If you could pick between Mets players of past and present to make up your infield, who would you choose?
There are some positions that are pretty given, but others, not so much. Is the variations because of our ages and watching different teams play? Yes, that’s a factor. Or is it because the Mets have had so many solid players in the infield and it’s hard to choose?
After much deliberating, here are some of our dream Mets infields.
Sam
1B – Keith Hernandez
2B – Edgardo Alfonzo
SS – Rey Ordonez or Jose Reyes
3B – David Wright
First base is obviously going to be Keith Hernandez. Hernandez is one of the best first basemen ever, I mean, 11 Gold Gloves? How could you beat that? Not to mention his hitting was impeccable; his eye at the plate was something be developed at a very young age and that definitely helped him move up the minor league ranks quickly. At second base, I’m going to put Edgardo Alfonzo. Alfonzo basically batted .300 every other year and was a great second baseman.
Rey Ordonez was a great shortstop for the team, with three gold gloves in his time with the Mets. Jose Reyes was an incredible fielder and he was practically a .300 hitter and if he wasn’t on second he would steal the base with ease. Either of them would play shortstop. Third base would be our captain David Wright for obvious reasons. Wright was an A+ fielder with his signature running throw to first and he was an unbelievable hitter. In his injury-shortened 12-year career, he batted .300, or extremely close to it (.293 his rookie season), eight times! He is only answer for this position.
Violeta
1B – Keith Hernandez
2B – Daniel Murphy
SS – Jose Reyes
3B – David Wright
I’ll start with first and third, since those are locks: Keith Hernandez and David Wright. I was going to justify these picks – but then realized I didn’t have to. At second, I’m going with Daniel Murphy; for me, the bat makes up for the glove (but know that I still dream about the ball scooting under that glove in the World Series). Jose Reyes circa 2006-2007 would be my shortstop to sure up the middle and cover the ground Murphy wouldn’t.
Marshall
1B – John Olerud
2B – Edgardo Alfonzo
SS – Rey Ordonez
3B – Robin Ventura
An effective infield is not the sum of its parts, but a well-oiled machine that works together as a whole. So rather than pick players from different eras, I’m going with a foursome we know played well together. The 1999 infield of John Olerud, Edgardo Alfonzo, Rey Ordonez and Robin Ventura to me is an easy choice for the dream infield. Called out by Sports Illustrated as perhaps the best defensive infield ever, the foursome was largely responsible for the Mets only yielding 20 unearned runs in 1999. That was by far the best in the majors. Also, two of the four (Ventura and Ordonez) won Gold Gloves (and I’m not so sure JT Snow was much better at first than Olerud was in ’99). Be that is it may, give me the 1999 infield for my dream infield any day.
Jack
1B – Keith Hernandez
2B – Edgardo Alfonzo
SS – Rey Ordonez
3B – David Wright
Marshall took the words out of my mouth so I’ll probably need to get more creative. Ultimately I feel having a lockdown defense along the infield is more important than plugging in four good hitters, so I’ll make a few compromises. Keith Hernandez is still the first baseman and David Wright is still the third baseman, given they manned their positions pretty well and are two of the best offensive players in franchise history. I’d still have to tab Edgardo Alfonzo to second base – the next best options are either Wally Backman or Daniel Murphy (yikes and yikes). I’d honestly sacrifice a bat at shortstop and keep Rey Ordonez there to preserve an all-time double-play combo. You can certainly have one subpar hitter in there if his defense is a cut above everyone else.
Ryan
1B – Keith Hernandez
2B – Jeff McNeil
SS – Jose Reyes
3B – David Wright
My dream Mets infield would probably be a combination of Pete Alonso‘s bat and Keith Hernandez’s glove at first base. If forced to chose one, I’d go with the complete player in Hernandez. David Wright is the obvious choice at the other corner infield spot and I’d put Jose Reyes next to him at short because he was so electric in his prime. To round out the group, I think I’d go with Jeff McNeil at second. If given the opportunity to play there everyday, I believe McNeil would be an excellent defensive second baseman. Also his bat rivals anyone else who has played the position.
Matt
1B – Pete Alonso
2B – Jeff McNeil
SS – Amed Rosario
3B – David Wright
Call me basic. Call me young. I’ll accept them all. But Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil would be the type of dudes I could play a game of MLB The Show with, then enjoy a beer with. Meanwhile, Amed Rosario would be regaling me on how people shouldn’t be surprised, they should be ready. Certainly much-needed motivation during quarantine. For third base, David Wright. There’s almost no one else on the Earth I’d love to chat with. A talk about leadership, production, and how to make your mark on the Earth. I’m sure David can teach me all the life lessons I would want to know.
Mojo
1B – Keith Hernandez
2B – Jeff McNeil
SS – Jose Reyes
3B – David Wright
I’m going to have to agree with what others have said in that I would love to see Keith Hernandez on this fictional infield. While Alonso likely has the more explosive bat, Keith was the more complete player, at least for now. Then of course David Wright is an obvious pick, and I’ll go with Jeff McNeil and his Ichiro-like bat at second. For shortstop, while his reputation may be rightfully tarnished due to off-field issues, there’s no denying how electric Jose Reyes was in his prime. And with that, I realize that I just gave the exact same infield as Ryan, so I guess that just means great minds think alike!
Sal
1B – Keith Hernandez
2B – Edgardo Alfonzo
SS – Jose Reyes
3B – David Wright
An all-time Mets infield starts at the corners for me, which is why David Wright and Keith Hernandez are my third and first baseman (Could easily be Alonso but as others have stated Keith has a full body of work and a championship which puts him over Pete for now). Up the middle — it would be hard for me to choose anyone other than Jose Reyes to play short. His prime was electric, he played tremendous defense, and his speed made him the ultimate catalyst in the lead-off spot. I’ve seen some interesting cases for Jeff McNeil as the second baseman for this infield, but like first base I’m going with a player who has already had a full career, which is the underrated Edgardo Alfonzo.
Michelle
1B – Keith Hernandez
2B – Edgardo Alfonzo
SS – Jose Reyes
3B – David Wright
David Wright is a lock at third base, that is for sure. Do we even have to make the case for the Captain? I think not. For first and second, I went with Keith Hernandez and Fonzie for the same reason many above did — because they had full careers where they showed they can flourish there. Maybe years from now those names will be swapped with Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil, that wouldn’t surprise me, but for now, it’s a bit too early for me to go with them. And finally, at short, I need to go with Jose Reyes. No one can deny that in his prime, he delivered, both offensively as lead-off and defensively. Plus him and Wright just have that chemistry together making them the perfect duo to handle short and third.
What would your dream Mets infield be? Tweet yours at us @MetsMerized.
