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Mets who you thought would be better

m8644

By m8644
in New York Mets Talk

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m8644

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Posted
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Topic speaks for itself.....Who are some Mets who you thought would have a better career in the orange and blue? This doesnt mean you thought the guy would be a top player, just have a better career here than they ending up having. Not necessarily stars or top prospects either, any kind of player will do.



Some that come to mind on my end....(This list will not include the super obvious answers like Alomar, Jefferies or Generation K)



-Bruce Berenyi (injuries destroyed his career here, but he had one of the best sliders in the league when healthy)

-Kevin Elster (slick fielder as advertised but never, ever developed as a hitter here, not even a little)

-Keith Miller (never thought he'd be close to a star, but definitely expected a super utility type who could hit better than he actually did in reality)

-Frank Viola (Had a couple of good seasons here, but faded badly in both 90 and 91 after excellent starts. Local guy who I really thought would be here for longer after the trade)

-Butch Huskey (had a few decent moments here, but never played well enough for any period of time. Easy guy to root for, but sadly left wanting more)

-Rico Brogna (after his hot finish in 95, really thought the Mets found their next 1st baseman. Thankfully Olerud came over in 1997)

-Derek Wallace (big time relief prospect who showed flashes but then got hurt and disappeared)

-Jay Payton (Good in 2000, but even with good bat to ball skills, never could hit with us for some reason after that)

-Grant Roberts (at worst, I thought he'd be a quality reliever if he failed as a starter)

-Matt Lawton (Good OBP guy who I thought was just what the top of the lineup needed in the Rick Reed trade, played here for 2 months and left)



I know there's a lot more but I stopped around the early 2000's here


MFS62 First Round Pick

MFS62

Old-Timey Member
Posted
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Since I saw them homer in the same game, I'll pair them as my answer:

Victor Diaz and Craig Brazell.



Later


Johnny Lunchbucket Draft Eligible

Johnny Lunchbucket

Old-Timey Member
Posted
Posted


I like to think everyone the Mets get could be awesome so 90% of ballplayers miss my unreasonable best hopes but I'm also realistic. I think some of the guys in the first list did well with what they had (Berenyi for example. Any pitcher would be better if they were injury free but I wouldn't consider getting injured an engine driving disappointment)



With all that said the Mets didn't do Josh Thole many favors but coulda sworn he was a better hitter irl than he ever showed on the field.



Rosario.... Gene Clines ... Mickey Calloway ... and as harebrained a scheme as the Victor Zambrano Trade was, I believe that the scout who wanted him must have seen something.


G-Fafif College Ball

G-Fafif

Old-Timey Member
Posted
Posted


Benjamin Grimm wrote:

http://leaptoad.com/mets/cards/JasonBay1975.jpg>


I overheard two discrete conversations at Citi Field last week complaining about Jason Bay, a mere 10 years since his departure from said premises.


Edgy MD FCL Mets

Edgy MD

Site Manager
Posted
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In the great list of old, previously productive leftfielders who didn't have much left when they reached the Mets, it's fun that one (Bay) came with the brand of being a recommended José Reyes buddy and another (Michael Cuddyer) came with the brand of being a recommended David Wright buddy. Fillial relations are a cool thing, as long as you hit and everything.



If you add rightfielders, Shawn Green came with the brand of being a recommended Carlos Delgado buddy.



Willie Randolph's Mets had disappointing friends.


Gwreck Draft Eligible

Gwreck

Old-Timey Member
Posted
Posted


I was underwhelmed by all of the 5-tool Mets outfield prospects:

Ryan Thompson

Alex Ochoa

Alex Escobar

Lastings Milledge

Fernando Martinez



I've also think I've been underwhelmed by every prospect the Mets have acquired via trade since about 1990 (other than Syndergaard and Wheeler).


MFS62 First Round Pick

MFS62

Old-Timey Member
Posted
Posted (edited)


My favorite couldabeen was an infielder named Enrique Cruz.

They signed him as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic after he had led his CR league with 47 home runs in around 250 at bats.

Let those words sink in 47 home runs in around 250 (IIRC, it was 257) at bats.

