Thursday, March 30, 2017

Milestones Within Reach For Members of the 2017 Mets

Every year players set goals for themselves.  A hitter may want to bat .300 or hit 30 homers.  A pitcher could shoot for 20 wins or 200 strikeouts.  A bench player may try to find a voodoo doll that bears a strong resemblance to the guy who's blocking his path to an everyday job.

Reaching individual goals on a regular basis will eventually lead to players approaching certain milestones in their careers.  The Mets have no shortage of players who are set to reach some important milestones in 2017.  They even have a manager who's looking to make some history as well.

So which players are closest to making some personal history?  What huge number is the manager fast approaching?  And why does Wilmer Flores have an effigy of Neil Walker next to his Friends DVD box set?  At least two of those questions will be answered below.  Enjoy!


Attainable Individual Milestones (Position Players)

These guys need to do a lot of this in 2017.  (Kathy Willens/AP)

Jose Reyes:

  • Needs 28 hits for 2,000 in his career.
  • Needs 12 stolen bases to reach 500.
  • Needs 11 homers to reach 100 as a Met.
  • Needs 51 hits to pass Ed Kranepool into second place all-time in Mets history.
  • Needs to play every day so that the Mets aren't just a one-dimensional homer-happy team.


Yoenis Céspedes:

  • Needs 47 RBI for 500 in his career.
  • Needs to score 94 runs to also make it to 500.
  • Needs to stay on the field all year to make opposing pitchers shake in their cleats.
  • Needs to loan me five bucks.  I know he has it.


Neil Walker:

  • Needs 51 hits to reach 1,000 for his career.
  • Needs 27 RBI for half of 1,000.
  • Needs to continue to play the steady defense Daniel Murphy wasn't known for.
  • Needs to make Mets fans forget that he's earning more money this year than Murphy.


Jay Bruce:

  • Needs three homers to pass Ruben Tejada on the Mets' all-time leaderboard.
  • Needs to raise his batting average by three points to have a higher average as a Met than Eric Campbell.
  • Needs to produce in a way that'll make me stop comparing him to Tejada and Soup.


David Wright:

  • Needs 11 homers to become the Mets' all-time home run leader.
  • Needs 30 RBI to reach 1,000 for his career.
  • Needs 51 runs scored to also make it to an even 1,000.
  • Needs to slap me across the face and say...


                                                               

Attainable Individual Milestones (Pitchers)


Matt Harvey:

  • Needs 190 strikeouts to enter the Mets' all-time top ten in Ks.
  • Needs 18 starts to reach 100 for his career (and to have one more than he had all of last year).
  • Needs to stay out of hospitals and stay on the field.


Jacob deGrom:

  • Needs eight strikeouts for 500 in his career (and would also pass the legendary Nolan Ryan and the not-so-legendary Oliver Pérez on the team's career leaderboard).
  • Needs 18 or 19 wins to pass relief pitchers Jesse Orosco, Tug McGraw and John Franco in victories.
  • Needs at least 97 on the speed gun to make us forget last year's problems.


Noah Syndergaard:

  • Needs 116 strikeouts for 500 lifetime Ks.
  • Needs four homers to pass Dwight Gooden to become the No. 1 home-run hitting pitcher in team history.
  • Needs to fight Mr. Met and start an online petition to ban the wave.  (He's Thor.  He can multitask.)


Jeurys Familia:

  • Needs two saves to pass Billy Wagner into 4th place on the Mets' all-time leaderboard.
  • Needs eight saves to knock Jesse Orosco down a spot as well.
  • Needs to thank the baseball gods he only got a 15-game suspension and be super respectful of his wife for the rest of his life.  (Domestic violence is never okay.)


The Mets' starting rotation consists of a Dark Knight and two other Batmen.  (Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports)


Attainable Individual Milestones (The Manager)


Terry Collins:

  • Needs 75 wins for 1,000 in his career.
  • Needs to avoid 75 losses so he doesn't reach 1,000 this year.
  • Needs 56 wins to pass Bobby Valentine into second place all-time in Mets history.
  • Needs 41 games to have been at the helm for more contests than any other Mets' skipper.
  • Needs to make the playoffs to become the first Mets manager to lead his team to the postseason three times.
  • Needs a plaque in the Mets Hall of Fame if he does that.

"A plaque in the Mets Hall Fame?  Don't make me laugh! ... Oh, wait.  You were serious?"  (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)



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