Ghosts of Metsimus Past: No Experience Required (Unless If You Want To Win)

Welcome to another edition of Ghosts of Metsimus Past, where we have a Dickens of a time bringing back classic Studious Metsimus posts from the past.  In today's installment, we'll conjure up a post that was originally published on November 29, 2011.

It was around this time a year ago that the Mets allowed Jose Reyes to pack his suitcase for the warmth of South Florida.  Twelve months and one fire sale later, Reyes will now be trading in his new park in warm Miami for a new parka in chilly Toronto.  While Reyes is trying to figure out what the currency exhange rate is in Canada, his former infield partner in New York is counting the currency in his recently expanded bank account.

When Wright steps onto the field on Opening Day 2013, he will become the first Met since Mookie Wilson to be a Met for ten seasons.  In 2014, Wright will become the first player to be a Met for over a decade.  Who was the last player to accomplish this rare combination of loyalty and longevity?  Well, that's where this edition of Ghosts of Metsimus Past comes in.  Enjoy!

With the impending departure of Jose Reyes, the Mets will be left with David Wright and Mike Pelfrey as the only two players who have been with the team for at least five seasons, with Wright making his debut in 2004 and Pelfrey making his first major league appearance in 2006.  It would also leave David Wright as the only player left from the Art Howe era.

If Reyes has indeed played his last game as a Met, he will have played a total of nine seasons in New York, falling one year short of the decade mark.  That got me thinking.  Do you remember the last non-pitcher to play at least ten seasons for the Mets?  Would you believe it was Mookie Wilson?

Even before his famous ten-pitch at-bat in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, Mookie Wilson was a beloved Met.  He was admired by the fans and respected by his teammates.  He was also a player the team wanted to have around, as he made his major league debut as a September call-up in 1980 and remained with the team until he was traded to the Blue Jays in 1989.

Mookie Wilson played for the Mets in every season in the '80s, experiencing the highs ("little roller up along first") and lows (George Foster).  He was also the last everyday player to suit up for the Mets at least once in ten consecutive seasons.  (Lee Mazzilli also played ten years for the Mets, but his time was split into two stints, from 1976-1981 and from 1986-1989.)

To find the last non-pitcher who played more than ten seasons in New York, you have to go all the way back to a player who played his first game for the Mets during their "Ya Gotta Believe" pennant-winning season in 1973.  Ron Hodges played 12 seasons for the Mets, ending his career in 1984.  However, despite the fact that Hodges was a non-pitcher, he was far from an everyday player, never collecting more than 250 at-bats in a single season.

How much time has passed since Ron Hodges became the last non-pitcher to play more than ten seasons with the Mets?  Let's just say color photography didn't exist back then.

It's amazin' that the Mets haven't had an everyday player spend ten years with the team in over two decades and even more amazin' that it's been over a quarter century (more than half of their existence) since a non-pitcher surpassed the decade mark.

In fact, in addition to Wilson, Mazzilli and Hodges, the only other everyday players to play at least ten seasons for the Mets in their fifty-year history are John Stearns (1975-1984), Ed Kranepool (1962-1979), Jerry Grote (1966-1977), Bud Harrelson (1965-1977) and Cleon Jones (1963, 1965-1975).  That's a total of eight everyday players in 50 years to play at least ten years with the Mets.  Compare that with 15 such players on the Astros (who also came into existence in 1962).

Free agency has definitely changed the landscape of the game.  Since its advent in the 1970s, players have been more likely to move from team to team than they are to stay with one franchise.  However, every team has a homegrown star or exceptional player that they try to lock up for as long as possible.  Not every team can boast a Tony Gwynn (20 years in San Diego) or Cal Ripken, Jr. (21 years in Baltimore), but they can claim a Jay Buhner (14 years in Seattle) or Mike Sweeney (13 years in Kansas City).

It's not only small market teams that keep their players around.  Large market teams do it as well.  For example, that other team that plays in New York (their name escapes me at the moment) has had a number of ten-year everyday players since they started winning division titles and World Series championships.  Players such as Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada all played key roles on those teams.  None of those players was playing in the major leagues the last time the Mets had a non-pitcher play at least ten years for them.

Don't look at us like that, Jose.  It's true.  You really would have been the first Met everyday player since 1989 to play at least ten years with the team had you decided to stay.

 

If Jose Reyes leaves the Mets during the offseason, he will fall one year short of reaching the decade mark, leaving it up to David Wright to try to end the streak in 2013.  Of course, he might be traded by then.  If that ends us happening, the longest-tenured everyday player on the Mets would be (get ready for this) Angel Pagan, assuming he's still on the team as well.

