FotF

[Edgy MD]

I was wondering who was going to inherit the mantle of "Face of the Franchise" from David Wright. I would guess that Jacob deGrom, coming off a Cy Young season, has to be in the catbird seat, We'll handicap him as even money. He's 50% likely with Syndergaard at perhaps 33% and Brandon Nimmo at 17%. But I think it's deGrom's at the start of the season and his to lose.



This put me to thinking who the Mets FotF's have been throughout history. If we stick to the Highlander Rule ("There can be only one!"), we're looking for someone who is (1) a star, or has star qualities, (2) is relatable, (3) is willing (to be the guy to hold up the big check in the photo op with the corporate supporters of Mets charities, for instance, or to host the Make-a-Wish Foundation kid), (4) has a Q Rating that is high among moms, (5) is clean enough (at least publicly) for a box of Wheaties. A citizen.



Even if you have multiple stars—or even better stars—this guy is going to be the go-to guy for media guide and yearbook covers. He's generous to a fault with the media. Needing to be relatable, it's unfortunately an advantage to be white, English-first, tenured for a period, and/or locally sourced. Needing to be almost Wheaties clean, a drug violation, an assault or DWI arrest, or a profane rap record are going to cost you points toward the crown. Not to suggest these things are moral equivalents, but you get what I mean.



Two more caveats. (1) A team can open the season with one face, and things develop so as to shift the mantle mid-season. You generally don't see more than two, though, as promotional materials have to be ordered in advance, and (2) Casey Stengel was probably the true FotF from the day he was hired until the day he retired, but if you're playing at home, we're sticking to players.



Here's my impression. Have at it.

[th]Year[/th]	[th]FotF[/th]
	Early 1962		Gil Hodges
	Late 1962		Marv Throneberry
	Early 1963		Marv Throneberry
	Late 1963		Ron Hunt
	1964		Ron Hunt
	1965		Ron Hunt
	1966		Ron Hunt
	Early 1967		Ed Kranepool
	Late 1967		Tom Seaver
	1968		Tom Seaver
	1969		Tom Seaver
	1970		Tom Seaver
	1971		Tom Seaver
	1972		Tom Seaver
	1973		Tom Seaver
	1974		Tom Seaver
	1975		Tom Seaver
	1976		Tom Seaver
	Early 1977		Tom Seaver
	Late 1977		Ed Kranepool
	Early 1978		Ed Kranepool
	Late 1978		Lee Mazzilli
	1979		Lee Mazzilli
	1980		Lee Mazzilli
	Early 1981		Lee Mazzilli
	Late 1981		Rusty Staub
	1982		Rusty Staub
	1983		Tom Seaver
	1984		Mookie Wilson
	Early 1985		Keith Hernandez
	Late 1985		Gary Carter
	1986		Gary Carter
	1987		Gary Carter
	1988		Ron Darling
	1989		David Cone
	1990		David Cone
	1991		John Franco
	1992		John Franco
	1993		John Franco
	1994		John Franco
	1995		John Franco
	1996		John Franco
	1997		John Franco
	1998		John Franco
	1999		Mike Piazza
	2000		Mike Piazza
	2001		Mike Piazza
	2002		Mike Piazza
	2003		Mike Piazza
	2004		Mike Piazza
	2005		Mike Piazza
	2006		David Wright
	2007		David Wright
	2008		David Wright
	2009		David Wright
	2010		David Wright
	2011		David Wright
	2012		David Wright
	2013		David Wright
	2014		David Wright
	2015		David Wright
	2016		David Wright
	2017		David Wright
	2018		David Wright
	2019		David Wright

[LWFS]

Jake is BEYOND Jake, but off-field... he's kind of a charisma void.



Thor is pretty much there, isn't he? If he has anything APPROACHING a Cy season, he'll be undeniably facey.

[nymr83]

I don't think John Franco was the FotF from '91 until Piazza got here.



