Gwreck

Helsley signed with Baltimore, 2 years/$28 million, to be a closer. (Helsley had reportedly been interested in/explored the possibility of converting to a starter). If anyone wants to start a "Memories of" thread, go right ahead. I don't really have any good ones to share...

Exactly. Led MLB in appearances in 2020, 2021, 2024, and 2025, and was just outside the top 10 in 2022 and 2023 (68 appearances each of those 2 seasons).

Thanks for the reminder. Our last two answers were Dick Schofield and Alvaro Espinoza. [th]Position Player[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td]Yogi Berra[/td][td]2,116[/td][td]Robinson Cano[/td][td]2,078[/td][td]Tony Phillips[/td][td]2,003[/td][td]Marcus Semien[/td][td]1,629[/td][td]Jim Piersall[/td][td]1,529[/td][td]Jim Fregosi[/td][td]1,429[/td][td]Mike Bordick[/td][td]1,387[/td][td]Mo Vaughn[/td][td]1,346[/td][td]Robin Ventura[/td][td]1,254[/td][td]Curtis Granderson[/td][td]1,187[/td][td]Trot Nixon[/td][td]1,081[/td][td]Dick Schofield[/td][td]1,061[/td][td]John Valentin[/td][td]991[/td][td]John Olerud[/td][td]920[/td][td]Carlos Baerga[/td][td]919[/td][td]Tony Clark[/td][td]862[/td][td]Alvaro Espinoza[/td][td]861[/td][td]Tom Veryzer[/td][td]853[/td] [th]Pitcher[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td]Frank Tanana[/td][td]606[/td][td]Mickey Lolich[/td][td]508[/td][td]Kenny Rogers[/td][td]490[/td][td]Justin Verlander[/td][td]482[/td][td]Francisco Rodriguez[/td][td]408[/td][td]Dean Chance[/td][td]372[/td] Short of the leaderboards Cedric Mullins - 784 Francisco Lindor - 777 Claudell Washington - 745 Ed Charles - 726 Bob Johnson - 692 Joe Foy - 576 Yoenis Cespedes - 518 Daryl Boston - 500 Marv Throneberry - 350 Tommie Agee - 359 Tim Teufel - 316 Frank Lary - 304 Bret Saberhagen - 252 Had other NL time before Mets Gene Woodling Mike Cameron Carlos Delgado Asdrubal Cabrera Sandy Alomar, Jr. Jose Bautista

In June. And the Post is printing it now, based solely on anonymous sources. Exceptionally weak, even for that paper.

Valdez is the best starting pitcher available in free agency this year. He turned 32 ten days ago. Over the past 5 seasons he's got the best groundball rate and third-lowest homer rate of any pitcher with 500+ innings. Strikeout rate of >8 per 9 innings. Obviously he's significantly better than any of the established starting pitchers the Mets have on the roster now and they could really use him. As for the years/money, that only really matters if it unduly hampers the Mets from also filling all the other holes they need to address. If this is where they are using a lot of cash, perhaps it means that some of the lineup holes (outfield, 1B, DH) will be addressed via trade rather than free agency.

I greatly enjoyed this in its initial form and now again as updated. Nice job G-FAFIF. I do find myself agreeing frequently but also vehemently disagreeing at times too (such are the nature of rankings, I suppose). Little surprise to see several of the 2024 NLCS losses at the bottom, but I cannot figure out what is going on with the 2022 games. Especially that third one, that had just an awful performance all around, from the players to team management to the fans. I can’t fathom it being anywhere but the very bottom. I also think the 2015 NLCS rankings seem backwards. Games 1 and 2 were where the excitement was and the series was won. Pennants are great but game 4 was basically anticlimactic versus the defeats of Arietta and Lester at Citi.

You are a “yes” on Manny Ramirez and a “no” on Alex Rodriguez? That one is odd to me - can you elaborate? Serious question.

518 for Yoenis.

316 games for Teufel in the AL before joining the Mets.

