NEW YORK METS
| The Mets had a great year and a great playoff run, and manager Bobby Valentine is back, despite the fact that no one seems to like him. They made a fair number of changes during the winter, most of which did not help the club, but the big one (Mike Hampton) certainly will. They still have some great players, led by Piazza, but also Alfonzo and Ventura, and last I checked Rickey Henderson was still around. But they will miss Olerud and some of the departed pitchers. Will probably win 85-90 games, which might be enough for a wild card birth. |
| BENNY AGBAYANI (OF, 28, R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1997 AAA 127 468 145 24 2 11 90 51 67 106 310 401 440 29 14 1998 AAA 90 322 91 20 5 11 43 53 50 58 283 381 478 16 6 1999 AAA 28 101 36 8 1 8 21 32 16 19 356 446 693 5 3 |
| An example of a perfectly-timed hot streak. After three years at Norfolk, the Mets sent Agbayani back for a fourth, presumably to spend the rest of his career there. But Benny got hot, got a promotion, and stayed hot after he joined the big club. He has a job now; I don't think he will hit for as much power as he did in 1999, but he can hit .280 in the big leagues with some pop. |
| EDGARDO ALFONZO (2B, 26, R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1997 NYM 151 518 163 27 2 10 84 72 63 56 315 391 432 11 6 1998 NYM 144 557 155 28 2 17 94 78 65 77 278 355 427 8 3 1999 NYM 158 628 191 41 1 27 123 108 85 85 304 385 502 9 2 |
| The Mets have been in existence for almost 40 years, and up till now had no candidates for the title of Best Second Baseman In Franchise History. It would now appear that Alfonzo is the guy. He had a great year in 1999, and is in the middle of his prime years. He does everything well; if his power surge continues, he will be an MVP candidate again next year. |
| DEREK BELL (OF, 31, R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1997 HOU 129 493 136 29 3 15 67 71 40 94 276 344 438 15 7 1998 HOU 156 630 198 41 2 22 111 108 51 126 314 364 490 13 3 1999 HOU 128 509 120 22 0 12 61 66 50 129 236 306 350 18 6 |
| Bell had a really bad season last year; he underachieved just as much as he overachieved in 1998. He will rebound in 2000, hit about .280 with some power and some speed. He's still not my favourite player; he doesn't do a lot of the things that put runs on the board. I think he benefits more from the great players that surround him in the lineup than they benefit from him. An average player at best. |
| ARMANDO BENITEZ (27, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1997 BAL 4 5 71 0 0 0 9 73 49 43 106 245 1998 BAL 5 6 71 0 0 0 22 68 48 39 87 382 1999 NYM 4 3 77 0 0 0 22 78 40 41 128 185 |
|
He was probably the most overpowering reliever in baseball, averaging
14.8 strikeouts per nine innings. He is prone to wildness, and has had his
troubles in the playoffs, but I think he's got to be the Mets' closer next
year. Franco can't handle the job anymore, and why would you want to look
for someone else? Benitez is still very young, and is very good. Is it just bad memories on my part, or did this guy get treated horribly in Baltimore? I know, he gave up some ill-timed home runs in the playoffs... but hell, most great relievers have done the same. And how many relievers as young as Benitez have in pitched as much playoff pressure as he has? But I still can't get over that time during the regular season when he hit Bernie Williams with a pitch, causing a mini-riot (I think that was the one where Darryl Strawberry tried to pick a fight). Benitez was tossed from the game (fair enough), while Steinbrenner complained and blew hot air about the treatment of his players. What was really awful was when Peter Angelos apologized to the baseball world for Benitez's actions. Excuse me? Since when does someone in management pull the rug out from a player like that? This is the team that didn't do a damn thing when Alomar spit at an umpire, but then publicly derided their own pitcher when... he hit a batter? Hell, here in Toronto, Pat Hentgen drills batters all the time, and everyone thinks it's wonderful. In the aftermath of the Oriole/Yankee fracas, Benitez was made out to be some kind of untamed animal who needed punishing by his own master. It was the worst public treatment of a player by his own team that I've ever seen. Well, whatever. Benitez is in New York now, and I'd rather have him than any player or pitcher on the Orioles' roster. Looks good on them. |
| DENNIS COOK (37, L) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1997 FLO 1 2 59 0 0 0 0 62 64 28 63 390 1998 NYM 8 4 73 0 0 0 1 68 60 27 79 238 1999 NYM 10 5 71 0 0 0 3 63 50 27 68 386 |
| Cook is about as dependable a reliever as you can get, and is now 18-9 in two seasons with the Mets. He is getting older, but should have another good season. |
