Consistency

[Theoldmole]

From today's Times:

]The 23-year-old Hernandez has impressed Mets officials with his range, energy and consistency as a hitter. He went 1 for 18 in a late September call-up last season...

Now, that's what I call consistency. Just that one little blemish...

[metirish]

This form an un-named scout in the Daily News today...

] As Kaz Matsui's sprained knee ligament mends, the Mets figure to get a quality look at Anderson Hernandez. The 23-year-old rookie has a flashy glove, but will need to prove he can handle big-league pitching. If he struggles, the Mets can always demote him when Matsui regains his health. SCOUT'S REPORT: "A real good-looking young player. I would have no reservations about him opening up as the second baseman."

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

MLB.com had an article handicapping the Rookie of the Year races, and, as usual, no Mets were mentioned.

At least this year they'll have a couple of eligible dark horse candidates in Bannister and the energetic Hernandez. Makes me wonder, though, who was the last Met to get a Rookie-of-the-Year vote? Gregg Jefferies in 1988 maybe?

[Guest sharpie]

Wigginton and Reyes each got one vote in '03.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Jefferies actually got support in 1989 as well.

Jason Isringhausen was fourth in 1995. One of the forgotten Met rookie standouts.

[Guest sharpie]

And Matsui (amazingly) got one in '04.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Cool! Are you guys getting this from memory, or is there somewhere that it can be looked up?

[Guest sharpie]

http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/roy_rol.shtml

[Guest Edgy DC]

I remembered Isringhausen and Jefferies, but I confirmed Izzy's fourth-placedness at basebal-reference.com.

It was a seriously distant tie for fourth.

[Guest sharpie]

I had remembered the Reyes/Wigginton vote but not the Matsui vote.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Not remembered: Dallas Green got three points in the 1995 Manager of the Year vote.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

I tend to think that this one should have gone the other way:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1968.shtml#NLroy

[Frayed Knot]

I often wondered if Koosman didn't suffer from a kind of "Seaver backlash" -- as in; 'yeah we gave that award to a NYM pitcher last year so let's go in a different direction this year' kinda thing.
Seaver, of course, had won the RoY the year before.

In '75 Seaver beat out SD's Randy Jones for CY in a vote that probably should have been closer than it was. Then, in '76, Jones thumped Koosman despite seriously stumbling down the stretch in a vote that I always suspected was partly based on Jones's great first half and partly based on a "make up" vote from the previous year.

[Guest sharpie]

I was so so so mad in '68 when Koosman didn't win. After Seaver won in '67 I felt it was our right to corner that award.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

I don't remember 1968 (I got on board in 1971) but it was neat to win back-to-back rookie awards in 1983 and 1984.

The Mets haven't won a major post-season award since 1985! They're way overdue. I'd love to see them get that first MVP. (I'd rather see them have an MVP than a no-hitter.)

[Willets Point]

I'd rather see a World Series flag than an MVP.

[MFS62]

Edgy DC wrote: Not remembered: Dallas Green got three points in the 1995 Manager of the Year vote.

They held the election in a crack house? IMO those votes prove that the use of drugs wasn't only limited to the players.

Later

[Guest Bret Sabermetric]

sharpie wrote: I was so so so mad in '68 when Koosman didn't win. After Seaver won in '67 I felt it was our right to corner that award.

Hard to argue with Johnny Bench. Also don't forget it was the Year of the Pitcher, making Koos' stats look better and Bench's look worse.. Objectively, it was the right call.

Subjectively, I howled at the moon for two weeks after ROTY was announced.

[Guest Edgy DC]

By the way, despite that poorly-expreseed paragraph Mole references in the first post in this thread, that Times article on Hernandez is a good read --- if too close to the type of stuff you'll usually get this time of year about rookies breaking camp with the team. I've got twenty-five Crane Pool Bucks for anyone who can post a 1979 profile of Kelvin Chapman.

I looked myself for a bit. Spring 1979 was an ugly time. I just found a report of Bobby Valentine's release. Did you know he responded to the news by calling a press conference? If a released backup infielder on the 1979 Mets calls a press conference, how many press guys turn up?

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

I remember that! He blasted Joe Torre for not giving him a chance. I think it was his criticism of the manager that caused the press conference to get attention.

I recall thinking what a jerk Valentine was, and that that would be the last we'd see or hear of him. Guess I was wrong!

[Guest Edgy DC]

He went 1-11 that spring.

[RealityChuck]

sharpie wrote: I was so so so mad in '68 when Koosman didn't win. After Seaver won in '67 I felt it was our right to corner that award.

Even worse: Koosman lost because one writer split his vote between Koosman and Bench, giving a half vote each (check the voting: the numbers don't add up to the Max points). If that writer had voted for Koosman, it would have been a tie.

But the choice of Bench was probably the correct one.

[Guest sharpie]

Doesn't mean my 10-year-old self had to like the result.

[Gwreck]

Jay Payton finished 3rd in ROY balloting in 2000, including one 1st place vote.