Top 50

[Guest Edgy DC]

Amazin' Avenue is another blog taking up the job of ranking the top Mets. They're doing it mid-season, so I have no problem seeing Tom Glavine and David Wright ranked a little higher by them than by us, as we're scheduled to bump them up at the end of the year.

They have the typical distinction from us, giving high-profile playoff-era players more credit, while we give longtimers more.

Are we really under-selling Kevin Elster that much?

They Say	Player	We Say	Abs. Diff.
50	Rey Ordonez	87	37

[metirish]

They look way off to me,Backman at # 37,placed here at # 55 which is a big difference.Bobby Jones placed higher here but not there,just two of the names that jumped out at me.

[Guest Edgy DC]

They have a pretty good summary of Backman's career here, rich with period quotes:

http://www.amazinavenue.com/story/2007/7/25/0345/89991

They miss some key points, including most of the facts about his platooning:

1) He played mostly third base for the Tides in 1983.

2) Backman's breakthrough season in 1984, he was platooning with another breakthrough minor-leaguer in Kelvin Chapman.

3) His statistical dip in 1985 can, at least in part, be attributed to Chapman's failures that year putting him against more lefthanders.

4) Tim Teufel was acquired specifically to take up the slack Chapman (and Larry Bowa) left against lefties, not to compete directly with Backman.

5) Teufel was all-world in 1987, while Backman had his worst year, but Johnson didn't give up on him.

It's a little too heavy on OPS+ and light on the historical facts, but I like to see thw quotes. it's his platoon status that keeps us from ranking him higher.