Cowtipper

Maybe Lee Mazzilli.

Mets signed Mexico native Daniel Duarte a week ago. He didn't pitch in the majors in 2025, but between 2023 and 2024, he had a 3.53 ERA and a 132 ERA+. And his WHIP was only 1.318! Stearns is slipping, this one actually might have potential.

Mets dipping into the international waters again, so we can wave bye-bye to them next year after 14 games in the DSL: Isaac De La Cruz Cristopher Hernandez Arnaldo Tejeda all signed. They also signed Daniel Duarte.

I had the slightest of hope he might recapture his old potential, but even I couldn't have imagined how poorly he was going to do with NY. Didn't realize he had 8 steals, so that's a little silver lining. Unfortunately, I have no real memories of him, I'll only remember him as once being a Met.

Link to the vote tracker: https://www.bbhoftracker.com/ With 5% in, we can now begin our very preliminary vote projections. As with every year, I have to remind myself how I do it, but I piece it together eventually: Andruw Jones: 79-80% Carlos Beltran: 74-75% Chase Utley: 48-49% Felix Hernandez: 43-44% Alex Rodriguez: 41-42% Andy Pettitte: 37-38% Bobby Abreu: 33-34% Manny Ramirez: 29-30% Dustin Pedroia: 25-26% Mark Buehrle: 20-21% Jimmy Rollins: 18-19% Omar Vizquel: 17-18% Cole Hamels: 16-18% Francisco Rodriguez: 14-15% Torii Hunter: 9-10% Ryan Braun: 8-9% David Wright: 8-9% Edwin Encarnacion: 1-2% Hunter Pence: 1-2% Shin-Soo Choo: 0-1% Gio Gonzalez: 0-1% Alex Gordon: 0-1% Matt Kemp: 0-1% Howie Kendrick: 0-1% Nick Markakis: 0-1% Daniel Murphy: 0-1% Rick Porcello: 0-1% I find it hard to believe Beltran won't get elected this time around, so I think his number will rise as we get more votes in. At first I was stunned by Jones, but it actually tracks with how borderline guys have done in their waning years ever since they switched to the 10-year format. I can't imagine Braun will stay as high as he is, but he might actually break 5% after all. In this brave new world with modern pitchers, it will be very difficult to tell how guys like Hamels will do, but if Hernandez performed as well as he did last year, I think Hamels will do just about as well.

Reminds me of signing Cuddyer because he looks like a big-ish name without a real history of big name stats to back it up. This is a very Wilpon-y move—"look guys, we got a big name, too!" He's been a .242 hitter since 2022 and a .250 hitter since 2020. I like Semien, but now we have low-average Semien, low-average Polanco, likely low-average Baty and Alvarez, low-average McNeil if somehow he survives. No one on the bench has proven to be much more than a .230 hitter so far, though Acuna and Mauricio are still young. Lindor might lead the team with a .268 average next year.

These are the big five as mentioned: Tom Seaver Darryl Strawberry Dwight Gooden David Wright Pete Alonso Piazza, too. Keith is interesting, because he spent so much time with the Cards that I actually think of him as a Cardinal first sometimes. When I think of 'icons,' I think of players one (positively) thinks of when one thinks 'Mets,' so I'd probably add Mookie, Tommie Agee and perhaps even Johan Santana to the list, because of the no-hitter.

Joe DePastino.

Steve Hertz died. https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/college/state-college-sports/article313501080.html Who was Steve Hertz? Stephen Allan Hertz (1945–2025) was an American baseball player, coach, and manager whose career spanned Major League Baseball, high school and college coaching, and international competition. Born at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and raised in Miami, he debuted in the majors in 1964 at just 19 years old as part of the Houston Colt .45s’ youth movement. Although his MLB playing career was brief—appearing in five games—he spent several additional seasons in the minor leagues. Hertz balanced baseball with education, earning degrees from the University of Miami and later a master’s from Nova University. After retiring as a player, he built a highly successful coaching career in South Florida. He led Coral Park High School to a state championship in 1978, won over 300 games as a high school coach, and spent decades guiding Miami Dade College’s baseball program, where his teams won more than two-thirds of their contests. His coaching influence extended abroad in 2007, when he managed the Tel Aviv Lightning during the Israel Baseball League’s sole season, leading the club to a strong second-place finish. A member of the Miami High School Hall of Fame and the Florida Community College Activities Association Hall of Fame, Hertz was also noted as one of baseball’s Jewish major leaguers. He died in Miami in 2025 at the age of 80, leaving behind a legacy as a respected teacher, mentor, and ambassador of the game. Also, who was Tim Harkness? Thomas William "Tim" Harkness (1937–2025) was a Canadian professional baseball first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1964 for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets. Born in Lachine, Quebec, Harkness was a left-handed hitter and thrower, standing 6'2" and weighing 182 pounds. He was originally signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1956 and developed in the minor leagues, where he hit 117 home runs, peaking with 28 in a season for the Atlanta Crackers in 1960. Harkness made his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 1961, appearing sparingly behind established first basemen Gil Hodges and Norm Larker. In 1962, he played 92 games, posting a .370 on-base percentage, though he did not appear in the postseason. Traded to the New York Mets after the 1962 season, he became their regular first baseman in 1963, hitting .211 with 10 home runs and 41 RBIs. In 1964, he achieved a .282 average in 39 games, including the first hit in the Mets’ inaugural game at Shea Stadium. After brief stints in the minor leagues with the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates organizations, Harkness retired from playing in 1966. He later worked as a scout for the San Diego Padres—earning Canadian Scout of the Year honors in 1996—and managed the Toronto Maple Leafs of the Intercounty Baseball League. Harkness passed away in Courtice, Ontario, at the age of 87, leaving behind a legacy as one of Canada’s notable MLB players and contributors to the game.

