Good Luck Jerry Blevins

Today, we would not have seen Jerry Blevins come to the Mets, at least not in the fashion he did. On the eve of the 2015 season, the Mets would trade Matt den Dekker to the Nationals for Blevins. With that trade, the upstart Mets would have the LOOGY they needed to challenge the Nationals for the division. Looking at the way things are now, that trade would never happen today.

We can be thankful things were different in 2015.

Blevins Mets career would get off to a great start. In April, he made seven appearances pitching five scoreless innings. During that stretch, he got out a who’s who of players Mets fans have loved to hate – Bryce Harper, Ryan Howard, Freddie Freeman, and Chase Utley. With that, Blevins certainly endeared himself to Mets fans.

Unfortunately, Blevins would get hit with a come-backer breaking his arm. While rehabbing, he’d slip on a curb and break his arm again meaning he’d miss out on the Mets surprising 2015 run to the World Series, a run he’d help get started with his performance in April. He would not miss the next run as he would be a key member of the Mets bullpen in 2016.

During the 2016 season, Blevins was much more than the LOOGY we all imagined him to be. No, Blevins was a pitcher who could get both right and left-handed batters out. He became a guy you could entrust the 7th or 8th inning. During that season, the Mets had a very small margin of error, and his pitching in the same bullpen with Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia helped pull the Mets over the finish line and into the top Wild Card spot.

Blevins contributions were immeasurably important for a team who claimed a Wild Card spot by just one game. One or two slip-ups, and the Mets may not have even been in contention for a spot. That goes double in July and August when the Mets were teetering, and Blevins responded with a 1.88 ERA.

While Blevins would continue to pitch well for the Mets in 2017 and 2018, the Mets would not be able to continue what was a two year run. In total, Blevins was a Met for four years, and in that time, he was 14-4 with four saves, a 3.38 ERA, 1.269 WHIP, and a 10.8 K/9.

Breaking it down, his K/9 is the third best all-time among Mets relievers. When you consider Tug McGraw, John Franco, and Billy Wagner, he’s in the top five Mets left-handed relievers all time. Really, when you look at pure left-handed set-up men, the discussion is between him and Pedro Feliciano for the best in Mets history. That’s a truly amazing feat.

But Blevins was more than that. He was as fan friendly a player as you will see. He hosted a Fantasy Movie League for fans to participate. He had a fun Twitter account. He hosted a baseball camp. He had a good sense of humor, was self effacing, and really was just a great guy on top of being very good at what he did:

In the end, Blevins will not just be missed because he was one of the best relievers in Mets history. He will be missed because he was a fun guy to root for during his time in Queens. He was that rare player who elevated his game in New York. He now returns to Oakland a new father looking to do for the Athletics what he did for the Mets.

For many reasons, Mets fans wish him the best of luck.

page top