A Long Island native with lifelong ties to the orange and blue, the 51-year-old endeared himself to the fan base during New York’s pennant-winning 2015 season when his selfie-style video reactions to the Mets’ daily fortunes became popular on social media. Rather than watch the action from a suite like many celebrities prefer, Breuer can often be seen cheering amongst the crowds at Citi Field.

While his energetic and offbeat style makes him an ideal fit for the stage, the “SNL” alum is just as comfortable discussing the history of his favorite baseball team. A follower of the Amazins since 1973, Breuer reflected on Mets third baseman David Wright and what the team captain meant to him personally over the course of a storied career.

“He was the guy, you know? I’ve only went through two cycles of players where I got to watch them come out of the system,” Breuer said during a recent phone interview. “Watching him come through the system and then become that Met guy was really awesome because there really hasn’t been once since the ’80s.”

Drafted by the Mets 38th overall in 2001, Wright was the longest-tenured active player to spend his career with the same team. Until returning to action last Friday night as a pinch-hitter, the seven-time All-Star had missed almost two and a half years with debilitating back, neck and shoulder injuries. The franchise leader in hits, RBIs, runs, extra-base hits, walks and a few other offensive categories, Wright played in his last major league game on Saturday in front of 43,828 emotional supporters whom he addressed in a brief on-field ceremony following the last out.

Currently on the road performing stand-up and touring with Metallica, Breuer planned to watch the night play out backstage on his iPad as he prepared for a private show in San Francisco. Wright’s 2-year-old and infant daughters were in the ballpark, however, to witness him play for the first time in the 35-year-old’s big league career.

“I always say God has you out there for the right reasons. For all you know, he needs to be home with his little girls. He needs to be taking care of his body for something deeper that may happen down the road, so in the end it doesn’t even matter if his kids saw him play,” Breuer said. “My kids have no clue that I did TV and stuff. They just care that you’re a dad. My wife just cares that I’m a husband, and maybe at this point in his life it’ll be a little more important for him and he can relax and give his body a rest and know that he gave it his all and he was one of the all-time greatest.”

Wright provided many memorable moments since first appearing as a fresh faced 21-year-old from Virginia, but one in particular that stands out for Breuer came in a key game down the stretch in 2015 against division-rival Washington.

“That summed up a career and his life as a Met. As a Met fan I felt like one of my children just felt that all-time, lifetime moment,” Breuer recalled. “I believe it was against the Nationals and they were coming to the final stretch and there was a play at the plate and he slid in and he got up and he did the big fist pump down, and you see that clip a bunch of times now. I’ve been seeing it more and more. I remember watching that moment and seeing the excitement in his face, and that thrill and the passion. For me that’s the moment I’m going to remember (from) him forever. The passion he had as a Met. The thrill of feeling that we can win this. We can beat these guys. We can take it all.”

Wright’s enthusiastic reaction after sliding in safely with an important run late in that game was both exciting and also somewhat out of character for the typically-reserved Mets captain. In fact, Breuer wasn’t convinced early on that Wright had what it took to be a leader based on his calm demeanor. That all changed when the third baseman stepped in after separate incidents where two of the club’s young pitchers behaved in a manner he thought was unbefitting of a major leaguer.

“There was a long time where people would say he needs to be the leader, he needs to be the captain, and he’s got such a soft, I don’t know the exact word, clean-ish personality. And I went, I don’t know, is he really the captain?” Breuer said. “But I have to say, you’d see little examples which made me respect him so much more. He looked like a timid guy and he seems to be the guy that, I wouldn’t say is a pushover, but can easily be like, ‘ahh, just let it go, it’s all good.’ But there were a couple moments where Noah Syndergaard came up and I believe he stepped up and said something to Noah.”

Breuer added: “And then that whole thing with Matt Harvey. I remember that moment too, when Matt was walking in the outfield (during batting practice) and they showed it and David Wright kind of gave that ‘You just disrespected the team, bro. You put yourself ahead of the team.’ look. That was a powerful moment for me as a fan, not so much against Matt but I saw that full-blown respect like, ‘hey, David’s in charge here and he sets a tone on how you’re supposed to be as a player and as a gentleman.’ It almost goes up there with, I got to say, like a Gary Carter but without the high intensity.”

