Franchise Icons

[Centerfield]

Define it as you see fit. How many have we had?

For me:

Tom Seaver

Darryl Strawberry

Dwight Gooden

David Wright

Pete Alonso

[MFS62]

If you don't just mean players, I would add Gil Hodges to that list.

Later

[Centerfield]

Just players.

I get that Gil and Casey meant a lot to the organization. I don’t consider them icons and I don’t think their numbers should be retired.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'd add Keith and Piazza.

[MFS62]

Just players.

I get that Gil and Casey meant a lot to the organization. I don’t consider them icons and I don’t think their numbers should be retired.

You said "how we define it" and did not specify players only or anything about retiring numbers.

I define an icon as someone who is idolized or adored.

Gil fits.

Later

[Cowtipper]

Joe DePastino.

[Edgy MD]

I think the numbers at the top of the stadium should be the answer.

Obviously, there is disagreement on the worthiness of some of the numbers, but I think retiring the number is literally the establishment of the iconography of the team.

The most literal definition of icon isn't the person with the status, but the visual representation of the person, symbolically or representationally, with the status bestowed upon them.

[Cowtipper]

These are the big five as mentioned:

Tom Seaver

Darryl Strawberry

Dwight Gooden

David Wright

Pete Alonso

Piazza, too. Keith is interesting, because he spent so much time with the Cards that I actually think of him as a Cardinal first sometimes.

When I think of 'icons,' I think of players one (positively) thinks of when one thinks 'Mets,' so I'd probably add Mookie, Tommie Agee and perhaps even Johan Santana to the list, because of the no-hitter.

[The Hot Corner]

My Mets Icons:

Tom Seaver

David Wright

Pete Alonso

Darryl Strawberry

Dwight Gooden

Mike Piazza

Keith Hernandez (gets a boost to his Mets pedigree with his many years in the booth)

[metsmarathon]

Doc & Darryl are a singular entry.

[kcmets]

Geez, Koosman and Tug too? Rusty? Krane? Franco?

Bonilla?

[Cowtipper]

Maybe Lee Mazzilli.

[Gwreck]

Seaver.

That’s the list. And I say that as someone who was too young to have even seen him pitch for the Mets.

[Fman99]

This is my list.

Tom Seaver

Darryl Strawberry

Dwight Gooden

David Wright

Mike Piazza

Pete Alonso

[kcmets]

I was joking about Bonilla, for those with no sense of humor.

Edgardo Alfonso? Bud Harrelson?

[Frayed Knot]

So, number retirement ceremonies for everyone mentioned above, right?

Plus Nimmo, Lindor, McNeil, ...

[MFS62]

I'll add Al Jackson, my favorite all-time Met. He was my iconic Met.

In 2021 he was awarded the Mets Lifetime Achievement Award for his 50 years of service to the franchise.

Later

[Benjamin Grimm]

I suppose everyone sets the bar for iconicship (perhaps not a word) at a different level. Gwreck has it very high, only Tom Seaver meets the standard.

Merriam-Webster says:

 

a: widely recognized and well-established

an iconic brand name

b: widely known and acknowledged especially for distinctive excellence

an iconic writer

a region's iconic wines

 

Seaver, the guy with the statue, certainly qualifies. I think you can make a reasonable argument against everyone else.

The step below "icon" is probably "legend".

Here's the definition:

 

d: a person or thing that inspires legends

 

Okay, that's not particularly helpful. Let's reference definition a.

 

a: a story coming down from the past

 

Mike Piazza, with his September 2001 home run, is a legend. Mookie Wilson, October 25, 1986. Legend. Robin Ventura and his Grand Slam Single.

And it doesn't have to be particular moments. Casey Stengel and Gil Hodges have been dead for more than a half century and they're still part of Mets lore. Koosman, Darryl, Keith, Doc, Alfonzo, Alonso, deGrom. All legends.

I think I'm with Gwreck. Seaver's an icon. Many others are legends. And that's still a significant thing.

[Edgy MD]

If you believe Steven Travers' thesis (and I don't know why you wouldn't), Mets iconography not only ended with Tom Seaver, but perhaps baseball iconography, American iconography, and global iconography as well.

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