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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.
We didn’t get many surprises in Part 1 of the Round of 32, which included the Mets Killers and Bad Guys regions. For the second straight round, Chipper Jones registered the largest victory of any competitor, demolishing Mike Schmidt with 96% of the vote (346 to 13 votes) and establishing himself as the person to beat in the tournament. In a battle of underdogs, the 13-seed Freddie Freeman advanced against Anthony Rendon with 75% of the vote to face Jones in the Sour 16. Greg Maddux toppled fellow teammate John Smoltz while Pat Burrell defeated Willie Stargell. There were no upsets to be had in the Bad Guys region, with the top four seeds moving on with significant vote counts.
In Part 2 of the Round 32, which included the Playoff Villains and Self-loathing regions, we had our closest match yet. In the 5 vs. 13 match-up, Jason Bay edged out Oliver Perez by just four votes to put an end to his Cinderella run and move on to face hated Mets’ owner M. Donald Grant. Current owners (for now) Fred and Jeff Wilpon blew away Armando Benitez, despite the former closer inexplicably getting 17 votes in that matchup. The Wilpons be paired up with Bobby Bonilla, which is a matchup we typically need to wait until July 1st for. In the playoff villains bracket, we had a stunner with 4-seed Luis Sojo getting taken down by 12-seed Madison Bumgarner with 68% of the vote (204 to 98 votes). Derek Jeter also upstaged 1988 villain Mike Scioscia to advance. In an expected development, 2006 villains Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright moved on.
We’re getting closer to seeing who Mets fans hate more than anybody else. Voting is now open for the Sour 16, and polls remain open until Monday!
Poll
1 vs. 13: Chipper Jones vs. Freddie Freeman
This poll is closed
-
95%
Chipper Jones
(338 votes) -
4%
Freddie Freeman
(16 votes)
Poll
2 vs. 3: Pat Burrell vs. Greg Maddux
This poll is closed
-
63%
Pat Burrell
(218 votes) -
36%
Greg Maddux
(125 votes)
Poll
1 vs. 4: John Rocker vs. Jimmy Rollins
This poll is closed
-
71%
John Rocker
(250 votes) -
28%
Jimmy Rollins
(98 votes)
Poll
2 vs. 3: Chase Utley vs. Roger Clemens
This poll is closed
-
62%
Chase Utley
(221 votes) -
37%
Roger Clemens
(130 votes)
Poll
1 vs. 12: Yadier Molina vs. Madison Bumgarner
This poll is closed
-
81%
Yadier Molina
(284 votes) -
18%
Madison Bumgarner
(64 votes)
Poll
2 vs. 6: Adam Wainwright vs. Derek Jeter
This poll is closed
-
64%
Adam Wainwright
(223 votes) -
35%
Derek Jeter
(124 votes)
Poll
1 vs. 5: M. Donald Grant vs. Jason Bay
This poll is closed
-
71%
M. Donald Grant
(249 votes) -
28%
Jason Bay
(97 votes)
Poll
2 vs. 6: The Wilpons vs. Bobby Bonilla
This poll is closed
-
93%
The Wilpons
(335 votes) -
6%
Bobby Bonilla
(22 votes)
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