Jose Reyes, Wright’s partner on the left side of the infield for many years, took his usual place at shortstop for Saturday night’s sendoff and shared several laughs and embraces with his old buddy throughout the evening. A former batting champion who led the NL in stolen bases three consecutive years, Reyes batted just .189 this season and his career may also be coming to a close, a fact not lost on Breuer.

“I say he was one of the most exciting Mets that I’ve ever watched and rooted for in my whole life. I love Jose Reyes,” Breuer said of the former shortstop who was brought back to the Mets in 2016 after his domestic violence suspension ended. “I loved him from the moment he showed up. I was absolutely heartbroken when he left. When he came back I know he wasn’t the same player. I don’t care. It’s like having an old family member. He gave me the greatest thrills for the longest time as a Met fan. I adore Jose Reyes and he’ll always have a special place for me in my heart as a Met fan. He’s one of my all-time favorites. Everything about him. That smile, the years when he would just get on base and be a menace to society. He’d hit one in the gap and before you blink he was on third and it was over.”

Wright has stated that he’d like to stay involved with the club in some capacity, a development that could provide some consolation to Breuer and his fellow Mets fanatics.

“I hope he stays in the organization forever. That would mean so much to me as a Mets fan, to see David Wright always be a Met,” Breuer hoped. “I feel better as a Met fan moving forward knowing that he’s going to be somewhere in the organization and I hope Jose Reyes is, too.”

Photo credit: Brad Penner – USA Today Sports

No! you say. Mets fans aren’t spoiled. The team is owned by an 80-year-old half-billionaire who’s too busy retiring personal debt to raise payroll to a level befitting a team playing in the country’s biggest media market. The franchise player suffers from a narrowing of the open spaces within his spine, which puts pressure on his spinal cord, the nerves that travel through his spine, and a host of Mets fans. The 40-man roster contains eight outfielders but no center fielder. All the catchers stink.

Mets fans may be conditioned pessimists, but at this time of year it’s important to look on the bright side. The Mets may be the only MLB team with a top-three rating for ballpark food, mascot and broadcast crew (with an unparalleled fight song). Though the Wilpons might be done spending this offseason, they did open the checkbook to re-sign a superstar. David Wright expects to stay healthy and productive for the first time since 2013. The team optimistically hopes to shed itself of last year’s misguided trade-deadline acquisition, even if that means admitting the sunk cost. Once that’s done, there are plenty of center field options available in trade. It’s a good time to root for the Metropolitans. Still, Mets fans are spoiled about their catchers.

Since 1968, only four catchers have been elected to the Hall of Fame: Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk, Gary Carter and Mike Piazza. The Mets employed two of those all-time greats, from 1985 to 1989 and from 1998 to 2005. In Carter’s first two years with the Mets, he hit .288/.366/.487 (141 OPS+) as the strongest run-producer for the Mets’ only World Series winner in the last 30 years. Piazza’s greatness was more sustained. He produced a .295/.371/.539 line over eight Met seasons, which is why the hat on his Cooperstown plaque shows the interlocking NY.

The period between Carter and Piazza was by no means barren. In 1991, the season after Carter left the Mets, a pre-yips Mackey Sasser hit .307/.344/.426 in 100 games behind the plate. Four years later, 27-year-old Todd Hundley broke out with 15 home runs. In 1996, Hundley set the single-season record for dingers by a catcher, with 41. He followed up that record year with another 30 round-trippers in 1997. For those three years, Hundley hit .269/.375/.535–a 141 OPS+ comprising a better three-year peak than any similar stretch of Carter’s career.

The post-Piazza Mets first featured Paul LoDuca behind the dish. His two-year tenure produced a .297/.334/.404 line that is superficially comparable to the .288/.362/.434 Buster Posey put up last season, but was in fact–adjusted for park and era–significantly inferior (91 to 112 in OPS+). Since LoDuca left in 2008, the Mets have struggled to find even an average backstop. Brian Schneider, Omir Santos, Rod Barajas, Josh Thole, and John Buck conjure up few warm memories.

