Mets Merized Online

Every young boy with aspirations of being a major league pitcher dreams of tossing a no-hitter. The thrill of recording out #27 before giving up hit #1 is one of the biggest joys in sports. However, this thrill has never been felt by a New York Mets pitcher.

The Mets are one of four teams to have never pitched a no-hitter. Two of the other three teams are recent expansion teams (Tampa Bay Rays and Colorado Rockies). The other team is the San Diego Padres, who came into existence in 1969.

The closest the Padres came to a no-no was in 1972, when Steve Arlin’s bid was broken up by the Phillies’ Denny Doyle with two outs in the ninth inning. That’s closer than any Mets pitcher has ever come, as no Met hurler in the team’s 48-year history has been within one out of a no-hitter.

Of the 33 one-hitters thrown by Mets pitchers (two of the 33 were of the rain-shortened variety), only two were no-hitters entering the ninth inning. Both were thrown by The Franchise, Tom Seaver, and both were broken up with one out in the ninth inning. Jimmy Qualls of the Chicago Cubs broke up Seaver’s perfect game bid with a one-out single on July 9, 1969 and the Padres’ Leron Lee singled to break up Seaver’s no-hitter on July 4, 1972. Since then, the longest any Mets pitcher has carried a no-hitter is 7 2/3 innings.

Both Tom Glavine and John Maine had their bids for baseball immortality dashed with two outs in the eighth inning. Glavine’s 2004 bid was broken up with a double into the right field corner by Rockies’ catcher Kit Pellow and Maine’s 2007 no-no ended when Marlins’ catcher Paul Hoover hit a slow roller to third reminiscent of the excuse-me single hit by the Cubs’ Keith Moreland to break up Dwight Gooden’s no-hitter in 1984. (Side note: I was present at the Glavine and Maine games. There is no truth to the rumor that I turned to my neighbor and said “do you think we’ll finally see a no-hitter today?” in each game’s eighth inning.)

As seen by the above examples, the Mets have lost no-hitters late in games by hard-hit line drives and little dribblers. But what would be the worst way for the Mets to lose a no-hitter? I believe I may have the answer.

Say Johan Santana is mowing down the Phillies and becomes the first Mets pitcher not named Tom Seaver to take a no-hitter into the ninth inning. (What, did you expect it to be Maine or Perez? Neither of them is capable of pitching into the ninth inning, let alone carrying a no-hitter into the ninth.) Santana retires Jimmy Rollins and Placido Polanco to start the ninth inning, making him the first Mets pitcher to come within one out of a no-hitter.

The next batter is Chase Utley, but he draws a walk. The Phillies now have a baserunner, but the no-hitter is still intact as Ryan Howard steps up to the plate. Howard hits a routine grounder towards Luis Castillo that appears to be the third out of the inning, but the ball hits Utley as he’s running to second base. The umpires immediately call Utley out for being hit by a batted ball in fair territory and the game is over.

Could it be? Has Johan Santana become the first pitcher in Mets history to toss a no-hitter? The players on the field seem to think so, as they’re celebrating with Johan on the mound. But let’s borrow the Major League Baseball Official Rule Book from the official scorer and take a look at two rules.

• Rule 7.08 (f): Any runner is out when he is touched by a fair ball in fair territory before the ball has been touched or passed an infielder. The ball is dead and no runner may score, nor runners advance, except runners forced to advance.
• Rule 10.05 (a) (5): The official scorer shall credit a batter with a base hit when a fair ball that has not been touched by a fielder touches a runner or an umpire, unless a runner is called out for having been touched by an Infield Fly, in which case the official scorer shall not score a hit.

While Johan Santana and his Merry Men were all celebrating his apparent no-hitter, the official scorer noticed that Utley had been called out because he was touched by a fair ball in fair territory before the ball was touched or passed Castillo (Rule 7.08 (f)). By Rule 10.05 (a) (5), the official scorer had to give Ryan Howard a base hit since there was no Infield Fly involved when the ball hit Utley.

Therefore, at the exact moment Johan Santana recorded the 27th out of the game, he also lost his no-hitter. Imagine the shock on his face when the scoreboard flashed the “1″ in the hit column. Gary Cohen and Howie Rose would have been sick to their stomachs. If Bob Murphy were still alive, he’d be spinning in his grave while saying “and Santana loses the damn no-hitter”. Ron Darling would have analyzed how losing a no-hitter this way would affect Santana’s psyche and Keith Hernandez would have said that we shouldn’t have female official scorers.