| JOHN FRANCO (40, L) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1997 NYM 5 3 59 0 0 0 36 60 49 20 53 255 1998 NYM 0 8 61 0 0 0 38 64 66 29 59 362 1999 NYM 0 2 46 0 0 0 19 41 40 19 41 288 |
| He is ancient, and had some injuries, but pitched pretty well. The Mets have to give Benitez a chance to grow into the closer's role, but if Franco comes back he can still help out in a setup role. He now has 416 career saves. |
| MATT FRANCO (3B/OF, 31, L) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1997 NYM 112 163 45 5 0 5 21 21 13 23 276 330 399 1 0 1998 NYM 103 161 44 7 2 1 20 13 23 26 273 366 360 0 1 1999 NYM 122 132 31 5 0 4 18 21 28 21 235 366 364 0 0 |
Franco now has 504 career at bats. His numbers:YEARS GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 5 367 504 131 19 2 11 65 58 65 79 260 345 371 1 1 Those are the same type of numbers I would expect from Franco this year. He doesn't really hit enough to be either a third baseman or an outfielder, so his time is probably limited. |
| SHANE HALTER (IF, 30, R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1997 KC 74 123 34 5 1 2 16 10 10 28 276 341 382 4 3 1998 KC 86 204 45 12 0 2 17 13 12 38 221 265 309 2 5 |
| A veteran utility man, Halter spent most of last season at Norfolk. He is versatile, but does little else to recommend himself. I don't expect him to get many at bats this year. |
| DARRYL HAMILTON (CF, 35, L) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1997 SF 125 460 124 23 3 5 78 43 61 61 270 354 365 15 10 1998 SF-COL 148 561 173 28 3 6 95 51 82 73 308 398 401 13 9 1999 COL-NYM 146 505 159 19 4 9 82 45 57 39 315 386 422 6 8 |
| The Traveling Centre Fielder played for his third team in three years, and ended up in the playoffs. His numbers are good; he actually hit better in New York than he did in Colorado. I suspect that he will hit around .280 this year, in which case he should get some at bats. |
| MIKE HAMPTON (28, L) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1997 HOU 15 10 34 34 7 2 0 223 217 77 139 383 1998 HOU 11 7 32 32 1 1 0 211 227 81 137 336 1999 HOU 22 4 34 34 3 2 0 239 206 101 177 290 |
| The Astros had been waiting for this guy to have a breakthrough season; I reckon it was worth the wait. Hampton held left-handed batters to a .149 batting average and a .199 slugging percentage; lefties had only three extra- base hits all year. Hampton is leaving the Astrodome, the best pitchers' park in the league, so his ERA will likely go up a little, but otherwise he is a good bet to continue to succeed. |
| RICKEY HENDERSON (LF, 41, R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1997 SD-ANA 120 403 100 14 0 8 84 34 97 85 248 400 342 45 8 1998 OAK 152 542 128 16 1 14 101 57 118 114 236 376 347 66 13 1999 NYM 121 438 138 30 0 12 89 42 82 82 315 423 466 37 14 |
|
Had a stunning comeback season, after several years of
decline. Lost in all the hoopla over home runs the past few years
is is the fact that the great base stealers have disappeared from
the game. Funny how these things go in cycles, isn't it? Remember
the 1980's (not too long ago), with Henderson and Vince Coleman and
Tim Raines and Eric Davis and Willie Wilson and Ron LeFlore? It
seems an eternity ago. I suspect that another great base stealer
will come along eventually, but in the meantime it's sad to think
that in the year 2000, the closest thing there is to Rickey
Henderson is still Rickey himself. Rickey's great season put one of baseball's greatest and oldest records in jeopardy, that of Ty Cobb's 2245 career runs scored. Rickey finished the year with 2103, still 142 behind. He will need at least two years to do it, but it now appears that he will be able to last that long. I will be surprised if he hits over .280 next year, but he still gets on base, and he can still run. Among all-time left fielders, I think Rickey ranks a solid fourth, behind Musial, Williams, and Barry Bonds. Rickey's reputation as a player seems to be on the decline lately; you don't here his name listed among the greats all that often. But even if he had never stolen a base in his life, Rickey's offensive numbers would be similar to many Hall Of Fame outfielders... and he's the greatest base stealer ever. |
| BOBBY JONES (30, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1997 NYM 15 9 30 30 2 1 0 193 177 63 125 363 1998 NYM 9 9 30 30 0 0 0 195 192 53 115 405 1999 NYM 3 3 12 9 0 0 0 59 69 11 31 561 |
| Jones has been a solid pitcher for several years, but last year was hindered by injuries. If he is sound he is a quality pitcher, consistent, wins a few more games than he loses. I expect that he has more good years ahead of him. |
| BOBBY JONES (28, L) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1997 COL 1 1 4 4 0 0 0 19 30 12 5 838 1998 COL 7 8 35 20 1 0 0 141 153 66 109 522 1999 COL 6 10 30 20 1 0 0 112 132 77 74 633 |