Tony Phillips is indeed the 2.003 games guy. What an underrated career. [th]Position Player[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td]Yogi Berra[/td][td]2,116[/td][td]Robinson Cano[/td][td]2,078[/td][td]Tony Phillips[/td][td]2,003[/td][td]Marcus Semien[/td][td]1,629[/td][td]Jim Piersall[/td][td]1,529[/td][td]Jim Fregosi[/td][td]1,429[/td][td]Mike Bordick[/td][td]1,387[/td][td]Mo Vaughn[/td][td]1,346[/td][td]Robin Ventura[/td][td]1,254[/td][td]Curtis Granderson[/td][td]1,187[/td][td]Trot Nixon[/td][td]1,081[/td][td][/td][td]1,061[/td][td]John Valentin[/td][td]991[/td][td]John Olerud[/td][td]920[/td][td]Carlos Baerga[/td][td]919[/td][td]Tony Clark[/td][td]862[/td][td][/td][td]861[/td][td]Tom Veryzer[/td][td]853[/td] [th]Pitcher[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td]Frank Tanana[/td][td]606[/td][td]Mickey Lolich[/td][td]508[/td][td]Kenny Rogers[/td][td]490[/td][td]Justin Verlander[/td][td]482[/td][td]Francisco Rodriguez[/td][td]408[/td][td]Dean Chance[/td][td]372[/td] Short of the leaderboards Cedric Mullins - 784 Francisco Lindor - 777 Claudell Washington - 745 Ed Charles - 726 Bob Johnson - 692 Joe Foy - 576 Marv Throneberry - 350 Tommie Agee - 359 Frank Lary - 304 Bret Saberhagen - 252 Had other NL time before Mets Gene Woodling Mike Cameron Carlos Delgado Asdrubal Cabrera Sandy Alomar, Jr. Jose Bautista

Asdrubal played in Washington before reaching the Mets. Sandy Jr. actually debuted with San Diego before getting traded to Cleveland (where he would win Rookie of the Year) in the first Joe Carter deal. Tom Veryzer, who I'm not sure I had ever heard of before this quiz, would have been the next name after the bottom of the leaderboard. [th]Position Player[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td]Yogi Berra[/td][td]2,116[/td][td]Robinson Cano[/td][td]2,078[/td][td][/td][td]2,003[/td][td]Marcus Semien[/td][td]1,629[/td][td]Jim Piersall[/td][td]1,529[/td][td]Jim Fregosi[/td][td]1,429[/td][td]Mike Bordick[/td][td]1,387[/td][td]Mo Vaughn[/td][td]1,346[/td][td]Robin Ventura[/td][td]1,254[/td][td]Curtis Granderson[/td][td]1,187[/td][td]Trot Nixon[/td][td]1,081[/td][td][/td][td]1,061[/td][td]John Valentin[/td][td]991[/td][td]John Olerud[/td][td]920[/td][td]Carlos Baerga[/td][td]919[/td][td]Tony Clark[/td][td]862[/td][td][/td][td]861[/td][td]Tom Veryzer[/td][td]853[/td] [th]Pitcher[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td]Frank Tanana[/td][td]606[/td][td]Mickey Lolich[/td][td]508[/td][td]Kenny Rogers[/td][td]490[/td][td]Justin Verlander[/td][td]482[/td][td]Francisco Rodriguez[/td][td]408[/td][td]Dean Chance[/td][td]372[/td] Short of the leaderboards Cedric Mullins - 784 Francisco Lindor - 777 Ed Charles - 726 Joe Foy - 576 Marv Throneberry - 350 Tommie Agee - 359 Frank Lary - 304 Bret Saberhagen - 252 Had other NL time before Mets Gene Woodling Mike Cameron Carlos Delgado Asdrubal Cabrera Sandy Alomar, Jr.

