in the similarity of our names. Young Craig Jeffrey Glaser didn’t care about Gregg Jefferies leading the league with 40 doubles in 1990, but he did feel a kinship with the young infielder in whom he heard a little bit of himself. Jefferies eventually moved on but his time with the Mets was formative to my love of the sport and the team. &#8212; Craig Glaser</span></p>
<p><b><i>Endy Chavez &#8211; 6.7 career WARP</i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">Chavez did cool things on the baseball field. “Endy Things” were largely the aesthetically pleasing events an old sportswriter might fawn over: taking an extra base by hustling here, a perfect bunt there, a big catch flying in from outside the picture, or a clutch hit you’d remember for awhile. Endy would create excitement, and he’d do it with a big smile.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">The most famous Endy Thing is “The Catch,” his way-over-the-wall snowcone robbery of a would-be Scott Rolen home run in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS, in front of a billboard poetically touting &#8220;The Strength To Be There.&#8221; Another Endy Thing happened seconds later; Chavez rebounded off the wall in perfect position to hit the cutoff man, then doubled off Jim Edmonds to end the inning. There was an extra out to be had, so Endy was there.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">Chavez gained a reputation as a clutch player–a reputation that does not bear out in his situational hitting splits. If you look at his player card, it looks like he was just a glove-and-speed fourth outfielder. Then you remember that he once pulled off a two-out walk-off bunt and smile at the memory. &#8212; Jarrett Seidler</span></p>
<p><b><i>Cliff Floyd &#8211; 27.0 career WARP</i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">Oft-injured (like so many Mets left fielders), Floyd still managed to leave an impression as he helped bridge the gap between the Piazza Mets and the Wright Mets. His performance with them waxed and waned, but he was in vintage form in 2005 when his career-high 34 home runs were a bright spot (along with the aforementioned Wright&#8217;s breakout year and Pedro being Pedro) in an otherwise sleepy season. His years and shoddy Achilles tendon caught up with him in 2006, and while he missed a lot of the wild run up to the playoffs, he </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">killed it</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400"> in the division series. Though the on-field effect of clubhouse leadership can be exaggerated, his impact on that front was undeniable, playing a huge role in Wright&#8217;s and Reyes&#8217;s transition to the majors. Just another quiet contribution from Uncle Cliffy. &#8212; Maggie Wiggin</span></p>
<p><b><i>Lucas Duda &#8211; 8.1 career WARP</i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">I’ve spent a lot of time pontificating on this topic this past offseason so I might as well make these my first words on this website: Duda is good. I am an unabashed Lucas Duda fan and not just because of the home runs, the walks, and the generally average defense at first base. It’s a lot more than that. Lucas Duda is a quiet, humble guy who often comes across as awkward and I find that to be incredibly endearing. In a way, he reminds me of myself and how I assume I would come across if I had a camera, microphones, and dozens of reporters standing in front of me asking mundane questions about my day. Not only is he good but he seems like a regular guy and that resonates with me.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">It also doesn’t hurt that he mashes long dingers, 57 of them combined over the past two seasons! I like dingers, dingers are great. But I do not like Dinger the Rockies mascot, he’s the worst. Strange how that works out. &#8212; Steve Schreiber</span></p>
<p><b><i>Bobby Jones &#8211; 15.5 career WARP</i></b></p>
<p>I&#8217;ve always gravitated towards the players who touch incredible, but toil as workaday regulars. I don&#8217;t know if that&#8217;s because I see a bit of myself in the mediocre, but it&#8217;s led me to some very strange choices as far as favorite ballplayers go. On the advent of becoming a teenager, I was Jones&#8217;s biggest booster. He didn&#8217;t do one thing particularly well: he wasn&#8217;t a guy who got a lot of whiffs (5.3 career strikeouts per nine) or ground balls (47 percent career grounder rate), nor was he a masterful control artist. He just kind of showed up, got outs, and went on his merry way. I loved that. He made an All-Star team in 1997 on the strength of a 10-2 start, and I loved that too.</p>
<p>But it was never going to last. Despite being a foundation of the team&#8217;s rotation for half a decade, by 2000 Jones was an afterthought–the fifth starter on a good team but fading quickly into inadequacy. During one game in the 2000 NLDS? He was golden. He quieted the San Francisco Giants, twirling a complete game one-hitter, shutting down <a href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=436" target="_blank">the greatest hitter in baseball history(?)</a>, defying all odds. He&#8217;d leave as a free agent after the Subway Series, as perhaps as the team had grown too big and good to carry a starter of his diminishing profile. But for a tall kid who couldn&#8217;t do anything perfectly on the ballfield and dreamed of just one great moment on the diamond, he was the perfect hero. &#8212; Bryan Grosnick</p>
<p><b><i>Jose Valverde &#8211; 11.2 career WARP</i></b></p>
