The Mets are on the other side of the Yankees on the spectrum when it comes to number retiring. Mets history has had many amazing players who left their mark on Mets history. I would love to see Koosman, McGraw, Doc, Straw, Mex and the Kid's numbers up there as well as Franco, Mookie and Staub but it appears the Mets will only retire those whom the Hall of Fame has called out for distinction (Gil deserves to be in there but that's for another time).
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Maybe with the Madoff miniseries coming up, the Wilpons are trying some advance spin to get people to like them.
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If a number is going to be retired it should be Jerry Koosman's #36. He had a better Met career than Mike Piazza.
4
How about Jerry Koosman #36 for retirement. Kooz and Tom were a great 1-2 punch for the Mets pitching staff.
5
Another vote for Koosman, who is vastly underrated and under-appreciated, probably because he was overshadowed by Seaver. And Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter belong in the Mets Hall of Fame too.
3
I like that the Mets are being a bit stingy with their retired numbers. Piazza will be the second Hall of Famer to have a Mets logo on his cap, and he'll be the second Mets player to have his number retired. Casey and Gil were managers, and deserving because of their very important roles in Mets history. Strawberry and Gooden were brilliant players -- and Gooden may have been the most popular Met ever -- but, sadly, they both burned out much too quickly. The only other Met who arguably deserves to have his number retired is Gary Carter. He performed nobly for many years, and he has a plaque in Cooperstown.
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All the Met numbers not being used should be put on loan for the Yankees who are approaching infinity with their over commercialization of what should be an honor for greatness.
3
The Mets should retire Mays' #24???? He played 135 games out of almost 3,000 with them. And he is most identified with the Giants - NY and SF.
4
I say let bygones be bygones. The Mets off season has included a series of acquisitions to improve their hitting, their fielding and their bullpen. $50 million in new contracts and money well spent. I'm not a Mets fan, but if I were I'd be dancing in the street. The prospective lineup, rotation and bullpen promises to turn the Mets into a perennial power. Get out there and dance. The Mets are for real.
5
Mets have had many players whose number should be retired. As a suffering life long Met fan who can forget Jim Hickman, Ron Hunt, Ed Krainpule . These guys are remembered because they brought joy and smiles (growns) in those days when the Mets were horrible. Do we forget Ron Swabota, Tommy Agee, Frank Thomas. Come on!
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No baseball player has or had more beautiful eyes than this man.
And he could play.
Way to go Mike.
And he could play.
Way to go Mike.
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Then again, no baseball player ever had eyes that served him better than Ted Williams. I couldn't even tell you the color of Piazza's eyes. But Teddy Ballgame's 10/20 vision helped him become the greatest hitter of his lifetime. At the plate, nothing was more beautiful than Williams's swing.
I fave favor teams being stingy with retired numbers (and with HoF entry). The Yankees' 20/21 makes the honor more one of narcissistic indulgence.
6
Can the Mets please retire Willie Mays' #24 while he is still alive?
5
Say hey, that's a no brainer.
3
Willie Mays has been my favorite player for 60 years. Your idea wouldn't be unprecedented, as the Brewers have Hank Aaron's 44 on their wall (he ended his career with them), But that's Milwaukee. It's simpler there. Having the Mets do this for Willie would be taken as cheap history appropriation. Of course Fred Wilpon loves appropriating another team's history like a magpie stealing another bird's nest but that team is the Dodgers. He isn't going to do that for an old Giant.
3
Why? Willie was a Giant. The days he spent at the end of his career as a Met were embarrassing. The Giants retired Willie's #24 as it was their honor to bestow, not the Mets.
3
In Seattle now, but grew up a Mets fan. Am I missing something? Mike Piazza had 220 HRs and 655 RBIs and an OPS of .915 in 8 years with the Mets (plus suspected PED usage). Darryl Strawberry had 252 HRs and 733 RBIs with an OPS of .878 in his 8 years with the Mets, and no known suspected PED usage. Happy Piazza made the HOF, but shouldn't the Mets consider retiring Strawberry's number? He had mis-steps in life, but they were basically self-inflicted.
3
OK first of all Straw will never be a Hall of Famer. And while half of Piazza's HOF career took place in another uniform, when he was traded to the Mets he could have declined to stay but he signed a new contract immediately. He embraced the Mets. Strawberry was the opposite, he got out as soon as he could. He could have stayed on a sure path to put #18 on that wall but he didn't. As for the missteps, well, they aren't merely "suspected" as in Piazza's PED rumors, are they?
8
Piazza accomplished all of those while crouching behind the plate every game. Makes a big difference.
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Yes, you're missing the difference in value between a catcher and a rightfielder.
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