:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66542207/484505020.jpg.0.jpg)
Typically, March is one of the best sports months of the year. The NHL and NBA seasons are reaching their conclusion with teams battling for their postseason lives, NFL free agency is beginning, MLB Opening Day is right around the corner, and March Madness is in full swing!
With the coronavirus pandemic, March has been rendered a quiet month in the sports world, as all major leagues have needed to cancel or suspend their events in order to help stop the spread of COVID-19. To help pass the time, a few of us at Amazin’ Avenue HQ have brainstormed ways to entertain our incredible audience while we wait for baseball to return.
I’d like to introduce you to March Bad-ness! In order to fill the void left by both the absence of baseball and March Madness, we’ve devised an NCAA tournament-style bracket of the worst villains in Mets history. We’ve scoured the depths of our memories, digging up names we’d long since buried deep down in an effort to forget so many painful moments, and put together 64 names that cause Mets fans feelings ranging from mild annoyance to intense loathing.
Voting for the first round closed today, and we saw some big surprises in the first round to go along with the expected outcomes. In the Mets Killers region, Chipper Jones unsurprisingly was the big winner, notching 99% of the vote against Martin Prado (546 to 6), becoming the only participant to win with 99% of the vote. The rest of the region featured some high seeds winning handily, but we had our first two upsets with the 12-seed Anthony Rendon taking down the 5-seed Brian Jordan (Jordan’s walk off grand slam against John Franco in 2001 is apparently a distant memory). Meanwhile, the 13-seed Freddie Freeman handily defeated the 4-seed Ryan Howard by a 71% to 29% margin (388 to 157). Word got back to Freeman earlier, and a video of his celebration was posted on Twitter.
In the Bad Guys region, three of the biggest villains in Mets history made quick work of their opponents. Mets fans lined up early to cast their vote for John Rocker over Hunter Pence (92% to 8%, 414 to 34 votes), Chase Utley over Jesse Winker (98% to 2%, 453 to 9 votes), and Roger Clemens over Rhys Hoskins (96% to 4%, 434 to 20 votes). This region didn’t feature any upsets, as all the higher seeds moved on. However, Bad Guys did include one of the closest votes in the entire tournament. In the end, Bryce Harper was able to slip by Jayson Werth by a total of 12 votes (51% to 49%, 231 to 219 votes, moving on to face Utley in the second round.
We’ll be bringing you Round 2 later today, but in the meantime there’s still time to vote for the Playoff Villains and Self-Loathing regions.
For now, voting for the Round of 32 is open!
Poll
1 vs. 8: Chipper Jones vs. Mike Schmidt
This poll is closed
-
96%
Chipper Jones
(346 votes) -
3%
Mike Schmidt
(13 votes)
Poll
12 vs. 13: Anthony Rendon vs. Freddie Freeman
This poll is closed
-
25%
Anthony Rendon
(89 votes) -
74%
Freddie Freeman
(264 votes)
Poll
3 vs. 6: Greg Maddux vs. John Smoltz
This poll is closed
-
63%
Greg Maddux
(220 votes) -
36%
John Smoltz
(128 votes)
Poll
2 vs. 7: Pat Burrell vs. Willie Stargell
This poll is closed
-
73%
Pat Burrell
(250 votes) -
26%
Willie Stargell
(91 votes)
Poll
1 vs. 8: John Rocker vs. Guillermo Mota
This poll is closed
-
90%
John Rocker
(321 votes) -
9%
Guillermo Mota
(33 votes)
Poll
4 vs. 5: Jimmy Rollins vs. Chris Paddack
This poll is closed
-
91%
Jimmy Rollins
(320 votes) -
8%
Chris Paddack
(30 votes)
Poll
3 vs. 6: Roger Clemens vs. Cole Hamels
This poll is closed
-
82%
Roger Clemens
(292 votes) -
17%
Cole Hamels
(61 votes)
Poll
2 vs. 7: Chase Utley vs. Bryce Harper
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19826318/01_Mets_Killers.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19826319/02_Bad_Guys.jpg)