The Mets recognized a need to develop an everyday catcher when they traded R.A. Dickey, coming off the 2012 Cy Young Award, for the best catching prospect in the minor leagues, the No. 15 prospect in all of baseball. You may have heard that this deal also gave the Mets a tall Texan who had pitched well in the Low-A Midwest League. The first two seasons of Noah Syndergaard’s MLB career already exceeds (by your choice of WARP, fWAR and bWAR) the value that Dickey has produced in four years with Toronto–and at minimum salaries, no less. Even the minor-leaguer Toronto threw into the deal eked out the No. 10 spot on the 2017 Mets prospect list.

Though the Mets would never wish to reverse what will go down in history as the Syndergaard Trade, it’s fair to say that d’Arnaud has never developed into the star catcher the Mets hoped for. His .312 TAv in 268 plate appearances in 2015 seems like an outlier when surrounded by .205, .268 and .239 in three times as many PAs over 2013, 2014 and 2016. I mean:

Travis d'Arnaud was second among d'Arnauds in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, extra-base hits, and RBI this past season.

— D.J. Short (@djshort) December 20, 2016

Injuries may have stunted d’Arnaud’s development as a hitter, but whatever the reason for his lack of production, the Mets don’t possess the next Mike Piazza.

Except … as BP has developed the most comprehensive public statistics on catcher defense, Piazza’s reputation has been burnished by improved quantification of pitch-framing and pitch-blocking. Despite hitting during his ages 24-27 seasons worse than Piazza hit in his final, age-38 season, d’Arnaud has posted a positive FRAA every year he’s played in the majors. Like other stat-friendly teams, the Mets value catcher framing. Like few teams, they carry three catchers who contribute behind the plate if not at it. Kevin Plawecki and Rene Rivera combined with d’Arnaud to post the fourth-most framing runs in baseball last season, behind three other playoff teams (the Dodgers, Cubs and Giants).

The Mets’ regular catchers posted OBPs of .307 (d’Arnaud), .298 (Plawecki), and .291 (Rivera) in 2016, yet they combined to produce 3.7 WARP due to their ability to steal strikes, block wild pitches, and control the running game. OBP is life. Life is OBP. Except when discussing good defensive catchers. Contrary to appearances, the Mets have three backstops who deserve their spot on the roster.

If, on top of their defensive skill, d’Arnaud or Plawecki can reproduce a little of their minor-league hitting prowess at the big-league level, the Mets will consider it gravy. And Mets fans must stop complaining about the purported hole at catcher. Recency bias notwithstanding, we’ve been spoiled for thirty years. We should acknowledge and appreciate receiving gifts.

Photo Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Since 1971, the Clemente Award has been presented to an MLB player who “best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team,” the winner is chosen by a combined fan and panel vote from 30 nominees (one player from each team). Originally called the Commissioner’s Award, the name was changed in 1973 to commemorate Roberto Clemente’s death one year earlier, in a plane crash en route to Nicaragua to provide relief for earthquake victims.  Granderson is the 46th player to receive the award, with Paul Konerko and Jimmy Rollins as dual recipients in 2014, and the Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen as last year’s winner.

Granderson’s charity work is well-known to Mets fans. He established the Grand Kids Foundation in 2007 to provide baseball clinics and character development/education programs to underserved areas in New York and other cities. He’s also raised money for other NYC-based charities, is active in the Mets’ veterans’ appreciation programs, and partnered with Citibank in 2016 to raise money for No Kid Hungry.

And I’m happy to report that Granderson is part of a strong tradition of Met Clemente Award recipients—the Mets, Orioles, and Cardinals are all tied at the top with four winners each. Here’s a look at some Clemente Award winners of old—no doubt Grandy’s in good company.

Gary Carter

Is sportsmanship and community involvement calculated into Carter’s 65.3 career WARP? The Clemente recipient in 1989, Gary Carter was also the first catcher ever to win the award. He started the Gary Carter Foundation to support reading programs in poverty-stricken Title I schools in Florida; with him at the helm, the foundation raised over $622,000. The foundation still exists today in his memory, operating a variety of programs to support health and education for Florida children.

Carter was, of course, also an accomplished catcher—11-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner, inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003—with a career slash line of .262/.335/.439.

(And speaking of sportsmanship, Merriam-Webster’s 2012 Collegiate Dictionary credits Carter, who seldom cursed, with the proliferation of the term “f-bomb.”)

