Mets All Time Team

[Guest themetfairy]

D-Dad and I were at the Mets All Time Team event at the 92nd Street Y. The format was simple - Gary Cohen, Howie Rose and Kevin Burkhardt hosted the event. They named the top Met at each position, and that player came out and talked to the guys for a few minutes. Then at the end there was a Q&A. It'll be edited down to two hours and shown on SNY on Thursday evening.

Here is the team, as chosen by the committee -

1B - Keith Hernandez
2B - Edgardo Alfonzo
3B - David Wright
SS - Jose Reyes (who accepted via video)
C - Mike Piazza (a no show - strange!)
LF - Cleon Jones (surprisingly entertaining!)
CF -Carlos Beltran (who accepted via video, and apologized for not playing better due to injuries during his Mets tenure)
RF - Darryl Strawberry
RHP Reliever - Roger McDowell (who accepted via video)
LHP Reliever - Tug McGraw (represented by his brother Hank and son Mark. Plus Tim had a video presentation)
LHP Starter - Kooz
RHP Starter - The Franchise (who must have been imbibing backstage, because he was VERY talkative onstage!)
Manager - Davey Johnson (who accepted via video).

My only quibble was with the choice of manager - when you hear these guys talk from the heart about what Gil Hodges did for them, you realize that the early Mets could never have transformed into World Champs without him.

My favorite moment of the night was when the preshow entertainer (from the 92nd Street Y) wanted the crowd to do the wave, and the crowd refused

It's not very often that you get to attend a Mets lovefest with these kinds of dignitaries in the house, and it was a really special evening.

[Benjamin Grimm]

The Daily News had a special pull-out section in the paper today.

Strange to see a baseball pull-out section that wasn't about the Yankees. I can only imagine that somebody got fired over this.

[Edgy MD]

Johnson is certainly a defensible choice, given the unfortunate shortness of Hodges' tenure, but these are supposed to be hard choices.

Nice to see Cleon get his day. Folks typically forget about Cle' when doing these things.

[Ceetar]

Edgy DC wrote: Johnson is certainly a defensible choice, given the unfortunate shortness of Hodges' tenure, but these are supposed to be hard choices. Nice to see Cleon get his day. Folks typically forget about Cle' when doing these things.

Except when packing sweet potatoes or eating pizza anyway ;-)

[metirish]

Fonzie looks great , I think he is one of those players that with the passage of time he is more and more appreciated for the player he was and person he is.(not that he wasn't appreciated)

[Vic Sage]

This is pretty close to the results of our own exercises on this topic, no?
Yeah for Cleon over the Little Rock **********.

[Guest themetfairy]

I agree that Davey is a defensible choice, but in the grand scheme of Mets history I think that Gil would have been the better choice.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Dividing pitchers by lefty-righty always seems odd to me. It's not like it is a different position, and you could have an all-righty or all-lefty bullpen or rotation.

That's my long about way of saying that it seems odd to have McDowell on the team and not Jesse Orosco or John Franco.

Also, does this lead to Fonzie's eventually induction in the Mets Hall? McDowell, too?

[Edgy MD]

I imagine they'll both have their day. Fonzie, certainly.

By the way, I shouldn't let this pass without a big BOOOOOOOOOO for selecting McDowell over Benitez. The Mets PR people would do well to facilitate the rehabilitation of Benitiez' image among Mets fans.

[G-Fafif]

11 of the 13 choices seem, per non-voting committee member Mona Lisa Vito in My Cousin Vinny, dead-on balls accurate, Tug in particular being an inspired choice given what relief pitching necessitated in his day versus Franco's. McDowell had less upside than Benitez but way less downside. I'd probably grade on upside alone, but I'm not going to argue too vociferously against a world champion whose 5 IP made that World Series occur (or for the occasionally underestimated Benitez, whose late-inning implosions retain their pungency nine years since he left).

Davey deserves Most Successful Manager honors. Gil, though...I was in on a small gaggle talking to Cleon Jones Friday night and to paraphrase Joe Biden as regarded Rudy Giuliani in 2008, every sentence was a noun, a verb and "Gil Hodges," which seemed to reflect everything you've ever heard anybody who played for him say of him. I'm wildly pro-Davey as a rule (even in a bleeping Nationals warmup jacket)...but geez...Gil...y'know?

