Skip to main content

Fame On Them

Let's move on to something else that the Mets have screwed up royally, and I use that word for a reason.

The Royals returned home after the All-Star Break and those who showed up got something extra for their dollar.

The chance to go to the newly-opened Royals Hall of Fame.

I went to Monday's game and figured there would be some sort of recognition regarding the plans to "Met-up" Citi Field, that I'd read about not too long ago. There were none.

Forgive our impatience, but the lack of a Mets Hall of Fame in Citi Field is a joke.

The Jackie Robinson Rotunda is a great tribute and its presence is appropriate. The Mets Hall of Fame should have been given priority on the same line.

In fact, as we've documented before in this space, there are a lot of issues with the Mets Hall of Fame, or lack thereof.

In regards to the comparison to the Royals, it's worth noting that this is a franchise that has been in existence for seven years fewer than the Mets.

There are 12 players in the Mets Hall of Fame.

The Royals Hall of Fame includes 16 of their players.

The Mets have made 2 inductions since 1998.

The Royals have made 7.

The Mets did not induct anyone into their Hall of Fame from 2003 to 2008.

The Royals have made 5 inductions in that time period.

The Mets Hall of Fame appears to have been an afterthought, brought to mind only after some bad PR about the lack of Mets history in their own ballpark. But there was no hesitation to auction off historic items such as Tom Seaver's locker.

The Royals renovation of Kauffman Stadium includes a 6,800 square foot room to house, among other things, the original scouting report for Frank White and the George Brett pine-tar-home run bat.

Greg of Faith and Fear and I recently compiled top-of-our head lists of who else should be included in a Mets Hall of Fame, and the names were a near-match. To summarize his thoughts (which he's previously done in his blog) and mine:

If you can sell Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry t-shirts in the clubhouse shop, and hire Howard Johnson as your hitting coach then it's time for them to be enshrined in Metsietown, regardless of any issues with their past foibles. You can also make very good cases for Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez and Jesse Orosco from the 1986 teams, as well as late-returnee Lee Mazzilli. Davey Johnson is a no-doubter.

The Mets waited until Tommie Agee was dead to properly honor him. That could be avoided with Frank Cashen if there's a willingness to expedite the process.

I have a feeling that the Mets are going to do the right thing on August 22 and enshrine the entire 1969 team (memo to Mets: it's a good idea, if you haven't already thought of it). That takes care of Donn Clendenon and Ron Swoboda, if you feel strongly about their presence.

Jon Matlack would probably have already made the Mets Hall of Fame had he won Game 7 of the 1973 World Series. He won 82 other games, which ranks 7th-most among Mets pitchers. That qualifies him as legit.

David Cone and Al Leiter both went over to the dark side (the other NY team). That shouldn't disqualify them. John Franco seems to have stayed in the family, regardless of some recent comments he made. Two hundred seventy six saves earned him a spot. Edgardo Alfonzo is a top-5 guy in Mets hits and RBI. He belongs.

Mike Piazza...duh, although I'm wondering how the Mets will react if he ends up on a potentially dubious list of tarnish.

I know Greg has a few other names on his list, but you get the point by now. I've also got an idea for a "Hall of Very Good" in which you could put the likes of John Olerud and Ron Taylor, and a "Fan Fave" wing in which the Bruce Boisclair's of the world could receive recognition. But we'll save that for another time.

The Mets could easily induct one person per year (that's how the Phillies do it...by fan vote) for the next 15 years, and have a few names to spare. But given the tepid response to the idea of bringing back Old Timer's Day, I'm not convinced that the Mets marketers think in this manner.

The actions of Mets officials the last few days have been worthy of the Baseball Hall of Shame (a great series of books, by the way).

Showing that a Mets Hall of Fame is worthy of their time and immediate attention might be a way to eventually undo some of the damage caused by the unfortunate actions of a misbehaving few. They've spoiled the experience for many, over the last couple of days.

The last few words of the Fan Ground Rules announced by the players on the jumbotron (I'm not calling it by its corporate name) prior to games are "We want you back."

Actions speak louder. Memo to Mets: Act Now.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Walk-Offs in Movies, TV, and Other Places

Note: I'm leaving this post up through the end of the week, a) because I don't have time to pump out something new and b)because I was hoping to build a really good list of entertainment industry walk-offs...so if you're looking for something new, check back on Monday or so... Of course, if there's a major trade or move, I'll adjust and try to post something... In the meantime, click on the "Table of Contents" link as well. It has been updated. SPOILER ALERT: Read at your own risk Caught the ending of "A League of Their Own" on one of the movie channels the other day and it got me to thinking that it would be fun to compile a list of walk-offs from movies, television, and other forms of entertainment. Here's the start, and only the start, as I spent about 30 minutes or so thinking it over Help me fill in the blanks by filling out the comments section. "A League of Their Own"-- Racine beats Rockford for the All-American Girls Profess...

The best Mets ejections I know

When you think of the Mets and famous ejections, I'm guessing you first think of the famous Bobby Valentine mustache game, when after Valentine got tossed, he returned to the dugout in disguise. You know it. You love it. I remember being amused when I asked Bobby V about it while we were working on Baseball Tonight, how he simply said "It worked. We won the game." (true) But the Bobby V mustache game of June 9, 1999 is one of many, many memorable Mets ejection stories. And now thanks to Retrosheet and the magic of Newspapers.com , we have a convenient means for being able to share them. Ever since Retrosheet's David Smith recently announced that the Retrosheet ejection database was posted online , I've been a kid in a candy store. I've organized the data and done some lookups of media coverage around the games that interested me post. Those newspaper accounts fill in a lot of blanks. Without further ado (and with more work to do), here are some of my findings ...

The 'Duca of Earl (and walk-offs)

If I told you that the Mets had just obtained a guy who is a career .316 hitter with runners in scoring position? How about if I told you that the Mets just traded for a hitter who has consistently ranked among the toughest in baseball to strike out? Or if I mentioned that the Mets just dealt for a player who was selected to the NL All-Star team the last three seasons, with the last honor coming via a vote by his peers? So, although he's on the down side age wise, his throwing arm isn't as good as it used to be, and he doesn't provide much power, there are a lot of good things that Paul Lo Duca brings to the New York Mets. For example: He'll sacrifice his body for the good of the team The Dodgers and Braves squared off on August 23, 2002 and Lo Duca made an impact both on the start and finish of this game. Three pitches after being dusted by Greg Maddux, Lo Duca made him pay with a first-inning home run. The Braves rallied to tie the game, 3-3 in the ninth, but their bu...