Al Leiter

The 2000 winner Al Leiter has long been renowned for his philanthropy, having given over $1.5 million to a variety of charities, including the Little Kids Rock support for music education in public schools, the Jason Taylor Foundation for literacy, and the Children’s Cancer and Blood Foundation. Leiter also won the Branch Rickey Award in 1999 and the Bart Giamatti Award in 2002 for his charitable work.

As a pitcher, Leiter was a two-time All-Star and had a 3.80 ERA across 419 games, with a WARP of 21.8.

Carlos Delgado

Awarded the Clemente in 2006, Carlos Delgado is best known for his efforts in Puerto Rico, where he has donated to the non-profit organization Sapientis, and guest-taught with their health and wellness program in a public housing project. He also donated money and time to hospitals across the island, where he brought toys to sick children and purchased video equipment so his hometown hospital could be in contact with Boston hospitals for diagnostic purposes.

Clemente has also been a strong pacifist voice, speaking out against the use of Vieques as a bombing practice target, and making waves as the precursor to Colin Kaepernick by refusing to stand during “God Bless America” because of his opposition to the war in Iraq.

As a first baseman, Delgado was a two-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger, with a career line of .280/.383/.546 and a WARP of 46.7.

Great job, team! Coming off a season where the Mets made the controversial decision to pick up Jose Reyes, (or more problematically in my view, give him a hero’s welcome) it’s nice to be reminded of all the great stuff baseball can do for its community. Now, any chance we can get someone to take back Curt Schilling’s Clemente Award?

Photo Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

That’s an alternative reality, though. Alderson has shown no interest in making such a trade. So instead of discussing how the Mets improved themselves at this deadline, we’ll look back to the past trades that we recall most fondly. — Scott D. Simon (@scottdsimon)

June 15, 1969 — Mets Acquire Donn Clendenon

Donn Clendenon was Yoenis Cespedes before Cespedes was even born. This trade’s importance cannot be overstated, as it helped the Mets win their first World Series. Kevin Collins and the three minor leaguers did nothing in their career, while Steve Renko had a decent career as a middling starting pitcher. However, it was the addition of Clendenon to a struggling offense — and the team’s subsequent World Series victory — that people still remember to this day.

Clendenon slashed .252/.321/.455 with 12 homers in 226 plate appearances for the 1969 Mets He followed that up with a brilliant 22 homer and .288/.348/.515 slash line campaign in  1970. However, what Clendenon is most celebrated for is his performance in the 1969 World Series. He homered in games 2, 4, and 5, and doubled in game 1, to propel the Mets to a five-game series victory over the heavily-favored Baltimore Orioles. This trade will always be a big part of Mets history as a major piece of the Mets legendary 1969 season. — Tyler Plofker (@TylerPlofker)

June 15, 1983 — Mets Acquire Keith Hernandez

The Cardinals’ misfortune was the Mets’ gain. Twelve years after improbably turning a 42nd-round pick into a World Series champion, a Gold Glover, and the 1979 co-NL MVP, Keith Hernandez was done with St. Louis. He was on the outs with skipper Whitey Herzog, they suspected drug abuse (which was true), and he wanted a new contract. So at the trade deadline in 1983, the Cardinals rid themselves of their All-Star first baseman.

All the Mets had to give up to get Hernandez were pitchers Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey. The latter would appear in just 21 games for St. Louis before his career ended in ’86. Allen was okay for a couple of years, but then he collapsed in ’85 and was sold to the Yankees. Meanwhile, Hernandez kicked his cocaine habit, returned to All-Star form in ’84, and finished in the top 10 for NL MVP in back-to-back years. His superb .310/.413/.446 season in ’86 brought the Mets to a World Series title, and etched his place in franchise lore.

So thanks, Cardinals! That almost makes up for Yadier Molina. Almost. — Andrew Mearns (@MearnsPSA)

December 10, 1984 — Mets Acquire Gary Carter

The Mets have a knack for being just one measly power-hitting catcher away from assembling a team that can achieve greatness. That was the case in May 1998, when they acquired Mike Piazza from the Marlins, but it was even truer some 14 years earlier when general manager Frank Cashen pulled off one of the great trades of the decade, sending four middling-at-best players in their 20s to Montreal — only Hubie Brooks, who would hit 121 more homers after the trade, did anything of consequence — for the lynchpin of a future World Series winner.