A good team has to have youth and a core of veterans who can share their wisdom and experiences with those novices.  Players who have seen the highs and lows (a la Mookie Wilson) are always key members of a winning team.  They've been in the clubhouse long enough and can help bring the team together in ways that can't be seen in a boxscore.

It's been almost a quarter century since the Mets have had a veteran like Mookie Wilson play at least ten years with the team.  It's also been a quarter century since the Mets last won a championship.  That's not a coincidence.

Lifetime Mets, We've Had A Few (But Just Enough To Mention)

With apologies to Frank Sinatra, the Mets have had very few players who spent their entire professional careers with the team.  I'm talking about players who originally signed with the Mets, came up through their minor league system and spent their entire major league careers wearing the orange and blue.

So many players spent a decade or more with the Mets, but all of them managed to play at least one game for another team.  Players such as Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and Buddy Harrelson all came up through the Mets' minor league system and were teammates for most of their careers, but none of them retired as Mets.

Tom Seaver played for the Reds, White Sox and Red Sox after leaving New York (twice).  Jerry Koosman pitched for the Twins, Phillies and White Sox after playing his final game for the Mets.  And Bud Harrelson stuck around for a few years, toiling for the Phillies and Rangers once his days in New York were through.

There have also been a handful of players who most people don't remember as playing for an organization other than the Mets.  Do you remember Cleon Jones as a member of the White Sox?  No?  He was indeed a member of the Pale Hose, albeit for only 12 games in 1976 after playing a dozen years in New York.  How about Craig Swan?  The former ERA champion who led the Mets in wins during the Dark Ages of 1977-1983 finished his career with a two-game stint as a California Angel.  John Stearns played in a total of 809 games during his ten years in New York.  But the Bad Dude made his major league debut in 1974 for the Philadelphia Phillies, spending less time in Philly (two at-bats) than a cheesesteak spends in Rusty Staub's hands.

So which players can be considered true lifetime Mets?  Only three players who played at least seven years with the team fall into this category.  Let's take a look at that loyal trio.

Ed Kranepool

Of course the list has to begin with Steady Eddie.  Kranepool is the franchise's all-time leader in many categories due to his longevity with the team.  After the Mets drafted him in 1962 out of James Monroe High School in the Bronx, Kranepool made his major league debut as a 17-year-old on September 22, replacing Gil Hodges at first base in a blowout loss to the Cubs just days before the end of the team's inaugural season.  Seventeen years and eight days later, Kranepool played his final game for the Mets, collecting a double as a pinch-hitter for starting pitcher John Pacella.

In an interesting piece of symmetry, Kranepool began his career by replacing a Brooklyn legend and ended it by pinch-hitting for a kid from Brooklyn.  (Pacella was born in Brooklyn in 1956, 11 months after Hodges won is only championship in the borough.)

Ed Kranepool played 18 seasons in the big leagues, all with the Mets, before being granted free agency after the 1979 season.  When no other team offered him a contract, Kranepool chose to retire at the age of 35.

Ron Hodges

Look up the term backup catcher in a baseball dictionary and Ron Hodges' picture will more than likely accompany the definition.  Although Hodges played 12 years with the Mets, beginning in 1973 with the "Ya Gotta Believe" Mets and ending in 1984, the first year of Davey and Doc, he was rarely the No. 1 option behind the plate.

Stuck behind Jerry Grote for the first four years of his career, Hodges continued to be the Mets' backup catcher when John Stearns took over for Grote in 1977.  Stearns went on to become the first non-pitcher to represent the Mets as a National League All-Star four times.  Hodges went on to familiarize himself with the Shea Stadium bench.  However, with Stearns suffering from an assortment of injuries in the early '80s, Hodges began to receive more playing time.

In 1982, his tenth season with the Mets, Hodges collected 200 at-bats in a season for the first time.  The following year, Hodges surpassed the 100-game mark for the only time in his career.  In 1984, Hodges went back to being a backup, this time to Mike Fitzgerald, before being released after the season at the age of 35.

David Wright

When Mike Hampton decided to leave the bright lights of New York to get a Rocky Mountain high for himself, his wife and his school-age children, the Mets were rewarded with a "sandwich pick" in the 2001 amateur draft.   With that pick, the team selected third baseman David Wright, a Mets fan who grew up watching the team's future stars in Tidewater and Norfolk.  Since then, Wright has become one of the team's biggest stars.

