For the past year, we have seen the magic that can happen when a player plays for the team he rooted for throughout his entire life.  Steven Matz is an astounding 11-1 as a Met.  Not only has he become a beloved Met, but his grandfather has become a beloved figure as well.  It doesn’t get any better than that.

However, what happens after that?  What happens when the team you love decides they are better off without you?

Twenty years ago, that was what happened to Bernard Gilkey.  Gilkey was born and raised in St. Louis.  In 1984, Gilkey was signed as amateur free agent.  Six years later, Gilkey made his major league debut for his hometown team.  In six years, Gilkey played very well for the Cardinals.  He hit .284/.354/.431.  In his four seasons as a starter, he had a 117 OPS+.  Then, after the 1995 season, the Cardinals decided they could do better than him as they had Ron Gant, Ray Lankford, and Brian Jordan.  This facilitated a trade to the Mets.

Gilkey responded by going 2-4 with a homerun and 2 RBI on opening day against those same St. Louis Cardinals.  It was the first step in what turned out to be a career year for Gilkey.  Gilkey hit .317/.393/.562 with 30 homers and 117 RBI.  He set a still standing Mets record of 44 doubles.  He had a 155 OPS+.  It stands out as the greatest season a Mets left fielder has ever had.  Gilkey responded to the heartbreak of leaving his hometown team, the team that drafted him with a career year.

This year Neil Walker finds himself in the same predicament Gilkey did twenty years ago.  Walker is responding in a similar fashion.

Moreso than Gilkey was to St. Louis, Walker was Pittsburgh.  His father was good friends with Roberto Clemente.  Walker walks this earth because Clemente told Walker’s father not to get on that plane.  Walker was born in Pittsburgh, and he grew up in their suburbs.  He was the Pirates first round pick in 2004, and he made his debut with the team in 2009.  Walker was an important part of the make-over of the Pirates from a team that had a losing record 20 consecutive seasons to a team that made the playoffs three consecutive years.  Despite all of this, the Pirates decided Walker was too expensive, and they traded him to the Mets.

Like Gilkey, Walker is responding by having a career. year.  Walker has already hit 13 homeruns this year.  That’s a 38 homerun pace, which would shatter his career high of 23.  He is hitting .279/.348/.505.  The OBP stands to be his second highest ever, and his slugging percentage would be his best ever.  His 131 OPS+ would also be a career high.  Perhaps more important than any of this is the fact that Walker is now a true switch hitter.

Before coming to the Mets, Walker only hit .261/.306/.338 with only six homeruns against lefties.  This year, he’s hitting .341/.396/.727 with five homeruns.  He’s nearly doubled his career homerun total.  He’s gone from being meek against lefties to being a force in the lineup against lefties.  In some way, the coming to the Mets as turned Walker’s already solid career around.  Like Gilkey, coming to the Mets seems to be the best thing that has ever happened to Walker.  Sometimes, the best thing that can happen to a player is for them to leave their hometown to fully develop as a player.  The Mets have been fortunate to have Gilkey and Walker blossom after they left their hometowns.

With all that said, we all hope Matz never leaves the Mets.  From what we’ve seen with him, he doesn’t need to leave the Mets to be great.

Editor’s Note: this was also published on metsmerizedonline.com