Who Am I? & The Dedication & Re-creation of Butterball Field

[batmagadanleadoff]

This ex-Met never pitched for the Royals, and only had nine future innings pitched left in his tank by the time he got to Kansas City.

[G-Fafif]

Is the pitcher in Met blue John Glass?

[batmagadanleadoff]

Is the pitcher in Met blue John Glass?

Some commentary:

Excerpt from a June, 2011 Marty Noble piece:

But what wrongs have the Mets committed to justify what has happened to them over the years -- no, over the decades -- in terms of injury and extended disability? From Steve Chilcott to Jay Payton to Fernando Martinez, the Mets have strained, sprained and generally been lamed so often that their list of prospects and their disabled lists can't always be distinguished from each other. And the cause of the ongoing, multistage calamity has been what exactly? Was it the Cooters Incident of 1986 that somehow undermined the team retroactively and subsequently? Was it Cleon Jones in the van? Bret Saberhagen and the bleach? Vince Coleman and the firecracker? Coleman and the golf club? Not pursuing Alex Rodriguez? Losing Seaver the second time? Or has some darker transgression caused the litany of misfortune which seems to be a part of the franchise's DNA. Bumper stickers and T-shirts have told us for years that stuff happens. The folks who produced such merchandise must have had box seats at Shea Stadium and ticket stubs from 1962 and been inspired by what they witnessed. Long before the turn-your-stomach news about Ike Davis was delivered Wednesday night -- his bone bruise isn't healing and microfracture surgery has been mentioned -- the Mets had a pitching prospect named John Glass who was considered Ryan-comparable. Indeed, the photo archives at Newsday once included a shot of Glass and Ryan holding baseballs that had been purposely scorched by a blow torch -- no Photoshop available then -- and Gil Hodges in the background, smiling as if it were 1955. Glass broke down in the 1968 instructional league before he was selected by the unwitting Expos in the Expansion Draft and flamed out. He was one who passed all but unnoticed, and every club has some -- maybe more -- of them. But that sort of shooting-star presence or something akin to it seems to be standard operating procedure for this franchise -- Tim Leary, Paul Wilson, Bill Pulsipher, Jason Isringhausen, Payton. Has anyone seen Alex Escobar and Martinez in the same room at the same time? Sean Johnston was one of the eight players the Mets selected in the first 98 picks of the 1994 Draft. He allowed no hits in his first 10 professional innings. Two years later, he was one of 17 players who had undergone Tommy John surgery while in the Mets' employ. And Payton's elbow was cut twice.

http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110622&content_id=20899238&c_id=nym&vkey=news_nym

And some blog comments analogizing Glass to Noah Syndergaard in order to criticize the RA Dickey trade:

From Paul's Random Baseball Stuff:

Well, let me spoil the parade. Mazzilli was never ANYTHING other than a New York kid. He wasn�t ever Cy Young (or MVP) material. Hell, he didn�t even have much of a career, when all is said and done. When the Mets traded Mazz, I cheered. Because they traded a pretty much mediocre position player for two solid young arms. I�ve also seen some compare this [Dickey] trade to the Gary Carter trade. Hogwash! Carter was an established star that the Mets got for a couple of spare parts. If anything this is the Carter trade in reverse. Both D�Arnaud and Syndergaard already have huge holes in their games. This isn�t the Zack Wheeler trade, either. Wheeler has a full arsenal and was pretty much major league ready when he was drafted. Syndergaard has one pitch. At best, he�s John Glass. Remember him? Yeah, I didn�t think so. When you trade position players for young arms, THAT�S a plan. When you trade a Cy Young winner for a position player who is already out of position (They�ll have to put him at first within a year or two. If anything, he�s a better fit as a DH) and a one-pitch Single-A pitcher, THAT�S a salary dump. Nothing more, nothing less. Had they traded Wright to stock up on young arms, much as I like David, I could get behind that. And then the trade of Dickey makes more sense. The Mets moves this off-season are the moves of a team without any plan whatsoever�other than keeping some fannies in the seats watching Wright as they stumble forward for the next 7 years hoping for a miracle. The Mets could have had an ace pitcher at a bargain price. Instead, they tossed him away for a handful of �magic beans�. You know it�s a bad deal when every Mets fan who favors it talks about how much fun it will be to see Dickey pitch at Yankee Stadium. This was not a �necessary gamble�. This was a foolish, foolish throwing away of a huge asset. May God have mercy on their souls.

