November 21st has been good for Mets players in terms of awards. In 1970, Tommie Agee won the Gold Glove award as a center fielder, in 1972 Jon Matlack won the Rookie of the Year award, and in 1983, Darryl Strawberry also won the Rookie of the Year award.

When Agee won his Gold Glove, he became the first position player to win the award in both leagues. Agee had previously won a Gold Glove award in 1966 with the White Sox.

When Mets fans think of Agee, it’s hard not to think about his catches in game three of the 1969 World Series, one in the left-center field gap and one in the right-center field gap.

Over his Mets career (five years), Agee slashed .265/.320/.412 with 130 home runs and 433 RBIs. Agee was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1966. He was an All-Star in 1966 and 1967.

After the 1971 season with the Mets, Agee’s production precipitously declined. In his last year with the Mets in 1972, Agee posted a slash line of .227/.317/.374 with 13 home runs. The Mets traded him to Houston after the 1972 season. He played the 1973 season, his last in the major leagues, with the Astros and Cardinals. Agee was just 30 years old when his career ended.

Jon Matlack burst onto the Mets’ scene in 1972 (after a brief stint in 1971) with a record of 15-10 and a 2.32 ERA. Over 244 IP that season, he struck out 169 hitters and walked 71. His WHIP was 1.172 in his ROY season.

Matlack was a Met for seven seasons, logging a record of 82-81 with an ERA of 3.03, a WHIP of 1.233, and a 114 ERA+. After the 1977 season, Matlack was traded  to Texas as part of a four-team deal.

Over his career, Matlack was a three-time All-Star (all with the Mets) in 1974, 1975, and 1976. In 1975, Matlack was co-MVP of the All-Star game, sharing the honor with Bill Madlock of the Cubs. He led the National League in shutouts in 1974 (7) and 1976 (6).

Matlack ended his career in 1983, with a record of 125-126 with a 3.18 ERA. One footnote on his career was a 1973 line drive hit by Marty Perez of the Braves that hit Matlack in the head. You can read more about the scary incident in this article by Joseph Durso of the New York Times.

Darrly Strawberry won the ROY award in 1983. He broke into the major leagues in May of that year, and went on to deliver a slash line of .257/.336/.512 with 26 home runs.

Strawberry played eight seasons in Flushing (.263/.359/.520) with 252 home runs. His Mets OPS was .862, and his OPS+ in orange and blue was 138. Over his career, Strawberry was an eight-time All-Star, seven of which were with the Mets. In 1988, he led the National League with 39 home runs.

After the 1990 season, Strawberry signed with the Dodgers as a free agent. He played three seasons in Los Angeles. He was limited to 43 games in 1992 and 32 games in 1993. After spending 1994 with the Giants, Strawberry played his final five seasons with the Yankees, retiring after the 1999 season.

There are many memorable moments of Strawberry’s Mets tenure, some good and some not so good. As I think about his time in Queens, this is one moment that stands out to me.

This home run in game seven of the 1986 World Series was “so Darryl.” Strawberry had a flare for the dramatic, and the lights were shining on him on baseball’s biggest stage. The Mets needed insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth, and he provided one.

The parts of this that are so uniquely Strawberry are first that he rounded the bases with Bartolo speed, soaking in the moment, and also showing up Davey Johnson, who had removed him from game six, which clearly angered Strawberry. Second, note the lecture Ray Knight gives Darryl as he crosses the plate. Knight told Strawberry to “be cool” with Johnson, and not cause a scene with the Mets on the verge of a championship. Darryl was such a talent with an “interesting” personality, as Knight described it.

Strawberry struggled with addiction at various times in his life, and seems to have settled into a quiet life in Missouri.

With the new ownership and renewed excitement around the Mets, there’s reason to believe that there will be more Mets awards to celebrate in the coming seasons.