Have you ever played the Mt. Rushmore game? If you haven’t, it works like this, you pick an field, group, or category etc. and pick the four best in that category. For example, at the time Mt. Rushmore was being completed, for of the most influential presidents were Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, and Roosevelt. You can do this for almost any category; Mt. Rushmore of 80′s bands, Mt. Rushmore of the Boston Celtics, Mt. Rushmore of sci-fi movies, the possibilities are endless and it’s a great way to pass the time.
So recently, ESPN did a Mt. Rushmore of sports poll, and other columnists have done Mt. Rushmore columns for various sports and teams. Each member of the Mt. Rushmore could be there because they are simply the four best, or they could each be the best of a different category(best pitcher, best hitter, most clutch, face of the team, etc.). Another idea is to have at least one representative from different eras of good teams. If a player is still active, you are allowed(and encouraged) to project how good they may be to see where they would rank.
So here’s my Mt. Rushmore of the New York Mets, and an explanation of my picks:
Tom Seaver: Well, this one was the easiest. He was the best pitcher that the Mets have ever had, a part of the 1969 Championship team, and still holds many of the Met pitching records. He is the first and, to date, only player in the Hall of Fame as a Met, and he also had the record for highest percentage of HOF votes. Tom Terrific was a Cy Young winner, an SI Sportsman of the Year, and still one of the most popular Mets ever.
Darryl Strawberry: Okay, so his career was filled with many inglorious moments, time missed, antics which were reported in his newest book, and even a stint with the Yankees, but he still holds many on the Met hitting records. He was a large part of the Met teams on the mid to late 80′s, including the 1986 Championship team. He still holds the record for most HR, most RBI, most walks, most Runs Created, most extra-base hits, and more.
Mike Piazza: He was the greatest offensive catcher in MLB history, even though be only spent half his career in Flushing. He was the face of the run of good teams at the turn of the century, which culminated in a National League championship. He hit the game-winning homerun in the first game in New York after 9/11, he feuded with former Yankee and current pariah Roger Clemens; and he even received a standing ovation after he homered against the Mets as a Padre in 2006. In four-and-a-half years, he will be the second Met in Cooperstown, and his number 31 will eventually be retired.
David Wright: I’m projecting here, but if he spends the next 10-12 years as a Met, he’ll own most of the hitting offensive records, as Reyes will hold the speed offensive records. It was between Wright and Reyes for this spot, but Wright may be the better player and more of the face of the team. He is the face of this generation of Mets, and the top jersey seller. He should continue to be a perennial all-star, and MVP candidate, and top-four fantasy player.
There are many other names can be thrown in. I used four players from four different generations of Met teams. One player was the statistical best pitcher, two were strong offensive players, and one I’m projecting to be a great player and an icon.
Who would you select and why? Jerry Koosman? Keith Hernandez? Carlos Beltran? Gary Carter? Eddie Kranepool? Would you count the 1999 infield as one entity; would you project a current prospect like Fernando Martinez?
Till Next Time.
That would be my 4 as well. Maybe I’d switch Darryl with Keith on any given day, but you can’t go wrong with those 4.
Darryl was good, very good.
But there are two points I’d consider before I would grant him such a high rating.
One, he was a lousy defensive fielder at times. Rolling across the recesses of my mind are some of the grounders to the outfield that Darryl let roll through his legs. Or the caroms off the walls he didn’t handle well.
Two, he had a long swing — analysts might say, too long. He was very vulnerable to curves and sliders from left handed pitchers.
In the final analysis, I have a little indigestion about Strawberry’s entombment on Mt. Rushmore.
I love Darryl, but you really have to go with Keith.
Also, I don’t know if you planned on it, but your Mt.Rushmore has a representative from all of the successful Mets eras:
Seaver- Late 60′s/Early 70′s
Darryl- Mid-Late 80;s
Piazza- Late 90′s/Early 00′s
Wright- Mid to late 00′s
I just don’t think you can put a guy up there that willingly left the Mets in the prime of his career. Doc was a Met for a little longer and left because drugs forced him out. Mex left well after his prime. I think either guy would be a better pick than Strawberry.
Heilman, Mota, Castillo, and Seaver. (Seaver has to be there no matter what.)
I really was going back and forth of Keith and Strawberry, but I gave it to Straw after a long look at the numbers. I didn’t know whether or not to include Keith’s carrer as a broadcaster, because that would have put him over the top. Picking the rep from the 86 team was the toughest, and yeah, I was thinking about the eras in team history.
Where is Kenny Boswell?
George “The Stork” Theodore?
Jim Beachump?
TOm Seaver–OK!
Gil Hodges
Tom Seaver
Bud Harrelson
Ed Kranpool
Since this is just “fun” can we have more then one?
Doc G
Darryl S
Keith H
Ray Knight
Mike Piazza
David Wright
Carlos Beltran
Jose Reyes
you hit it right on the head. but an alterative would be:
Anderson Hernandez
Johnny Estrada
Bill Pulsipher
Jason Tyner
How about a reverse Mt. Rushmore for the Mets:
Bobby Bonilla
Kenny Rogers
Armando Benitez
Richie Hebner
Executive dishonorable mention:
M. Donald Grant
nothing wrong with straw, but keith’s stache puts him right up there with the greats, think about how fantastic it’d look carved out of stone
http://www.garykeithandron.com/components/com_virtuemart/shop_image/product/Keith___17_Musta_4947d7a0612c6.jpg
i actually prefer this one:
jeromy burnitz
bobby bonilla
mo vaugn
guillermo mota
No to Straw… I’d rather have Keith or even Gary Carter…
Hahahaha Real Mt. Rushmore:
Tom Seaver
Keith Hernandez
Mike Piazza
David Wright
Reverse:
Bobby Bonilla
Aaron Heilman
Lastings Milledge
Mackey Sasser
10-12 for Wright to have most offensive records? I love the Mets, but there franchise records are not exactly unattainable. Straw has the most homers with 252 – David has 130 or more than HALF already. If David stays healthy and the Mets are smart enough to keep him, he will DESTROY all the Mets major records. 12 years at thirty taters is 360 plus his 130 is 490 or almost TWICE as many as the Straw.
Just as a follow-up:
(And as always barring injury and assuming the Mets don’t give them the ol’ Tom Seaver)
Hits
#1 – Krane 1418
#11 Reyes 919
#12 Wright 819
BOTH of these two will completely LAP this mark.
Doubles
#1 Krane 225
#6 Wright 183
#10 Reyes 155
Wright is 42 doubles from tying this record- what is that? Two years?
RBI
#1 Straw 733
#7 Wright 489
#10 Beltran 418
At 100 RBI, David will own this record early in 2011.
Total Bases
#1 Krane 2047
#8 Wright 1412
#9 Reyes 1399
David is 70% of the way there in four or five years.
These next ones are harder, because they could slip as easily as they could go up, but still…
Average
#1 Olerud .315
#2 Wright .309
OBP
#1 Olerud .425
#3 Wright .389
Slugging
#1 Piazza .542
#2 Wright .533
OPS
#1 Olerud .926
#2 Wright .921
Not only does David deserve to be on the Mountain, by the time he’s done, he might be the only one you need on there.
10-12 years?