Carlos Beltrán is the best center fielder in Mets history. He ranks fourth in OPS, sixth in home runs, and sixth in runs batted in among all Mets hitters. For a time he held the single-season record for homers. He has the third-highest bWAR among position players. That, plus he had three Gold Gloves. The finest example of his stellar defense came at Minute Maid Park, when he prolonged a marathon...
Read More
In this series leading up to the MLB Draft on July 17, we’ll look back at the backgrounds of some notable Mets picks prior to their arrival in the big leagues. We’ve covered three of the best players in franchise history, including 1980 top pick Darryl Strawberry. The next one featured went first overall to the Mets as well, but didn’t enjoy quite the same success in Queens. ...
Read More
“I saw things I had never seen before,” Keith Hernandez said later. Hernandez had hit for the cycle and it registered as pretty ordinary on the scale of events that took place at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. What began on Independence Day evening and lasted until 3:55 a.m. on July 5 became a regular-season saga unlike any other. There were 29 runs, 46 hits, 37 left on base, 43 players,...
Read More
More often than not in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Braves got the better of the Mets. That dominance extended into the 1999 NLCS when Atlanta overcame New York in six games to advance to their fifth World Series trip of the decade. At Shea Stadium 22 years ago, just when it looked like the end result would be all-too-familiar, the Mets managed to get the Braves’ number. Ten, to be...
Read More
In this series leading up to the MLB Draft on July 17, we’ll look back at the backgrounds of some notable Mets picks prior to their arrival in the big leagues. We began with Darryl Strawberry followed with Pete Alonso, and now this week we continue with arguably the second-best pitcher in franchise history who began in complete obscurity. The story of Jacob deGrom going from college...
Read More
