The Ring Is The Thing ... Just Not In Flushing

Marco Scutaro (left) and Angel Pagan (right) traded in their orange and blue for some orange and champagne.

Last night, the San Francisco Giants swept their way to their second World Series title in three years.  Meanwhile, it's been 26 years (and counting) since the Mets won their last championship.

Mets fans have proudly been wearing their team colors year after year hoping to see the team claim what has eluded them for over a quarter century.  But some players who have worn those same colors during their time at Shea Stadium and Citi Field have traded them in for another team's colors, winning World Series rings for their new teams while their former fans in New York continue to wait ... and wait ... and wait some more.

Here is a list of players who played for the Mets after the team won its last World Series in 1986 (meaning those players never won a title wearing orange and blue), then left New York to became part of a world championship team elsewhere.  You'll see the player's name, followed by the year or years he played for the Mets, and capped off by when he won a World Series ring for another team.  The list, unfortunately, is longer than we'd like.

Player Name	Years With Mets	World Series Championships Won With Other Teams
Tom Edens	1987	1991 Twins
David West	1988-89	1991 Twins
Kevin Tapani	1989	1991 Twins
David Cone	1987-92, 2003	1992 Jays, '96-'98, '00 Yankees
Pat Tabler	1990	1992 Jays
Tony Castillo	1991	1993 Jays
Dick Schofield	1992	1993 Jays
Tony Fernandez	1993	1993 Jays
Alejandro Peña	1990-91	1995 Braves
Charlie O’Brien	1990-93	1995 Braves
Bobby Bonilla	1992-95, 1999	1997 Marlins
John Cangelosi	1994	1997 Marlins
Allen Watson	1999	1999, 2000 Yankees
Ryan Thompson	1992-95	2000 Yankees
Jose Vizcaino	1994-96	2000 Yankees, 2006 Cardinals
Lance Johnson	1996-97	2000 Yankees
Armando Reynoso	1997-98	2001 Diamondbacks
Alex Ochoa	1995-97	2002 Angels
Jorge Fabregas	1998	2002 Angels
Dennis Cook	1998-2001	2002 Angels
Kevin Appier	2001	2002 Angels
Carl Everett	1995-97	2005 White Sox
Timo Perez	2000-03	2005 White Sox, 2006 Cardinals
Jason Isringhausen	1995-99, 2011	2006 Cardinals
Preston Wilson	1998	2006 Cardinals
Braden Looper	2004-05	2006 Cardinals
Xavier Nady	2006	2009 Yankees, 2012 Giants
Guillermo Mota	2006-07	2010, 2012 Giants
Octavio Dotel	1999	2011 Cardinals
Marco Scutaro	2002-03	2012 Giants
Angel Pagan	2008-11	2012 Giants
Joaquin Arias	2010	2012 Giants

But wait, there's more!  Here are four additional notes on former Mets and the World Series rings they won (or in some cases, didn't win) after they left New York.


Note #1:  Darrin Jackson began the 1993 season in Toronto, but was traded to the Mets during the season.  He still received a World Series ring from the Blue Jays even though he finished the 1993 campaign in New York.  Similarly, Miguel Batista started the 2011 season in St. Louis, but was released by the Cardinals and finished the season with the Mets.  Batista was still given a World Series ring by St. Louis for his contributions to the team.

Note #2:  Wally Whitehurst (a Met from 1989 to 1992), and Paul Gibson (a Met in 1992 and 1993) played for the 1996 Yankees, but were never given World Series rings.  Stay classy, Yankee brass.

Note #3:  Bobby M. Jones (a Met in 2000 and 2002; no relation to Bobby J. Jones, who pitched a one-hitter to clinch the 2000 NLDS for the Mets) pitched three games for Boston in April 2004, but was not given a World Series ring when the Red Sox won the championship.  Despite the oversight, they're still classier than the Yankee brass.

Note #4:  Dennis Cook and Braden Looper share the unique distinction of being the only two players since 1986 to win a World Series ring the year before joining the Mets and the year after they moved on to another team.  Cook was part of the Florida Marlins world championship team in 1997, then played for the Mets from 1998 to 2001, before winning his second title as a member of the Anaheim Angels in 2002.  Similarly, Looper also won a title with the Marlins, although his came in 2003.  He then closed (or tried to close) for the Mets in 2004 and 2005, before signing with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006 and becoming a part of their championship team.  This is yet another reason to always hate Braden Looper.