Carter was already one of the game’s great hitting catchers when he arrived for spring training in 1985. In his first season with the Mets, he became the first catcher since Johnny Bench eight years earlier to hit both 30 homers and drive in 100 runs. (Carlton Fisk, by then with the White Sox, also accomplished the feat that year.) Carter’s infectious personality and clear joie de vivre also made him an instant fan favorite for all-time. But it was that prowess at the plate, along with his veteran command of an elite pitching staff, that propelled the Mets from 90 wins in ’84 to 98 in ’85 and then 108 in ’86. He only lasted five seasons in Queens, but the Kid sure made the most of them. — Erik Malinowski (@erikmal)

December 20, 1996 — Mets Acquire John Olerud

In 1996, the Mets used three first basemen who combined for 0.5 wins above replacement. The Blue Jays were looking to deal away incumbent first baseman John Olerud so they could move Carlos Delgado to first and put an aging Joe Carter at designated hitter. The Mets took advantage of Toronto’s frustration with the patient Olerud and offered Robert Person, a 26-year-old pitcher who was only slightly better than replacement. Olerud had a resurgence after moving to the National League, posting a .400 on base percentage in 1997.

He re-signed for two more years, posting 17.2 wins above replacement during his time in Queens. Olerud holds the Mets’ single season records in batting average (.352) and on base percentage (.447), along with the franchise records in both categories for anyone who spent at least 2000 plate appearances as a Met. Batting helmet aside, he was an outstanding defensive first baseman and part of one of the best defensive infields ever in 1999. Olerud replaced the immortal Butch Huskey at first; he moved to a right field/utility role for his best seasons before the Mets dealt him. Person was below replacement level in Toronto and got traded to Philadelphia years later. To think, Toronto was so happy to get rid of Olerud that they paid most of his contract in 1997! — Noah Grand (@noahgrand)

May 22, 1998 — Mets Acquire Mike Piazza

When the Mets dealt the trio of Preston Wilson, Ed Yarnall and Geoff Goetz to the Florida Marlins for Mike Piazza, they made one of the best trades (if not the best trade) in New York Mets history.  During his seven-and-a-half seasons with the Mets, Piazza hit 220 home runs, including as 200 as a catcher, on his way to setting the record for home runs at that position with 396. Piazza will be remembered for helping the Mets reach the playoffs in 1999 and the World Series in 2000. But he solidified himself as a legend in New York for his home run in the first game back after September 11th, on September 21st igniting the crowd and leading the Mets to victory. Recently, Piazza was inducted into the Hall of Fame (the second player to do so as a Met) and had his number 31 retired by the team on Saturday, July 30th.

The pieces sent to the Marlins cannot compare to what Piazza brought to the Mets. Preston Wilson had a solid career of ten seasons in the Major Leagues (with multiple teams) but had problems striking out too frequently. Yarnall pitched minimally over two seasons for the Yankees before playing overseas in Japan and becoming a career minor leaguer. Goetz never made it past Double-A before crashing out of baseball. With these results, it is easy to see the Mets got the best of this trade. — Seth Rubin (@sethrubin)

November 24, 2005 — Mets Acquire Carlos Delgado

Omar Minaya did not inherit a particularly good farm system from his predecessors, especially after 2004 deadline deals sent Justin Huber and Scott Kazmir away for Kris Benson and Victor Zambrano.  And Omar wouldn’t do a great job restocking the system during his tenure either. He was pretty good at figuring out who to deal though, at least early on. The Mets had tried to get Delgado as a free agent shortly after Minaya took over, but lost out to the Florida Marlins in the midst of one of  their #MarlinsTakeovers. The front office only had to wait until the next offseason though, as the Marlins inevitably sold off their high-priced players.

The package going to Florida — Mike Jacobs, Yusmeiro Petit and Grant Psomas — pretty spiffy at the time. Petit made it all the way to Triple-­A Norfolk late in 2005 and was considered the 69th-best prospect in the game, per Baseball America. Jacobs had a white-hot September with the Mets, slugging over .700, and no doubt the Marlins had visions of  six cheap years of his mashing as Delgado’s replacement. And Psomas, well, I honestly forgot he was in the deal, but he would have hung around the back end of a Mets top 10 list in that era after a season mashing at two A-­ball levels.