<p>I don&#8217;t have any favorite Mets or rooting interest but I always did enjoy covering the coterie of lottery tickets the club brought in. They were either former All-Stars washed up on shore past their expiration date or the platoon players that couldn&#8217;t even fill that half-cocked role. For every Marlon Byrd, there was a Daisuke Matsuzaka or Chris Young. But none was more fun to cover than Jose Valverde. He was clearly in <i>who gives a bleep</i> mode by the time he got to Queens. Blown save? He just explained it away like no big deal. Diminished velocity? <i>Man, I&#8217;m trying to actually pitch that way</i>, he&#8217;d says. There&#8217;s a reason the Mets needed to trade for actual major leaguers before they started winning last year. But the Papa Grande era sure was interesting, at least. &#8212; Mike Vorkunov</p>
<p><b><i>Brian Bannister &#8211; 5.8 career WARP</i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">Most of the love for Bannister comes from the SABR set. He was one of the first to study advanced metrics and integrate them into his game on the field. He was an articulate analyst from the moment he arrived in the majors–SNY dropped him in pre-and-post while he was recuperating from a hamstring strain after just five starts in the majors. He once said in an interview that </span><a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/players-view-the-best-stat-to-evaluate-pitchers/"><span style="font-weight: 400">zone-contact percentage</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> was the most important stat for a pitcher. Heck, you&#8217;d probably be surprised to learn that he didn&#8217;t have a cameo as himself in </span><span style="font-weight: 400"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1628662/">“MoneyBart.”</a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">My appreciation for Banny comes from the scouting side, though. One of the first games I watched with a real eye towards evaluation was a start in New Britain in 2005. Like his rotation-mate for Binghamton, Yusmeiro Petit, he was putting up eye-catching Eastern League numbers without any 6s on the scouting report. There&#8217;s one or two of these guys in most Double-A rotations: 88-92, four-pitch mix, solid command. Projecting them for any big league success is a risky game. But something about Bannister stood out that night. Maybe I am projecting backwards off a decade of watching games now (I had equally strong feelings that night about Anderson Hernandez, so&#8230;), but there was an alchemy in the performance–Double-A lead that looked like major league gold. He didn&#8217;t consistently reach the mid-rotation heights I thought possible at the time–whether it was the injuries, or just the fine margins he would always play with–but it was my first instructive lesson in not scouting the stat line. Even if the stat line is pointing you in the right direction. &#8212; Jeffrey Paternostro</span></p>
<p><b><i>Mike Baxter &#8211; 0.8 career WARP</i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">A Queens native and lifelong Mets fan, Baxter was a success story the moment he debuted for the Mets in 2011. Years removed from contending and years away from returning to October, Met fans were desperate for any positive story around the team, and Baxter gave them one. His first two seasons with the club were surprisingly productive; Baxter posted a 117 wRC+ in a platoon role and even tied the major league record for walks in a nine-inning game (five). However, his routine contributions will forever be overshadowed by this:</span></p>
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<p>Baxter&#8217;s catch prevented Yadier Molina from breaking fans’ hearts yet again and kept Johan Santana&#8217;s no-hitter intact. He was never the same after that injury though, struggling in 2013 and eventually getting released. Nevertheless, he permanently enshrined himself in his hometown team&#8217;s history. &#8212; Lukas Vlahos</p>
<p><b><i>Erik Goeddel &#8211; 1.0 career WARP</i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">There’s a good chance Goeddel won’t make the big league roster to start 2016, but I will always breathe a sigh of relief when he comes jogging out of the bullpen. It goes back to 2010: Goeddel was the reliever most likely to come in with runners on base for his college team. The Mets 2015 season reminds me a lot of UCLA’s 2010 season, and that was the first time I watched college baseball in person. UCLA had such a breakout year that they had to buy more seats … but they ultimately lost the College World Series to a team that kept having lucky late-inning hits and web gems. Kind of sounds familiar, doesn’t it?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">The Mets drafted Erik Goeddel, UCLA’s good luck charm of a middle reliever, in the 24</span><span style="font-weight: 400">th</span><span style="font-weight: 400"> round. He was never a sure thing to make it to the bigs–how many 24</span><span style="font-weight: 400">th</span><span style="font-weight: 400"> round picks do?  But during the Mets’ breakout season last year, there was Goeddel succeeding in middle relief. And UCLA has maintained its upper echelon status since 2010! When I look at Goeddel, I think about the Mets’ potential to stay World Series contenders. &#8212; Noah Grand</span></p>
<p><b><i>Rick Reed &#8211; 19.1 career WARP</i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">For a moment, I allowed my brain to run wild with the possibility: Not only would Reed throw the first no-hitter in Mets history, but it would be a perfect game. I hate to spoil this for you guys, but it didn’t happen. With seven outs separating Reed from franchise immortality, Wade Boggs doubled and brought me back to reality. But the significance of this event wasn’t lost on me, even as a teenager. The thing is, Reed wasn’t supposed to be there. A former replacement player, Reed had a journeyman’s career before joining the Mets’ rotation as a 32-year-old in 1997. Some players (like Boggs) may have held a grudge for his decision to cross the picket line, but Reed quickly became a favorite of mine for his efficiency on the mound. The arch-rival Braves had the brand-name pitchers during their dominant run in the NL East, but that made Reed all the more fun to root for by contrast. &#8212; D.J. Short</span></p>