The Mets will pitch a no-hitter…someday. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they lost one in the way detailed above before they actually completed one.

Since becoming a Met in 2006, John Maine has shown signs of greatness, such as his near no-hitter against the Marlins on the next-to-last day of the 2007 season.  However, he has never been able to maintain the consistent level of pitching that a pitcher of his talent needs to be a top of the rotation starter.

Never was this more apparent than during his 2009 season.  In fact, you might say Maine’s home and away splits last year suggest a case of the Jekyll and Hyde syndrome.

After losing his first start at Citi Field in 2009 to the San Diego Padres on April 16, John Maine took the mound at his home park six more times.  These are the lines for those six starts:

• April 27 vs. FLA: 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 3 BB, 4 K
• May 9 vs. PIT: 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 K
• May 25 vs. WAS: 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 K
• May 31 vs. FLA: 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K
• September 20 vs. WAS: 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K
• October 2 vs. HOU: 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 7 K

Maine’s totals over those six starts were outstanding.  In 36 innings pitched, he gave up only three earned runs for a microscopic 0.75 ERA.  He also allowed 18 hits and walked 11 batters, giving him a 0.81 WHIP.

Even if you include his performance in the April 16 loss to the Padres, Maine’s overall numbers at Citi Field remained eye-popping.  For the season, Maine was 6-1 with a 1.95 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP at home.

Although Mets pitchers allowed 81 home runs to opposing batters in 81 home games, Maine barely contributed to that number.  In his seven starts at Citi Field, Maine gave up one measly home run.

Clearly, John Maine performed at his Dr. Jekyll-like best when toeing the rubber at Citi Field.  However, all it took was a change in venue for Maine to make his Mr. Hyde-like transformation.

In eight starts away from Citi Field, Maine compiled a 1-5 record, with a bloated 6.92 ERA and an embarrassing 1.64 WHIP.  He gave up seven home runs on the road even though he pitched fewer innings in his road grays than he did in his home whites (41.0 IP at Citi Field, 40.1 IP on the road).

Even his sole road victory in 2009 wasn’t particularly impressive.  On May 4 at Turner Field in Atlanta, Maine defeated the Braves.  However, in his six innings of work, he gave up three runs, while allowing three hits and walking a whopping six batters.  Fortunately, the Mets offense showed up in the 6-4 victory.

Three runs in six innings is acceptable, but not the six walks.  Also, those three runs matched the total number of runs given up by Maine in his last six starts at Citi Field.

So which Maine will show up for the Mets in 2010?  John claims to be fully recovered from his injury-shortened 2009 season.  Will he regain his 15-victory form that he exhibited during the 2007 season, the year that featured his near no-hitter against the Marlins?  Or will he continue to take one step forward and two steps back, all coinciding with his starts at home and on the road?

If he wants to escape from the Four Rainouts part of Johan Santana and The Four Rainouts, he’ll need to be Dr. Jekyll for 30-plus starts.  Then the only transformation Maine will make is the one where he becomes an All-Star.

Sorry about the title (and photo to the left), Mets fans.  The Mets did sign “a Rod” over the weekend, but it happened to be Rod Barajas, who should take over as the #1 catcher for the Mets this season.  After failing to sign other potential #1 catchers, most notably Bengie Molina, the Mets were able to sign Barajas to a one-year deal for a very reasonable dollar amount ($1 million, plus $1 million in incentives).  This will allow Josh Thole to play another season in the minor leagues in the hopes that he can be major league ready in 2011.

So what are the pros and cons of the Rod Barajas signing?  Let’s start with the pros.

Since the Texas Rangers signed him as a free agent prior to the 2004 season, Barajas has become a good source for extra-base hits, especially from the catchers’ position.  He was the #1 catcher for Texas from 2004-2006 and Toronto from 2008-2009 (he had an injury-plagued season for the Phillies in 2007 and only played 48 games for our hated rivals).  In the five seasons Barajas was an everyday player, he hit 77 HR (with a career high of 21 HR in 2005), 112 doubles (consistently hitting between 19 and 26 doubles in each of the five seasons) and collected 279 RBI (with a career high of 71 RBI in 2009).  An average season for Barajas over those five years meant 22 doubles, 15 HR and 56 RBI.  By comparison, the combination of Brian Schneider and Omir Santos hit 25 doubles, 10 HR and collected 64 RBI for the Mets in 2009.  The combined total for those two catchers were nearly identical to the numbers produced by Barajas in an average season.