If nothing else, Todd Hundley became the face when he was in the process of setting the catcher homerun record in 1996 and he kept the mantle through 1997 until at least his injury in 1998.

[stevejrogers]

I'd argue Doc was still presented as such during his final years with the team. Certainly after the exodus of Carter, Hernandez and Strawberry.

[Edgy MD]

All those points are strong, and I certainly considered all three.



A problem with Syndergaard is that he isn't willingly submissive. If he gets to ham his way through an interview and be Thor, he's all over it, but if he's put in a media appearance that he isn't in control of, he gets all petulant and uncomfortable. There's a little too much Harvey there. But we'll see.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Maybe sometimes the Mets were faceless. Or maybe sometimes the face was that of the manager. In the short term after Seaver was traded and before Mazzilli emerged, I'd say that Joe Torre was the face of the franchise. (Or Jerry Koosman more than Ed Kranepool.) And in the early years, it was most certainly Casey Stengel.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

I'd say Zimmo is probably the current most Metmarketable locally. They can and do roll him out with no fear that he'll say the wrong the thing or get too far off message. The only thing holding him back from full-on Face-ness is the seeming lack of certainty on his hold on a job.



Edit: On a national level, it's probably deGrom/Syndy

Edited February 10, 2019 by Guest

[MFS62]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: In the short term after Seaver was traded and before Mazzilli emerged, I'd say that Joe Torre was the face of the franchise.

Its amazing that Torre's face didn't scare people away.



To me, the FotF is someone who, when you think of a team, you think of that person.

As for Wright being the FotF in 2018, he didn't show that face until the last week of the season.

I didn't think of him all year, except when we were discussing money available for acquiring players who could help the team.

But I guess he was it because nobody else was really being called that by us or the press, so he gets it by default.



Later

Edited February 10, 2019 by Guest

[Benjamin Grimm]

I feel like Rip Van Winkle. Is 2019 already over?

[kcmets]

At quick glance, Edgy's list is pretty solid. It's a little too Mazz-heavy maybe

and could use a sprinkling of some Hundley? Hubie Brooks had a nice face.

[Frayed Knot]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Maybe sometimes the Mets were faceless.

https://images.hellogiggles.com/uploads/2016/05/24083705/faceless.jpg>

[whippoorwill]

I can't go for David Wright the past few years when he was basically absent. Any new fan wouldn't have a clue. Pick a costar, please

[dgwphotography]

I'd go with Darryl in 84, and Doc in 85

[batmagadanleadoff]

Getouttahere with that Gary Carter crap. Did Gary come back from the dead to manipulate and whine his way into this conversation? Also, Pedro and Beltran, maybe together, for 05 and 06 as the face of Los Mets.

[batmagadanleadoff]

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=2693 time=1549827005 user_id=68]
Getouttahere with that Gary Carter crap. Did Gary come back from the dead to manipulate and whine his way into this conversation? Also, Pedro and Beltran, maybe together, for 05 and 06 as the face of Los Mets.

[Benjamin Grimm]

It seems like the criteria may have a bit of a "nice guy" requirement. Someone willing to play along with the company line. But I do agree that Keith was more the "face of the Mets" from 1984 through 1988 than anyone else.

[Edgy MD]

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=2694 time=1549830954 user_id=68]
=batmagadanleadoff post_id=2693 time=1549827005 user_id=68]
Getouttahere with that Gary Carter crap. Did Gary come back from the dead to manipulate and whine his way into this conversation? Also, Pedro and Beltran, maybe together, for 05 and 06 as the face of Los Mets.

[kcmets]

Carter was always in front of the camera regardless of another 0-4. Called

him Camera Carter when I wasn't calling Pop-up Carter. He was FotF for sure,

but it kinda drove me nuts at times.

