By Sivert Glarum

The Mets have had seven names in team history that have appeared more than once in Flushing. Here are those seven players discussed side-by-side.

The Bob Millers

Part of the wonderful wackiness of the original 1962 team, both Bob Millers roomed with each other on the road, allegedly to make life easier for the hotel switchboard operators.  Robert L. Miller had a record of 1-12, while Robert G. Miller clocked in with a relatively stellar 2-2.  While their teammates settled on calling them “Righty Bob” and “Lefty Bob,” Casey Stengel preferred his own system to differentiate, referring to Robert L. Miller as “Nelson.”  Bob L. could have saved everyone the confusion had he just kept his original surname: Gemeinweiser.

The Bobby Joneses

As if Y2K didn’t confuse computers enough, statisticians had to keep their guard up when the Mets had two Bobby Joneses on their pitching staff.  Righty Bobby J. Jones was the vet, joining the squad in 1993, and repped the Mets on NL All-Star Team in 1997.   Lefty Bobby M. Jones was shipped from Colorado to Queens in 2000.

While BMJ only appeared in 11 games that season, BJJ would go on to pitch a one-hitter against the Giants in the NLDS.  Neither Robert was on the team the following year, but they were reunited on the Padres in 2002,  baffling scorekeepers on the opposite coast.

The Mike Marshalls

The M&M boys weren’t on the Mets at the same time, but they had plenty of other similarities: both were midwesterners who had their glory days with the Dodgers before they found their way to Shea.  “Iron Mike” Marshall was the most durable relief pitcher in the 1970s. He appeared an MLB record 106 games in 1974, becoming the first fireman to win the Cy Young Award.

On the other end of the spectrum, Mike Marshall 2.0 was an injury-prone outfielder with a rep for not playing hurt.  But maybe the ’88 World Champ just had better things to do — like dating the Go-Go’s Belinda Carlisle.

The Chris Youngs

The most recent “dy-name-ic duo, ” both Chrises were retired by 2018.  Chris #1, the pitcher, started his NYM career off strong, getting a 7-1 victory over the Phils, and three hits off Cole Hamels to boot.  The rest of his time in Queens was nothing exceptional.  Unfortunately, his 2015 World Series win against the Mets was.  Chris #2 was signed as a free agent for the 2014 campaign, picking up a sweet $7 million check before being released in August.  Today, the Cys find themselves on the opposite ends of baseball law.  Chris #1 works for MLB,  meting out discipline for on-field incidents. Chris #2 was recently implicated in the 2017 Red Sox cheating scandal.

The Pedro Martinez’s

The rare instance where the reboot is way more successful than the original.  Pedro the 1st barely registered a blip on the radar back in 1996. Nine years later, the signing of the three-time Cy Young winner hot off a historic World Championship electrified the Flushing Faithful.  After a fantastic first season, injuries marred the rest of El Grande’s stay in the 718. Never-the-less, fans loved his feisty attitude, and certified Yankee killers are always cheered in Queens.

Bob, Bob, and Rob Johnson

A year after winning a World Series with Baltimore in 1966, Bob “Rocky”  Johnson had an outstanding season with the Mets, batting .348 over 90 games. That winter, he was dealt to Cincy for Art Shamsky. Bob #2 appeared in only two games for the Miracle Makers of ’69, but would be integral to the Pirates WS championship two years later.

Catcher Rob would show up four decades later, called up in May of 2o12.  Only ten days later, he was pressed into service as a pitcher, hurling a perfect 8th inning against the Blue Jays. That proved to be his career highlight, as he was sent back down to Buffalo weeks later.

The Sandy Alomars

Okay, this one might be a bit of a cheat, because the Sandies are obviously father and son.   Senior spent approximately a month with the Mets during his very solid 14-year career.  Junior logged even less time on the active roster, only appearing in 8 games in 2007 as a capstone to his 19 year MLB sojourn. Both had more impact on the team as coaches.  Making the Metropolitans truly a family affair, HOFer Robbie Alomar played with the club in 2002-2003.

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This Fan Shot was contributed by diehard Mets fan Sivert Glarum who you can follow at @TheSilvert on Twitter. Silvert is a writer and producer for such shows as King of the Hill and Tacoma FD.

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