[Centerfield]

There is no doubt that Benitez was a better pitcher than Roger McDowell.

Just as there is no doubt that Benitez will ever win any sort of poll involving Mets fans. Ever.

[metirish]

Centerfield wrote: There is no doubt that Benitez was a better pitcher than Roger McDowell. Just as there is no doubt that Benitez will ever win any sort of poll involving Mets fans. Ever.

well, unfortunately he would "win" in most hated, worst closer poll.

not from me mind,

[G-Fafif]

Centerfield wrote: Just as there is no doubt that Benitez will ever win any sort of poll involving Mets fans. Ever.

Probably not, but this vote was from a panel consisting of Howie, Gary, Marty Noble, Mike Vaccaro, John Harper and Mike Lupica.

[Met Hunter]

Edgy DC wrote: I imagine they'll both have their day. Fonzie, certainly. By the way, I shouldn't let this pass without a big BOOOOOOOOOO for selecting McDowell over Benitez. The Mets PR people would do well to facilitate the rehabilitation of Benitiez' image among Mets fans.

Totally agree with this^. Ive talked to Benitez as he's made his rounds around independant leagues in the area and he can't understand why fans are so anti-Benitez. He wasn't perfect, but he's got twice as many saves as McDowell.

[Frayed Knot]

Edgy DC wrote: Nice to see Cleon get his day. Folks typically forget about Cle' when doing these things.

Was it the 40th anniversary fan-vote team that had Dykstra out in LF rather then Jones?
Clearly favorites play largely into these things.

[G-Fafif]

Frayed Knot wrote: Edgy DC wrote: Nice to see Cleon get his day. Folks typically forget about Cle' when doing these things. Was it the 40th anniversary fan-vote team that had Dykstra out in LF rather then Jones? Clearly favorites play largely into these things.

Yup. The OF was selected ASG style w/o regard for positions.

[G-Fafif]

Changes from 40th (fan vote) to 50th (panel):

SS -- Buddy to Jose
3B -- HoJo to David
OF -- Mookie and Lenny out, Cleon and Carlos in
LHRP -- Franco to Tug
MGR -- Gil to Davey

Also 40th team included Rusty and Krane as PHs.

[metirish]

Also 40th team included Rusty and Krane as PHs.

current version would include Hairston.......j/k

[Frayed Knot]

G-Fafif wrote: Changes from 40th (fan vote) to 50th (panel): SS -- Buddy to Jose 3B -- HoJo to David OF -- Mookie and Lenny out, Cleon and Carlos in LHRP -- Franco to Tug MGR -- Gil to Davey

All worthy updates IMO which reflects increased knowledge via the passage of time and/or a better voting process.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

G-Fafif wrote: Centerfield wrote: Just as there is no doubt that Benitez will ever win any sort of poll involving Mets fans. Ever. Probably not, but this vote was from a panel consisting of Howie, Gary, Marty Noble, Mike Vaccaro, John Harper and Mike Lupica.

"Okay, yeah, okay, I guess, wait-what, wait-seriously?"

-Me, reading those names

[Frayed Knot]

G-Fafif wrote: Centerfield wrote: Just as there is no doubt that Benitez will ever win any sort of poll involving Mets fans. Ever. Probably not, but this vote was from a panel consisting of Howie, Gary, Marty Noble, Mike Vaccaro, John Harper and Mike Lupica.

Always got the impression that Gary was never a Benitez supporter. He buys into the whole "never came through when you needed it" mantra as much as many of the fans do.
Not surprising perhaps considering that he's also heavily into the Jeter/clutch connection.

[Edgy MD]

'Zackly.

[Zvon]

For those who don't get The Daily News here are some images associated with the Mets All-Time Team.

[Edgy MD]

Wright looks like a threat to all that is decent.

Darryl looks drunk off his ass.

[Frayed Knot]

Those aren't Bruce Stark caricatures, that's for sure.

[G-Fafif]

It's a little stark...

[Zvon]

I should have included the artists name in the post. Thats by Ed Murawinski. Doesn't capture their likenesses as perfectly as Stark did, but still very nice work.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Not liking that David is in the black cap, either! Really looks out of place.

[Zvon]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Not liking that David is in the black cap, either! Really looks out of place.

It does. And he definitely looks demented.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Come on guys, this is pretty good work.