10
2013
Why Haven’t The Mets Retired Jerry Koosman’s Number?
An article by 
Photo by Walter Kelleher/Daily News
I was recently doing research for another piece when I came across the career numbers of three pitchers – Bert Blyleven, Randy Jones and Don Wilson. In particular, I focused on what Blyleven achieved during his 11 seasons in Minnesota, as well as what Jones did in eight years with the Padres and what Wilson accomplished in his nine years with the Astros.
As many of you know, Bert Blyleven is a member of the Hall of Fame. Randy Jones and Don Wilson are not. In fact, Jones and Wilson combined to win fewer games than Blyleven won on his own in his illustrious 22-year career. So what’s their connection and why are they relevant to this piece?
Let’s look at the career numbers for Blyleven, Jones and Wilson, focusing solely on what they did while they were members of the Twins, Padres and Astros, respectively. And while we’re at it, let’s stick in Jerry Koosman‘s career numbers as a Met, just for comparison’s sake.
|
Player |
Wins |
Losses |
Win % |
ERA |
WHIP |
CG |
SO |
K |
|
Bert Blyleven |
149 |
138 |
.519 |
3.28 |
1.186 |
141 |
29 |
2035 |
|
Randy Jones |
92 |
105 |
.467 |
3.30 |
1.208 |
71 |
18 |
677 |
|
Don Wilson |
104 |
92 |
.531 |
3.15 |
1.212 |
78 |
20 |
1283 |
|
Jerry Koosman |
140 |
137 |
.509 |
3.09 |
1.219 |
108 |
26 |
1799 |
There’s not that much of a disparity between the players, is there? Koosman had the lowest ERA of the foursome and finished close to Blyleven in wins, winning percentage, WHIP and shutouts.
Koosman was superior to Randy Jones, finishing with 48 more wins, 37 more complete games and 1,122 more strikeouts. The only category in which Jones fared better than Koosman was in WHIP and that was very close.
Don Wilson trailed Koosman in wins, ERA, complete games, shutouts and strikeouts. Wilson had the best winning percentage of the two (although he was only 12 games above .500 during his tenure with the Astros) and barely edged Koosman in WHIP.
So why am I making such a hubbub about what these four pitchers did for the teams they’re most associated with? The answer is quite simple, especially if you noticed the title of this piece and have the sleuthing skills of the Scooby Gang.
- Bert Blyleven’s uniform number has been retired by the Minnesota Twins.
- Randy Jones’ uniform number has been retired by the San Diego Padres.
- Don Wilson’s uniform number has been retired by the Houston Astros.
- Jerry Koosman’s uniform number is being worn by Collin McHugh.
“I’m so confused. I thought the Mets had already retired Jerry Koosman’s number.”
It’s understandable why Blyleven’s number has been permanently removed from circulation in the Twin Cities. After all, he had a Hall of Fame career and is most associated with Minnesota’s ballclub, collecting more than half of his 287 career victories as a member of the Twins. But his numbers as a Twin are quite similar to those achieved by Koosman as a Met. Also, Blyleven made the All-Star team as a Twin once and never finished higher than seventh in the Cy Young Award vote as a Twin (he did finish third in 1985 when he split the season between Cleveland and Minnesota, but made most of his starts as an Indian that year). Blyleven won two division titles in Minnesota (1970, 1987) and one World Series as a Twin (1987). Koosman knows the feeling, as he won two pennants and one World Series championship with the Mets.
As for Jones and Wilson, their uniform numbers were retired solely because of where they rank on their respective teams’ all-time pitching leaderboard. And in Wilson’s case, a tragic incident also contributed to his digits being taken out of circulation.
Randy Jones is in the Padres’ top ten in wins (T-2nd), ERA (8th), WHIP (7th) and strikeouts (8th). He is also the team’s all-time leader in starts, innings pitched, complete games and shutouts. Jones was selected to two All-Star teams, had two 20-win seasons, and won the 1976 NL Cy Young Award (with Koosman finishing second). Jones was the runner-up for the 1975 NL Cy Young Award, finishing behind Koosman’s teammate, Tom Seaver, for the coveted prize. But if you take out Jones’ 1975 and 1976 numbers, the rest of his Padres’ résumé isn’t very impressive.
During Jones’ other six years in San Diego, he went 50-79 with a 3.71 ERA and 1.30 WHIP. In other words, he pitched like Craig Swan, only slightly worse. (Swan was 59-71 as a Met with a 3.72 ERA and 1.27 WHIP.)