Delgado had a one-year stopover in Florida before getting traded to the Mets. Throneberry had only 350 games of AL experience before his Mets tenure began. Tanana was the last pitcher we were looking for. [th]Position Player[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td]Yogi Berra[/td][td]2,116[/td][td]Robinson Cano[/td][td]2,078[/td][td][/td][td]2,003[/td][td]Marcus Semien[/td][td]1,629[/td][td]Jim Piersall[/td][td]1,529[/td][td]Jim Fregosi[/td][td]1,429[/td][td]Mike Bordick[/td][td]1,387[/td][td]Mo Vaughn[/td][td]1,346[/td][td]Robin Ventura[/td][td]1,254[/td][td]Curtis Granderson[/td][td]1,187[/td][td]Trot Nixon[/td][td]1,081[/td][td][/td][td]1,061[/td][td]John Valentin[/td][td]991[/td][td]John Olerud[/td][td]920[/td][td]Carlos Baerga[/td][td]919[/td][td]Tony Clark[/td][td]862[/td][td][/td][td]861[/td] [th]Pitcher[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td]Frank Tanana[/td][td]606[/td][td]Mickey Lolich[/td][td]508[/td][td]Kenny Rogers[/td][td]490[/td][td]Justin Verlander[/td][td]482[/td][td]Francisco Rodriguez[/td][td]408[/td][td]Dean Chance[/td][td]372[/td] Short of the leaderboards Cedric Mullins - 784 Francisco Lindor - 777 Ed Charles - 726 Joe Foy - 576 Marv Throneberry - 350 Tommie Agee - 359 Frank Lary - 304 Bret Saberhagen - 252 Had other NL time before Mets Gene Woodling Mike Cameron Carlos Delgado

Lindor and Charles are just short of the leaderboard, although (like the Mullins guess) they are not far behind. Cameron played for the Reds in 1999 (and was the big piece going back to Seattle in the Griffey Jr. trade). Rogers is correct for the pitcher list, I had missed him when pulling out the pitchers from the larger list. [th]Position Player[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td]Yogi Berra[/td][td]2,116[/td][td]Robinson Cano[/td][td]2,078[/td][td][/td][td]2,003[/td][td]Marcus Semien[/td][td]1,629[/td][td]Jim Piersall[/td][td]1,529[/td][td]Jim Fregosi[/td][td]1,429[/td][td]Mike Bordick[/td][td]1,387[/td][td]Mo Vaughn[/td][td]1,346[/td][td]Robin Ventura[/td][td]1,254[/td][td]Curtis Granderson[/td][td]1,187[/td][td]Trot Nixon[/td][td]1,081[/td][td][/td][td]1,061[/td][td]John Olerud[/td][td]920[/td][td][/td][td]919[/td][td]Tony Clark[/td][td]862[/td][td][/td][td]861[/td] [th]Pitcher[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td][/td][td]606[/td][td]Mickey Lolich[/td][td]508[/td][td]Kenny Rogers[/td][td]490[/td][td]Justin Verlander[/td][td]482[/td][td]Francisco Rodriguez[/td][td]408[/td][td]Dean Chance[/td][td]372[/td] Short of the leaderboards Cedric Mullins - 784 Francisco Lindor - 777 Ed Charles - 726 Joe Foy - 576 Tommie Agee - 359 Bret Saberhagen - 252 Had other NL time before Mets Gene Woodling Mike Cameron

Gene was with the Pirates in 1947.

[th]Position Player[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td]Yogi Berra[/td][td]2,116[/td][td]Robinson Cano[/td][td]2,078[/td][td][/td][td]2,003[/td][td]Marcus Semien[/td][td]1,629[/td][td]Jim Piersall[/td][td]1,529[/td][td]Jim Fregosi[/td][td]1,429[/td][td][/td][td]1,387[/td][td]Mo Vaughn[/td][td]1,346[/td][td]Robin Ventura[/td][td]1,254[/td][td]Curtis Granderson[/td][td]1,187[/td][td]Trot Nixon[/td][td]1,081[/td][td][/td][td]1,061[/td][td][/td][td]920[/td][td][/td][td]919[/td][td][/td][td]862[/td][td][/td][td]861[/td] [th]Pitcher[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td][/td][td]606[/td][td]Mickey Lolich[/td][td]508[/td][td]Justin Verlander[/td][td]482[/td][td]Francisco Rodriguez[/td][td]408[/td][td]Dean Chance[/td][td]372[/td] Short of the leaderboards Cedric Mullins - 784 Joe Foy - 576 Tommie Agee - 359 Bret Saberhagen - 252