Defensively, Barajas has been consistently good at throwing out would-be base stealers.  Over his career, he has nailed 34% of those who have attempted to swipe a base against him.  That same percentage was registered by Barajas over each of the past two seasons.  Over those same two seasons, which coincide with Brian Schneider’s two years in New York, Schneider also threw out 34% of opposing base stealers.  Omir Santos nabbed 30% of the would-be base stealers against him in his one big league season.

Now what is there not to like about Barajas?  How about a career .238 batting average and a frighteningly low .284 career OBP?  The numbers were even worse last year (.226 batting average, .258 OBP).  He has never walked more than 26 times in a single season and has only collected 100 hits in a season once (104 hits in 2005).  He also tends to pick up his share of errors.  In the five seasons Barajas has been a #1 catcher, he has commited 38 errors (an average of nearly eight errors per season).  In those same five seasons, Brian Schneider commited half that total (19 errors).  Also, Omir Santos only committed three errors in his one season with the Mets.

Before I end this, I do need to point out that Barajas has fared well against the three teams that finished ahead of the Mets in the NL East last year (Phillies, Marlins, Braves).  In 187 career at-bats against those three teams, Barajas has hit .316, with 18 doubles, 13 HR and 35 RBI.  Considering he will be seeing those teams more than teams in the NL Central and NL West, those numbers cannot be ignored.

So now that you have the pros and cons, what do you think of the signing?  Is this an upgrade over whatever combination of catchers the Mets would have employed?  Do you think Barajas will end up helping the team more with his bat or with his defense?  Will Barajas be the #1 catcher for the entire 2010 season?  The floor is yours, Mets fans!  Talk amongst yourselves!

There are three words every baseball fan loves to hear.  They bring us back to the time when we were kids and just wanted to have a catch with our friends.  They provide warmth in our hearts and minds during an otherwise cold winter.  They provide us with a sense of anticipation that the next season will be better than the last.  Those three words are PITCHERS AND CATCHERS and as of today, the pitchers and catchers for the Mets have descended upon Port St. Lucie to begin the six-week long Spring Training before making their trek back up to New York.

But will the Mets have enough locker space in Port St. Lucie for all the catchers they signed (and still might sign)?

So far, in addition to the incumbent Omir Santos, the Mets have signed Henry Blanco and Chris Coste.  Last year’s late season call-up, Josh Thole, also has a chance to get more at-bats at the big league level in 2010.  Now the word is out that Rod Barajas is likely to sign a minor league deal with the Mets after the Mets failed in their attempts to bring Bengie Molina and Yorvit Torrealba to Flushing.

Casey Stengel once said that a team had to have a catcher or else they would have a lot of passed balls.  But in their attempt to sign every catcher this side of Crash Davis and Jake Taylor, the Mets neglected to upgrade their starting pitching staff.

The top four starters from 2009 (Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, Oliver Perez) are all back to reprise their roles.  Although there were numerous free agent options they could have considered, the Mets came away with no one to round out the rotation.  There was no John Lackey being fitted into a Mets jersey and no press conference announcing the signing of Ben Sheets.  Not even starters like Joel Piñeiro and Jason Marquis, pitchers who Mets fans were on the fence about, could be coerced to sign with the team.

When Bengie Molina’s name was being bandied about, much attention was paid to his offensive skills.  After all, of all the free agent catchers available, he was clearly the best offensive option.  But with the lack of an upgrade in the starting rotation, especially with so many starters coming off seasons cut short by injuries, the Mets might have needed his game-calling and defensive skills more than his bat.

Now it will be up to the catching corps of Santos, Blanco, Coste (and maybe Barajas) to be able to handle a pitching staff that could potentially be full of holes.  They will need to help the younger starters (Pelfrey, Maine, Perez) hone the talents they exhibited prior to the 2009 season.  They will also need to chip in with their arms when a caught stealing or two is needed, especially if the staff continues to have difficulty finding the plate as they did in 2009.

