Memories of Lucas Duda

[G-Fafif]

High up the list is the final day of the 2014 season, his 30th homer, his 92nd RBI, his phantom run through the car wash as his teammates ran and hid. Adorable.

That dynamite streak that propelled the Mets into first place amid the Tears of Joy and the Coming of Yo. The big homers to clinch the East and the pennant shortly thereafter.

Good guy. Good luck.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

When that stupid columnist called him "overhated"

Debating him vs. Ike all those years, and happy to have taken the unpopular and "right" side, even if neither guy had the kind of sustained success we would have dreamed on.

We Follow Lucas Duda.

[HahnSolo]

Game 4 in Wrigley in 2015.

The fact that he's been a Met for seven seasons and I think I've heard him utter about six sentences

[Gwreck]

Numerous homers, of course. But also the Instagram account, and in particular, the post of him with his parents after winning the pennant.

[Lefty Specialist]

Seems like he never hit a cheap home run. When he hit them, they went a long way. And when he was hot, he was insanely hot, like hitting 27 home runs essentially in three widely spaced clumps during the year.

[MFS62]

The debates over who was better, Davis or Duda, and the long home runs.

Later

[nymr83]

i think the 2 things i'll remember most about Duda are “WeFollowLucasDuda” and Duda vs Davis.

Curtis won't let him leave!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2724239-curtis-granderson-hangs-onto-lucas-duda-after-duda-is-traded

[bmfc1]

deleted

Edited July 28, 2017 by Guest

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Good work

[bmfc1]

This was the wrong place for the important news about the new guy's gf and it was disrespectful to the sanctity of this thread. Apologies to all, incluing JCL.

Edited July 28, 2017 by Guest

[Guest themetfairy]

I remember Lucas as a member of the B-Mets and was happy to see him come through the ranks as a Major Leaguer. I'll always think of him as an extraordinarily big guy who often had power to match his size.

Best of luck in Tampa Lucas we will miss you!

[Edgy MD]

He predicted the end of the Jerry Manuel era during his late season callup in the 2010, when Jerry said something like "I hope for their sake that they're planning on bringing him back," not so subtley telegraphing that Jerry knew he was toast with several weeks to go in the season.

One hundred and twenty five home runs, socked with prodigious Li'l Abner strength, while never having the magical season. Every other Met with over 100 got an All Star appearance or a top-ten MVP finish, right? Even if no, you get my drift.

The most uncomfortable smile in Mets history. Sweet and tragic acceptance of himself as the butt of jokes. A surprisingly adept glove once he moved to first.
Decent and stouthearted. Had history taken a different route, he'd be singlehandedly pulling a tractor out of the mud somewhere in Poland. As far as I can recall, he was never associated with a single woman in eight years of Wifey Watch.

I tend to think his appearance in cheerleader garb — one of those exploitation-of-the-innocent gags that seems to the perpetrators like it's going to be hilarious, but then totally isn't — inevitably doomed rookie hazing dressup day to the dustbin of history.

[A Boy Named Seo]

I fondly remember the grand slam he hit against Cincy on clinch day a couple years back. Not so fondly, the shitty throw in the World Series. On the Ike/Duda coin flip, I had no idea who would be the good/better choice. Kudos, Mets, for getting it right and letting us see the best of Lucas Duda, I'm sure. Good luck, ya giant, ogre mute.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I thought he had star potential. And two years ago, it looked like Duda was about to break on through. What do I remember most? How about: what do I remember most fondly? The "Harvey's Better" game, where Duda crushed two HR's and in his first at-bat, flied out to straightaway center, driving the Nats' centerfielder to where the warning track meets the outfield wall.

Edited July 28, 2017 by Guest

[Edgy MD]

I like that his teammates appreciated him as much as I did.



[tweet]

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[Benjamin Grimm]

Schaefer Mets Player of the Year in 2014.
Schaefer Mets Player of the Month in August 2011, July and September 2014, and April 2015.
Schaefer Mets Bench Player of the Month twice, most recently in June 2017.