| Jones' career has been floundering with Colorado, but he has now been dealt to the Mets. We will find out if Jones has any ability; I suspect that he does, and will have a decent year. |
| AL LEITER (34, L) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1997 FLO 11 9 27 27 0 0 0 151 133 91 132 434 1998 NYM 17 6 28 28 4 2 0 193 151 71 174 247 1999 NYM 13 12 32 32 1 1 0 213 209 93 162 423 |
| Leiter was up and down all year; he also started the playoffs by throwing a shutout, and ended them by not retiring a single batter in Game Six versus Atlanta. Leiter was still pretty decent overall, and he is a power pitcher; I expect him to pitch well again next year, but not like he did in 1998. |
| PAT MAHOMES (30, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1999 NYM 8 0 39 0 0 0 0 64 44 37 51 368 |
| Mahomes returned after missing two seasons, and was a key member of the Mets' bullpen. He was as lucky as he was good; Mahomes is a good pitcher, will need to improve his control to be a consistently good setup man. |
| MELVIN MORA (IF, 28, R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1997 AAA 119 370 95 15 3 2 55 38 47 52 257 356 330 7 7 1999 AAA 82 304 92 17 2 8 55 36 41 54 303 393 451 18 8 |
| Mora is a veteran minor league infielder, missed almost all of 1998 with injury, but last year came back and made his major league debut. He can play almost every position in the field, and should be a quality bench player. |
| JON NUNNALLY (RF, 28, L) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1997 KC-CIN 78 230 71 12 4 14 46 39 31 58 309 394 578 7 3 1998 CIN 74 174 36 9 0 7 29 20 34 38 207 335 379 3 4 |
| I have always thought that Nunnally was a good player, but things just haven't broken his way. He spent most of last season at Pawtucket, and didn't have a great season. He does lots of things well, and could be a good fourth outfielder; it is just a matter of his luck turning around. |
| REY ORDONEZ (SS, 27, R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1997 NYM 120 356 77 5 3 1 35 33 18 36 216 255 256 11 5 1998 NYM 153 505 124 20 2 1 46 42 23 60 246 278 299 3 6 1999 NYM 154 520 134 24 2 1 49 60 49 59 258 319 317 8 4 |
| The key facts about Ordonez are that he is an outstanding defensive player, and about as a bad a hitter as you are ever likely to see. He doubled his walk total last year, which helps, but I can't see him developing as a hitter the way that Ozzie Smith and Omar Vizquel did. And I doubt that he is as good a defensive player as either Ozzie or Omar. But the Mets won, and he will continue to play every day. |
| JESSE OROSCO (43, L) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1997 BAL 6 3 71 0 0 0 0 50 29 30 46 232 1998 BAL 4 1 69 0 0 0 7 56 46 28 50 318 1999 BAL 0 2 65 0 0 0 1 32 28 20 35 534 |
| I wouldn't declare him finished. His ERA was bad, but not that bad compared to the rest of the league. He kept the hits down, and the strikeouts were still plentiful. His struggles could have been just bad luck. Obviously, you can't count on a comeback from a pitcher his age, but if he has a job in spring training, he'll probably have a decent year. |
| JAY PAYTON (OF, 27, R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 AAA 82 322 84 14 4 8 45 30 26 50 261 318 404 12 7 1999 AAA 38 144 56 13 2 8 27 35 12 13 389 437 674 2 2 |
| Payton has always been a pretty good hitter, but his career has been plagued by injuries. Since 1994 he has not been able to put a full season together, and he missed all of 1997. Sensing that his career might be in danger, Payton filled up on spinach last season and had a super-hot streak at Norfolk. If he can stay healthy, he can be a big bat off the bench. |
| MIKE PIAZZA (CA, 32, R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1997 LA 152 556 201 32 1 40 104 124 69 77 362 431 638 5 1 1998 3TEAMS 151 561 184 38 1 32 88 111 58 80 328 390 570 1 0 1999 NYM 141 534 162 25 0 40 100 124 51 70 303 361 575 2 2 |
|
He's been in the league for six years now; I think it's pretty
safe to call him the greatest offensive catcher in baseball history
(not counting Josh Gibson). Piazza hit .303 with 40 homers and
124 RBI- and had an off-year by his own standards. Like many Mets, he
had problems at Shea Stadium; his road numbers included a .323 average and
a .610 slugging percentage. He's still capable of winning an MVP Award some
