Today, when America stops to remember its greatest civil rights leader, we thought it is appropriate to remember Cleon Jones, the team’s first African American All-Star. Cleon Jones signed with the New York Mets at the age of 20 in 1963, before baseball had initiated the annual amateur draft. After batting over .300 for both the Carolina League Raleigh Mets and New York–Penn League Auburn...
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It may come as a surprise to some younger Mets fans who think of Joe Torre only as the former New York Yankees manager who won four World Series with the Bombers from 1996 to 2000 – when he beat our beloved Mets. Joe Torre also served in the unique role as a player-manager for the Amazins in 1977. The card above, No. 109 from the Topps 1978 set, reflects two pictures of Torre serving in...
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Unless you marry your high school sweetheart, it’s almost inevitable that after you break up you will see your first love in someone else’s arms. Maybe walking the hall, maybe outside the school, but somewhere you see the first girl of your dreams with someone else. Those feelings are what many felt the first time they saw the card above, which was the first card produced by Topps...
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A review of the single highest WAR pitching seasons of all time on Baseball Reference shows that Dwight Gooden had 12.1 WAR in 1985, the fourth highest single pitching season ever. That season was the highest WAR season for any pitcher post World War II. For those who prefer traditional statistics, in that magical season, Dwight Gooden had 12.1 pitching WAR thanks to his 276 2/3 innings with a...
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As you read this, please think of the hit ballad “The Best I Ever Had” whether the version by Drake, Gary Allan or Grey Sky Morning, while mulling over who they consider the best Mets outfield of all time. Using the baseballreference.com database for Mets outfielders and running pivot table in excel, and sorting all players by bWAR, which is the WAR calculation provided by baseballreference.com,...
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