Met All-time Web gems

by pj on Aug 24, 2006 2:15 PM EDT

ESPN Baseball Tonight will be highlighting the Mets in their webgems segment tonight.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?page=webgems

The young guys here are familiar with the glovework of the current and recent Mets, but how many of you have seen footage of Keith Hernandez smothering a bunt, Swoboda diving in RF in 1969, or any footage of John "The Hammer" Milner. OK, I don't expect to see a Milner webgem, but this would be a good place to discuss your alltime favorite defensive plays by the Amazin Mets.

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Wright

I'm sure Wright's bare hander will make the list.

by MidwestMet on Aug 24, 2006 3:07 PM EDT reply actions

es bueno ser Rey

Ordoñez is going to have to get some lovin' on a segment like this -- and honestly I'd say the "best infield ever until the Twins made fewer errors a couple years later" ought to get the majority of the attention for good glovework in Mets history. A shout-out to Keith Hernandez, for sure, and one to Mike Cameron, but the Ventura-Ordoñez-Alfonzo-Olerud infield was the only real Met contribution to the great gloves of all time.

Inverse awards (Lead Gloves? Web Turds?) to Benny Agbayani, Mike Piazza at first base, and the entire '62 team.

by anonymous on Aug 24, 2006 3:20 PM EDT reply actions

Lead

Don't forgot Hojo at short.

by OronosFemur on Aug 25, 2006 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions

Or Jesse Orosco in RF

"The Mets with the bases loaded: Chavez, great speed, Reyes, great speed, Lo Duca, good guy."

by Mr. Met on Aug 25, 2006 12:08 PM EDT up reply actions

Although, to tell the truth

I don't remember him, or McDowell, actually botching any plays out there.

"The Mets with the bases loaded: Chavez, great speed, Reyes, great speed, Lo Duca, good guy."

by Mr. Met on Aug 25, 2006 12:10 PM EDT up reply actions

mets alltime defense by position

off the top of my head; suggestions welcome!

1b keith hernandez (olerud second)
2b healthy edgardo alfonzo
ss rey ordonez (jose reyes second)
3b robin ventura
c jerry grote (on reputation - i never saw him play)
lf cleon jones (see grote, jerry)
cf mike cameron (until beltran proves me wrong)
rf mike cameron! (all I'm saying is we haven't had a whole lotta great OF defense)
p ron darling? tommy g?

Pedro offers you his protection.

by pj on Aug 24, 2006 10:32 PM EDT reply actions

Defense Team

I can't say I'd pick anyone in your outfield. Cleon really wasn't great in left, and Cameron only stuck around in center for a year, and had what many perceive to be an off year for him. And he was even worse in right, and there even shorter (like half a season when you consider injuries/time spent in center).

My outfield: LF - Bernard Gilkey, almost good enough to play CF, and if the Cards hadn't come up with Ray Lankford at the same time, he might've

CF - Tommie Agee, a tremendous defensive player.

RF - ???. No one really stands out. Swoboda, I guess, by default. But I'm really not sure. As you say a bad position historically for the team.

By the way, here are the top defensive players of my lifetime (1990-2006):

C - Charlie O'Brien
1B - Olerud
2B - Alfonzo (as much as I love him, Fonzie in his prime was overrated with the glove. He had sure hands but limited range even without back problems. Still, he's the best of my lifetime. The Mets have always liked to have a bat at 2B).
3B - Ventura
SS - Ordonez
LF - Gilkey
CF - Beltran, who has been very good in CF, and deserves a Gold Glove this year.
RF - Maybe Carl Everett, though that's a default choice.

by Alex Nelson on Aug 24, 2006 11:04 PM EDT up reply actions

outfield

It's indisputable that the Metropolitans have featured very few good defensive outfielders for very long. In fact, it might even be worth remembering -- when drawing up all-time lists of this kind -- that Willie Mays started around 100 games in the outfield for the Mets. I don't know how good he was then, at the age of 41-42, but he might well still have been better than most of the younger outfielders who've played for the Mets since then.

by anonymous on Aug 25, 2006 12:56 AM EDT up reply actions

Mays

Mays was always a great OF but at 40-41 he was really just a little above average probably. And Agee at his best was nearly as valuable a player as Mays. I believe when Bill James ranked the best defensive CFers of the 60's, he ranked them Flood-Mays-Agee.

by Alex Nelson on Aug 25, 2006 8:10 AM EDT up reply actions

Not to go all mid-80's on your asses

but Kevin McReynolds was an excellent LF who got a bad rap on his defense only because of how smooth it was. And Darryl had a rocket for an arm in right, for a good long while. They have to get some consideration here.

Did anyone catch ESPN last night to see what they showed? Any linky links? I missed it due to my stupid friends coming over for dinner.

"The Mets with the bases loaded: Chavez, great speed, Reyes, great speed, Lo Duca, good guy."

by Mr. Met on Aug 25, 2006 11:45 AM EDT up reply actions

It was after midnight

and I was half asleep, but they only showed what they thought were the top 3 defensive gems in Mets history. They put David Wright's barehanded catch as #3. I think Tommy Agee's 1969 WS catch against the Orioles as #2, and Swoboda's 1969 catch as #1. I think that's right, but someone else should confirm.

by Max in NJ on Aug 25, 2006 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions

that was correct

thats what they picked

its a ground ball...trickling... its a fair ball, its by Buckner, rounding third Knight, the Mets will win the ballgame, the Mets win

by DoctorK16 on Aug 25, 2006 7:07 PM EDT up reply actions

Wow...you're only 16?!?

Rather savvy for a 16-year old.

Anyway I attended a game in SF in 1999 or 2000 where Henderson and Bonds played left right in front of me. And Jay Payton went back to the wall about 400 feet from the plate and leaped over the entire warning track backward, scissor-kicking, and caught the ball amidst a bunch of fans trying to interfere with him to take away a homerun.

And that wasn't as good a play as I saw Ordonez make routinely that year and the years before.

by peeder on Aug 26, 2006 5:04 PM EDT up reply actions