Austin Nola has retired.

I remember griping about how much he sucked when we got him and then I remember being proven right.

The 2017-2021 (ish) teams felt like a revolving door; I fear we might be entering another such era. I remember watching those years, but have no strong memories, in part because the teams from year to year seemed to fluctuate quite a bit.

At first I wasn't too fond of him. His dumb schticks—tearing shirts off, the "rally pony"—were pretty stupid. But as he matured I grew to like him more and more. Last year's playoff heroics were for the ages. I remember his record-breaking* 53 homer rookie season. He'll be a fond memory in the long run, because he went out on a high note.

I remember Timmy Trumpet and the pretty cool entrance. I remember him as being too inconsistent. Sometimes/some years he was lights out, others he was just so flaky. 2025 was awesome. 2024 was actually a pretty flaky year. 2023 didn't happen. 2022 was awesome. 2021 was flaky. 2020 was great but shortened. 2019 was awful. He was probably the best closer they've had maybe ever, but that just shows how bad their closers have been. I have fonder memories of Billy Wagner, but rose colored glasses and all that.

I've come to the conclusion that anything the Mets do will be in spite of Stearns, not because of him. So, no forgiveness.

I might recommend changing the link on UMDB to the new address; it still links to the olde one.

The Mets took Matt Turner, Justin Armbruester and Aaron Rozek in the Rule V draft. Turner had a 5.79 ERA and 1.661 WHIP last year, Armbruester tossed all of 5 2/3 innings and Rozek had a 4.50 ERA and 1.450 WHIP as a 29-year-old who spent most of the season at Double-A. Very David Stearns-y moves. Guys, I think maybe David Stearns is just stupid.

The Mets literally could have shelled out $200 million over 5 years to save the current face of the franchise and it would have looked like a good deal. That Pete was willing to settle for five years shows the Mets blew it on this one. The money wasn't the issue with Pete, it was the potential of him asking for a 10-year deal. Big guys like that break down fast when the collapse starts and 10 years would've been too much. But any team can weather five years of a fading former star. They dropped the ball on this one. After last year's tumultuous offseason involving Pete, you kind of knew he wasn't going to stay, but still.

This one doesn't hurt as bad as Alonso. Alonso was a born and bred Met. Diaz was a fairly inconsistent closer who gave us six years of solid pitching, but was just a long-term rental. If you combine his first three years, he had a 4.00 ERA; if you combine his last three years, he had a 2.08 mark. However, he only had two truly great full seasons in seven years with the club. In typical Mets fashion, we'll probably see them go a decade through the closer weeds of guys akin to Frank Francisco before they finally bite the bullet and sign another star closer, which is the downside. BUT, the Mets DO have a lot of (ever dwindling) homegrown pitching options that could step up. They've let too many of their promising hurlers go these past few years (Vasil, Hamel, Shook), but look at what they still have: Tong, McLean, Sproat, Ross, etc. Not all those guys are going to fit into a 5-man rotation, so they might have to Lugo/Gsellman them into the bullpen. I don't think Devin Williams is the answer, actually. To Diaz's benefit, he is right on the peripheral of dark horse Hall of Fame watch territory, and if anything is going to help his case, going to a perennial winner like the Dodgers is it. Just like Nimmo, this one doesn't bum me out that much. Nimmo gave us a lot of years and the Mets sold high. They got a good return. Diaz played the free agency game and got a better deal. He was an import, now he's an export. It is what it is.

It's so obvious, yet even I fell for it. I had 10/10 hope for Rogers, 7/10 hope for Helsley and 5/10 hope for Soto last year. He did just about as well as I would have imagined. No major loss.

People are just now starting to dislike him?

Not a bad choice.

Jeff Kent was elected. Good choice. More than good enough to have been elected by the BBWAA.

Oh yeah, there's that.

Mets claimed pitcher Cooper Criswell off waivers from the Red Sox recently. With a WHIP of nearly 1.600 last year, he's right up David Stearns' alley. However, snark aside, he made 18 starts in 2024 and posted a 4.08 ERA, so he does offer some starting depth.