<p><b><i>Daisuke Matsuzaka &#8211; 6.9 career WARP</i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">Growing up a Boston Red Sox fan, I never got to appreciate the Mets at as deep of a level as some of my colleagues. That being said, I did want to add my own little flavor to this punch bowl, and that desire takes form in Matsuzaka. Of course no one would really summarize Matsuzaka as a star during his time on the Mets–across 122 innings from 2013-14, his 0.9 WARP would be spread out amongst 16 starts and 25 relief appearances. Although those innings weren’t incredibly notable, in 2014 he did compete for a starting spot in the rotation and notched one save early in the season. Injuries played a role in the latter half of that season, which would be followed by Dice-K returning to Japan, where he was every bit a star. His time with the Mets wasn’t the best, but it did represent the latter parts of a career that came with so much promise–never forget about that gyroball. &#8212; Shawn Brody</span></p>
<p><b><i>Rey Ordoñez &#8211; -0.1 career WARP</i></b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">What I remember most is that he seemed to </span><a href="http://m.mlb.com/video/v25546877/stlnym-ordonez-makes-the-play-at-home"><span style="font-weight: 400">levitate off the Shea Stadium outfield grass</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> and spin around on his knees in one fluid motion to get the runner at home. I didn&#8217;t remember Bernard Gilkey&#8217;s limp relay throw in from left. I didn&#8217;t remember that it was Jerry Dipoto who gave up the double to Ray Lankford that set this series of life-altering events in motion. I didn&#8217;t remember that it was Royce Clayton who, in his doomed pursuit of scoring from first, was victimized at home plate by instinctual defensive wizardry. But what I realized then (and remembered every day since) was that Rey Ordoñez was something to cherish when grasping a fielder&#8217;s glove at shortstop. With a bat in the box? </span><a href="http://bbref.com/pi/shareit/8iWZi"><span style="font-weight: 400">Not so much</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400">. But, baby, that glove could keep you warm, even </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">way</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400"> out in the right field loge–at least it did on Opening Day 1996, when me and my father and 42,058 fans saw what Ordoñez could do for the first time.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">His time in Queens was over before we knew it, but </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">that</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400"> glove on that day (and quite a few more days to come) taught me at a young age that should life come down to the fact that maybe you can only be good at one thing, be </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">really</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400"> damn good at that thing. &#8212; Erik Malinowski</span></p>
<p><b><i>Dae-Sung Koo &#8211; 0.2 career WARP</i></b></p>
<p>Mr. Koo played the perfect long con. Koo dug in against the most dominant left-handed pitcher of all time just days after his first major league plate appearance &#8230; and he stood no less than four feet from home plate with the bat never leaving his shoulder. In that moment, Koo looked disinterested, but the smile on his face as he entered the dugout suggested otherwise. Days later, during the Subway Series, he would have Randy Johnson right where he wanted him. Koo took the first two pitches from the Big Unit in the same manner as before: stiff, bored, motionless. Then, when Johnson grooved a 1-1 fastball, Koo unleashed the first and only swing of his professional career. Johnson, who only allowed eight extra base hits to left-handed hitters in 2005, turned to see the ball one-hop the wall. While Koo stunned the fan base, he wasn&#8217;t done. Jose Reyes, crouched, showed bunt with Koo standing on second. The sacrifice was mediocre, but as Jorge Posada delivered the ball to Tino Martinez, Koo caught the Yankee first baseman napping and darted home, sliding head first to beat the tag. Glorious. &#8212; J.D. Sussman</p>
<p><b><i>Todd Hundley &#8211; 12.7 career WARP</i></b></p>
<p>In a pre-Mitchell Report world, through the eyes of a wide-eyed teenager, surprising feats of power could be reveled in with an honesty that doesn&#8217;t exist anymore. So when he stepped to the plate against Greg McMichael of the not-quite-yet-hated Braves on September 14, 1996, he tied the game up with a record-setting homer—the 41st of his season. The power surge was incredible, especially for a player who hadn&#8217;t made it out of the teens in his career. Yet despite breaking the all-time record for home runs by a catcher, he required Tommy John surgery after the 1997 season, which led to the Mets acquiring franchise pillar Mike Piazza. And despite his .906 OPS in this record-breaking season, he was barely an above-average player due to what we now know was almost historically terrible framing (-27.7 framing runs that year alone). Even his record has since been broken by the opposing catcher on that record-breaking day, Javy Lopez.</p>
<p>And after giving New Yorkers a thrill for the better part of two seasons with his power prowess, like we hope of all recycled goods, he kept providing value after his initial purpose was completed. After all, he netted Charles Johnson from the Dodgers, who was simultaneously turned into Armando Benitez from the Orioles, and Roger Cedeno, who was a really fun and useful player for the &#8217;99 team before being spun (with Octavio Dotel) for Mike Hampton the following off-season. &#8212; Bret Sayre</p>
<p><em>Photo Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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