You know how it went from there. Delgado spent three seasons batting cleanup for a high-­powered  Mets lineup (sighs wistfully) while Jacobs turned out to be a Quad­-A masher, Petit didn’t establish himself as a useful major-league swingman until four organizations on (with a detour into the Mexican League), and Psomas never made the majors. There would be plenty of Bannister­-for-Burgos and Heath ­Bell-­for-­Jon ­Adkins to come, but Omar definitely got this one right. — Jeffrey Paternostro (@jeffpaternostro)

July 31, 2015 — Mets Acquire Yoenis Cespedes

Through his first 15 major-league starts, Michael Fulmer has a 2.50 ERA. His peripherals don’t quite support that level of dominance — he carries a 3.15 DRA and a 3.67 FIP — and a great half-season doesn’t quell the longer-term durability issues that kept Fulmer’s prospect stock a bit lower than it otherwise might’ve been. But Fulmer is already a heck of a pitcher, only a year out from the trade that sent him away from the Mets, and Luis Cessa might yet emerge in a rotation or a bullpen too.

Yet nothing Fulmer or Cessa could do diminishes the franchise-altering nature of getting Yoenis Cespedes. Cespedes has been one of the eight- or ten-best position players in baseball over the past calendar year, a terrifying force of nature as a hitter bouncing between Gold Glove-quality defense in left and adequacy in center. More than that, the Mets won the pennant on the back of his MVP-quality 2015 stretch run. As Joe Sheehan most famously posited, flags do fly forever, and while the financial and moral implications of turning around a moribund franchise aren’t quite as everlasting, they’re still huge. And this is the deal that got the Mets there. – Jarrett Seidler (@jaseidler)

Photo Credit – Wikimedia Commons

Something strange happened on the way to free agency for Yoenis Cespedes—he had one of the storybook stretch runs in baseball history, gaining iconic status for a Met fanbase desperate for someone to finally be their guy. Oh, and the Mets made the World Series. Still, most estimates projected Cespedes to garner a free agent contract well into the nine figures, a deal the Mets seemed unwilling to match. As the free agent process wore on, Sandy Alderson derided the fan desire for the Mets to re-sign Cespedes as “populism.” Mets assistant general manager John Ricco called the prospect of a Cespedes return “pretty unlikely.”

Yet here we are, in the second week of the 2016 season, and Yoenis Cespedes roams Citi Field’s vast outfield and hits third every night, in the first year of a three-year contract at the third highest annual salary of any hitter in baseball.

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Baseball is a game of patterns. Much of what happens has happened before and will happen again. In trying to keep pace with the loaded Chicago Cubs, the Mets acquired one of the highest paid players in baseball by average annual value, a 30-year-old All-Star who promoted his own “exuberance, intensity and flamboyance.” You might think we’re still talking about Yoenis Cespedes—but this was Gary Carter, circa December 1984.

The Mets traded for Gary Carter after the 1984 season, where they finished 90-72, a distant second behind the Chicago Cubs in the old National League East. Carter brought the Mets a much desired right-handed power bat and strong defensive presence, but he also brought a moribund franchise loaded with young pitching hope that things would coalesce. Almost immediately, Carter was described as the missing link, the piece that would propel the Mets to the pennant—a prophecy that Carter would ultimately fulfill. Like Cespedes, in certain circles Carter was labeled a showboat and even worse; in Montreal, one of his nicknames was “Camera Carter.” His more famous nickname, “The Kid,” was born sarcastically out of Carter’s youthful overenthusiasm. If all of this sounds vaguely familiar to recent baseball, it might be because you’ve listened to talking heads discuss Yoenis Cespedes.

The Mets traded for Gary Carter with five years remaining on a contract the Expos could no longer afford. For two years, Carter continued to perform at a star level, finishing 6th and 3rd in National League MVP voting. His veteran leadership and handling of the pitching staff has been credited as a catalyst for the rise of the Mets to their World Series win in 1986. As injuries and Father Time caught up to Carter, he very quickly was no longer the player the Mets had paid a high price in talent and salary for. Carter hit a combined .238/.295/.376 in 1987 and 1988. His knees went in 1989, limiting him to 50 games, and the Mets parted ways with their co-captain after the season.

