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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.
The Playoff Villain bracket was probably the most painful to revisit, but it did involve the closest competition to date. In the 8 vs. 9 match, 1988 villain Orel Hershiser advanced by the skin of his teeth after edging out 1986 villain Mike Scott by seven votes (51% to 49%, 174 to 167 votes). Unsurprisingly, March Bad-ness didn’t throw us any curveballs for the top seeds, as 2006 villains Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright easily moved on. The same applied for 2000 villains Luis Sojo and Derek Jeter, who also advanced without much of a fight. There were two upsets in the bracket, as 12-seed Madison Bumgarner toppled teammate Conor Gillaspie, while 2015 Royals villain Ben Zobrist topped 2006 Game 2 villain So Taguchi in a stunner.
The self-loathing bracket featured the biggest upset in terms of seeding, as 14-seed Victor Zambrano devastated 3-seed Tom Glavine (56% to 44%, 236 to 184 votes), although no word yet on whether Glavine himself felt devastated by the outcome. 13-seed Oliver Perez’s body of work also helped him surpass 2006 Game 7 goat and 4-seed Aaron Heilman (73% to 27%, 307 to 113 votes) to move on. To nobody’s surprise, The Wilpons made easy work of Mickey Callaway (see you tomorrow, Mickey) 98% to 2%, and M. Donald Grant similarly had an easy victory.
For now, voting for the Round of 32 is open! You can vote in the other two regions.
Poll
1 vs. 8: Yadier Molina vs. Orel Hershiser
This poll is closed
-
78%
Yadier Molina
(244 votes) -
21%
Orel Hershiser
(65 votes)
Poll
4 vs. 12: Luis Sojo vs. Madison Bumgarner
This poll is closed
-
32%
Luis Sojo
(98 votes) -
67%
Madison Bumgarner
(204 votes)
Poll
3 vs. 6: Mike Scioscia vs. Derek Jeter
This poll is closed
-
40%
Mike Scioscia
(127 votes) -
59%
Derek Jeter
(184 votes)
Poll
2 vs. 10: Adam Wainwright vs. Ben Zobrist
This poll is closed
-
86%
Adam Wainwright
(269 votes) -
13%
Ben Zobrist
(41 votes)
Poll
1 vs. 9: M. Donald Grant vs. Vince Coleman
This poll is closed
-
67%
M. Donald Grant
(204 votes) -
32%
Vince Coleman
(99 votes)
Poll
5 vs. 13: Jason Bay vs. Oliver Perez
Poll
6 vs. 14: Bobby Bonilla vs. Victor Zambrano
This poll is closed
-
67%
Bobby Bonilla
(207 votes) -
32%
Victor Zambrano
(99 votes)
Poll
2 vs. 7: The Wilpons vs. Armando Benitez
This poll is closed
-
94%
The Wilpons
(297 votes) -
5%
Armando Benitez
(17 votes)
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