http://randombaseballstuff.com/2012/12/17/dickey-trade-is-a-necessary-gamble-for-the-mets-future/

And from Mets By The Numbers: If I Had A Hammer:

Bad move Submitted by FatJack (not verified) on Tue, 01/08/2013 - 6:24pm. History says trading a newly minted Cy Young Award winner (or even one several seasons removed) is a colossal blunder as you NEVER get equal value in return. Dickey is a knuckleballer; his age is absolutely irrelevant. D'Arnaud is (purposely) untested at the major league level and, as a young catcher, it should raise red flags that he's already missed significant time due to back and knee injuries. Syndergaard is a one-pitch pitcher. Single-A hitters report that he tips his other pitches, which are mediocre to begin with. It's one thing if a scout or coach says he's tipping his pitches, quite another when that comes from Single-A hitters. Sure, he can still strike out those Single-A hitters with his fastball. But, as a young pitcher with only his fastball to rely on, he's bound for Tommy John surgery long before he reaches the Show. Can you say John Glass? Buck is ancient and, most likely, a manager in training more than a catcher of the present. I think Mike Nickeas could outhit him at this point. It's true, the Mets have many needs and aren't (and weren't) going anywhere for the next few years. But you build a ballclub by trading Carlos Beltrans for Zack Wheelers, not by trading a Cy Young winner for a damaged catching prospect. Had Dickey brought back 3 or 4 quality young arms, I'd say fine. But the Mets tossed a Cy Young winner on the scrap heap (mind you, a Cy Young winner who was asking less than Ryan Dempster received and less than Edwin Jackson received) for a handful of magic beans. History will not be kind to this move.

http://www.mbtn.net/if-i-had-hammer

[batmagadanleadoff]

This ex Met ended his major league career as a member of the White Sox, pitching 13 innings for the Pale Hose. There is no Topps card of him as a Met, but his lone White Sox card depicts him in an untouched Mets home uniform. If he lasted another season, The Man From Topps had the goods.

[G-Fafif]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: This ex-Met never pitched for the Royals, and only had nine future innings pitched left in his tank by the time he got to Kansas City.

Dennis Ribant, whose shutout with 10 K's in his second ML start -- the first Met to file such a feat -- earned him Happiest Recap Game No. 28.

[batmagadanleadoff]

This one's another toughie: the odd uniform number might throw you off. The Man From Topps photographed this former Met during his inaugural pre-rookie rookie season, when the young September call-up wore the unfamiliar #57.

Edited September 4, 2013 by Guest

[G-Fafif]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: This ex Met ended his major league career as a member of the White Sox, pitching 13 innings for the Pale Hose. There is no Topps card of him as a Met, but his lone White Sox card depicts him in an untouched Mets home uniform. If he lasted another season, The Man From Topps had the goods.

Hard-hittin' Gerry Arrigo.

[G-Fafif]

This one's another toughie: the odd uniform number might throw you off. The Man From Topps photographed this former Met during his inaugural pre-rookie rookie season, when the youngster wore the unfamiliar #57.

Surely you Kid...

[batmagadanleadoff]

Take a bow.

[G-Fafif]

Crazy fun alternate reality pictures. Except they were taken, so I guess they're actual reality. But still.

[batmagadanleadoff]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: This ex-Met never pitched for the Royals, and only had nine future innings pitched left in his tank by the time he got to Kansas City.

Not only did Ribant not throw a pitch for the Royals, but he was gone before the seaon even started. Still, Ribant actually appeared on a Topps card as a Royal. I guess he's Kansas City's Jerry Robertson.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

This one's another toughie: the odd uniform number might throw you off. The Man From Topps photographed this former Met during his inaugural pre-rookie rookie season, when the youngster wore the unfamiliar #57. Surely you Kid...

I believe Carter is pictured wearing 57 in his first Topps bb card, captured in mid-swing

[batmagadanleadoff]

I believe Carter is pictured wearing 57 in his first Topps bb card, captured in mid-swing

He is. More from the Mets-Expos connection:



This one time Met never appeared in a game for the Expos. And though he merited attention from The Man From Topps, he never appeared on a Topps baseball card of any kind. Ever.