Henry Blanco is the most experienced of the squad.  However, since making his debut in 1997, he has only caught 100 or more games twice, usually being relegated to the bench or the trainer’s table.  Chris Coste has started a mere 176 games in four big league seasons and Omir Santos has been his team’s starting catcher only 77 times in his career.  Rod Barajas is in the same boat that Henry Blanco is sailing in, having been in the majors for over a decade but only logging two seasons in which he played at least 100 games.

Can the pitching staff succeed with the catching corps the Mets’ front office put together for them?  Let’s hope so because if the catchers can’t get the pitchers to pitch up to their potential, Jerry Manuel might wear out the bottom of his cleats racking up the frequent walker miles between the dugout and the pitcher’s mound.  As Casey said, without catchers, a team will have many passed balls, but without GOOD catchers, a team might have more pressing concerns.  A good catcher can go a long way towards helping a pitching staff that has numerous question marks.  If the ragtag group of catchers the Mets have assembled can come through, then the Mets might have one less concern to worry about.

According to Mark Bowman at mlb.com, Tom Glavine has retired from baseball after 22 years in the major leagues.  He will reportedly return to the Braves as a special assistant to team president John Schuerholz and will participate in Braves’ radio and television broadcasts.

To baseball fans, Glavine was one of the best pitchers of his generation.  He won 305 games over his career, including five 20-win seasons.  He finished in the top three in Cy Young Award balloting six times, winning the award twice (1991, 1998).

Mets fans might remember him for something different.  Some will remember Glavine for picking up his 300th career victory in 2007 as a member of the Mets.  Others will remember his outstanding 2006 campaign; a year in which he finished with a 15-7 record in the regular season and followed that up with two more victories in the postseason, which included a sparkling 1.59 ERA.

Some of us (myself included) will only remember Glavine for his final appearance in a Mets uniform.  On September 30, 2007, just one day after John Maine pitched his near no-hitter against the Marlins to help the Mets tie the Phillies in the standings going into the regular season finale, Glavine was only able to record one out against Florida.  Sandwiched around that out were seven runs by the Marlins.  Coupled with the Phillies’ victory over the Washington Nationals, the Mets failed to repeat as division champions in 2007.

If his poor performance against the Marlins wasn’t enough to enrage Mets fans, his post-game comments surely managed to do the trick.  After the season-ending loss, Glavine offered this tidbit to reporters.

“I’m not devastated. I’m disappointed, but devastation is for much greater things in life. I’m disappointed, obviously, in the way I wanted to pitch. I can’t say there is much more I would have done differently.”

As a baseball fan, I appreciate what Tom Glavine did on the baseball field.  He will be a first ballot Hall of Famer (and since he threw his last pitch in the majors in 2008, he is eligible to be enshrined with former Braves teammate Greg Maddux in 2014).  He was a quality postseason pitcher.  He was not a cancer in the clubhouse.  He also taught us (with the help of the aforementioned Maddux) that “chicks dig the longball”.

However, as a Mets fan, every time I think of the final 17 games of the 2007 season, instead of the frequent losses to the Nationals and Marlins, I think of Tom Glavine.  Mets fans suffered a great deal as they watched their team lose the division title to the Phillies.  We could not fathom that the Mets were part of an historic collapse.  So when Tom Glavine did not echo the sentiments of Mets fans by saying he wasn’t devastated by his performance and the outcome of the game, it came as no surprise that Mets fans had had enough of Glavine.

Congratulations on your retirement, Mr. Glavine.  I’m happy that you had a successful and lengthy career in the major leagues.  Based on your career achievements, you deserve to be a first ballot Hall of Famer.  I’m just not devastated to see you go.

As the countdown towards Spring Training continues, it is becoming more and more likely that the Mets are going with Omir Santos as their #1 catcher, with Henry Blanco and Chris Coste vying for the backup spot.

The Mets spent their winter signing Coste and Blanco and let other catchers (most notably Bengie Molina) sign with other teams.  As a result, Santos will now be expected to handle the pitching staff of Johan Santana and The Four Rainouts as well as performing a few Omir-acles of his own at the plate.

Can Santos be counted on to repeat his unexpected 2009 performance this year now that more is being asked of him?  Let’s review a few things from his past to see what we can expect in the future.

In 2008, Omir Santos was called up to the major leagues by the Baltimore Orioles for his first cup of coffee in the big show after being a career minor leaguer since 2001.  His stay in Baltimore was short-lived as he became a Met in 2009.  It was in New York that Santos got his huge break when Brian Schneider got injured, forcing the Mets to call him up for what was supposed to be a short stay.