Wright made his way up the minor league ladder quickly, making his major league debut on July 21, 2004, batting seventh and playing third base against the Montreal Expos.  He's been a fixture at the hot corner ever since.

Now entering his ninth year with the Mets, Wright is the team's all-time leader in doubles, extra-base hits, total bases and RBI.  By year's end, Wright could potentially also be the team leader in runs scored, base hits and walks.  And just think, before Wright made his major league debut, the Mets used to go through third basemen like Davey Johnson went through bottles of Rolaids.


Of all the players who played more than seven seasons in Flushing, Ed Kranepool, Ron Hodges and David Wright are the only three to be drafted and signed by the Mets, played their way through their minor league system and suited up for no other team but the Mets.  Out of all the pitchers in team history, only Jeff Innis (1987-93) and Mike Pelfrey (2006-12) were Mets for as many as seven seasons, without having ever known another organization since the day they were drafted.

Chipper Jones is about to end an 18-year career in the major leagues, all with the Atlanta Braves.  Mariano Rivera is expected to do the same for the Yankees.  This comes a year after his long-time teammate, Jorge Posada, called it a career after 17 years in pinstripes.  And I'm not even going to mention Derek Jeter (even though I just did).  All of these players have had long, successful careers with the only organization they've ever known.  But the Mets have only produced three such players who played for the team for just half the time of Jones, Rivera, Posada and Jeter.

The Mets have had very few "lifetime" players, and even fewer who played at least a decade for the team.  It's something that they will hopefully correct with David Wright leading the way, followed by the abundance of young homegrown players currently on the team.

Loyalty And Leaderboards

Former Yankee catcher Jorge Posada officially announced his retirement from baseball today.  He left the game after playing exclusively for the Yankees since his promotion to the major leagues in 1995.

Those aren't sentences I usually begin a blog post with.  After all, this is Studious Metsimus, which the last time I checked, focused on Mets-related news.  But I couldn't help but notice something about Posada's career numbers with the Yankees, especially when compared to some of the Mets' all-time greats.

Jorge Posada collected 6,092 at-bats over his 17-year career.  In those at-bats, he picked up 1,664 hits, of which 379 were doubles and 275 were home runs.  Posada also walked 936 times, scored 900 runs and piled up 1,065 RBIs.  He's nowhere near the Yankee team leaders in any of those categories, nor does he rank among the top five hitting catchers of all-time, as players like Mike Piazza, Ivan Rodriguez, Johnny Bench, Ted Simmons, Yogi Berra and Roy Campanella were all better hitters than Posada.  So why am I making such a big deal about this?

Because Jorge Posada would be the Mets' all-time leader in hits, doubles, home runs, walks, runs scored and RBIs if he had played his entire career in Flushing.

As hard as it is for me to admit it, Jorge Posada was a better hitter than Ed Kranepool.

Jorge Posada surpassed 150 hits in a season only once (2007), a figure that has been achieved by many Mets.  One might argue that Posada's hit total would be lower than most hitters because of all his time spent as a catcher.  To those people, I submit the fact that Mike Piazza, also a catcher, reached the 150-hit plateau three times as a Met and eight times in his career.  Posada also hit 30 or more doubles four times, reached 30 home runs once, walked 100 times once, drove in 100 runs once and never scored 100 runs in any of 17 seasons.  Several Mets players have reached those numbers multiple times, except for walks, where John Olerud is the only Met to walk 100 times in a season.

Had Jorge Posada played his entire career as a Met and produced the same numbers, he'd be considered the greatest offensive player in Mets history and would be counting down the days till his number joined Nos. 37, 14 and 41 on the left field wall at Citi Field.  Instead, he is just one of many Yankees who had very good careers in pinstripes.  Is this a testament to the fact that the Yankees have been Slugger Central over the past century or have the Mets just done poorly developing and keeping their offensive stars?

There's a reason why Tom Seaver is referred to as "The Franchise".  It's not because he's the sole player in the Hall of Fame with a Mets cap on his plaque.   It's because the Mets have a tough time producing elite players, and when they do, they end up trading them or letting them walk via free agency.  Tom Seaver was an elite player with the Mets for 11 years.  Since 1983, when Seaver played his last game as a Met, the only player developed in the Mets' minor league system who spent over a decade in Flushing was Dwight Gooden.  The only hitters originally drafted by the Mets who played over a decade in New York were Ed Kranepool, Cleon Jones, Bud Harrelson and Ron Hodges.  That's not exactly a Murderer's Row we're talking about there.