Don Wilson pitched two no-hitters as an Astro and once struck out 18 batters in a single game. That’s three games out of a career in which he made 245 starts. Wilson’s career would have been longer had it not been for his accidental death at the age of 29 (Wilson and his five-year-old son died of carbon monoxide poisoning). The Astros immediately retired his number at the beginning of the 1975 season.
Wilson never won more than 16 games in any of his nine seasons with the Astros and only made one All-Star team. He also had losing records in each of his last two seasons before his untimely death. Although Wilson surely would have added to his cumulative career numbers had he not passed away, he is currently in the Astros’ top ten in wins (7th), ERA (7th), starts (8th), innings pitched (5th), complete games (3rd), shutouts (4th) and strikeouts (7th).
Now let’s look at the career of one Jerome Martin Koosman and see where he ranks on the Mets’ all-time pitching leaderboard.
Ed Charles can’t wait to dance at Jerry Koosman’s number retirement ceremony.
Jerry Koosman was the runner-up to Johnny Bench for the 1968 NL Rookie of the Year Award. He was also a two-time All-Star, received MVP votes in three seasons (1968, 1969, 1976) and was the runner-up to Randy Jones for the 1976 NL Cy Young Award. Koosman was a part of two pennant winners and was on the mound when the Mets won the 1969 World Series. In addition, Koosman never lost a postseason game for the Mets, going 4-0 in six starts.
Koosman ranks highly in just about every career pitching category for the Mets. He’s in the team’s top ten in wins (3rd), ERA (5th), starts (2nd), innings pitched (2nd), complete games (2nd), shutouts (2nd) and strikeouts (3rd). Jesse Orosco and Jon Matlack both had lower ERAs than Koosman. Otherwise, Koosman would be the team’s all-time leader in every category for left-handed pitchers.
Clearly, Koosman had more individual success than Randy Jones and Don Wilson. He also had better success on a team level, as Jones and Wilson never reached the postseason for their respective teams. And Koosman’s numbers as a Met were quite similar to what Bert Blyleven produced in his two stints with Minnesota. But that’s not enough to get Koosman’s number on the outfield wall next to Casey Stengel‘s No. 37, Gil Hodges‘ No. 14 and Tom Seaver’s No. 41.
Jerry Koosman wasn’t perfect on the field. He also hasn’t been perfect off it, as he has been involved in legal troubles and other unfortunate situations. But none of that should have kept his No. 36 off the Shea Stadium and Citi Field outfield wall for as long as it has. If Bert Blyleven, Randy Jones and Don Wilson can have their numbers retired by their respective teams, then why can’t Koosman have his number retired by the Mets? It’s a travesty that been ignored for too long.
But it could be worse. At least the Astros haven’t retired former Met Mike Scott‘s number, right? What? They have? Ah, crap.
About the Author: Ed Leyro
Ed Leyro was hatched in the Bronx, but spent most of his youth in Queens at Shea Stadium. Apparently, all that time spent at Mets games paid off as Ed met his wife (The Coop) for the first time at Citi Field during its inaugural season. Guess the 2009 season was good for something after all. In addition to his work at Mets Merized Online, Ed also owns, operates and is head janitor at Studious Metsimus, where he shares blogging duties with Joey Beartran. For those not in the know, Joey is a teddy bear dressed in a Mets hoodie. Clearly, Studious Metsimus is not your typical Mets blog.
12 Comments + Add Comment
NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 42 | 30 | .583 | - |
| Phillies | 35 | 37 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Nationals | 34 | 36 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Mets | 27 | 40 | .403 | 12.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 48 | .314 | 19.0 |
Last updated: 06/19/2013
Recent Comments
- Joe D: on Last Night We Saw A Big Chunk Of “The Plan”: Puello certainly will be Top 5 and...
- Sach: on A Deeper Look At Zack Wheeler’s Debut: Quite honestly, I really wasn't impressed that...
- Alex68: on Last Night We Saw A Big Chunk Of “The Plan”: that was omar's plan as well. problem...
- Corporal Klegg: on Last Night We Saw A Big Chunk Of “The Plan”: I will try my man Alex, I will...
- Corporal Klegg: on Last Night We Saw A Big Chunk Of “The Plan”: That all sounds very good in theory...
Latest From Mets Minors
Check Out These Great MLB Links!
Photographs From Gordon Donovan
Fans Follow Us On Twitter!
1333 Fans Like Us On Facebook!
2341 Fans Read Our Feed!
1702 Fans Subscribe via Daily Email!
To me the number that should be retired without a doubt is # 7 for Ed Kranepool. He’s known as the original Met and his name is listed on a lot of the Mets team offensive records.
2nd bananas often get no respect.