These are the Schaefer-inspired cards that were created for Lucas Duda:

[Frayed Knot]

He finished 2016 as the 38th best NYM ever on the CPF Rankings Project -- right behind Dave Kingman and ahead of John Stearns -- and has a chance to move up as many as 10 more slots when
the 2017 season is factored in. Missing so much of 2016 almost certainly kept him from being a Top-25

[Centerfield]

We went to Citi the day after Tears of Joy. The stadium was buzzing. We had walked off against the Nats. Cespedes was making his debut. But it was Duda who singlehandedly won that game.

What Edgy said. Loved the big dude. Will miss him.

If Dominic Smith tanks during his audition I wouldn't mind re-signing him. Hell. Even if he does well.

[Edgy MD]

Benjamin Grimm wrote:

Centerfield did a great post about this card — wondering out loud what the Mets might be like if this sneer represented Lucas Duda's actual personality. If he was a guy in favor of stricter gun laws, because he believed men should hunt animals with their bare hands, and the other Mets refused to have a locker adjacent to him, because they were terrified of being anywhere in his radius after a bad game.

But his actual personality was no less remarkable, like Jaws at the end of Moonraker, just a sweet, sensitive, awkward dude born into a body that was capable of ripping people's limbs off, and he was forced to reconcile both parts of his nature within one person. I hope Wifey Watch love finds him and he lives happily ever after apart from his six games every third year against the Mets.

[Frayed Knot]

Edgy MD wrote: ... and he lives happily ever after apart from his six games every third year against the Mets.

Or he signs with Philly in the off-season and we see him 18 times/year.

[Edgy MD]

There's that.

God, he could hit 75 homers in a season with Philly.

[Ceetar]

Great Met. Fun to watch. Enjoyed Duda, sad he's gone and sad we only got a talented maybe reliever for him.

Seems like the Rays and Astros are my teams to root for to go all the way this year.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

22 out of 26 Cranepoolers would have traded him away in 2012 -- EIGHT FIVE PERCENT OF YOU!

http://archives.thecranepool.net/18200/f1_t18248.shtml

[MFS62]

The early discussions over what song his name evoked.
Was is Camptown Races? DO-DA DO-DA, or
from Song of the South? ZIP-A-DEE DOO-DAH ?
I preferred the second.
Later

Edited July 28, 2017 by Guest

[Benjamin Grimm]

I was Camptown Races all the way.

[ashie62]

Best of luck big guy. You will be remembered fondly.

[seawolf17]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: 22 out of 26 Cranepoolers would have traded him away in 2012 -- EIGHT FIVE PERCENT OF YOU! http://archives.thecranepool.net/18200/f1_t18248.shtml

I didn't comment in the thread, so I'm just going to assume that I was on Team Duda since day one.

The thing with Duda back then -- and bmfc mentions it in the first reply -- is that nobody thought he'd be anything defensively, and basically a lefty Kingman at the plate. Clearly he became way more than that.

[ashie62]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: 22 out of 26 Cranepoolers would have traded him away in 2012 -- EIGHT FIVE PERCENT OF YOU! http://archives.thecranepool.net/18200/f1_t18248.shtml

I look at my response on this and feel ill. I did say AL DH so I guess there is that.

[TransMonk]

I was wrong and this goes to show how little about baseball I know.

Duda has been long underrated by the national media and I will miss him.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: 22 out of 26 Cranepoolers would have traded him away in 2012 -- EIGHT FIVE PERCENT OF YOU! http://archives.thecranepool.net/18200/f1_t18248.shtml

I think this was a rare moment when I was on the right side of history, if only because they seemed like rough equivalents-- since they refused to make Ike pitch in blowouts, like they oughta have-- Davis seemed to have a lot more trade value.

I have a feeling he goes Full Duda as a part-time DH, and it'll be spectacular (doubly so if he stays with the Rays, and goes to the Death Star 9-10 times a year).