Lots of good names here. [th]Position Player[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td]Yogi Berra[/td][td]2,116[/td][td]Robinson Cano[/td][td]2,078[/td][td][/td][td]2,003[/td][td]Marcus Semien[/td][td]1,629[/td][td]Jim Piersall[/td][td]1,529[/td][td]Jim Fregosi[/td][td]1,429[/td][td][/td][td]1,387[/td][td]Mo Vaughn[/td][td]1,346[/td][td]Robin Ventura[/td][td]1,254[/td][td]Curtis Granderson[/td][td]1,187[/td][td]Trot Nixon[/td][td]1,081[/td][td][/td][td]1,061[/td][td][/td][td]920[/td][td][/td][td]919[/td][td][/td][td]862[/td][td][/td][td]861[/td] [th]Pitcher[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td][/td][td]606[/td][td]Mickey Lolich[/td][td]508[/td][td]Justin Verlander[/td][td]482[/td][td][/td][td]408[/td][td]Dean Chance[/td][td]372[/td] Short of the leaderboards Cedric Mullins - 784 Joe Foy - 576 Tommie Agee - 359 Bret Saberhagen - 252

Tommie Agee only had 359 games (2 full seasons and small parts of 4 others) before coming to the Mets. [th]Position Player[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td]Yogi Berra[/td][td]2,116[/td][td]Robinson Cano[/td][td]2,078[/td][td][/td][td]2,003[/td][td]Marcus Semien[/td][td]1,629[/td][td][/td][td]1,529[/td][td]Jim Fregosi[/td][td]1,429[/td][td][/td][td]1,387[/td][td][/td][td]1,346[/td][td]Robin Ventura[/td][td]1,254[/td][td]Curtis Granderson[/td][td]1,187[/td][td][/td][td]1,061[/td][td][/td][td]920[/td][td][/td][td]919[/td][td][/td][td]862[/td][td][/td][td]861[/td] [th]Pitcher[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td][/td][td]606[/td][td]Mickey Lolich[/td][td]508[/td][td]Justin Verlander[/td][td]482[/td][td][/td][td]408[/td][td][/td][td]367[/td]

Joe Foy: 576 AL games before joining the Mets in 1970. Frank Lary: 304 AL games. Would only be #13 on the pitchers list. [th]Position Player[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td][/td][td]2,116[/td][td]Robinson Cano[/td][td]2,078[/td][td][/td][td]2,003[/td][td]Marcus Semien[/td][td]1,629[/td][td][/td][td]1,529[/td][td]Jim Fregosi[/td][td]1,429[/td][td][/td][td]1,387[/td][td][/td][td]1,346[/td][td]Robin Ventura[/td][td]1,254[/td][td]Curtis Granderson[/td][td]1,187[/td][td][/td][td]1,061[/td][td][/td][td]920[/td][td][/td][td]919[/td][td][/td][td]862[/td][td][/td][td]861[/td] [th]Pitcher[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td][/td][td]606[/td][td]Mickey Lolich[/td][td]508[/td][td][/td][td]482[/td][td][/td][td]408[/td][td][/td][td]367[/td]

Lolich is among the top 5 pitchers but would only be about #30 on the larger list. We can add those top 5 pitchers as a bonus quiz, however! [th]Position Player[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td][/td][td]2,116[/td][td]Robinson Cano[/td][td]2,078[/td][td][/td][td]2,003[/td][td]Marcus Semien[/td][td]1,629[/td][td][/td][td]1,529[/td][td][/td][td]1,429[/td][td][/td][td]1,387[/td][td][/td][td]1,346[/td][td]Robin Ventura[/td][td]1,254[/td][td][/td][td]1,187[/td][td][/td][td]1,061[/td][td][/td][td]920[/td][td][/td][td]919[/td][td][/td][td]862[/td][td][/td][td]861[/td] [th]Pitcher[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td][/td][td]606[/td][td]Mickey Lolich[/td][td]508[/td][td][/td][td]482[/td][td][/td][td]408[/td][td][/td][td]367[/td]

