Mets Hall of Fame White Group

[Guest Edgy DC]

Please pick four sheep, and banish four goats.

[Benjamin Grimm]

This one too. I'm seeing radio buttons instead of check boxes.

[TransMonk]

Only 1 selection available.

[Guest themetfairy]

Cohen, Johnson, Piazza and Valentine

This is the first category where I've voted for four candidates.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Johnson, Matlack, Piazza, Valentine.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I've been favoring older guys, and had initially selected Matlack, but Cohen has been at it 20 years, and his legacy is certainly larger.

[seawolf17]

Gary, Matlack, Piazza, Swoboda.

[Theoldmole]

And a second vote for Ron Swoboda.

[soupcan]

Johnson, Matlack, Piazza, Valentine.

[dgwphotography]

ok - I just can't continue to vote for four because I have to = it just waters down the results.

Davey and Mike are the only deserving ones here.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I assure you that the results will be narrow. Eleven people voted for Craig Swan yesterday, but he still didn't advance.

What's important to discuss here is the why as much as the who.

[G-Fafif]

Tough call, but I had to ask Gary to wait another year in deference to Ron. I'm sure he'd understand. Davey, Mike and Bobby were easy.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'd like to hear the case for Ron fleshed out a little before I pull the trigger on him. Is a vote for Swoboda a tacit vote for Endy Chavez? Why or why not?

[RealityChuck]

Johnson, Piazza, Valentine, and, of course, Swoboda.

[bmfc1]

Instead of Webb, I voted for a picture of a woman in the stands, watching the game that we're supposed to be watching, with her hands clenched over her mouth.

[G-Fafif]

Instead of Webb, I voted for a picture of a woman in the stands, watching the game that we're supposed to be watching, with her hands clenched over her mouth.[/quote:55dbkzzu]

HoF BoC!

[Guest Swan Swan H]

I'm with Grimm and Soup. Johnson, Matlack, Piazza, Bobby V.

[metirish]

I googled Matlack



Jonathan Trumpbour Matlack , what a middle name that is.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Johnson, Matlack, Piazza, Valentine.[/quote:objf7obr]

Johnson: Winningest manager in Mets history. Also managed more games than any Mets manager. Managed one of two World Championships. Only Mets manager ever to finish in first place twice. Helped set the tone (and the attitude) that made the 1986 Mets legendary.

Matlack: Not one of the stronger candidate, but he stuck around long enough to be solidly in the second tier of Mets pitchers (after the first tier of Seaver, Koosman, Gooden) and a major contributor to the near-World Champion team of 1973. Also one of only four to win the Rookie of the Year.

Piazza: Easy choice. Second all-time in homers, behind Strawberry. A huge factor in making the Mets relevant again, and the leading force behind those back-to-back wild cards.

Valentine: One of only two Mets managers to reach the postseason more than once, and one of only four to reach the World Series. Smart, innovative, fun, and he got results. Also, one of only two men to manage more than 1,000 Mets games. (Although, in Bobby's case, he just barely reached that plateau.)

[G-Fafif]

I didn't vote for him in this round due to the strong competition (how did two deserving managers wind up in the same bracket?) but Matlack should eventually get the nod. Once he was established, which was pretty quickly, the pecking order wasn't so much Seaver, Koosman, Matlack as it was Seaver, Matlack, Koosman. There's a great Sport magazine piece published after the season ended in '77 that gave me the impression Jon wasn't particularly enamored of Tom, even in the wake of Tom's departure. I'd slot him in there on the Darling-Fernandez tier of Met starters, maybe an inch down given the shorter tenure, but he was explosive in his day.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Interestingly (and accidentally, I assure you), only white guys in the white group.

[metirish]

Where's Howie Rose?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Knocked out on the first ballot.

[metirish]

Yet Cohen survives......

[Guest Edgy DC]

Indeed.

Rose finished in sixth place in his first-ballot group with six votes.

Cohen finished in third place in his, with sixteen.

[Valadius]

Cohen, Johnson, Matlack, Piazza.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Piazza, Johnson, Valentine, and Matlack.

[Guest Kong76]

Davey
Matlack
Piazza
Valentine

[Piggiestomatoes]

Johnson, Swoboda, Piazza, Valentine

[ashie62]

Johnson,Swoboda,Piazza,Bobby V