However, something happened on the way to Citi Field.  On a team full of fragile players and underachievers, Omir blossomed into a pretty decent (and clutch) hitter.

Perhaps the most dramatic home run of the 95 hit by the Mets in 2009 came off the bat of Omir Santos.  On May 23, he hit a two-out, two-run HR in the ninth inning off Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead.  The umpires originally claimed that the ball had not left Fenway Park, bouncing off the top of the Green Monster and staying in the field of play.  That left Santos on second base and Gary Sheffield on third.  However, upon viewing the replay, the call was properly reversed and Santos was credited with a home run.

Because of Santos’ unexpected clutch hitting, the Mets decided to trade Ramon Castro to the Chicago White Sox, allowing Santos to remain on the major league roster.  His final numbers for the 2009 season included a .260 batting average, 7 HR and 40 RBI in only 291 at-bats.  He also added 14 doubles.

Now the question the Mets must ask themselves is whether or not those numbers will translate into a better season in 2010 if Santos gets the 400 at-bats usually reserved for a #1 catcher?  Unfortunately, looking at his minor league stats, the answer might be no.

In 2,229 career at-bats for various minor league teams, Santos could only manage a .258 average, with 32 HR and 260 RBI.  He hit .260 for the Mets after not being able to do that against MINOR LEAGUE PITCHING in eight-plus years.

Can the Mets expect more Omir-acles from Santos in 2010?  Probably not.  He won’t be facing Jonathan Papelbon this season and due to the lack of quality catching depth on the team, it’s unlikely he’ll get sent back to the minors.  If Santos repeats his 7 HR, 40 RBI performance in 400 at-bats, that should be considered a success for him.  But I’m not counting on it.

The Mets would be better off signing a more experienced catcher who could handle a pitching staff that can be, shall we say, a little erratic at times.  (see Maine, J. and Perez, O.)  Given 400 at-bats, any catcher can hit seven home runs and drive in 40 runs.  But with the problems the Mets could have with their starting pitchers, it may be more important to go with a catcher who can help the Mets more with his handling of the pitchers than with his handling of the bat.  If the Mets give that much playing time to Omir Santos, they’d better hope he can handle the Four Rainouts portion of Johan Santana and The Four Rainouts.  If he can’t, the band might not get another gig at Citi Field.

So far this offseason, the Mets have failed to lure a free agent pitcher to Flushing.  What was supposedly their top priority (signing a starting pitcher), has turned into an endless series of questions regarding why the Mets can’t get any pitchers to sign with them.  In a span of 24 hours, the Mets and their fans have once again been subjected to watching two more free agent pitchers who were supposedly on the Mets’ radar sign with other teams.

Ben Sheets parlayed his year off from baseball into a one-year, $10 million contract with Oakland and Jon Garland will now peddle his wares in San Diego after signing a one-year deal with the Padres.

I was looking at some of the free agent pitchers (Sheets and Garland included) who were supposedly being considered by the Mets to be a part of their 2010 roster and noticed something interesting.  Tell me if you notice any similarities between these pitchers:

• Doug Davis: signs with Milwaukee for one year, $5.25 million.
• Jon Garland: signs with San Diego for one year, $4.7 million.
• Jason Marquis: signs with Washington for two years, $15 million.
• Ben Sheets: signs with Oakland for one year, $10 million.
• Randy Wolf: signs with Milwaukee for three years, $29.75 million.

All of them signed relatively short deals.  All of them signed for less than the average annual value of Oliver Perez’s contract.  However, what I noticed the most is that all of them signed with teams that finished with losing records in 2009.

Davis and Wolf signed with the Brewers, who at 80-82, finished in third place in the NL Central, 11 games behind the first place Cardinals.  Similarly, Garland chose to sign with the fourth-place Padres, who finished 20 games out of first and Sheets signed with the last-place Athletics, who finished 22 games behind the Angels in the AL West.  To make matters worse, Marquis signed with the Nationals, who finished with the worst record in baseball.

Most free agents prefer to sign contracts that promise them big money, long-term security or the chance to play for a contender.  None of the pitchers listed above signed for anything near the amount of money given to this year’s top free agent pitcher, John Lackey.  Not only that, the teams who signed them were able to do so without investing too many years in them.