[Guest themetfairy]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: This one time Met never appeared in a game for the Expos. And though he merited attention from The Man From Topps, he never appeared on a Topps baseball card of any kind. Ever.

Todd Zeile?

[batmagadanleadoff]

This one-time Met with an asterisk ended up on Topps' cutting room floor as far as his Padres career was concerned. No Mets or Padres cards of this player exist. The Padres obtained him after Topps' print run was completed. His San Diego stint consisted of less than 20 at bats.

[batmagadanleadoff]

themetfairy wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: This one time Met never appeared in a game for the Expos. And though he merited attention from The Man From Topps, he never appeared on a Topps baseball card of any kind. Ever. Todd Zeile?

No, but not a bad guess. Zeile played everywhere. The Expos might be the only team he didn't play for.

[Zvon]

batmagadanleadoff wrote:

These are great pictures. Even knowing it is I can't believe this is Lockwood.

[batmagadanleadoff]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: This one-time Met with an asterisk ended up on Topps' cutting room floor as far as his Padres career was concerned. No Mets or Padres cards of this player exist. The Padres obtained him after Topps' print run was completed. His San Diego stint consisted of less than 20 at bats.

Same player. Same deal. The one-time Met with an asterisk ended his career with the Pale Red Hose, without a Topps baseball card to commemorate his last gig. But he didn't escape the attention of The Man From Topps.

[batmagadanleadoff]

A Met for most of his MLB career, he batted 47 times for the Brew Crew. He's Toppless as a Brewer.

[G-Fafif]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: This one time Met never appeared in a game for the Expos. And though he merited attention from The Man From Topps, he never appeared on a Topps baseball card of any kind. Ever. Todd Zeile? No, but not a bad guess. Zeile played everywhere. The Expos might be the only team he didn't play for.

He's been everywhere, man!

[G-Fafif]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: This one-time Met with an asterisk ended up on Topps' cutting room floor as far as his Padres career was concerned. No Mets or Padres cards of this player exist. The Padres obtained him after Topps' print run was completed. His San Diego stint consisted of less than 20 at bats. Same player. Same deal. The one-time Met with an asterisk ended his career with the Pale Red Hose, without a Topps baseball card to commemorate his last gig. But he didn't escape the attention of The Man From Topps.

The asterisk (and supporting evidence) suggests Jerry Moses, called up to the Mets in 1975 but avoiding playing before being sent on his way.

[G-Fafif]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: A Met for most of his MLB career, he batted 47 times for the Brew Crew. He's Toppless as a Brewer.

And in ten years, he has a chance to bat no more times for anybody because sadly Greg Goossen is dead at the present time.

[G-Fafif]

I believe Carter is pictured wearing 57 in his first Topps bb card, captured in mid-swing He is. More from the Mets-Expos connection: This one time Met never appeared in a game for the Expos. And though he merited attention from The Man From Topps, he never appeared on a Topps baseball card of any kind. Ever.

I think that's some Moock.

[Edgy MD]

I'm pretty sure that guy was an Apollo astronaut just visiting camp on a day off from Cape Kennedy.

[G-Fafif]

"Ground control to Major Moock -- defend the chain link fence at all costs!"

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

The Pilots/Brewers uniform gives away the year. I think that's Greg Goossen.

OE: Ooops. I didn't see that FAIF beat me to that one!

[batmagadanleadoff]

He ended his MLB career in the Mets organization, but never appeared in a game for the franchise. Didn't get a Topps Met card either.

[Edgy MD]

That's Andres Gallaraga, being a little shy about his massive, massive arms.

[batmagadanleadoff]

G-Fafif wrote: I think that's some Moock.

G-Fafif wrote: And in ten years, he has a chance to bat no more times for anybody because sadly Greg Goossen is dead at the present time.

G-Fafif wrote: The asterisk (and supporting evidence) suggests Jerry Moses, called up to the Mets in 1975 but avoiding playing before being sent on his way.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Edgy MD wrote: That's Andres Gallaraga, being a little shy about his massive, massive arms.