[G-Fafif]

(1) a star, or has star qualities, (2) is relatable, (3) is willing (to be the guy to hold up the big check in the photo op with the corporate supporters of Mets charities, for instance, or to host the Make-a-Wish Foundation kid), (4) has a Q Rating that is high among moms, (5) is clean enough (at least publicly) for a box of Wheaties. A citizen. Even if you have multiple stars—or even better stars—this guy is going to be the go-to guy for media guide and yearbook covers. He's generous to a fault with the media. Needing to be relatable, it's unfortunately an advantage to be white, English-first, tenured for a period, and/or locally sourced. Needing to be almost Wheaties clean, a drug violation, an assault or DWI arrest, or a profane rap record are going to cost you points toward the crown. Not to suggest these things are moral equivalents, but you get what I mean.

Wright was unique in that he was able to be all these things (not to be confused with "all things to all people" in the cynical sense). In fact, I don't remember the phrase "face of the franchise" existing before he came along. Though he was surrounded by incredibly decorated veterans as he established himself, he was who he became no later than his third season.



If we're gonna get granular, I do think you have to be present to be the guy. David Wright did not lose the crown on paper when he disappeared from the active roster for most of his final four seasons, but when he wasn't around, he wasn't around, and he was always very careful to not big-foot onto the scene when he did make cameos. And while he was the ongoing "let's get David to take this picture with these kids" stalwart, there were stretches when he wasn't the center of attention for the media or the fans. He stepped back in 2011 when Jose Reyes was chasing the batting crown (I remember one of the beat writers noting that it was the first time he saw his colleagues crowd around somebody else after games as a matter of course) and was probably overshadowed across all criteria by R.A. Dickey in 2012. Matt Harvey was a way bigger deal than Wright in 2013, though maybe not doing the milk commercials.



You can't undersell Richie Ashburn as 1962 progressed. Gil was out most of the second half of the season and Richie sort of cultivated the Marvelous persona for his teammate.



Piazza was clearly The Man on The Mets in a way nobody else, not even Seaver, has ever been for the Mets (everyday player as opposed to a pitcher; larger than life baseball persona; the guy even your Mets-illiterate relatives knew about; nobody else on the roster close in terms of overall star power/Metsian equity across most of his tenure; his name and number on more backs than everybody else's names and numbers combined in a get your player merchandise at Modell's age) but he wasn't really the spokesman for the team. There was inevitably somebody else -- Franco, Leiter, Ventura, Zeile, Cameron, Floyd, Martinez -- who was more comfortable with the media. Mike was "lead by example," excusing some of his reticence with this kind of role.



The PR-ishness required does seem to make the idealized Face of the Franchise role more of a Gary Carter thing a little more than a Keith Hernandez one, 1985 through 1988. Yet everything entering 1984, on the heels of his ROY season, was about Darryl taking over the world and Doc built up so much equity and belovedness that he could be suspended for cocaine use and it didn't really peel away at his popularity or even his nice guy image (nice guy made a mistake was all). Keith, of course, was Keith. This is four-headed territory. Sometimes I still can't believe we lived through this era with these kinds of characters and had such a richly textured cast behind them.



After Keith and Gary declined and departed, Gregg Jefferies should have been that guy but imploded. HoJo didn't really have it in him to be that guy except on the field every other season.



Going into 2019, I'd have to say Conforto is best positioned to pick up however much of the mantle deGrom isn't gripping.

[Edgy MD]

I have no doubt that Gooden opens 1987 as the FotF, if he didn't open 1987 as a resident of the Smithers Clinic.



As for guys who carried the banner for Wright when he was on extended leave, you can't understate the work of Curtis Granderson in the role. I can't imagine what it's like to play host to a gravely ill child, living out what may be his or her last wish in being a Met for a day, and you know the kid's heart was set on Wright, and you've got to be so gracious as to coach him or her through the disappointment and still give Junior the best day he or she may ever have.



I'm struggling to get my batting average above .230 and while my teammates are getting ready for the battle I'm supposed to be delighted to be a kid's consolation prize? And yet he took up Wright's slack with such grace and enthusiasm, I imagine no family left even slightly disappointed.

