Tag: Mets

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Tom Seaver

Standing at a powerful 6’1’’ and 206 pounds, Tom Seaver was a devastating sight for any hitter to see. Besides the intimidating mound presence, Seaver’s slider, curveball, dirty rising fastball, and later a changeup proved that he was in control of the at bat. In his 20 year career spanning from 1967 to 1986, Seaver was able to win 311 games, strike out 3,640 batters (sixth most all time), post a 2.86 ERA, and throw an absurd 231 complete games with 61 of them being shutouts. He also threw 4,782.2 innings, good for nineteenth most all time. 23 years after being born in Fresno, California, Seaver received the National League Rookie of the Year with the Mets by winning 16 games, posting a 2.76 ERA, and striking out 170 batters in 251 innings of work.

1969 was a great year for the Mets. They won their first World Series in franchise history and Tom Seaver took home the Cy Young award. For the first of three times, Seaver led the National League in wins to go along with a 2.21 ERA in 273.1 innings. He would the Cy Young award again in 1973 by pitching 290 innings and leading the league in strikeouts with 251, ERA with 2.08, WHIP with 0.98, and tied for the lead with 18 complete games. Two years later, he would win a league leading 22 games and strike out 243 batters, leading him to claim the Cy Young.

Though the Mets pitching staff was centered around him, Seaver was traded midseason to the Cincinnati Reds for a bunch of hopeful stars. Needless to say, the Reds got the better package making this deal one of the most lopsided trades in the history of baseball. Seaver never won the Cy Young again, but he was able to put up five double digit win seasons.

For the last five years, Seaver bounced around with the Mets and White Sox before calling it quits with the Red Sox in 1986. The Fresno native was able to put up record numbers and collect 12 All Star during his Major League tenure. Seaver went into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 1992 wearing a Mets cap. The Mets retired Seaver’s jersey number 41 on June 24, 1988. Whether you remember him as a Met or Red, Tom Seaver is among legends with his Hall of Fame statistics.

 

References

Baseball Reference

ESPN

MLB.com

Mets.com

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Did You Know?: New York Sports Teams

  • The New York Yankees had a mascot called Dandy from 1979 to 1981. It was shaped like a bowling pin and had a Thurman Munson mustache. George Steinbrenner did not like the look so Dandy was archived and never seen again.
  • The New York Mets is actually a shortened version of the full team’s name. Mets is short for Metropolitans, a tribute to New York. So, technically, the Mets full name is the New York Metropolitans.
  • The Yankees were originally called the Highlanders.
  • It was rumored that there was a jail cell beneath the original Yankee Stadium. There is no proving evidence, letting us to believe this rumor is false.
  • The Mets have a large apple underneath the batters eye that shoots through the tunnel into sight whenever a Met goes deep.
  • The Yankees removed the retired numbers circle on the concourse near the Monument Park Store before the 2017 season.
  • The Manchester City Football Club plays some games at Yankee Stadium.
  • The Mets’ current stadium is Citi Field, but the original Mets’ stomping grounds was Shea Stadium.
by Jacoby Nolnaho

Tom Seaver Rookie Season

Tom Seaver was born November 17, 1944, in Fresno, California. He began his 20 year career with the Mets in 1967. That year, Seaver won the National League Rookie of the Year by winning 16 games, pitching 251 innings, striking out 170 batters, and posting a 2.76 ERA. This was just the start of a legacy for Tom.

This is a great season for today’s standards, but even better for 1967’s standards. After 1967, Tom would go on to win 295 more wins and pave his route to the Hall of Fame.

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Yoenis Cespedes 2016

Yoenis Cespedes had another great season in 2016. It was his first full season with the New York Mets. In 2015, the Mets acquired Cespedes at the trade deadline and he helped lead them to the World Series. 2016 saw similar numbers. In 132 games, he collected 134 hits, 25 doubles, 72 runs, 86 RBIs, 31 home runs, and 3 stolen bases. He also posted a solid .280 batting average. He helped the Mets get to the Wild Card and he picked up a Silver Slugger at the end of the year.

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Gil Hodges

Gil Hodges was one of the best players of his era. He was also a legendary manager of the New York Mets. We now dive into the facts about Gil Hodges.

Gil Hodges was born April 4 of 1924. Gil Hodges was an outfielder/first basemen for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets. He was amazing with the bat and with the glove. Gil won the Gold Glove award in 1957, 1958, and 1959. 1954 was arguably his best season. That year, Hodges got a career high in home runs with 42, hits with 176, batting average with .304, runs batted in (RBIs) with 130, and slugging percentage with an astonishing .579. In his 18 year career, Hodges posted amazing numbers. In 2,071 games, Hodges crushed 370 home runs, drove in 1,274 RBIs, scored 1,105 runs, knocked 1,921 hits, got 295 doubles, and posted a .273 career batting average.

When Gil Hodges’ playing career ended, he transitioned to the manager role. He managed the Washington Senators for five years. He was an average manager. He led the Senators to a 321-444 record. One year, his team lost 100 games. Gil left the Senators and went to manager for his former team, the New York Mets. After one rough year in 1968, he gave hope to the Mets. The next year, he led the Mets to a 100-62 record. This record got them all the way to the postseason. The Amazin’ Mets ended up winning their first World Series in franchise history under the watch of Hodges. The next two years, the Mets posted a steady record of 83-79. 1971 was Gil’s last year in baseball. In 1971, Gil Hodges suffered from a sudden heart attack and died at the age of 61. Despite his loss, his memory is still survived. There is a lot of controversy about whether or not Hodges should be in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1982, he was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame by retiring his number 14. In conclusion, Gil Hodges was one of the best baseball figures of all time.