Why did those pitchers prefer to sign short-term deals with losing teams for reasonable dollars?  Isn’t Citi Field known as a pitcher’s park?  Why wouldn’t they want to come here where they can pitch in a spacious ballpark and put up good numbers so they can earn a fatter contract the next time they become free agents?

I guess word has gotten around that the Mets are no longer one of those teams that players would jump at the opportunity to play for.  They’d rather play for other second-division teams than the one currently playing in Flushing.  It’s a sad indication that this team is not going in the right direction.  They’re not doing enough to put a team on the field that can compete with the Phillies, Marlins and Braves.  Heck, even the Nationals have been making noise in the free agent market.

When the Mets signed Jason Bay last month, we thought it would be the beginning of many press conferences announcing new additions to the team that would help put them back into contention.  So far, that signing just looks like a piece of bubble gum placed over a leak in the Hoover Dam.  It served to hold things up temporarily, but as these other free agents are finding new addresses that do not begin with the letters N and Y, the dam is going to break and the fans are going to let their displeasure flood Citi Field.  Of course, that’s assuming the fans will even go to Citi Field…

In 2005, Jose Offerman was a Met for about 15 minutes.  In 72 at-bats for New York, Offerman hit .250, with one HR and 10 RBI.  Since his cup of coffee with the Mets, the 41-year old Offerman has been fighting to get back into the major leagues.  Unfortunately, he taken the fighting part a little too literally.

After playing 15 years in the major leagues, beginning with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1990 and ending his career with the New York Mets in 2005, Jose Offerman is currently the manager of the Licey Tigers in the Dominican League.

Last night, during a Dominican League playoff game, Offerman came out of the dugout to argue a call with umpire Daniel Rayburn.  A typical heated discussion ensued.  Perhaps Rayburn used an ill-timed “yo mama’s so fat” joke.  Perhaps he had garlic in his pre-game meal.  Whatever the case, he must have said something offensive to Offerman because he got a right cross to the face from the former Met (see video below):

The shocking behavior is not the first time we’ve seen an episode of “Offerman Gone Wild” on the field.  As a member of the Long Island Ducks in 2007, Offerman charged the mound with his bat after he was hit by a pitch thrown by Bridgeport Bluefish pitcher Matt Beech.  The catcher of the Bluefish, John Nathans, was struck in the head by the bat and suffered a concussion, effectively ending his playing career. (see video below):

Offerman was arrested by the Bridgeport Police for going batty on the field and was charged with two counts of second degree assault.  In October 2007, he was given two years probation for his crime.  Since then, John Nathans has filed a $4.8 million civil suit against Offerman, claiming that he still suffers from post-concussion syndrome and that Offerman’s bat caused his playing career to end.  That suit has not yet been resolved.

For all the Mets fans who say the Mets lack fire on the field, be careful what you wish for.  You might end up with Jose Offerman on your team.

Keith Hernandez was the heart and soul of the 1980s Mets teams that went from languishing at the bottom of the National League East to winning two division titles and a World Series championship.  The former first baseman was a leader both on and off the field, and was given the captain’s “C” to honor his leadership on the team.  However, despite numerous pleas by Mets fans to retire his number 17, the Mets have not yet honored their former captain by doing so.

Let’s compare Keith’s career with the Mets to that of another first baseman who played on the West Coast for another expansion team from the 1960s.  Perhaps if the people from the Coalition To Decide New Reasons To Put Off Retiring Keith’s Number read the following, they might have to rethink things.

Keith Hernandez was a member of the Mets from 1983-1989.  Over his 6½ years with the team, he batted over .300 four times, scored over 80 runs four times and drove in over 80 runs four times (including two 90-RBI seasons).  He won six Gold Gloves while with the Mets, made the All-Star team three times, finished in the top ten in the MVP voting three times (including two top five finishes) and won a Silver Slugger Award in 1984.

During his first four full seasons with the Mets (1984-1987), an average season for Keith Hernandez looked like this: .305 batting average, .396 OBP, .836 OPS, 32 doubles, 14 HR, 89 RBI and 88 runs scored.  More importantly, he was an instrumental player in the Mets’ march to the 1986 World Series championship.

So which of his contemporaries am I comparing him to?  Let’s peruse over the numbers of a certain Steve Garvey, especially after he joined the San Diego Padres.