[G-Fafif]

Having witnessed it up close a few times, I feel comfortable asserting Grandy was as good as it got at thrilling kids of all ages with his attention, including posing for selfies while also being the on-deck batter. In general, the portion of 2015 that was sans Captain felt like the Curtis and Daniel Show before and after games, Curtis before, Daniel after. It was suggested in their mutual prime that had baseball been more like hockey, David would have worn the C, Murph the A.

[Edgy MD]

=kcmets post_id=2700 time=1549837913 user_id=53]
Carter was always in front of the camera regardless of another 0-4. Called

him Camera Carter when I wasn't calling Pop-up Carter. He was FotF for sure,

but it kinda drove me nuts at times.

[nymr83]

Agreed with G-Fafif, Dickey was the FotF for at least the second half of 2012 until he was traded. people LOVED that guy

[batmagadanleadoff]

Edgy MD wrote: =batmagadanleadoff post_id=2694 time=1549830954 user_id=68] =batmagadanleadoff post_id=2693 time=1549827005 user_id=68] Getouttahere with that Gary Carter crap. Did Gary come back from the dead to manipulate and whine his way into this conversation? Also, Pedro and Beltran, maybe together, for 05 and 06 as the face of Los Mets.

Why would Carter ever, even for just one season, be the FotF over Hernandez?

[nymr83]

I say we need POLLS!

[Edgy MD]

Edgy MD wrote: =batmagadanleadoff post_id=2694 time=1549830954 user_id=68] Why would Carter ever, even for just one season, be the FotF over Hernandez? He just was. I don't think it's even particularly controversial. Just as there is no doubt in my mind that Hernandez was the better player.

OK. I see where you're going with this. I re-read your original post, which admittedly, I skimmed if even that, once I saw the phrase FotF. But based on your criteria, I could now see a good case being made for Gary Carter. Great. He had better PR skills than Keith and wasn't ever involved in no coke scandals. Still a phony in my book.

[Guest 41Forever]

Edgy MD wrote: Edgy MD wrote: He just was. I don't think it's even particularly controversial. Just as there is no doubt in my mind that Hernandez was the better player. OK. I see where you're going with this. I re-read your original post, which admittedly, I skimmed if even that, once I saw the phrase FotF. But based on your criteria, I could now see a good case being made for Gary Carter. Great. He had better PR skills than Keith and wasn't ever involved in no coke scandals. Still a phony in my book. There's no doubt the Face of the Franchise role for any team is prone to phonies and semi-phonies. For more than a few, it may be the norm.

I don't think it was a phony. I think he was by nature a positive person, and recognized that it's important for some to step up and deal with the media -- the best way to connect with the fans, who are the customers. We need more Gary Carters.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

People who knew Carter for decades were never able to determine with certainty how much of Carter was Carter and how much was Carter acting like "Gary Carter."



I don;t think he ever knew

[dgwphotography]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: People who knew Carter for decades were never able to determine with certainty how much of Carter was Carter and how much was Carter acting like "Gary Carter." I don't think he ever knew

This is where I feel the need to pull out my favorite quote by any writer about any baseball player.



I think Jerry Izenberg had the best take on Gary Carter:



"Gary Carter may come off like a cliché, to the point where a lot of other players mistrust him, but the genuine article comes along so rarely it can be hard to recognize when it looks you in the eye."

[Edgy MD]

There was a sequence on The Baseball Bunch with a pre-Mets version of Gary Carter. TBB was a show meant for Carter. He gets to be surrounded by doe-eyed moppets and fill them with inspirational pablum like "Never give up, no matter what the odds!" or "Remember, it's not about you, but the TEAM!!"



But we didn't get that Gary. We got a version that ran his team of juniors like a martinet, full of sarcasm and contempt. And it was so different than any image he would even play at during his Mets years that I loved it.



If there was just a little bit more of this Gary with the Mets, Gary the Ivory Soap Salesmen might have seemed a little less unctuous and contrived.



[YOUTUBE]44Cclk61fJ4[/YOUTUBE]