The Best On The Worst: Dave Kingman

In the late 1990s, Nike had a famous ad in which future Hall of Fame pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine wondered why they didn't get the attention afforded to slugger Mark McGwire.  Upon realizing that McGwire's adulation arose from his propensity to hit prodigious home runs, the two decided to hit the gym, "bulking up" so they could hit long batting practice blasts as well.  Actress Heather Locklear appeared to take notice at their newfound power, calling out Glavine's name and causing Maddux to utter the now-famous catch phrase, "chicks dig the long ball".  But in reality, all Locklear wanted to know was if the pitchers had seen McGwire around the batting cage.

The commercial, although funny and unrealistic (Maddux and Glavine combined to hit six home runs in nearly 3,500 career plate appearances), did get one thing right.  Baseball fans - including "chicks" - really do get excited about home run hitters, especially ones who hit titanic blasts.  Mark McGwire hit 583 home runs.  But he only had 1,043 hits that didn't leave the park, and he also struck out nearly 1,600 times in his 15-plus years in the big leagues.  But fans flocked to catch a glimpse of the red-headed slugger despite the fact that he was purely a one-dimensional hitter.

When McGwire was called up the majors for the first time in 1986, he became teammates with another great power hitter - one who could hit balls a mile whenever he didn't swing and miss at them, and one who also had no desire to keep his hits within the confines of the ballpark.  This slugger finished his career as McGwire's teammate in Oakland, but hit the plurality of his home runs as a member of the New York Mets.  And when he came to bat for the Mets in the mid-'70s and early '80s, "chicks" - and everyone else - stopped what they were doing to see what he was about to do.

More powerful than a locomotive.  It's a bird.  It's a plane.  It's Dave Kingman!

David Arthur Kingman was a huge man.  Standing six-and-a-half feet tall, the hulking first baseman and outfielder was selected by the San Francisco Giants as the first overall pick in the 1970 June secondary draft.  Kingman made his debut a year later, and made his first trip to the postseason as a member of the National League West champion Giants.  But after hitting .278 in 41 games as a rookie in 1971, Kingman could only muster a .218 batting average from 1972 to 1974.  However, he did manage to hit 71 home runs over the three seasons, giving him some value as a major league talent.

But according to Giants owner Horace Stoneham, Kingman was unhappy in San Francisco and wanted to be traded from the Bay Area team.  The Mets, who had coveted the young slugger for years, had offered pitcher Jerry Koosman for Kingman in 1973, but could not come to an agreement with San Francisco because the Giants asked for former Rookie of the Year pitcher Jon Matlack instead.  Two years after almost becoming a Met, Kingman finally switched coasts after the Mets purchased him from the Giants for $150,000.

When Kingman arrived in New York prior to the 1975 season, he did not have a position on the field to play.  Kingman preferred playing first base, but John Milner was the incumbent at that position.  Left field - another position Kingman could play - was also taken, as long-time Met Cleon Jones had manned the position for the better part of a decade.  But Jones had injured his knee and would not be coming north with the team for the start of the season, giving Kingman the opportunity to play every day until Jones came back from his rehab assignment.

Unfortunately, two problems arose for Jones during his time in extended spring training.  First, he was arrested for indecent exposure when police found him and a female companion sleeping nude in the back of a van.  And second, Kingman got off to a powerful start, hitting home runs in three of his first four games and reaching double digits in homers by his 46th game.  Jones, who finished the 1974 season as the team's all-time leader in home runs with 93, had hit 13 long balls for the Mets in '74.  Kingman had surpassed that number by the All-Star Break.  In fact, Kingman hit 13 homers in the month of July alone, setting a new franchise record for round trippers in a single month.  Less than two weeks after the Midsummer Classic, Jones' career with the Mets came to an abrupt end, as he was given his unconditional release by the team.

Jones' release came after an 11-game stretch by Kingman in which he batted .348 with seven homers and 14 RBI.  One month after Kingman's torrid stretch, he was finally moved to his preferred first base position to make room for rookie left fielder Mike Vail, who had embarked on a blistering streak of his own - a club-record 23-game hitting skein from August 25 to September 15.  Although Kingman continued to hit with tremendous power at his new position (12 HR in his last 39 games), he didn't do much else with the bat, batting .199 with 58 strikeouts in 161 at-bats.  Still, fans continued to watch in awe every time the Sky King stepped up to the plate, especially on September 18, when Kingman penned a new entry in the Mets' record book.

With the season winding down and the Mets barely hanging on to their division title hopes, the team welcomed the Chicago Cubs to Shea Stadium.  Starting pitcher Hank Webb made the Cubs feel very welcome, allowing four runs without retiring a batter.  In doing so, Webb became the ninth pitcher in Mets history to fail to record an out in a start, and just the second to accomplish the feat at Shea Stadium (Nolan Ryan was the first, turning the terrible trick in 1971).  The Mets trailed 4-0 before they came to bat, but slowly chipped away at the Cubs' lead, scoring a run in the third and two runs in the sixth.  After the Cubs tacked on an insurance run in the top of the eighth, the Mets tied it in their half of the inning - an inning that started on a double by Dave Kingman.

The game remained tied as the Mets came to bat in the bottom of the ninth, and extra innings loomed after Cubs' closer Darold Knowles retired the first two batters in the frame.  But Knowles - who just two years earlier had stymied the Mets as a member of the Oakland A's in the World Series, pitching in all seven games and recording the final out in Game Seven - couldn't retire Rusty Staub, who laced a single off the lefty reliever.  That brought up Kingman, who exorcised the Knowles demon from 1973 by exercising his right to walk off the field as a winner.  Kingman's two-run, game-winning blast gave the Mets a thrilling, come-from-behind 7-5 victory and also gave him 35 homers on the season, breaking Frank Thomas' single-season club record.

Kingman would go on to hit another round tripper before the end of the season, finishing the year with 36 homers and 88 RBI.  Although Kingman hit just .231 for the year, that figure still represented his highest batting average over a full season at the time.  Kingman also set a career high with 22 doubles and led the Mets with seven stolen bases, making him just the third Met to lead the team in homers and steals in the same season after Tommie Agee (1970, 1971) and John Milner (1974).  But with great power comes great strikeout totals, as Kingman fanned a career-high 153 times in 1975.  He also rarely scored when he wasn't driving himself in, as he crossed the plate just 65 times despite hitting 36 homers.  The 1975 Mets posted a winning record, albeit barely, ending the year with an 82-80 mark.

Despite his high strikeout totals and inability to round the bases without the ball leaving the yard, Kingman became an instant fan-favorite at Shea.  A Dave Kingman at-bat was a celebrated event in Flushing, giving fans a good reason to come rushing back from the concession stands at the risk of dropping their hot dogs or spilling their beer.  The peak of his popularity with Mets fans came in 1976, when he began the year on a sizzling pace.

After going 0-for-7 in his first two games, Kingman unleashed a barrage of booming blasts, belting seven homers over his next seven games and driving in 15 runs.  By late-May, Kingman was leading the league with 17 homers and was hitting around .250, which was quite admirable for a man who was a .226 lifetime hitter coming into the season.  Kingman's best game as a Met came in early June, when he and the team visited Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

The game on June 4 started out without pomp and circumstance for Kingman, as the right fielder (Kingman had been moved to right by new manager Joe Frazier to allow Ed Kranepool and Joe Torre to platoon at first base) popped out to first base in his first at-bat.  But Kingman homered in each of his next three at-bats, victimizing starting pitcher Burt Hooton for a two-run homer in the fourth inning and a three-run blast in the fifth.  Kingman then took reliever Al Downing deep in the seventh inning, launching his second three-run homer of the game.  In all, Kingman drove in eight runs in the Mets' 11-0 whitewashing of the Dodgers, setting a new club record for RBI in a game.  Kingman also became the second Met to produce a home run trifecta, joining Jim Hickman, who accomplished the feat in 1965.

By this time, Kingman had already established himself as the premier home run hitter in the league.  His 30 home runs before the All-Star Break set a team record and his name was being mentioned in the same breath as Hack Wilson and Roger Maris, the National League and major league single-season home run leaders, respectively.

For his outstanding performance during the season's first half, Kingman was selected by the fans to start the All-Star Game for the National League in 1976, making him the seventh Met to receive that honor after Ron Hunt (1964), Jerry Grote (1968), Cleon Jones (1969), Tom Seaver (1970), Bud Harrelson (1971) and Willie Mays (1972).  But less than a week after going 0-for-2 in the Midsummer Classic, Kingman's assault on the single-season home run record came to a crashing end, quite literally.

Dave Kingman always kept his eye on the ball.  He should have done the same with his thumb.

In a game against the Atlanta Braves at Shea Stadium on July 19, pitcher Phil Niekro knuckled a fly ball to left field, where Kingman was making just his fifth start of the season after playing much of the year in right field.  But the man known as Kong took a dive that resembled his namesake's fall from the Empire State Building rather than that of an All-Star outfielder.  As a result, the only thing Kingman caught on the awkward attempt was his thumb under his glove, causing him to spend nearly six weeks on the disabled list with torn ligaments in his left thumb.  Upon his return in late August, Kingman was a shell of his former self.  Other than a two-homer, five-RBI performance against the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 19, Kingman managed to produce just three homers and nine RBI in his other 31 games following his DL stint.

A year after finishing two homers behind Mike Schmidt for the National League home run crown, Kingman settled for second place again, as his time on the disabled list allowed Schmidt to pass him for the title during the season's final week.  Kingman did manage to break his own club record by hitting 37 homers in 1976, but he could have produced an all-time great season had he not been felled by his outfield play.  The Mets, on the other hand, were not hampered by Kingman's injury, as the team went on post an 86-76 record in 1976, which represented the second-highest win total in franchise history.  The team appeared to be headed in the right direction going into the 1977 campaign.  But then everything came crashing down, with Kingman being caught in the rubble.
 
Going into the 1977 season, Mets chairman M. Donald Grant had made it clear that he did not want to pay his players much money nor did he want to go shopping in the free agent market.  The team's off-the field problems caused by Grant's thriftiness (some would call it cheapness) started to affect their play on the field.  The Mets began the year with a 9-9 record, then proceeded to lose 21 of their next 27 games.  Kingman had spent most of the season complaining about the direction of the team, as well as the fact that no one was listening to his demands for a multi-million dollar contract.

"My only demands are in line with the dollar figures given to other players on other clubs.  The Mets adhere to a policy of trying to remain in their own league on salaries," said Kingman, prior to the start of the 1977 campaign.  "I look around and see the dollar figures of other players and I ask, why?  Why should I play for the old figures the Mets are imposing?"

Clearly, with statements such as that one, Kingman's days as a Met were numbered.  It also didn't help that after the Mets' 9-9 start in 1977, in which Kingman batted .290 with six homers and 18 RBI, he proceeded to bat just .169 with three homers and ten runs batted in over his next 40 games.  Adding more fuel to Kingman's fire was an admission by general manager Joe McDonald, who used statistical data in an attempt to prove that Kingman's offensive production wasn't as valuable as it seemed.

"Dave hits home runs, but he also strikes out a lot.  And we found that he does not rank very high in production," said McDonald in a press conference that was held in response to one of Kingman's own press conferences.  "For example, in pressure situations late in games where you're three runs behind with men on base, Mike Schmidt of Philadelphia knocks in a run 42 percent of the time, Steve Garvey of Los Angeles 36 percent of the time, and Kingman only 18 percent."

As impressive as McDonald's knowledge of pre-sabermetrics was, there was just one little problem with his argument.  It was completely untrue.  Kingman and Schmidt were both .282 hitters in late inning pressure situations during the 1976 season, with Schmidt hitting just one more homer than Kingman.  Garvey was a better hitter in those spots, batting .339, but he hit three fewer homers than Kingman and drove in just five more runs despite having 33 more at-bats in late inning pressure situations than Kingman.

Nothing Kingman said was going to get him a contract similar to the one Reggie Jackson was given by the New York Yankees (five years, $2.96 million), no matter how similar their power numbers were.  It had now become a war of words between Kingman and the front office - a war which Kingman had no chance of winning.  On June 15, 1977, as the midnight hour approached, Kingman was traded to the San Diego Padres for pitcher Paul Siebert and infielder Bobby Valentine.  Siebert would go on to win two games as a Met and Valentine would hit two homers during his Mets tenure.  Kingman would do so much more over the next three-plus seasons.

After bouncing around from the Padres to the Angels to the Yankees in 1977, Kingman joined the Chicago Cubs in 1978, where he became more than just a home run hitter, batting .266 with 28 homers and 79 RBI in just 395 at-bats.  A year later, Kingman had his signature season in the major leagues - the one Mets fans thought they were going to get in 1976 before Kingman's thumb got in the way.  Kingman led the National League with 48 homers in 1979, becoming just the eighth NL player to hit that many home runs in a season.  Kingman also recorded career highs in RBI (115), runs scored (97), batting average (.288) and slugging percentage (.613), leading the league in the latter category.  And of course, he obliterated Mets pitching in 1979, batting .364 with nine homers and 20 RBI.  Six of his nine home runs came at Shea Stadium in just eight games played in his former home park.

How much did the Mets miss Kingman's home run power after they traded him?  From 1977 to 1980, no Met hit more than 17 home runs in a season.  Kingman had already hit 18 homers in 1979 before the season was two months old.  Without question, the Mets needed a powerful hitter in their lineup like Kingman, and as long as M. Donald Grant was calling the shots in the front office, that wasn't going to happen.  But once Grant lost his power and the team had new, forward-thinking owners in Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon, the Mets would get the slugger they coveted, and it would come in the form of - you guessed it - Dave Kingman.

It's snow joke!  After nearly four years away from the team, Dave Kingman was a Met again.

In 1981, the Mets brought back Kingman, as well as fellow mid-'70s slugger Rusty Staub back into the fold.  But familiar faces did little to erase what had become a familiar sight at Shea Stadium - losses.  The Mets got off to a 17-34 start in 1981, and another season appeared lost despite the new acquisitions.  Kingman was doing his part, producing 14 homers and 32 RBI by June 11, which included home runs in a club-record four straight games in late May.

But June 11 was also the last game the Mets played until August, as the players' strike wiped out the entire midsection of the 1981 season.  It also gave the Mets unexpected hope, as baseball decided it would give split division titles to teams that finished in first place before the strike.  That meant the slate was wiped clean for teams like the Mets who struggled during the season's first half, allowing them the opportunity to play well in the second half to earn the second half division crown.

The Mets took full advantage of their opportunity in the second half, competing for a split division title until late September.  As late as September 21, the Mets were only 2½ games behind the first-place Cardinals and one game in back of the second-place Expos with 12 games to play.  One of the reasons for the Mets' second-half surge was Kingman, who came back from the strike on fire.  In his first dozen games after the season resumed play, Kingman batted .319 with five homers and 14 RBI.  And during the team's mid-September push, Kingman was very much an integral part of the Mets' four-game winning streak from the 18th through the 21st, reaching base six times and driving in four runs.

New York fell short of a unique postseason berth in 1981, losing eight of its final 12 games to fall out of the race for the second-half division title, but Kingman came up big, leading the team with 22 homers and 59 RBI while splitting time between left field and first base.  However, Kingman was the only player on the team who hit for any power, as no one else on the club could muster more than six homers.

The Mets tried to give Kingman a power buddy in 1982, acquiring George Foster from the Cincinnati Reds.  On paper, it looked like a great deal for the Mets, as the team now had a dangerous one-two punch in the middle of the order in Kingman and Foster.  It also allowed Kingman to become the team's full-time first baseman, as Foster was a left fielder by trade.  It's too bad Foster forgot to pack his power when he made the trip from the Queen City to Queens.

From 1976 to 1981, Foster averaged 33 homers and 112 RBI per year, including a 22 HR, 90 RBI performance in the strike-shortened 1981 season.  But Foster came nowhere near the numbers he put up in the abbreviated '81 campaign despite playing in 151 games for the Mets in '82.  With 13 homers and 70 RBI, Foster was a colossal bust in his first year with the Mets, leaving Kingman to put the team on his back when it needed a power boost.  At least Kingman came through on his end of the deal.

By the end of May, the Mets were one of the most surprising teams in the league.  New York was in second place in the NL East as they headed into June - the proud owners of a 27-21 record - with Kingman providing his usual power (14 HR, 38 RBI).  His first home run in June proved to be quite memorable, as it was his 119th homer as a Met, breaking Ed Kranepool's franchise record.

(YouTube video courtesy of CourtsideTweets)

But Kingman, despite being known as a power hitter, was not producing extra-base hits other than home runs, as he had only been able to hit three doubles and no triples during the season's first two months.  That odd trend would continue throughout the rest of the season so that when Kingman went through any period of time in which he wasn't hitting home runs, the team would be left with a bunch of singles hitters.  They would also be left with a bunch of losses.

For example, after clubbing 14 home runs in April and May, Kingman managed just three homers in June.  Not coincidentally, the Mets were 9-18 for the month.  Likewise, from August 8 to September 3, the Mets lost 21 of 24 games, which included a 15-game losing streak.  During that 24-game stretch of futility, Kingman left the yard three times.  He also produced just one other extra-base hit in the 24 games - a double on August 29 against the Braves.  In 1982, Kingman drove in runs in 58 of the 149 games he played.  The Mets went 29-29 in those games.  They were 28-63 when Kingman failed to drive in a run. 

Clearly, the Mets fared well when Kingman was hitting homers and driving in runs.  But becoming the first home run champion in club history in 1982 (Kingman's 37 homers tied his own franchise mark) and setting the team mark for RBI by a right-handed batter (99) wasn't going to do a thing for the team's success if he had no help around him.  The Mets vowed to get better in 1983, and they did in various respects.  The only problem was that Dave Kingman got worse.

In 1983, George Foster produced a bounceback campaign, leading the team with 28 homers and 90 RBI.  He was followed closely by National League rookie of the year Darryl Strawberry, who produced 26 homers and 74 RBI.   But Kingman got off to an awful start in '83, batting .168 with six homers and 13 RBI in the team's first 37 games.  Even after swatting four homers in four games in late May, Kingman couldn't continue to produce at the level expected of him, as he failed to hit a home run or drive in a run in each of his next 11 games.  By mid-June, general manager Frank Cashen felt a change was needed at first base, and when the Gold Glove-winning, former MVP Keith Hernandez was offered to him by the St. Louis Cardinals, Cashen jumped at the opportunity.

On June 15, 1983, the Mets completed a trade with the Cardinals that netted them the league's top defensive first baseman, as well as a consistent .300 hitter who could hit the ball to all fields and over the wall, if need be.  From 1977 to 1982, Hernandez averaged 37 doubles, six triples and 11 homers per season.  He also batted .303 with a .392 on-base percentage during the six years before his trade to the Mets.  In Kingman's six seasons with the Mets, he averaged 12 doubles, one triple and 26 homers a year, while batting .219 and reaching base at a .287 clip.  As powerful as Kingman was, his .453 slugging percentage in six seasons with the Mets was actually lower than the .456 mark posted by Hernandez in the half-dozen years prior to his trade to New York.  Needless to say, Kingman's days as a Met were all but over, and his production - or lack of it - showed his disappointment at being replaced.

After Hernandez became a Met, Kingman started just six games the rest of the season, appearing mostly as a pinch-hitter over the season's final three months.  Kingman batted just .175 after June 15, with one homer and six RBI - or two homers and two RBI fewer than what he produced in his record-setting three-homer, eight-RBI game against the Dodgers on June 4, 1976.  The Mets chose not to bring back Kingman at the conclusion of the 1983 season, allowing him to sign with the Oakland A's as a free agent.

In Oakland, Kingman experienced a power renaissance, belting 100 homers over the next three seasons.  Kingman also averaged 101 RBI per season as the Athletics' designated hitter and part-time first baseman, including a career-high 118 RBI in his first year with the team in 1984.  But Oakland chose not to re-sign Kingman after the 1986 season, choosing to give his spot on the team to rookie Mark McGwire.  McGwire went on to become the subject of Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine's ire in a television commercial, while Kingman had trouble finding a job after finishing second in the 1986 American League home run race.  It was later revealed that collusion by team owners kept free agent signings at a historically low level from 1985 to 1987, causing veteran players like Kingman to remain unsigned.  Kingman eventually signed a minor league contract in 1987 with his original team, the San Francisco Giants, but batted just .203 with two homers in 73 plate appearances before ending his comeback attempt.  After nearly two decades in professional baseball, Kingman decided to call it a career.  And what a unique career it was.

Kingman was a unique personality whose prime focus was on one thing - hitting the ball out of the park.

In 16 big league seasons, six of which were spent with the Mets, Kingman blasted 442 home runs and produced 1,210 RBI.  The only players in those 16 seasons with more home runs than Kingman were Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt (495 HR) and Reggie Jackson (448 HR).  But as great as his home run and RBI numbers were, Kingman struggled to produce lofty numbers in other offensive categories.

Going into the 2014 campaign, there have been 51 players in major league history who have reached the 400-homer mark.  Fifty of those players scored 1,000 or more runs in their careers.  The lone exception is Dave Kingman, who crossed the plate 901 times.  The player with the next fewest runs scored is Mike Piazza, who scored 1,048 times but played most of his career as a catcher, which limited the number of games he played each year.  Kingman also finished his career with 1,575 hits, a number that will become the fewest number of hits collected by a member of the 400-HR club once Adam Dunn picks up his 39th hit in 2014.  Kingman is already low man on the totem pole when it comes to doubles, as his 240 two-base hits have been surpassed by each of the other 50 players in the 400-HR club.  (Mark McGwire is one rung above him with 252.)

As a Met, Kingman became just the second man in big league history to hit 30 or more homers in a season where he failed to collect 10 doubles, joining Gus Zernial, who had 30 homers and nine doubles in 1955.  (Mark McGwire became the third player to join this group in 2000 when he collected 32 homers and eight doubles.)  But Kingman's 37 homers in 1982 are still the most for any player who couldn't reach double digits in two-baggers.

Kingman finished his Mets career with 154 homers, which still ranks fifth in club history 30 years after Kong played his last game with the team.  But he only cracked 70 doubles as a Met.  There have been 143 players in team history who have hit ten or more homers during their time in New York.  Kingman is the only one of those 143 players to finish his career with more than twice as many homers as he had doubles.  Similarly, there have been 215 players who scored 30 or more runs in their Mets careers.  Of those 215 players, the only one who drove himself in more than his teammates did (meaning more than half of his runs scored came on his own homers) was Kingman, whose 154 homers as a Met contributed to more than 50 percent of his 302 runs scored.

With Dave Kingman, you were going to get one of two things.  You were either going to see him hit the ball out of the park (442 HR) or you were going to witness a whiff (1,816 Ks).  But you were definitely going to see something.  After all, no one left his or her seat whenever the slugger stepped up to the plate, especially at Shea Stadium, where Kingman hit more home runs than he did at any other park.

Kingman's monster clouts got him the nickname Kong, and his high fly balls earned him the Sky King monicker.  But other words that stuck to him were "surly", as well as "grouchy" and "malcontent".  Kingman never had a favorable relationship with the media, as evidenced by the bucket of ice water he dumped on a media member's head while with the Cubs in 1980 and the live rat he sent to a female sportswriter during the 1986 season in Oakland.  Each incident occurred during his final season with his respective teams.  He also was never fond of the front office, as he regularly quarreled with his bosses over money, playing time and anything else that came to his mind.

But chicks dig the long ball.  And Kingman did plenty of that.

"I enjoyed the six years on the Mets.  I'm very happy and very content.  I can't imagine making a living any other way than hitting a baseball.  When you take a good cut and pitcher and hitter alike know where it's going, that's the joy of being a power hitter."

--Dave Kingman, as told to the NY Daily News
      (Photo by Ed Leyro/Studious Metsimus)

Dave Kingman may never be considered an all-time great.  He also may never be able to shake his status as a surly slugger.  But as a Met, no one made fans stay in their seats more than Kingman did.  In three of his six seasons with the Mets, Kingman had more than twice the number of home runs hit by any of his teammates.  Kingman finished the 1976 season with 37 homers.  John Milner was second on the team with 15.  Similarly, Kingman's 22 homers in 1981 were almost four times the amount hit by second-place finisher Lee Mazzilli, who hit a mere six homers for the '81 squad.  A year later, Kingman's 37 homers were two dozen more than runner-up George Foster, who was the only other Met besides Kingman to hit more than eight home runs in 1982.

Kingman played his first season in New York on a team that needed to win its final game to finish the year with a winning record.  His second year as a Met, the team finished ten games above .500.  But that was as good as it got for a Kingman-led team in New York.  The Mets never came close to .500 in any of his other four seasons with the team.

Dave Kingman had his share of flaws, both on and off the field, but he was also the best power hitter on some of the most powerless Mets clubs.  Unfortunately for the team, he was perhaps the only reason fans got excited to come to Shea Stadium during his time in New York.  As Kingman once said, that's the joy of being a power hitter.  That's also the sadness of playing for the Mets in the late 1970s and early 1980s.


Note:  The Best On The Worst is a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting the greatest Mets players who just happened to play on some not-so-great Mets teams.  For previous installments, please click on the players' names below:

January 6, 2014: Todd Hundley 
January 13, 2014: Al Jackson
January 20, 2014: Lee Mazzilli
January 27, 2014: Steve Trachsel
February 3, 2014: Rico Brogna
February 10, 2014: Skip Lockwood 
February 17, 2014: Ron Hunt
February 24, 2014: Craig Swan 
March 3, 2014: Hubie Brooks 
March 10, 2014: Joel Youngblood 
March 17, 2014: Jim Hickman

An Unusual Stat Regarding Dave Kingman

Photo by Ed Leyro/Studious Metsimus (although technically it was taken by the security dude)

Back in July, I had the pleasure of meeting former Met first baseman/outfielder Dave Kingman.  Although Kingman was sometimes unapproachable as a player, I found him to be quite affable and a pleasure to talk to.  And after taking a few photos and having a short conversation about his two stints as a Met, I realized that I had rarely written anything on Kingman.  I had also rarely done any research on the player known as Sky King during his time with the Mets.  So today I'm going to kill two birds with one Kong blast.

I was looking at Kingman's career and found something very unusual about his 1982 season.  Besides hitting 37 home runs on a team in which there were no other hitters who managed more than 13 homers, Kingman also "slugged" only nine doubles.  That's 37 homers, nine doubles.

For someone known to hit the ball a long way, I found it odd that Kingman managed to hit so few doubles in 1982, especially when he played so many road games in the cavernous Busch Stadium and Astrodome.  I also wondered just how rare it was for someone to finish a season with 30 or more homers and fewer than 10 doubles.  The answer?  Let's just say Ike Davis has more stolen bases this year than there are players with that homer/double combo.

In 1955, Gus Zernial of the Kansas City Athletics became the first player in major league history to collect 30 homers in a season where he failed to hit 10 doubles.  Zernial hit 30 HR for the A's while managing to collect only nine two-base hits.  Forty-five years later, Mark McGwire joined Zernial on this list when he swatted 32 homers for the St. Louis Cardinals.  McGwire hit only eight doubles for the Cards in 2000.  McGwire came close to repeating the feat in 2001, but fell one homer short.  Big Mac hit 29 HR in his final season in the majors, while clubbing a mere four doubles.

In between Zernial and McGwire, there was Dave Kingman.  In 1982, the Mets' first baseman launched a then-franchise record 37 home runs, but only managed to hit nine doubles.  A flurry of two-baggers in September almost prevented Kingman from joining this exclusive club, as Kong collected four of his nine doubles in the season's final month.  From June 23 to August 28 - a span of over two months - Kingman played in 54 games and had 213 plate appearances.  He hit 14 homers in that time period but did not have a single double.  That's zero in the 2B column.

2B or not 2B.  That was the question with Dave Kingman in 1982, and more often than not, it was not 2B for Kingman in the doubles department.  Kingman is one of only three players in major league history to amass 30 or more home runs in a season he failed to reach 10 doubles.  Furthermore, Kingman's 37 HR are the most of any player on this short list, five more than the amount hit by Mark McGwire in 2000.

Dave Kingman truly had one of the most unusual offensive seasons in 1982, not just for the Mets, but for any hitter in baseball history.
 

Broken News: And Then There Were None (The Hall of Fame Edition)

Welcome to the latest edition of Broken News, where someone else breaks a news story, then we break it some more.  In today's special edition, we're going to look at the Hall of Fame vote, which surprisingly enough yielded no new Hall of Famers.

Seven ex-Mets were on the Hall of Fame ballot.  Roberto Hernandez (no votes), Mike Stanton (no votes), Jeff Conine (no votes), Aaron Sele (one vote - not a typo), Shawn Green (two votes) and Omar Minaya's bosom buddy, Julio Franco (six votes) did not generate enough support to remain on the ballot in 2014.  The seventh former Met who received votes should have received a lot more support than he did, as Mike Piazza was named on 329 ballots (57.8% of the 569 ballots cast), which was 98 votes short of the 427 needed for election into the Hall of Fame.  Clearly, those 240 members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) who chose not to scribble Piazza's name on their ballot either:

a) remembered Piazza's back acne story and proceeded to have wicked flashbacks to when they were pimply kids who were beat up regularly by the jocks in high school.

2) were afraid his Hall of Fame plaque would have him wearing a Marlins cap and wanted to spare the baseball-loving world of that potential atrocity, or

iii) saw the following picture of Piazza & Pals and naturally assumed that steroids can be passed from person to person through the air like the flu.

Oh, Mike.  Why did you allow yourself to be photographed with Jose Canseco and Jason Giambi?

Whatever their reason was to not include Piazza on their ballots, he has officially (and more than likely undeservedly) been lumped into the group of players that include Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro.

Bonds and Clemens faced criminal charges because of their alleged links to steroid use.  McGwire didn't want to hop into his andro-fueled DeLorean to revisit the past.  Sammy Sosa left his English For Dummies book at home next to his cork collection.  And Rafael Palmeiro was caught with his finger in the steroid jar ... period.

Now Piazza, who is widely considered to be the best-hitting catcher of all-time, has been kept out of the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

Another former Mets catcher, Gary Carter, received 42.3% of the Hall of Fame votes in his first year of eligibility, dropped to 33.8% in his second year (being on the ballot with first-timers Nolan Ryan, George Brett and Robin Yount will tend to get you overlooked), then climbed steadily year after year before he was finally inducted in his sixth year of eligibility in 2003.

Carter was an 11-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner and five-time Silver Slugger recipient.  He also hit only .262 over his 19-year career, failed to score 100 runs in any of those seasons and never hit more than 32 home runs or drove in more than 106 runs.  Piazza, meanwhile, was a 12-time All-Star and 10-time Silver Slugger recipient (no Gold Gloves - nobody's perfect).  Piazza hit .308 over his 16-year career, crossed the plate 100+ runs twice and reached or surpassed Carter's career-high in homers nine times while steamrolling past the Kid's career-high RBI total five times (and had another season in which he drove in 105 runs).

Gary Carter's numbers might have been dwarfed by Piazza, but Carter did have Piazza beat in one shiny category.

Suffice it to say, as good as Carter was, he would've been Piazza's backup had they been teammates.  But that wasn't good enough for Piazza to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013.  And it may not be good enough for him to go in next year as well.

Whatever reason the writers had for keeping the best-hitting catcher of all-time out of Cooperstown this year won't be acceptable to me.  Mike Piazza deserved to enter the hallowed Hall that is reserved for the all-time greats of the sport in his first year of eligibility.

The BBWAA might have been afraid a few blemishes on Piazza's back.  But in my opinion, keeping him out of the Hall of Fame in 2013 was a far greater blemish.     

Asterisk-y Business

Take a look at the headline above.  This was the back page of Saturday's edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  See anything intersting?  See it twice?

Apparently, the writers and/or editorial staff of the newspaper don't think Johan Santana earned his no-hitter, the first thrown by a Met in 8,020 regular season games.  They claim the blown call by third base umpire Adrian Johnson on Carlos Beltran's screaming liner caused Santana to pitch a tainted no-hitter against their hometown team, hence the asterisks on their headline.

Yes, it's true that Beltran's ball kicked up chalk when it grazed the third base line.  But note what I said in the last sentence.  It grazed the line.  It probably touched two millimeters of the third base foul line.  At around 100 MPH.  Just as a home plate umpire could miss seeing a ball thrown at triple digit velocity cross the inner two millimeters of home plate, Adrian Johnson could do the same on the ball hit by Beltran.  It wasn't a blatant error.  It was the human eye not being able to see a blazing liner touch a small piece of real estate.  It happens.

Who knows?  Maybe the St. Louis Post-Dispatch had plenty of asterisks left over from 1997-2001.  You know, the ones they never used for Mark McGwire when he was blasting 220 HR over his 4½ year tenure in St. Louis with his steroid-filled biceps.

It's okay.  We understand why St. Louis would be bitter at a bad call by an umpire.  After all, it was first base umpire Don Denkinger who blew a call at first base in Game 6 of the 1985 World Series that allowed the Kansas City Royals to rally for a victory, one that was followed by a Game 7 shellacking of St. Louis to give the Royals their only championship.

But please, for the love of Joaquin Andujar, don't take away from Santana's performance on Friday night by placing an asterisk next to NO-HITTER.  Especially when the Cardinals have 18 pennants, 11 World Series titles and more playoff appearances since Y2K (eight) than the Mets have had in their entire existence (seven).

Let us have our fun without crashing our party, St. Louis.  I mean, you can already lay claim to everything, right?  Well, everything except a hit against Johan Santana on June 1, 2012.

Get over it, Cardinals fans.  We deserve this one.  And none of your leftover asterisks from a dozen years ago will ever be able to take away from our moment of history.

R.I.P. Harmon Killebrew (1936-2011)

All-or-nothing sluggers. The monicker applies to players who specialize in one particular thing on the baseball diamond. They hit home runs. They don't do much else.

Over the past few decades, major league baseball has seen its share of all-or-nothing sluggers. Former players such as Dave Kingman, Rob Deer, Pete Incaviglia and Mark McGwire hit tape measure home runs that caused many jaws to drop, a tradition that has been continued by current players such as Adam Dunn and Mark Reynolds, to name a few. Of course, if these hitters weren't hitting balls over the wall, they were probably heading back to the dugout after their at-bats.

Hamon Killebrew was one such player. In a career that spanned 22 seasons (1954-1975), the man with "harm" and "kill" in his name slugged 573 home runs, hitting 40 or more eight times. However, he only hit 290 doubles, never hitting more than 27 over a full season and finished his career with a .256 batting average and almost 1,700 strikeouts.

Killebrew was an all-or-nothing slugger before the term even existed. But despite being fearsome at the plate, the man known as "Killer" was a gentle giant off the field, treating everyone he met, from current players to fans at card shows, with the same respect. It was that respect that made him one of the most beloved figures in Minnesota Twins' history.

Earlier today, Harmon Killebrew lost his battle with esophageal cancer at the age of 74. Although this is a Mets blog, we couldn't let the day pass without mentioning the passing of a Hall of Famer and true baseball legend, regardless of which team's uniform he put on. (And for those who need a Mets connection, Harmon Killebrew went 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI in the 1964 All-Star Game, the only Midsummer Classic ever played at Shea Stadium.)

Harmon Killebrew might have specialized in one thing on the baseball field, but that one thing was enough to make him a beloved figure, respected by Twins fans and followers of baseball alike. He may have "harmed" a few earned run averages by "killing" a baseball or two (or 573), but the soft-spoken Killebrew was anything but what his name suggested.

All-or-nothing? To Twins fans, Harmon Killebrew was all-and-everything. May he rest in peace.

Joey's Soapbox: Derek Jeter, Six Years Ago & If At Second You Don't Succeed

Greetings, fellow Mets fans! Winter will be officially over in a few days, which means two things.

First, I'll finally be able to finally put away my annoying poofball hat after a long, cold winter. But more importantly, it'll be time to hear the sweet sounds of Mets baseball at Citi Field, after what seemed like an interminable off-season.

Although my thoughts have turned to baseball bats, alternate caps and Shake Shack, there are still some things happening in the baseball world that I have to get off my hoodie.

I'm Joey Beartran and it's time for me to get on my soapbox.


Derek Jeter

Earlier this week, a recent poll conducted by the Siena College Research Institute named Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter the greatest New York athlete of all-time. Let me repeat that. In a town that seen Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Joe Namath and several outstanding thoroughbred race horses, Derek Jeter was the one who was named best New York athlete.

Who were the people voting in this poll, 14-year-old girls? I guess the same people who cast their votes in this poor excuse for a poll also voted for Kurt Rambis as the best Los Angeles athlete, Cliff Clavin as Boston's finest athletic star and Lazy Smurf as the top athlete of Smurf Village? Give me a break, people!




Six Years Ago

On this date in 2005, 'roids were all the rage in Washington, as Congress called for a special hearing featuring past and present baseball players to discuss the presence of steroids in baseball. It was during these hearings that Mark McGwire realized that he didn't want to dwell on the past, Sammy Sosa forgot how to speak English and Rafael Palmeiro gave the finger to Congress.

Six years later, all of these players are out of baseball and none of them has reached the Hall of Fame, as McGwire received less than 25% of the vote in each of his five eligible years for enshrinement, Palmeiro garnered the support of 11% of the voters in 2011 and Sammy Sosa has to wait until 2013 to see if he'll be able to pop the cork (no pun intended) on his Cooperstown Champagne.

So where are these players now?

Mark McGwire is now the hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals. That means a man who never hit 30 doubles in a single season and only finished with 265 more career hits than Ed Kranepool is now coaching Albert Pujols on how to hit. To have McGwire impart his hitting "wisdom" on Pujols is like having Kate Moss teach me how to eat chicken nachos. That's all I have to say about that.

After playing his last game as a member of the Texas Rangers in 2007, Sammy Sosa has done his best to stay out of the spotlight, disappearing from the public eye. The last time he was spotted in public, he was overheard humming Michael Jackson's "Black or White" as he was shopping for, as he called it, one of the most important works in American literature (see photo, right). His interpreter then corrected him by saying that a CD-ROM isn't technically a piece of literature.

When not complaining about his low Hall of Fame vote, Rafael Palmeiro has quietly become one of the country's premier hand models. The former Mets' eighth round draft pick's work can now be seen wherever hand sanitizers are sold.


If At Second You Don't Succeed

We've been getting conflicting reports from the Mets on who the starting second baseman will be in 2011. Terry Collins wants Luis Hernandez. Sandy Alderson wants an offensive-minded second baseman. That would probably eliminate Hernandez, who has eight extra-base hits in 265 major league at-bats, to go with a .286 OBP in the majors and a .302 OBP in the minors.

Brad Emaus and Daniel Murphy are still candidates for the position, but their defensive "skills" make former Marlins' second baseman Dan Uggla look like a Gold Glover at the position.

There is no truth to the rumor that Uggla traded in his old No. 6 uniform number with the Marlins for a No. E-4 jersey with the Braves.

Here's what I think. Wally Backman was promoted from Brooklyn to AA-Binghamton. Tim Teufel made the jump from Binghamton to AAA-Buffalo. I think they're just going to manage their respective minor league ballclubs until Labor Day weekend (the traditional end of the minor league season). Once their managerial duties are done, they will be promoted to the Mets, where they will compete for the second baseman's job. Terry Collins will be happy with the feisty Backman, while Sandy Alderson will take comfort that he has the bat of Tim Teufel. Is it a bad thing that I think a Backman/Teufel platoon would still be better than anything the Mets could throw out there right now?

I think I've worn out my welcome on the soapbox. It's time to get into mid-season form, which means I'll be sitting in front of the TV with a bunch of chicken nachos. Who knows what will happen before Opening Day? Will Carlos Beltran start the season on the disabled list? Will Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo be on the unemployment line? Will I get a tryout to play second base? Hey, if no else wants it, I'll take it (see photo below). Enjoy the last two weeks of Spring Training!

Gary Sheffield Retires; Is He A Hall of Famer?

Gary Sheffield formally announced his retirement from baseball yesterday, calling it quits after playing 22 seasons in the major leagues, the last of which came in 2009 as a member of the Mets. He leaves the game as one of the most prodigious sluggers in history and one of the most feared hitters of his era. But is he a Hall of Famer? The numbers seem to say yes.

Beginning in 1988 as a 19-year-old shortstop for the Milwaukee Brewers, making him a Robin Yount for a new generation, Sheffield went on to fill up the stat sheet for over two decades. Consider that in addition to his 509 home runs (No. 500 happened in a Mets uniform at Citi Field, as seen in the photo to the right), Sheffield hit 467 doubles and 27 triples, making him one of only 33 players in major league history to collect over 1,000 extra-base hits. The other 32 are either in the Hall of Fame, not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame, still active, or have been kept out of the Hall of Fame because of a lifetime ban (Pete Rose) or steroid involvement (Rafael Palmeiro).

Sheffield put up huge numbers across the board during his 22 years in the majors. Over his career, he had nine seasons with a .300+ batting average, eight seasons with 30+ HR, eight seasons with 100+ RBI (including four seasons with at least 120 RBI), seven seasons with 100+ runs scored and 16 seasons with double-digit steals. Although Sheffield never challenged for a stolen base title, he stole 253 bases in his career, including 22 steals as a 38-year-old in 2007. Every player with at least 1,600 runs scored and 1,600 RBI (Sheffield finished with 1,636 runs scored and 1,676 RBI) who is eligible for the Hall of Fame has been inducted, except for Rafael Palmeiro, but Palmeiro didn't have the stolen base potential that Sheffield had (Raffy stole 97 bases in 20 seasons).

There actually was one offensive category in which Sheffield failed to put up big numbers, but it was a category that will enhance his Hall of Fame candidacy. For all the power generated by his trademark waggle of the bat and ferocious swings, Sheffield never struck out more than 100 times in a season. In fact, when he struck out 83 times as a Yankee in 2004, that represented the most strikeouts Sheffield collected in a single season (later matched in 2007 as a member of the Detroit Tigers).

Sheffield's lack of strikeouts showed how good of an eye he had at the plate, but he was also very selective. Despite never striking out more than 83 times in a single season, he did find a way to draw more than 83 walks in a season nine times, including a career-high 142 in 1996, when he led the National League with a .465 on-base percentage. From 1995-2003, it seemed as if Sheffield was always on base, as he registered a .400+ OBP in each of those nine seasons, averaging .428 over the time period.

Although he never won an MVP Award, Sheffield did finish in the top ten six times. He also was a nine-time All-Star and won five Silver Slugger Awards.

Many Mets players lost their power stroke at Citi Field in 2009. Not Gary Sheffield. Until he got hurt in late August, Sheffield was the team leader in home runs despite having only 268 at-bats. (Photo by Andrew Savulich)

However, many players from the so-called Steroid Era are having a tough time getting the Hall of Fame to open its doors for them (Mark McGwire and the aforementioned Palmeiro, to name a few). Some players, like Jeff Bagwell, are guilty either by association or because they looked like stunt doubles for He-Man. Where that leaves Gary Sheffield, who admitted to taking "the cream" unknowingly, is something for the Hall of Fame voters to decide when his name appears on the ballot for the first time in 2015.

Gary Sheffield had a long and illustrious career in baseball. As a youngster, he was mostly known for being Dwight Gooden's nephew and for intentionally throwing balls away in an effort to get himself traded out of Milwaukee. As he matured, both physically and mentally, Sheffield became one of the best hitters in the game, reaching base by any means possible and not giving away at-bats via the strikeout. To me, that's the trademark of a Hall of Famer. Let's see if the actual voters think the same way in four years.

Happy Birthday To Moooo, Happy Birthday To Moooo...

Think fast! Who hit 62 triples, stole 281 bases, hit one little roller up along first and has 55 candles on his birthday cake today? It's none other than Mets Hall of Famer and current first base coach Mookie Wilson, that's who!

One of the above will be blowing out 55 candles today; the other will be counting them.

When Mets fans think of No. 41 on the Mets, they always think of Tom Seaver. The same thing goes for No. 14 (Gil Hodges), No. 17 (Keith Hernandez), No. 31 (Mike Piazza) and No. 37 (Casey Stengel). For me, No. 1 will always be synonymous with William Hayward Wilson.

Most fans will tell you that Mookie Wilson was one of the most electric and charismatic players to call Shea Stadium home. Those fans will also say that Mookie had the most crucial at-bat in franchise history, when he faced Bob Stanley in the tenth inning of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. But even those fans might not know everything about Mookie Wilson.

To celebrate the 55th birthday of the man who brought out the inner cow in Mets fans (Moooooo.....), here are a few things about Mookie Wilson you may not have known.

What's bubblier? The champagne in Mookie's hand or his effervescent personality?

Mookie Wilson made his major league debut for the New York Mets on September 2, 1980 at Dodger Stadium. Another key player from the 1986 World Champions also made his major league debut on that day, as Wally Backman played second base and batted eighth in the Mets' lineup (Mookie was the leadoff hitter). Wally's debut (2-for-4, 2 RBI) was slightly better than Mookie's (0-for-4, RBI groundout), but both went on to become favorites among the Shea faithful.

Despite being called up in 1980, Mookie Wilson qualified for the 1981 Rookie of the Year Award. Wilson finished seventh in the voting, receiving 1½ votes. Who did Mookie split a vote with? It was none other than teammate Hubie Brooks, who received 8½ votes to finish third.

No one would say that Mookie Wilson was a great hitter, but for two seasons, he was among the best in the league. In 1982, Mookie finished 10th in the National League with 178 hits and followed that up with 176 hits in 1983, good for 8th in the NL.

Mookie Wilson was known for his lightning fast speed, setting the franchise record for triples and stolen bases in a career (both marks have since been surpassed by Jose Reyes). Who held those records before Mookie claimed them for his own? That would be Bud Harrelson (45 triples) and Lee Mazzilli (139 stolen bases).

Bud Harrelson: The "3" in his uniform number stood for three-base hits.

Lee Mazzilli: Stole his way around the bases and into teen-aged girls' hearts.

When Mookie Wilson hit 10 triples and 10 home runs in 1984, he became the first Met to reach double digits in both categories. The only other player in Mets history to accomplish that feat is Jose Reyes, who has done it four times (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010).

There is one stolen base record that Mookie Wilson still hasn't lost to Jose Reyes. That would be caught stealing. The über-aggressive Mookie was thrown out 90 times in 371 attempts. Reyes will probably surpass him this season, as he has been gunned out 85 times.

It should come as no surprise that Mookie Wilson was able to get out of the way of Bob Stanley's wild pitch in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. After all, in ten years as a Met, Mookie was only hit by 16 pitches. By comparison, John Olerud only played three seasons in New York, but he was hit a total of 28 times.

Finally, what do Mookie Wilson and Mark McGwire have in common? Not much. But they do have one shared piece of baseball history. In 1989, Mark McGwire finished the year with 33 HR and 95 RBI, helping the Oakland A's win the World Series. Mookie Wilson was traded from the Mets to the Blue Jays on July 31, picking up two home runs and 17 RBI in 238 at-bats for Toronto. Somehow, both Mookie Wilson and Mark McGwire received exactly one American League MVP vote apiece, finishing in a tie for 25th place in the voting. Something tells me that one of the voters was also a member of the Toronto chapter of the Jeff Musselman Hate Club, and was thrilled that Mookie's arrival led to Musselman's departure.

Let's not talk about this picture, shall we?

Mets fans have not seen the last of Mookie Wilson, as the fan favorite will be the team's first base coach in 2011. With stolen base threats like Angel Pagan, Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran, the Mets have a number of candidates who will be heeding Mookie's "GO" command from first base. It will be interesting to see how the players respond to having an experienced basestealer coaching them at first base.

Mookie Wilson once said "thou shalt not pass at thy offering" to describe his hitting philosophy. Therefore, as we celebrate his 55th birthday today, we shall not let the day pass without offering Mookie Wilson our best wishes for a happy birthday and a successful 2011 season as the Mets' first base coach. It may be true that the baseball season is a marathon and not a sprint, but try telling that to one of the fastest and most beloved Mets of all time.

M.U.M.'s The Word (Most Underrated Mets): Bobby Jones

The 1990 season was a transitional one for the New York Mets. In May, long-time manager Davey Johnson was fired after a 20-22 start. Although the Mets recovered under new manager Bud Harrelson to finish with a 91-71 record, the team received a great blow during the offseason when Darryl Strawberry left the team as a free agent to sign with his hometown Los Angeles Dodgers.

With Strawberry gone, the Mets turned to Hubie Brooks to play right field. Brooks had a good 1990 season with the Dodgers (.266, 20 HR, 91 RBI), but he was already 34 years old when the Mets acquired him from Los Angeles for Bobby Ojeda and Greg Hansell. Asking a 34-year-old to replace a 28-year-old perennial All-Star was a recipe for disaster and sure enough, Brooks had one of his worst seasons in 1991, hitting .238, with 16 HR and 50 RBI.

Just like Hubie failed on the field, the Mets did the same in the standings, finishing in fifth place with their first losing record (77-84) since 1983. However, the 1991 season did have something positive come out of it.

When Darryl Strawberry left New York following the 1990 season, the Mets received a supplemental pick to be used between the first and second rounds of the 1991 amateur draft. That sandwich pick (the 36th overall draft selection) turned out to have a pretty good Mets career in his own right.

Bobby Jones was a right-handed pitcher from Fresno, California. Before the Mets drafted the All-American out of Fresno State University with the 36th pick of the 1991 amateur draft, Jones already had a Mets connection, as he attended the same high school (Fresno High School) as "The Franchise" himself, Tom Seaver.

Bobby Jones (wearing #22 in the back row) was partying like it was 1988 in this photo from his Fresno High School days. (photo courtesy of fresnohighalumni.com)

Like Tom Seaver before him, Bobby Jones' ascent to the major leagues was a quick one. After dominating minor league hitters at three different levels (27-15, 2.71 ERA, 304 Ks, 78 BB), Jones was called up to the major leagues in August of 1993, making his major league debut against the Philadelphia Phillies, the team that went on to win the National League pennant two months later.

Jones held the Phillies lineup in check, allowing one earned run in six innings of work. He gave up seven hits and walked one batter. Although the Mets defense threatened to ruin Jones' debut (their four errors led to four unearned runs), their offense (you may call him Tim Bogar) showed up to preserve his first major league win.

Tim Bogar collected two doubles and two home runs in the 9-5 Mets victory. His three-run homer in the sixth inning turned a one-run game into an 8-4 Mets lead. He then gave the Mets an insurance run in the ninth inning with an inside-the-park home run. However, just like the Mets in 1993, even when something went right, something else would go wrong. During his unnecessary head-first slide into home plate, Bogar tore a ligament in his left hand and would not play again in 1993.

The Mets went on to finish the 1993 season in last place in the NL East, with the expansion Florida Marlins finishing five games ahead of them. Their 59-103 record in 1993 would give us another Tom Seaver-Bobby Jones parallel, as Jones' initial campaign with the Mets was the team's first 100-loss season since 1967, the same year Tom Seaver made his major league debut for New York.

When the 1994 season began, Bobby Jones was firmly entrenched in the Mets' rotation, starting the third game of the season behind Doc Gooden and Pete Smith (feel free to chime in with a "who dat?"). But Jones (along with Bret Saberhagen) soon became one of the go-to guys in the rotation, as Gooden succumbed to his addictions for the final time as a Met. Pete Smith also gave in to his addictions, although his drug of choice was the gopher ball (Smith gave up a league leading 25 HR in 1994).

Despite the poor performances by Gooden (3-4, 6.31 ERA) and Smith (4-10, 5.55 ERA), the Mets flirted with the .500 mark for most of the year, finishing with a 55-58 record when the players' strike ended the 1994 season. Saberhagen's season (14-4, 2.74 ERA, a major league record 11:1 K/BB ratio) was nothing short of brilliant, but that was to be expected from a man who had already won two Cy Young Awards in his career (1985, 1989). It was Bobby Jones' performance in his first full season as a Met that kept the team from falling back to the depths they reached in 1993.

For the season, Jones went 12-7 with a 3.15 ERA, with the Mets winning 15 of his 24 starts. In 14 of those 24 starts, Jones gave up two earned runs or less. He also gave the Mets much-needed durability, especially with the bullpen being overworked due to the inefficiency of the other starters not named Saberhagen. Jones pitched at least six innings in all but four of his starts and made it through the seventh inning more than half the time (14 starts). For his efforts, Jones finished eighth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting, behind future Mets Steve Trachsel and Cliff Floyd.

After being tantalized by his excellent 1994 season, the 1995 and 1996 seasons would have to be considered a slight disappointment for Bobby Jones. Although Jones was rewarded with the Opening Day nod in each season, his performances in the other starts left a lot to be desired.

Jones followed up his 1994 season by going 10-10 in 1995 and 12-8 in 1996. The combined 22-18 record over the two seasons wasn't so bad, especially when the Mets' records during that span (69-75 in 1995, 71-91 in 1996) are taken into consideration. However, opposing batters learned how to hit Jones better during those two seasons than they did in 1994.

In 1994, the National League hit .257 against Jones, who gave up 157 hits in 160 innings. That number rose to .274 in 1995 (209 hits in 195.2 innings) and .288 in 1996 (219 hits in 195.2 innings). As a result, Jones' ERA rose from an exceptional 3.15 in 1994 to a mediocre 4.19 and 4.42 in 1995 and 1996, respectively. Fortunately for Jones, the youth movement known as Generation K (Bill Pulsipher, Paul Wilson, Jason Isringhausen) did not become the second coming of Seaver, Koosman and Matlack, thereby allowing Jones to retain his status at the top of the Mets' rotation. Jones rewarded the Mets for their patience in 1997.

After getting the ball on Opening Day in 1995 and 1996, Bobby Jones did not get that honor for the 1997 opener. Instead, new manager Bobby Valentine (who replaced Dallas Green during the latter part of the 1996 season) chose to bestow the Opening Day honor to veteran Pete Harnisch. Harnisch would pitch into the sixth inning, an inning in which the Mets allowed the San Diego Padres to score 11 runs. Soon after the Opening Day debacle, Harnisch was placed on the disabled list after feeling exhaustion and anxiety. It was later revealed that Harnisch was suffering from depression.

When Harnisch went down in April, it was up to the rest of the staff to step up, especially Bobby Jones, who hadn't lived up to expectations following his rookie season in 1994. Then something special happened. Bobby Jones became an effective pitcher again and for the first time during his tenure as a Met, the team started to win.

In the finale of the season-opening series against the Padres, Jones made his first start of the season, picking up the win by holding San Diego to one run over eight innings. It was the Mets' first victory of the season after losing their first two games. The performance by Jones in his first start would serve as a reminder that 1997 was going to be nothing like the previous two years.

From April 30 to June 9, Jones went on one of the most dominant stretches by any Met (Seaver and Gooden included) in franchise history. In eight starts, Jones allowed only ten earned runs for a 1.45 ERA. Opposing batters hit only .199 against him, and when they did get a hit, more often than not, it was a single (.271 slugging percentage over the eight starts). The most important stat during that stretch of starts was Jones' record, a perfect 8-0. For his efforts, Jones was named the National League's Player of the Month for May.

Before the first official day of summer arrived, Jones had already established himself as one of the best pitchers in the league. After Bobby Jones defeated the Pirates on June 20 by the score of 1-0, his record stood at 12-3. For his strong first half, Jones was rewarded with his first selection to the All-Star Game. He did not disappoint the fans in the Midsummer Classic, striking out sluggers Ken Griffey, Jr. and Mark McGwire (who combined to hit 114 HR in 1997) in succession during his one scoreless inning of work.

Do these guys look scary to you? Bobby Jones made mincemeat of them in the 1997 All-Star Game.

After his strong start, Jones came back to Earth, winning only three games after the All-Star Break. However, when the season ended, his overall numbers were still brilliant. For the year, Jones went 15-9, with a 3.63 ERA. After two years of allowing more base hits than innings pitched, Jones held opposing batters to a career-low .242 batting average, allowing 177 hits in 193.1 innings. Bobby Jones' breakout season coincided with the Mets' return to contention, as the team finished with an 88-74 record, their best mark since Darryl Strawberry's final year as a Met in 1990.

The Mets won 88 games again in 1998, but by then, Al Leiter and Rick Reed had already established themselves as the top two pitchers on the staff, winning 33 games between them. Despite another season giving up fewer hits than innings pitched (192 hits in 195.1 innings), Jones was the victim of the dreaded no-decision more times than he would have liked. In 30 starts, Jones was credited with 12 no-decisions. The Mets ended up winning eight of those 12 games. Therefore, despite the fact that the Mets won 17 of his starts, Bobby Jones finished the 1998 season with a career-low nine wins. It was the first time in his career that Jones failed to register double-digit victories over a full season.

The 1999 season was a memorable one for the Mets but a difficult one for Bobby Jones. For the first time in his career, the injury bug latched itself onto Jones, limiting him to 12 mostly unsuccessful starts. For the season, Jones finished with a 3-3 record and a career-worst 5.61 ERA. Because the Mets had depth in their rotation, Jones was left off the postseason roster. After experiencing hard times with the Mets early on in his career, Jones was now the odd man out when the team finally reached the playoffs. The postseason snub should have motivated Jones to have a strong 2000 season, but that was not the case during the early part of the year.

The Mets were on a mission in 2000. After losing their final five games of the 1998 season to narrowly miss out on the playoffs and falling two wins short of the World Series in 1999, the Mets were not going to settle for anything less than an appearance in the Fall Classic in 2000. For Bobby Jones, he had an additional goal on his mind. He wanted to make sure he wouldn't be an afterthought if the Mets reached the playoffs again. But after three poor starts to begin the season, Jones was placed on the disabled list with a strained right calf. After a one-month stay on the DL, Jones picked up right where he left off, giving the Mets less than they expected from a man who had been an All-Star just three years before. After a June 10 loss to the Yankees, Jones' ERA stood at 10.19. It was then that the Mets made the not-so-difficult decision to send Jones to the minor leagues.

Perhaps it was the embarrassment of being sent down to the minors for two weeks, but once Jones returned to the Mets, he was a completely different pitcher. In his first start with the Mets after being recalled from AAA-Norfolk, Jones pitched eight strong innings, holding the Pirates to one run and five hits, while striking out eight. The start against Pittsburgh was a sign of things to come.

Back in black? Bobby Jones was just happy to be back in the major leagues.

Beginning with his June 23 start against the Pirates, Jones pitched as well as he had in 1997. After his short stint in the minor leagues, Jones went 10-3 with a 3.69 ERA. He saved his best for last, winning seven of his final eight decisions, as the Mets repeated as the National League's Wild Card winner. This time around, Bobby Jones would not be on the outside looking in, as his strong finish helped him earn a spot on the postseason roster. The longest tenured starting pitcher on the Mets was finally going to get his chance to shine in the playoffs.

From 1993-2000, Bobby Jones won 74 games in the regular season. But it was his 75th win that became the most memorable victory of his career.

After losing Game 1 to the NL West champion San Francisco Giants, the Mets pulled out two hard-fought extra-inning victories in Games 2 and 3. Benny Agbayani was the man who let the dogs out at Shea Stadium in Game 3 with his game-ending 13th inning homer off Aaron Fultz. The thrilling victory gave the Mets a 2-1 series lead, meaning that the clinching could come at Shea Stadium if the Mets won Game 4. Bobby Valentine gave the ball and his trust to Bobby Jones to pitch the Mets into the NLCS. The manager would not be disappointed.

Of course the Mets are ecstatic. After all, they had finally cracked the mystery that was on everyone's minds in the year 2000, for it was Benny Agbayani who was guilty of letting the dogs out.

Bobby Jones was making his first postseason start in Game 4 of the 2000 NLDS. Whereas most pitchers admit being nervous before their first playoff start, Jones pitched with ice water in his veins. He retired the first 12 Giants to face him, taking a 2-0 lead into the fifth inning, courtesy of a first-inning two-run homer by Robin Ventura. Then he ran into trouble in the fifth inning, allowing his first baserunner of the game when former Met (and 2000 NL MVP) Jeff Kent doubled down the left field line. Kent took third base when Ellis Burks flied out to rightfielder Timo Perez. J.T. Snow then walked, putting the tying runs on base for shortstop Rich Aurilia. Bobby Valentine could have taken Jones out of the game. Instead, he stayed with his veteran pitcher, allowing him to face Aurilia. Jones induced a short fly ball to left, keeping Kent at third base and Snow at first. After walking catcher Doug Mirabelli to load the bases, Jones retired opposing pitcher Mark Gardner on a pop-up to second baseman Edgardo Alfonzo, ending the Giants' threat. It would be the only time the Giants came close to scoring.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Mets added two runs to their lead, with Bobby Jones starting the rally. After Mike Bordick grounded out weakly to start the inning, Jones struck out. However, the alert veteran reached first base safely when Mark Gardner's pitch could not be handled by Doug Mirabelli. Timo Perez then sent Jones to third base with a double, which was followed by a two-run double by Alfonzo. The Mets now had a 4-0 lead and Bobby Jones, fresh off an inning where he escaped a bases-loaded jam, had all the extra run support he needed.

The Giants were retired in order in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. When Bobby Jones came out to the mound for the ninth inning, the Shea Stadium crowd gave him a rousing ovation. This was a man who was there when the Mets were the laughingstock of the National League. Now all he was hearing were cheers from the Shea faithful. The Mets were three outs away from a return trip to the NLCS, and Bobby Jones was three outs away from finishing up the best start in Mets postseason history.

Jones had already thrown 109 pitches through eight innings. The Giants may have known that Jones' pitch count was already in triple digits, but you wouldn't have known it by the way they approached the ninth inning. After retiring Marvin Benard to start the inning, Bill Mueller grounded out on Jones' first pitch. Up came Barry Bonds*, one of the most patient hitters in the National League. Bonds* had already ended Game 2 of the NLDS by looking at strike three on a pitch by John Franco. He was not going to go down with the bat on his shoulders this time. On Jones' first pitch, Bonds* took a mighty cut and lined out to centerfielder Jay Payton. The man who was left off the postseason roster in 1999 had just pitched a complete game, one-hit shutout to catapult the Mets into their second consecutive NLCS. Bobby Jones went from a minor league demotion in June to the best postseason start in franchise history in October, the ultimate rags to riches story.

Bobby Jones delivered the knockout blow to the Giants in Game 4 of the 2000 NLDS.

However, his 75th win as a Met was also his last. Jones took the mound for Game 4 of the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals and pitched poorly. Although the Mets staked him to an 8-3 lead, Jones couldn't get out of the fifth inning, allowing six runs in four-plus innings of work. Despite the subpar outing, the Mets won the game 10-6 and then won the pennant the following night.

Jones' final appearance for the Mets came in Game 4 of the 2000 World Series. After losing the first two games at Yankee Stadium, the Mets came back to win Game 3, putting Bobby Jones in position to tie up the Fall Classic with a victory in Game 4. The elation felt by the Mets after their Game 3 victory was short-lived, as Derek Jeter led off Game 4 with a home run. Jones didn't pitch badly in the game, allowing three runs and four hits in his five innings of work, but the Mets never recovered from Jeter's game-opening blast, losing the game 3-2.

The Mets failed to win their third World Championship in 2000, falling to the crosstown Yankees in five games. However, they did enjoy their most successful season in Bobby Jones' eight years in New York. Unfortunately for Jones, 2000 would be his last season as a Met. The Mets did not re-sign the free agent following the 2000 season, allowing him to sign with the San Diego Padres.

His first year in San Diego was terrible, to say the least. Jones allowed a league-leading 37 HR in 2001 and also led the league with his 19 losses. After finishing the 2002 season with a 7-8 record, Jones retired at the young age of 32.

Let's just say Bobby Jones didn't come close to winning one of these in his two years as a Padre.

Although he never approached the annual numbers expected of him following his rookie season, Bobby Jones still had quite a career as a Met. His 74 regular season victories are ninth on the team's all-time list and his .569 career winning percentage leaves him just shy of the top ten (Rick Aguilera is 10th with a .578 winning percentage). However, no Mets pitcher appeared on the 1990s leaderboard more than Bobby Jones.

For the decade (1990-1999), Jones finished first in starts, innings pitched and wins. He also finished in the top five in strikeouts, complete games, shutouts and winning percentage.

Sure, there were far better pitchers in Mets history. There were also pitchers who took the mound facing more pressure than Bobby Jones did. But when it comes time to consider the entire Mets résumé of Bobby Jones, no one can deny that he was truly one of the most underrated, if not forgotten, players in the history of the franchise. Anyone who remembers Bobby Jones solely for his one memorable performance in the 2000 NLDS has missed out on what was truly a solid career.