First of all, thank you to those who submitted entries to win two floor seats for the Mike and the Mad Dog Reunion Show tomorrow at Radio City Music Hall.
It was not easy choosing a winner, but after much debate, let’s meet the runners up. The question was, “Who’s the most underappreciated Met of all time?”
- John Mucha: Edgardo Alfonzo. Fonzie hit .292 with a .367 OBP and a .782 OPS while he was a Met. Plus he could flat out play the field. And in the 1999 and 2000 seasons he averaged 26 HR and 101 RBI. Real fans appreciated him and knew what he meant to those teams, I but don’t hear him talked up a lot lately…
- Ken Greenberg: I’d say Jerry Koosman since he was always in the shadow of Seaver but so key to the 1969 team.
- Christopher Lewis: David Wright. I know that seems silly. He’s the face of the franchise! From Day one David came to the ballpark everyday with the (W)right attitude. From answering the reporters questions postgame night in and night out when the veterans pretended they couldn’t speak English to be the first one to reach out to a new acquistion…No one deserves the Captain title more than Wright. From watching them let Jose Reyes leave to watching everyone around him go down with injuries. From being surrounded with AAAA players for years to hear his Owner say he doesn’t need to be paid like a superstar. David came to play everyday. And it’s a great sight to see number 5 jog out to third base. These have been really rough times as a Mets fan and no one deserves to bask in this new excitement around the team more than David Wright.
- Kevin Smith: Carlos Beltran. One strikeout looking, and two injuries where he couldn’t play half the season takes away from him being one of the best of all time. He was a great all around player. Mistake free in the field and a very solid hitter. I’d take a Carlos Beltran from 2005 right now over almost anyone.
- Anthony Fiore: I’m going to go with Dave Magadan. First off, it didn’t help that he had to follow Keith Hernandez as starting 1B. He had a lack of power with 21 hrs in his 7 yr Mets career. What people forget was the guy was a tough out. .391 OBP as a Met in a time when OBP wasn’t discussed at all. If he played in the Moneyball era he would have been more appreciated. Perfect Alderson/Beane acquisition. It is too bad he played in a time of tremendous power hitting 1B—Davis, Clark, McGwire, etc…He didn’t have a prayer. Steady glove as well.
And here’s the winner: Christopher Galligan!
Galligan: John Olerud: sweetest swing, hitting streak, clutch off Rocker and Randy Johnson and anchor of “the best infield ever”. If John was around in 2000 the Yankees would have had another thing coming!
Thank you to all who participated.