Ed, I ask the same question when the cries for guys like Hernandez and Piazza come up
Koosman had a terrific career overshaddowed by probably the best pitcher of that generation
in 112 years the Yankees have retired 16 Numbers (15 if you don’t count the league retired Robinson)
Martin
Ruth
Gehrig
DiMaggio
Mantle
Berra/Dickey
Maris
Rizzuto
Munson (Died Tragically while a Yankee)
Ford
Mattingly
Howard (first AA player in Yankee History)
Stengel
Jackson
Guidry
Other than Munson, Mattingly, and Guidry (Howard being retired is an Obvious choice from an team Historical perspective) thats a pretty historical list of names just about everyone in the country recognizes and acknowledges as some of the greatest baseball players to ever play the game!
We have only retired 4 (3 with Robinson) in 50 years….
Seaver
Hodges
Stengel
Seaver is as Immortal as any of the guys the Yankees have save maybe Ruth, Mantle and Gehrig.
I have a hard time picking even one name from the Mets that carries the same weight as those guys (not named Seaver).
That said… would I be happy to see Koosman recognized as one of the greatest Mets of all time? YOU BETCHA! But retiring a number can’t be just about his relevance to the team who is retiring the number…Thats what the Met Hall of Fame is for…
Nor can it just be about a guy who was a good player in his Era…Thats what the baseball Hall of Fame is for….
Retiring a Number should be reserved for players who did more than just what it takes to get into the Hall…You need to be the kind of player people will remember and talk about 100 years from now! Koosman isn’t really that guy and neither is Carter who is probably more likely to get his number retired than Koosman considering his untimely death.
Granted that isn’t what other teams do because they just want to retire a number to say they have one and make a promotion out of it while honoring thier best player…
But when you do that you DILUTE the distinction, the meaning the RELEVANCE and IMPORTANCE of having your number retired…..
And at some point you run out of numbers and no one wants to see them switch to Hexadecimal Uni Numbers just to field a team….
Now coming to the plate number “F8″….
As I said in another piece about Koosman….
Seaver was the guy who killing linups but Koosman was the guy who boxed them up and nailed the coffin shut!
He is IMO the second greatest Pitcher the Mets have ever had, even better than Gooden!
But go to peoria and ask them who Koosman is and most people would say WHO?
Thats why his number will probably never be retired by the Mets….
Until they need a promotion to get people to come out to see a team not worth coming out to see unless they are honoring a guy who doesn’t play anymore so we can live off what the team USED to be.
well 31 is unofficially retired and 5 obviously will be there in 10-15 years…
Piazza will eventually get his number retired….
After that I can’t be certain about anyone.
It comes down to what the standards are for getting a number retired and not then watering in down like in the case of the Yankees with Ron Guidry, Don Mattingly, Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin.
With Mr. October, though he is a hall of famer, his stint with the Yankees was brief in terms of his overall career. Guidry, Mattingly and Martin, though having made great contributions to the team and reflective of loyalty to their pinstripe roots, do not deserve to be on the same wall as Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Berra and Ford. Munson was on his way to a hall of fame career till his tragic ending.
One has to be extra special to have his number retired. I think of Kid and Tug because their lives were cut short way too soon and that makes them something special beyond just what they did with the Mets but like with Reggie, Kid’s stay with the Mets was also brief compared to Montreal. With Tug, it would be more for sentiment ala Billy Martin because of his spirit to the orange and blue.
I think one who should have his number retired is Ralph Kiner. Ralph never played a game for the Mets but the number four worn for most of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates deserves such special honor for all the reasons too obvious to need repeating.
Great article!
I think its a joke the Mets wont let any player use the #24 because Willie Mays played the tail end of his career with us when he was a shell of himself. He was and always will be a Giant. Nobody cares that he spent a year and change on the Mets when he wasnt a great player anymore. So why should #24 be taken out of circulation?
maybe it is just paying homage to the NY Giants best player. Remember the orange in the colors! Not everything related to the history of NY NL baseball is focused on the Dodgers.
Ya, the Mets spend lots of time celebrating players from all other teams.
EXCELLENT ARTICLE!! Very valid points. They should have done the right thing and retired Koosman’s number eons ago.
I have had many discussions with co-Mets fan friends regarding this very subject. We have never come up with a satisfactory answer other than maybe somewhere along the way, Koos pissed off the wrong people?? – the Wilpons? But that doesn’t explain Hernandez nor Piazza. 50 years of Mets history and Seaver (albeit he was “The Franchise”) is the only player to have his number retired? It doesn’t make sense.
Why the Mets don’t embrace a rich and varied team history is beyond me?