Steve Garvey joined the Padres as a free agent before the 1983 season (the same year Hernandez was traded to the Mets).  He played four full seasons as San Diego’s first baseman and part of a fifth in 1987, playing in only 27 games during his final season in the big leagues.  During his tenure in San Diego, Garvey did not win any Gold Gloves (Mr. Hernandez was winning all of those), made the All-Star team twice and never finished higher than 20th in the MVP voting.  He also did not win any Silver Slugger Awards.  Furthermore, he never batted over .300 in any of those four seasons, never scored more than 80 runs and drove in over 80 runs three times (but no 90-RBI seasons).

During those four full seasons in San Diego (1983-1986), these were the numbers for an average Steve Garvey season:  .278 batting average, .311 OBP, .725 OPS, 26 doubles, 15 HR, 77 RBI and 72 runs scored.  He helped lead the Padres to one National League pennant in 1984, but did not win the World Series that year.

Clearly, Hernandez’s numbers and awards with the Mets were superior to Garvey’s numbers and lack of awards with the Padres.  However, Garvey can claim one thing that Keith Hernandez can’t.

STEVE GARVEY’S NUMBER HAS BEEN RETIRED BY THE SAN DIEGO PADRES!

Apparently, the Padres cared enough to acknowledge the fact that Garvey was instrumental in bringing the team back from being also-rans prior to 1983 to pennant winners in 1984.  The Mets were cellar dwellers prior to 1983 as well.  Then Keith Hernandez came aboard and things started to change, eventually leading to the World Championship that Garvey wasn’t able to bring to San Diego.

How can the Mets not retire Keith Hernandez’s number when the Padres have bestowed that honor to Steve Garvey?  Instead, they continue to hand out the number to Fernando Tatis and various pitchers like Jose Lima, Graeme Lloyd and Dae-Sung Koo.  At least Gary Carter’s number hasn’t been worn by a Met since Matt Galante wore it as a coach in 2002.

It’s time for the Mets to retire the #17 in honor of their former captain and team leader, Keith Hernandez.  The left field wall at Citi Field is high enough for more retired numbers.  Let’s end this oversight once and for all by raising the #17 for all Mets fans to see.  Say it loud.  Say it proud.  Retire #17!

With all the recent talk about Mark McGwire, I’ve decided to think about first basemen and the Hall of Fame.  The last MLB first baseman to be inducted into the Hall of Fame was Eddie Murray in 2003.  Therefore, when the Class of 2010 was announced last week and only Andre Dawson was voted in, it marked the seventh consecutive season in which no MLB first baseman was inducted.  (I mention MLB because two Negro League first basemen, Mule Suttles and Ben Taylor, were inducted in 2006.)

Mark McGwire and Fred McGriff were the two highest vote getters among first basemen in last week’s Hall of Fame election, with McGwire receiving 128 votes (23.7%) and McGriff receiving 116 votes (21.5%).  Carlos Delgado is still active, having last played for the Mets in 2009.  Let’s first compare the career numbers of McGwire and McGriff before we talk about Delgado.

Mark McGwire finished his career with a .263 batting average, .394 OBP and .982 OPS.  He hit 583 HR from his late season call-up in 1986 until his retirement in 2001 (currently tying him with Alex Rodriguez for eighth on the all-time career home run list). He also scored 1,167 runs and drove in 1,414 runs.  He won the 1987 AL Rookie of The Year Award and the 1990 AL Gold Glove Award.  During his 15-year career, he was selected to participate in 12 All-Star Games.  He also helped his Oakland Athletics team to three consecutive American League pennants from 1988-1990, winning the World Series in 1989.

Despite all his power, he only won three Silver Slugger Awards (1992, 1996, 1998).  Furthermore, he never won an MVP Award and only finished in the top ten in the MVP voting on five occasions.  He also never hit more than 28 doubles in a season.  Also, he only scored 584 runs over his career when he DIDN’T drive himself in with a home run.  He finished his career with 1,596 strikeouts, which was only thirty fewer than his lifetime hit total of 1,626.

Fred McGriff retired in 2004 with a .284 lifetime batting average, .377 OBP and .886 OPS.  He hit 493 HR over his 18-year career.  McGriff finished with a lifetime total of 2,490 hits, 1,349 runs scored and 1,550 RBI.  He was selected to five All-Star teams and helped the Atlanta Braves win two National League pennants, including their only World Series title in Atlanta when they won it all in 1995.

