Players who reach these single season goals on a regular basis will eventually hit some career milestones along the way. The 2018 Mets have several players who could reach and surpass some important personal milestones during the upcoming season.
So which hitters in orange and blue are within striking distance of an individual mark? Is there a Mets pitcher shooting for a nice round number on the back of his baseball card? And why does Wilmer Flores have effigies of several Mets infielders hanging in his locker behind his Friends DVD box set? At least two of those questions will be answered below. Enjoy!
Attainable Individual Milestones (Position Players)
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| Asdrubal Cabrera is close to several milestones, leaving Jay Bruce to wonder how this is possible. (Billy Hurst/AP) |
Yoenis Céspedes:
- Needs five RBI to reach 500 for his career.
- Needs 35 HR to reach 100 as a Met.
- Needs to stay on the field to make opposing pitchers shake in their cleats.
- Needs to let me borrow five bucks. I know he has it.
Asdrubal Cabrera:
- Needs 14 SB to reach 100 for his career.
- Needs eight runs and 70 RBI to reach 700 in both categories.
- Needs 12 strikeouts for 1,000 lifetime whiffs. (Not every milestone is positive.)
- Needs to stop asking for a trade if the season doesn't go to his liking.
Jay Bruce:
- Needs 23 HR to reach 300 for his career.
- Needs 28 doubles to reach 300 as well.
- Needs to remember to pack his first baseman's glove since you know he'll be there eventually.
Jose Reyes:
- Needs nine hits to become the second player with 1,500 hits as a Met.
- Needs 25 doubles to reach 400 for his career.
- Needs to continue to mentor Amed Rosario and give him confidence in his abilities.
- Needs to not lead the team in games played like he did in 2017. (Stupid injury-plagued team.)
David Wright:
- Needs 11 HR to become the Mets' all-time leaders in homers.
- Needs 30 RBI to reach 1,000 for his career.
- Needs one at-bat to have one more than anyone expects him to have this season.
Brandon Nimmo:
- Needs to smile more. He takes his job way too seriously.
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| The look of a way-too-serious baseball player. Or a fan of "The Terminator". (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) |
Attainable Individual Milestones (Pitchers)
- Needs 108 strikeouts to move into ninth place on the Mets' all-time leaderboard.
- Needs 269 strikeouts to reach 1,000 for his career.
- Needs 22 wins to finally knock Steve Trachsel out of the team's top ten in career victories.
Noah Syndergaard:
- Needs 82 strikeouts to reach 500 for his career.
- Needs four homers to pass Dwight Gooden as the team's all-time leader in home runs by pitchers.
- Needs to reach 100 on the speed gun all the way into September.
- Needs to fight Mr. Met and start an online petition to ban the wave. (He's Thor; he can multitask.)
Matt Harvey:
- Needs eight strikeouts to reach 600 for his career.
- Needs 30 starts to have the first 30-start season of his career.
- Needs to have two more wins than losses to pass the legendary Oliver Perez in lifetime winning percentage as a Met.
Zack Wheeler:
- Needs 148 strikeouts to reach 500 for his career.
- Needs 18 starts to reach that mark for the first time in four seasons.
- Needs to figure things out quickly in the minors if he wants to reach those goals this year.
Jeurys Familia:
- Needs two saves to pass Jesse Orosco into third place on the Mets' all-time leaderboard.
- Needs 33 appearances to enter the Mets' all-time top ten in games pitched.
- Needs to accept that someone else should take the ball in the ninth inning if the Mets play meaningful games in September.
Jerry Blevins:
- Needs to eat more. (Just kidding, Jerry. We love you just the way you are. You be you!)
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| "Maybe I shouldn't have asked Wilmer for a Jason Vargas effigy." (Zack Wheeler photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images) |
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