day, and there's no reason why it can't be next year. He can't throw out runners, of course, though no one really cares. It's the most overrated element of a catcher's game, and only really makes a difference if you've got someone like Ivan Rodriguez who completely shuts down the opposition's running game. Piazza also makes more errors than he should, but then... But I wonder if Piazza gets a bad rap on defense. The Dodgers always had outstanding pitching staffs while he was there, best in the league after Atlanta. You could credit that to a great farm system and a good pitcher's park... but the Dodgers' pitching has stunk ever since Piazza left. And now the Met's have a great staff, and they're in the playoffs... are you beginning to see a pattern? Anyways, he's one of the very best players in baseball. Rodriguez probably had a better year last year, but I think Piazza has been better every other year he's been in the league. I don't know how long he's going to catch, but for now he's one of the very best. |
| TODD PRATT (CA, 33, R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1997 NYM 39 106 30 6 0 2 12 19 13 32 283 372 396 0 1 1998 NYM 41 69 19 9 1 2 9 18 2 20 275 296 522 0 0 1999 NYM 71 140 41 4 0 3 18 21 15 32 293 369 386 2 0 |
| Pratt is like Tom Prince, only better. After seven seasons he is a career .256 hitter, and hits the occasional home run (including a huge one in the playoffs). No potential, but a quality backup. |
| BILL PULSIPHER (26, L) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 NYM-MIL 3 4 26 11 0 0 0 72 86 31 51 510 1999 MIL 5 6 19 16 0 0 0 87 100 36 42 598 |
| Once a great pitching prospect with the Mets, Pulsipher missed two full seasons after arm surgery, and did not pitch well last season. He is young, but there is little evidence that he is going to break through with a big season; more likely, he will just continue to drift along, like Jason Bere or Pete Schourek. |
| RICK REED (35, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1997 NYM 13 9 33 31 2 0 0 208 186 31 113 289 1998 NYM 16 11 31 31 2 1 0 212 208 29 153 348 1999 NYM 11 5 26 26 1 1 0 149 163 47 104 458 |
| This is the guy who was a replacement player in 1995, then stuck around when everyone realized that he was a terrific pitcher. Reed has had a great run, but his walks and ERA were up, and he's turning 35 this season. I wouldn't expect much more than a .500 record this year. |
| RICH RODRIGUEZ (37, L) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1997 SF 4 3 71 0 0 0 1 65 65 21 32 317 1998 SF 4 0 68 0 0 0 2 65 69 20 44 370 1999 SF 3 0 62 0 0 0 0 57 60 28 44 524 |
| Rodriguez is a veteran lefty in the bullpen, pitched well from 1997-98 but got whupped last year. Worse, he didn't fool many left-handers, who hit him especially hard. His career is probably over. |
| GLENDON RUSCH (25, L) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1997 KC 6 9 30 27 1 0 0 170 206 52 116 550 1998 KC 6 15 29 24 1 1 1 155 191 50 94 588 |
| After two full years in the starting rotation, Rusch is 12-25 with a lifetime 5.78 ERA. He was rusched to the majors before he was ready; even last year at Omaha he did not pitch well. Though he has hit a low point, Rusch has good control and gets strikeouts; I expect him to re-emerge in a couple of seasons and have a good year. |
| JORGE TOCA (1B, 25, R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 AA-AAA 124 455 145 27 2 25 85 96 38 66 319 374 552 5 8 |
| Toca is a Mets' prospect. As far as I can tell, last year was his first in pro ball. He was terrific at both Binghamton and Norfolk; last I checked, the Mets were going to use Todd Zeile at first base, but they would probably be just as well off to give Toca a chance. |
| ROBIN VENTURA (3B, 33, L) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1997 CHW 54 183 48 10 1 6 27 26 34 21 262 373 426 0 0 1998 CHW 161 590 155 31 4 21 84 91 79 111 263 349 436 1 1 1999 NYM 161 588 177 38 0 32 88 120 74 109 301 379 529 1 1 |
| Ventura had basically the same season that he had in 1996, the year before he broke his ankle in spring training. He was a huge addition to the Mets, and an MVP candidate. He's an outstanding defensive player, and has had some big years with the bat as well. |
| TURK WENDELL (33, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1997 CHC-NYM 3 5 65 0 0 0 5 76 68 53 64 436 1998 NYM 5 1 66 0 0 0 4 76 62 33 58 293 1999 NYM 5 4 80 0 0 0 3 86 80 37 77 305 |
| Wendell is the flake (but not a left-hander) who brushes his teeth between innings. He has been outstanding for two straight seasons, and is among the better setup men in the game. He is getting older, and won't return to the closer's role while in New York; but last year he set career highs for games and innings pitched, and his control is still improving. More of the same in 2000. |
| TODD ZEILE (3B, 35, R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1997 LA 160 575 154 17 0 31 89 90 85 112 268 365 459 8 7 1998 3TEAMS 158 572 155 32 3 19 85 94 69 90 261 358 450 4 4 1999 TEX 156 588 172 41 1 24 80 98 56 94 293 354 488 1 2 |
| Zeile has been acquired by the Mets, and will apparently be their first baseman. To be honest, I don't think he hits enough to be a good first baseman. He is very consistent, but he is also 35 years old, and will need to improve at the plate to be a good first sacker. |