Perhaps one day the Mets will develop a player in their minor league system, watch him become an All-Star in Flushing and keep him around for a while.  Jose Reyes could have been that player.  David Wright could still be that player if the Mets don't decide to keep their pennies to themselves.  Jorge Posada was that type of player for the Yankees.  Had he been a Met, he'd be atop the team's all-time leaderboard in a plethora of categories.  See what a little loyalty can do for you?

No Experience Required (Unless If You Want To Win)

With the impending departure of Jose Reyes, the Mets will be left with David Wright and Mike Pelfrey as the only two players who have been with the team for at least five seasons, with Wright making his debut in 2004 and Pelfrey making his first major league appearance in 2006.  It would also leave David Wright as the only player left from the Art Howe era.

If Reyes has indeed played his last game as a Met, he will have played a total of nine seasons in New York, falling one year short of the decade mark.  That got me thinking.  Do you remember the last non-pitcher to play at least ten seasons for the Mets?  Would you believe it was Mookie Wilson?

Even before his famous ten-pitch at-bat in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, Mookie Wilson was a beloved Met.  He was admired by the fans and respected by his teammates.  He was also a player the team wanted to have around, as he made his major league debut as a September call-up in 1980 and remained with the team until he was traded to the Blue Jays in 1989.

Mookie Wilson played for the Mets in every season in the '80s, experiencing the highs ("little roller up along first") and lows (George Foster).  He was also the last everyday player to suit up for the Mets at least once in ten consecutive seasons.  (Lee Mazzilli also played ten years for the Mets, but his time was split into two stints, from 1976-1981 and from 1986-1989.)

To find the last non-pitcher who played more than ten seasons in New York, you have to go all the way back to a player who played his first game for the Mets during their "Ya Gotta Believe" season of 1973.  Ron Hodges played 12 seasons for the Mets, ending his career in 1984.  However, despite the fact that Hodges was a non-pitcher, he was far from an everyday player, never collecting more than 250 at-bats in a single season.

How long has it been since Ron Hodges became the last non-pitcher to play more than ten years with the Mets?  Let's just say color photography didn't exist back then.

It's amazin' that the Mets haven't had an everyday player spend ten years with the team in over two decades and even more amazin' that it's been over a quarter century (more than half of their existence) since a non-pitcher surpassed the decade mark.

In fact, in addition to Wilson, Mazzilli and Hodges, the only other everyday players to play at least ten seasons for the Mets in their fifty-year history are John Stearns (1975-1984), Ed Kranepool (1962-1979), Jerry Grote (1966-1977), Bud Harrelson (1965-1977) and Cleon Jones (1963, 1965-1975).  That's a total of eight everyday players in 50 years to play at least ten years with the Mets.  Compare that with 15 such players on the Astros (who also came into existence in 1962).

Free agency has definitely changed the landscape of the game.  Since its advent in the 1970s, players have been more likely to move from team to team than they are to stay with one franchise.  However, every team has a homegrown star or exceptional player that they try to lock up for as long as possible.  Not every team can boast a Tony Gwynn (20 years in San Diego) or Cal Ripken, Jr. (21 years in Baltimore), but they can claim a Jay Buhner (14 years in Seattle) or Mike Sweeney (13 years in Kansas City).

It's not only small market teams that keep their players around.  Large market teams do it as well.  For example, that other team that plays in New York (their name escapes me at the moment) has had a number of ten-year everyday players since they started winning division titles and World Series championships.  Players such as Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada all played key roles on those teams.  None of those players was playing in the major leagues the last time the Mets had a non-pitcher play at least ten years for them.

 Don't look at us like that, Jose.  It's true.  You really would have been the first Met everyday player since 1989 to play at least ten years with the team had you decided to stay.

If Jose Reyes leaves the Mets during the offseason, he will fall one year short of reaching the decade mark, leaving it up to David Wright to try to end the streak in 2013.  Of course, he might be traded by then.  If that ends us happening, the longest-tenured everyday player on the Mets would be (get ready for this) Angel Pagan, assuming he's still on the team as well.

A good team has to have youth and a core of veterans who can share their wisdom and experiences with those novices.  Players who have seen the highs and lows (a la Mookie Wilson) are always key members of a winning team.  They've been in the clubhouse long enough and can help bring the team together in ways that can't be seen in a boxscore.

It's been almost a quarter century since the Mets have had a veteran like Mookie Wilson play at least ten years with the team.  It's also been a quarter century since the Mets last won a championship.  That's not a coincidence.