He played shortstop and I thought that even if he was a grotesque fielder they'd find some place to play him.

He never developed as well or as quickly as I had hoped, was selected by another team in the Rule V Draft.

He made it to the majors with Milwaukee (60 games in 2003), filtered through the Texas organization and emerged for one game for Cincy in 2007.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cruzen01.shtmlhttps://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cruzen01.shtml



Also, in 1963 MLB held a special draft to help out the expansion teams they had screwed over the year before.

In the major league portion the Mets got starter Jack Fisher. we knew what we were getting. But they also drafted a slugging first baseman named Bill Haas, who had torn up two lower level leagues in his first two years. I had high hopes for him and we got bupkis.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=haas--001wilhttps://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=haas--001wil



MAN, those scouting reports for both guys looked good.

Sigh



Later


Edited by Guest
Edgy MD FCL Mets

Edgy MD

Site Manager
Posted
Posted


Man, I remember Amblood being a Jorge Toca true believer.


=Gwreck post_id=95202 time=1654634664 user_id=56]I've also think I've been underwhelmed by every prospect the Mets have acquired via trade since about 1990 (other than Syndergaard and Wheeler).

Chad ochoseis College Ball

Chad ochoseis

Old-Timey Member
Posted
Posted


Hey, welcome m8644.



In retrospect, this is going to make me look like a complete doofus, but when I was a kid, my favorite non-Met was Joe Torre. He could hit for a high average back in the Pitcher's Golden Age. He could catch and throw. He was a funny guy. He was from Marine Park, which was basically Sheepshead Bay - my neighborhood - except Italian rather than Jewish.



Then, when I was 10, the Mets traded for him. For one day, I was the happiest kid in the world. The Mets were finally gonna get an MVP trophy to put next to all the Cy Youngs (ok, only two, but when I was 10, it was obvious that a Met would always win a Cy Young, and that no Met would ever hit .300). I got my mom to iron a 9 on the back of my Mets t-shirt.



And, well, boy howdy, did Joe Torre suck as a Met. I'm looking at BBRef now and apparently he hit .306 in 310 ABs in 1976, but that has been expunged from my memory. As far as I know, he stepped up to the plate no fewer than 3000 times in the mid-seventies and bounced to third on every single at-bat.



I think the disappointment still haunts me. Everything I do, every decision I make, every relationship I get into...heck, every IGT I start, a little voice inside my head whispers "get ready for disappointment, Chad, my boy...you remember Joe Torre in 1975, right?"



Joe Torre. Joe Freaking Torre.


MFS62 First Round Pick

MFS62

Old-Timey Member
Posted
Posted


Chad, that was beautiful, man.

and yes, a hearty welcome to m8644.



Later


RealityChuck Prep Ball

RealityChuck

Old-Timey Member
Posted
Posted


Mike Vail. Came up looking like a star, so good that they traded away Rusty Staub. Big mistake.



Don Bosch, though Bosch himself thought he wasn't as good as advertised.



I expected more for Jim Fregosi. He was on a potential HOF track until traded to the Mets.



Sean Fitzmaurice, mostly because he had a great name.


nymr83 Prep Ball

nymr83

Old-Timey Member
Posted
Posted


Willets Point wrote:

Roberto Petagine. I saw him breaking records down in Norfolk and couldn't figure out why he wasn't being called up. I suppose he was the ultimate AAAA hitter.


that is a good one!



Petagine would achieve the AAAA players' dream and dominate the Japanese league (is that AAAAA?) for a few seasons.


Edgy MD FCL Mets

Edgy MD

Site Manager
Posted
Posted


He was a favorite of data crunchers, always lamenting the lack of opportunities he got in the bigs, despite an auspicious minor league résumé.


roger_that College Ball

roger_that

Old-Timey Member
Posted
Posted


Edgy MD wrote:

He was a favorite of data crunchers, always lamenting the lack of opportunities he got in the bigs, despite an auspicious minor league résumé.


Bet you guys didn't know you were posting on his 51st birthday: https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=petagi001robhttps://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=petagi001rob



Those minor league stats look very tasty. Usually that OBP carries over to the major league handily, which is very tasty indeed.


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