Despite only having two good years in a Mets uniform, Gary Carter is one of the most beloved figures in Mets franchise history. Replica Carter jerseys can be spotted frequently at Citi Field, some worn by fans too young to remember him as a player. His number 8, while not yet officially retired, has been out of circulation since Desi Relaford wore it in 2001. Carter even asked to wear a Mets cap on his Hall of Fame plaque.

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As Cespedes demolished the National League down the stretch last season, a lot of Mets fans—including myself—decided that the Mets just had to keep him. This was not a rational decision for a sabermetrically-inclined mind. The contract figures being bandied about, in excess of six years and $120 million, were too lofty for the production Cespedes projected to maintain. The wonderful stretch run, and 2015 as a whole, likely represented his absolute peak, numbers he could not maintain over the next five or six seasons. Jason Heyward loomed as a younger, better fit—not that the Mets were thought likely to spend enough to get either.

But if you set aside rational, sabermetric thought, Cespedes was sold as the “reason to believe” for Mets fans. He was the right-handed power bat that marked the end of the bad times that had existed since 2007. Just like they believed in Gary Carter three decades earlier, Mets fans believed in Yoenis Cespedes, and the Mets paid off that belief and reached the World Series with Cespedes leading the charge. That we get to dream about what lies ahead for Yoenis Cespedes and the Mets is a gift. That the Mets extended even to a three-year, $75 million contract with a player opt-out after the first year is a credit to an ownership group that has far too often seemed spendthrift. Already, Cespedes has provided some of the most entertaining off-the-field Mets moments of 2016, from his daily car show in the parking lot of Tradition Field to his morning of horseback riding with Noah Syndergaard to the hog auction at the St. Lucie County Fair.

In honor of the 30th anniversary of the 1986 championship season, throughout the 2016 season, the Mets will wear uniforms in the style of their 1986 home colors on Sundays. You probably know the jersey—it’s the loud one with the racing stripes. This past Sunday, in his first game wearing the style of uniform Gary Carter wore, Yoenis Cespedes launched his first home run of the season. It was a massive shot to left, and it was exactly the kind of homer Gary Carter would’ve hit in the same uniform.

Photo credit: Anthony Gruppuso – USA Today Sports

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’s mayor has made bringing the Expos back part of his platform, and has been campaigning for baseball’s return to the city since he took office in 2013. 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 96,000, with a 2015 Reds/ Jays series racking up similar attendance figures.

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 viable possibility,” provided the MLB finds itself in a position to relocate a team or expand.

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 International Boundary.

Rusty Staub (WARP 56.2)

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 Sports Illustrated: “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: “Le Grand Orange,” for his red hair. He remains the franchise leader in OBP for players with over 2,000 team plate appearances at .402, and the Expos retired the number 10 in his honor in 1993.

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 the first Met ever to surpass 100 RBIs in a season (with 105 total), a team record he would hold until 1986 when he was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame and his record was tied by …

Gary Carter (WARP 65.3)

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.

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.

An 11-time All-Star and three-time Golden Glove winner, Carter was also inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003. He died in 2012 after suffering from brain cancer.

Cliff Floyd (WARP 27)

Floyd made his MLB debut with the Expos in 1993 as the National League’s youngest player 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 … also the Mets’ highest total that year.

Floyd was on the BBWAA Ballot for Hall of Fame in 2015. He currently broadcasts games with Sirius XM.

Pedro Martinez (WARP 80.4)

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.

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^th 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.

Bartolo Colón (WARP 38.6) (was on Expos in 2002)

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 last active player to have played for the Expos. After the retirement of LaTroy Hawkins last year, Colón is also the oldest active player in the MLB.

In 2014, Colón took his 200^th win in a game against the Phillies, and in 2015 he broke the team record previously held by Dwight Gooden for most consecutive decisions as a starter (26).

Though he was offered more money elsewhere, Colón chose to stick with the Mets, signing a one-year contract for 2016. That, combined with the extensive charity work he does in his hometown of Altamira, and these photos of him in spring training show his true colors as not only a talented pitcher, but an all-around good guy.

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?

Photo Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports