A Mets Team Is Worth A Thousand Players

According to baseball-reference.com, the Mets have had 984 players appear in a game for them during their first 53 seasons.  From Aardsma to Zimmer, these players have played the field, appeared as a pitcher or had a turn at the plate at least one time in a Mets uniform.  Sixteen of these players made their Mets debuts in 2014.  Another sixteen in 2015 would give the Mets an even thousand.

To mark this soon-to-be occasion that will be probably be old news once the thousand-and-first player sets foot on the field or in the batter's box, I have come up with a few factoids, oddities and other fun bits of minutiae in this, my 1,000th Studious Metsimus post.  (So THAT'S the reasoning behind publishing this now!)  Hopefully, this blog post won't be forgotten once my 1,001st piece is published.  Enjoy!

The three most common surnames by Mets players are Hernandez, Johnson and Jones.  Each last name has been represented seven times.  I'm sure you'll remember most of these players very well and some of these players not at all:

This one's Luis.

• Keith Hernandez (1983-89)
• Manny Hernandez (1989)
• Roberto Hernandez (2005, 2006)
• Anderson Hernandez (2005-07, 2009)
• Orlando Hernandez (2006-07)
• Livan Hernandez (2009)
• Luis Hernandez (2010)

One of the Bobs.

• Bob Johnson (1967 - infielder)
• Bob Johnson (1969 - pitcher)
• Howard Johnson (1985-93)
• Lance Johnson (1996-97)
• Mark Johnson (2000-02)
• Ben Johnson (2007)
• Rob Johnson (2012)

NOT the Mets' Randy Jones.

• Sherman Jones (1962)
• Cleon Jones (1963, 1965-75)
• Randy Jones (1981-82)
• Ross Jones (1984)
• Bobby J. Jones (1993-2000)
• Chris Jones (1995-96)
• Bobby M. Jones (2000, 2002)

Of course, one of the most popular Johnsons to ever wear a Mets uniform never played a game for New York, and hence, would not appear on the list of Johnsons above.  That would be manager Davey Johnson, who is the team's all-time winningest skipper and led the club to its second World Series championship in 1986.  He is also the only manager to win two division titles (1986, 1988) during his tenure with the Mets.

Excluding the inaugural 1962 campaign - a year in which every Met player (all 45 of them) suited up for the very first time in a Mets uniform - the year that saw the most new players appearing in at least one game for the Mets was 1967.  Thirty-eight years before Carlos Beltran coined the phrase, there were 35 "new Mets" in 1967, none more famous than The Franchise himself, Tom Seaver.  Unlike Seaver, who set and still holds most of the club's pitching records, a total of 14 players from that squad never played for the Mets after 1967, including Al Schmelz, who is the owner of one team record that's still standing.  His seven-letter surname is the longest last name in franchise history with only one vowel in it.  Of course, if that's the one thing Al Schmelz is going to be known for, then his career must have really stunk.

Conversely, the year that saw the fewest new Mets was 1988, when just four players made their debuts with the team (Bob McClure, Ed Nuñez, Mackey Sasser, David West).  That was the same year New York retired Tom Seaver's number.  And lest we forget, it was also the year Al Schmelz turned 45.

Editor's note:  For those who are curious, Al Schmelz has had a wonderful post-baseball career.  He has been a successful real estate broker in Arizona, where he currently resides, so maybe he's going to be known for more than just having the longest one-vowel surname in Mets history and for turning 45 in 1988.  And I'm sure he doesn't mind that at all.

Of the 984 players who appeared in at least one game for the Mets, only eight of them never played a defensive position while on the team.  Those eight players are Lou Klimchock (1966), Greg Harts (1973), Rick Sweet (1982), Randy Milligan (1987), Brook Fordyce (1995), Terrence Long (1999), Gary Bennett (2001) and Abraham Nuñez (2008).

All eight players appeared in games solely as pinch-hitters or pinch-runners.  Of the eight, Klimchock had the most plate appearances, going 0-for-5 with three strikeouts in five pinch-hitting appearances.  Just four of the eight players (Harts, Sweet, Fordyce, Bennett) collected hits in their brief, non-defensive-playing Mets careers, with Fordyce collecting the only extra-base hit when he doubled in his final at-bat as a Met.

Brook Fordyce never had a chance with the Mets.  Not with that smile.

Greg Harts is unique among all 984 players, as he is the only player in Mets history whose entire major league career consisted of pinch-hitting and pinch-running.  Harts appeared in three late-season games for the 1973 Mets, just as the team was making its unexpected run to the NL East title.  Harts collected a pinch-hit single in his major league debut on September 15.  Two days later, he grounded out as a pinch-hitter for Ray Sadecki.  Three days after that, he pinch-ran for Duffy Dyer.  Harts never appeared in a major league game again for the Mets or any other team.  The other seven players who never played a defensive position for the Mets at least got the opportunity to play the field with other teams, a privilege that wasn't afforded to Harts.

Finally, there have been many players in Mets history who never walked up to the plate with bats in their hands.  Naturally, most of those players were relief pitchers who were usually taken out of games for pinch-hitters when their spots in the batting order came up.  But just two non-pitchers in franchise history got to play defense without getting an opportunity to step into the batter's box while wearing a Mets uniform.

In 2004, catcher Joe Hietpas appeared in his only major league game as a late-inning defensive replacement for Todd Zeile, who was playing in his 2,158th and final major league game.  The contest, which took place on October 3, was also the final game ever played by the Montreal Expos.  Hietpas never batted for the Mets - or any other team - but at least he made two putouts, both on strikeouts by Bartolome Fortunato, and can say he was on the field when future Met Endy Chavez made the final out in Expos history.

Unlike Hietpas, Shane Halter can say he played in several games for the Mets, even if he never took a bat in his hands for the team.  Five years before Hietpas became the final new player to play for the Mets in 2004 (and the 747th overall), Halter appeared in seven games for the 1999 Mets.  Halter was a pinch-runner in five of those games and played the field in the other two.  On September 18, Halter played center field in the eighth inning, then moved to shortstop in the ninth, never collecting a plate appearance.  Two weeks later, in the game against the Pirates that forced a one-game playoff with the Cincinnati Reds, Halter played the final out of the nail-biting ninth inning in right field.  He never got a chance to bat, as the Mets won the game in the bottom of the ninth.  Halter played in seven games with the Mets, but failed to pick up a plate appearance.  He also never made a putout on the field.  At least Hietpas got to do that with the Mets five years later.

"Here's to you, Mr. Hietpas.  Mets fans love you more than you will know, wo, wo, wo."

A total of 984 players have played in at least one game for the Mets.  Some of them had long and distinguished careers in the majors, while others had careers that were over before you could say Schmelz, Harts and Hietpas.

At least four new players have joined the team every year they've been in existence.  Sixteen of those players became Mets in 2014.  If that number repeats itself in 2015, the number of players to have appeared in at least one game with the team will reach one thousand.

A picture is worth a thousand words.  Pretty soon, the Mets will have reached a thousand players.  And that's a picture that's over half a century in the making.
 

Whose Retired Number Is It Anyway?

There have been a total of 11 former Mets players who have received the ultimate honor of being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  Those players are Yogi Berra, Warren Spahn, Willie Mays, Duke Snider, Tom Seaver, Richie Ashburn, Nolan Ryan, Eddie Murray, Gary Carter, Rickey Henderson and Roberto Alomar.

Of the 11, only Seaver is wearing a Mets cap on his Hall of Fame plaque.  And only Carter (600 games), Seaver (420 games) and Murray (310 games) played in at least 250 games as a Met.

Most of this information you already know, especially if you've read Greg Prince's excellent discussions on the topic in his blog, Faith and Fear In Flushing.  In all likelihood, you also know that Seaver is the only player who has had his number retired by the Mets (Casey Stengel's No. 37 and Gil Hodges' No. 14 were retired because of what they did as managers).  But what about former Mets players who have had their uniform numbers retired by other teams?

The ten Mets Hall of Famers not named Seaver have all had their numbers retired by other teams, with one player (Nolan Ryan) receiving the honor from three teams.  But there are six other former Mets who have not been voted into the Hall of Fame (although one is not yet eligible), yet have had their uniform numbers retired by another team.  Let's take a look at those six players, some of which might cause you to look away once you see their names.

Ken Boyer

One of many former Mets who tried (and failed) to make the third base position his own in the 1960s, Ken Boyer spent the majority of his career as a Gold Glove-winning All-Star in St. Louis.  Defensively, Boyer won five Gold Gloves manning the hot corner in St. Louis.  Offensively, Boyer drove in over 1,000 runs in 11 years as a Cardinal and was named the 1964 National League MVP.  In St. Louis, Boyer enjoyed seven 20-HR seasons and hit over .300 five times.  In 1½ seasons with the Mets (1966-67), Boyer batted .258 and managed 17 homers.  Boyer's No. 14 was retired by the Cardinals in 1984.

Jim Fregosi

Even Mets fans who hadn't been born by December 10, 1971 know why that date is notorious.  On that date, the team made what is still considered to be the worst trade in team history when they sent Nolan Ryan to the California Angels for shortstop Jim Fregosi, who would be asked to play third base for the Mets.  Ryan went on the have his number retired by the other three teams he played for (more on that later), while Mets fans wish Fregosi had retired before the day of the trade.  The Angels retired Fregosi's No. 11 in 1998, just five years after Ryan retired from pitching.

Tom Glavine

Glavine won his 300th game as a Met, but no one really cares.  It's the one game he didn't win (and his post-game reaction to it) that everyone will remember him for.  The southpaw's Met career ended the way it began, with a horrible performance that resulted in him exiting the game to a chorus of boos from the Shea Faithful.  Glavine won 244 games as an Atlanta Brave and had his No. 47 retired by the team in 2010.  I'm sure he wasn't devastated on the day it was retired.

Randy Jones

Although Jones went 92-105 as a San Diego Padre, his No. 35 was retired by the Friars in 1997.  Jones had two 20-win seasons in San Diego, which came immediately after he recorded a 20-loss season in 1974.  Take out Jones' two 20-win campaigns and his best single-season record came in his rookie year (1973) when he finished a mediocre 7-6.  Jones spent his final two seasons in the big leagues as a Met, leaving his afro and ability to pitch on the West Coast.

Mike Scott

In four years as a Met, Mike Scott went 14-27 and never struck out 100 batters in a single season.  Then he became an Astro, had a little chat with original Met Roger Craig, got Santa Claus to bring him a "Scuffing For Dummies" book and became a Cy Young Award winner.  He almost single-handedly eliminated the Mets in the 1986 NLCS.  Six years later, Scott's No. 33 (and nail file) was raised to the Astrodome roof.

Rusty Staub

Staub played for the Mets before and after he played for the team that eventually retired his number.  Le Grand Orange was traded by Montreal to the Mets in 1972 after making the All-Star team in each of his three seasons as an Expo.  In 1979, Staub returned to Montreal, two years before coming back to the Mets.  Staub was no longer in the proper shape to be an everyday player (although his body certainly had a proper shape), but was still able to contribute to the team, becoming one of the most productive pinch-hitters in franchise history.  Staub's No. 10 was retired by the Expos in 1993.  His two numbers with the Mets (No. 4, No. 10) are still in circulation.

Why Hasn't Jerry Koosman's Number Been Retired?

Photo by Walter Kelleher/Daily News

I was recently doing research for another piece when I came across the career numbers of three pitchers - Bert Blyleven, Randy Jones and Don Wilson.  In particular, I focused on what Blyleven achieved during his 11 seasons in Minnesota, as well as what Jones did in eight years with the Padres and what Wilson accomplished in his nine years with the Astros.

As many of you know, Bert Blyleven is a member of the Hall of Fame.  Randy Jones and Don Wilson are not.  In fact, Jones and Wilson combined to win fewer games than Blyleven won on his own in his illustrious 22-year career.  So what's their connection and why are they relevant to this piece?

Let's look at the career numbers for Blyleven, Jones and Wilson, focusing solely on what they did while they were members of the Twins, Padres and Astros, respectively.  And while we're at it, let's stick in Jerry Koosman's career numbers as a Met, just for comparison's sake.

Player	Wins	Losses	Win %	ERA	WHIP	CG	SO	K
Bert Blyleven	149	138	.519	3.28	1.186	141	29	2035
Randy Jones	92	105	.467	3.30	1.208	71	18	677
Don Wilson	104	92	.531	3.15	1.212	78	20	1283
Jerry Koosman	140	137	.509	3.09	1.219	108	26	1799

There's not that much of a disparity between the players, is there?  Koosman had the lowest ERA of the foursome and finished close to Blyleven in wins, winning percentage, WHIP and shutouts.

Koosman was superior to Randy Jones, finishing with 48 more wins, 37 more complete games and 1,122 more strikeouts.  The only category in which Jones fared better than Koosman was in WHIP and that was very close.

Don Wilson trailed Koosman in wins, ERA, complete games, shutouts and strikeouts.  Wilson had the best winning percentage of the two (although he was only 12 games above .500 during his tenure with the Astros) and barely edged Koosman in WHIP.

So why am I making such a hubbub about what these four pitchers did for the teams they're most associated with?  The answer is quite simple, especially if you noticed the title of this piece and have the sleuthing skills of the Scooby Gang.

• Bert Blyleven's uniform number has been retired by the Minnesota Twins.
• Randy Jones' uniform number has been retired by the San Diego Padres.
• Don Wilson's uniform number has been retired by the Houston Astros.
• Jerry Koosman's uniform number is being worn by Collin McHugh.

"I'm so confused.  I thought the Mets had already retired Jerry Koosman's number."

It's understandable why Blyleven's number has been permanently removed from circulation in the Twin Cities.  After all, he had a Hall of Fame career and is most associated with Minnesota's ballclub, collecting more than half of his 287 career victories as a member of the Twins.  But his numbers as a Twin are quite similar to those achieved by Koosman as a Met.  Also, Blyleven made the All-Star team as a Twin once and never finished higher than seventh in the Cy Young Award vote as a Twin (he did finish third in 1985 when he split the season between Cleveland and Minnesota, but made most of his starts as an Indian that year).  Blyleven won two division titles in Minnesota (1970, 1987) and one World Series as a Twin (1987).  Koosman knows the feeling, as he won two pennants and one World Series championship with the Mets.

As for Jones and Wilson, their uniform numbers were retired solely because of where they rank on their respective teams' all-time pitching leaderboard.  And in Wilson's case, a tragic incident also contributed to his digits being taken out of circulation.

Randy Jones is in the Padres' top ten in wins (T-2nd), ERA (8th), WHIP (7th) and strikeouts (8th).  He is also the team's all-time leader in starts, innings pitched, complete games and shutouts.  Jones was selected to two All-Star teams, had two 20-win seasons, and won the 1976 NL Cy Young Award (with Koosman finishing second).  Jones was the runner-up for the 1975 NL Cy Young Award, finishing behind Koosman's teammate, Tom Seaver, for the coveted prize.  But if you take out Jones' 1975 and 1976 numbers, the rest of his Padres' résumé isn't very impressive.

During Jones' other six years in San Diego, he went 50-79 with a 3.71 ERA and 1.30 WHIP.  In other words, he pitched like Craig Swan, only slightly worse.  (Swan was 59-71 as a Met with a 3.72 ERA and 1.27 WHIP.)

Don Wilson pitched two no-hitters as an Astro and once struck out 18 batters in a single game.  That's three games out of a career in which he made 245 starts.  Wilson's career would have been longer had it not been for his accidental death at the age of 29 (Wilson and his five-year-old son died of carbon monoxide poisoning).  The Astros immediately retired his number at the beginning of the 1975 season.

Wilson never won more than 16 games in any of his nine seasons with the Astros and only made one All-Star team.  He also had losing records in each of his last two seasons before his untimely death.  Although Wilson surely would have added to his cumulative career numbers had he not passed away, he is currently in the Astros' top ten in wins (7th), ERA (7th), starts (8th), innings pitched (5th), complete games (3rd), shutouts (4th) and strikeouts (7th).

Now let's look at the career of one Jerome Martin Koosman and see where he ranks on the Mets' all-time pitching leaderboard.

Ed Charles is still waiting to dance at Jerry Koosman's uniform retirement ceremony.

Jerry Koosman was the runner-up to Johnny Bench for the 1968 NL Rookie of the Year Award.  He was also a two-time All-Star, received MVP votes in three seasons (1968, 1969, 1976) and was the runner-up to Randy Jones for the 1976 NL Cy Young Award.  Koosman was a part of two pennant winners and was on the mound when the Mets won the 1969 World Series.  In addition, Koosman never lost a postseason game for the Mets, going 4-0 in six starts.

Koosman ranks highly in just about every career pitching category for the Mets.  He's in the team's top ten in wins (3rd), ERA (5th), starts (2nd), innings pitched (2nd), complete games (2nd), shutouts (2nd) and strikeouts (3rd).  Jesse Orosco and Jon Matlack both had lower ERAs than Koosman.  Otherwise, Koosman would be the team's all-time leader in every category for left-handed pitchers.

Clearly, Koosman had more individual success than Randy Jones and Don Wilson.  He also had better success on a team level, as Jones and Wilson never reached the postseason for their respective teams.  And Koosman's numbers as a Met were quite similar to what Bert Blyleven produced in his two stints with Minnesota.  But that's not enough to get Koosman's number on the outfield wall next to Casey Stengel's No. 37, Gil Hodges' No. 14 and Tom Seaver's No. 41.

Jerry Koosman wasn't perfect on the field.  He also hasn't been perfect off it, as he has been involved in legal troubles and other unfortunate situations.  But none of that should have kept his No. 36 off the Shea Stadium and Citi Field outfield wall for as long as it has.  If Bert Blyleven, Randy Jones and Don Wilson can have their numbers retired by their respective teams, then why can't Koosman have his number retired by the Mets?  It's a travesty that been ignored for too long.

But it could be worse.  At least the Astros haven't retired former Met Mike Scott's number, right?  What?  They have?  Ah, crap.