[th]Name[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td][/td][td]2,116[/td][td]Robinson Cano[/td][td]2,078[/td][td][/td][td]2,003[/td][td]Marcus Semien[/td][td]1,629[/td][td][/td][td]1,529[/td][td][/td][td]1,429[/td][td][/td][td]1,387[/td][td][/td][td]1,346[/td][td][/td][td]1,254[/td][td][/td][td]1,187[/td][td][/td][td]1,061[/td][td][/td][td]920[/td][td][/td][td]919[/td][td][/td][td]862[/td][td][/td][td]861[/td]

Marcus Semien's 1,629 game MLB career has been entirely in the American League. Can you name the players who had the longest AL-only careers before making their NL debut with the Mets? [th]Name[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td][/td][td]2,116[/td][td][/td][td]2,078[/td][td][/td][td]2,003[/td][td]Marcus Semien[/td][td]1,629[/td][td][/td][td]1,529[/td][td][/td][td]1,429[/td][td][/td][td]1,387[/td][td][/td][td]1,346[/td][td][/td][td]1,254[/td][td][/td][td]1,187[/td][td][/td][td]1,061[/td][td][/td][td]920[/td][td][/td][td]919[/td][td][/td][td]862[/td][td][/td][td]861[/td]

Sure, here’s the relevant part: [bLOCKQUOTE]Can Semien rebound offensively? The stats on the back of the baseball card for Semien were rough in 2025: a .230/.305/.364 slash line for his worst OPS since he became an established big leaguer a decade ago with the Chicago White Sox. Only nine players qualified for the batting title last season with a worse OPS than Semien’s .669. It’s been a major drop-off since 2023, when Semien finished third in the MVP balloting and helped lead the Rangers to their first championship. But let’s take a look under the hood at those two years. Marcus Semien, 2023 vs. 2025 Exit Velo 88.4 88.3 Barrel % 6.5% 6.7% Hard-Hit % 37.0% 35.0% xWOBA 0.333 0.318 xWOBA con 0.349 0.341 Chase% 21.4% 23.5% Whiff% 18.0% 22.6% K% 14.6% 17.4% BB% 9.6% 9.4% Yes, Semien was worse in 2025 than in 2023; those numbers are moving in the wrong direction. But he wasn’t so far gone in a lot of the important offensive metrics to think he deserved falling off a cliff the way he did. Is Semien likely to contend for an MVP again at age 35 next season? No. Is it reasonable to think he can be better at the plate than he was last season? Yes.[/bLOCKQUOTE]

I think we have very different assessments of the readiness of Ronny Mauricio.

The catch from 2022 occurred the same night as Timmy Trumpet’s in-person performance. It was against the Dodgers, deGrom was back — maybe the best game at Citi that year. From 2024: it gets slightly overlooked because the Mets gave the lead up, but in game 161 in Atlanta, Nimmo hit the massive homer in the top of the 8th to put the Mets up by 3 runs. The 2016 game against the Cubs at which he hit his first major league homer and got a curtain call from the fans. Big pinch hit 3-run homer in 2018 at Dodger Stadium to win it for the Mets (who were down 2-1 at the time).

The Mets aren’t going to magically unload Semien’s contract on someone else. Nor do they need to, given Cohen’s massive resources. If he’s spectacularly bad, they’ll cut him (see, e.g., Robinson Cano in April 2022 was released with a year and a half left on the contract). I think it’s a fair concern that the Mets might be predisposed to play Semien since he’s got a big contract, but even if we assume that’s the case, he isn’t “blocking” anyone. If Mauricio somehow manages to show he can hit breaking balls and be a productive offensive player, he’ll play. I guess Williams is “blocked” only in the sense that if you wanted him to be anointed an everyday player as of right NOW, that might be a conflict. I guess it’s possible he could prove to be the best option to start the season as an everyday regular in the majors…but I am highly dubious that will be the case. Separately, if you want the optimist case re: Semien’s offense, Britton wrote an article today observing that much of the underlying data for Semien in 2025 (exit velo, barrels, hard hit rate, chase %, walk rate, etc.) was comparable to his MVP-caliber 2023 season, and thus there is some basis to expect that he could improve off last year’s crap numbers.