Like Mark McGwire, McGriff’s prodigious power only won him three Silver Slugger Awards, but he did finish in the top ten in the MVP voting six times.  He never hit 40 HR in a season (his career high was 37 when he split his 1993 season between the San Diego Padres and the Atlanta Braves), scored over 100 runs in a season only once and never collected more than 107 RBI in a single season.  Consistency from season to season, not gaudy numbers, was the trademark of Fred McGriff.  This was similar to the approach taken by Hall of Famer Eddie Murray, who hit 504 HR over his career, but never hit more than 33 in any individual season.

So when we compare McGwire and McGriff, it appears that McGwire was far more of a one-dimensional player than McGriff was.  It was all or nothing for Big Mac, whereas McGriff could beat you with a home run as well as with a two-run single.  McGwire hit 90 more home runs than McGriff, yet the Crime Dog scored 182 more runs and had 136 more RBI than McGwire.  McGwire had slightly over 1,000 hits that weren’t home runs, while McGriff had almost 2,000 hits that weren’t homers.

Now let’s look at Carlos Delgado.  Remember that his cumulative numbers will continue to go up as he continues to play in the major leagues.

Going into the 2010 season, Delgado’s career batting average stands at .280.  He also has a .383 OBP and .929 OPS.  He has hit 473 HR since making his debut for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993 and has racked up 2,038 hits.  Delgado has scored 1,241 runs and has driven in 1,512 runs.

Unfortunately, Delgado has only appeared in the postseason once, with the 2006 Mets (Toronto won the World Series in 1993, but Delgado was not on their postseason roster).  He has four top ten finishes in the MVP voting, but only has three Silver Slugger Awards (a recurring theme in this blog) and two All-Star Game appearances to show for it.

Another negative about Delgado is his lofty strikeout total.  He has struck out 1,745 times in his career (first full season was 1996), including a stretch of 13 consecutive seasons in which he fanned over 100 times; a streak that only came to an end last year when he spent over four months on the disabled list for the Mets.

So who gets into the Hall of Fame first between McGwire, McGriff and Delgado?  Do any of them make it?  I think Delgado has the best chance of the three.  Here are some more stats that might help his cause.

Harold Baines has the most RBI for any player eligible for the Hall of Fame who has not been elected.  Over his career, Baines collected 1,626 RBI.  Delgado needs 114 RBI to tie Baines.  It might be difficult for Delgado to do it in one season because of the uncertainty due to his hip injury, but if he doesn’t spend another four months on the DL, he should easily surpass 1,626 RBI before he retires.  Even two half-seasons should give him enough time to surpass Baines.

Al Oliver has the most doubles for any Hall of Fame eligible player who has not yet entered its hallowed halls.  He hit 529 doubles over his career.  Delgado has 483 doubles entering the 2010 season.  With 46 doubles, he will tie Oliver on the all-time doubles list.  This can be achieved in approximately two seasons, especially considering that Delgado has hit at least 26 doubles in every full season he has played.

Every 500 HR hitter who is eligible for the Hall of Fame has been enshrined except for Mark McGwire, who has the steroid cloud raining down upon him.  Delgado is only 27 HR short of the coveted 500 HR plateau.

Only ten players in major league history have hit at least 500 doubles and 500 HR.  Those players are Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Robinson, Rafael Palmeiro, Manny Ramirez, Ted Williams and Eddie Murray.  Of those ten, six are in the Hall of Fame, two are not yet eligible (Bonds and Palmeiro) and two are still playing (Griffey and Ramirez).  Carlos Delgado needs only 17 doubles and 27 HR to become the 11th member of this esteemed club.

Delgado has hit at least 30 HR in a season 11 times and has driven in 100 or more runs in a season nine times (plus three additional seasons where he drove in at least 90 runs).  These figures may still go up before he retires.

Mark McGwire was too one-dimensional and has too much controversy surrounding him.  Fred McGriff was consistently good, but never consistently great.  Carlos Delgado, however, has been putting up numbers that have been great for over a decade.  When you put Delgado’s stats against those of power hitters currently in the Hall of Fame, it should be clear that not only does Delgado get into the Hall of Fame before McGwire and McGriff, but he should go in on the first ballot.  With good health (certainly a question after the events of 2009), Delgado might put up numbers that put him among the best offensive first basemen of all-time.