Trivia
With Todd Zeile taking over in the booth while Ron Darling battles thyroid cancer, it is interesting to consider how the Mets have come to claim Zeile. He played 16 years and for 11 franchises, and he played with the Cardinals more than he played for the Mets. What is also interesting with Zeile is his 11 franchises is not a Major League record. That ties him just for sixth all time. Can you name the five players who have played for more? Good luck!
Octavio Dotel Edwin Jackson Mike Morgan Matt Stairs Ron Villone
So far this year, Edwin Diaz has been everything the Mets hoped he would be. With eight saves already under his belt, he is on a pace to crack the top 10 on the Mets single season save list. For him to get the top spot, the Mets are going to have to pick up the pace to get him more opportunities.
Can you name the Mets he would have to surpass to get to the top spot? Good luck!
This past week, the Mets opted to double down on Jason Vargas instead of signing Gio Gonzalez. They did that despite everything pointing to Vargas no longer being a good pitcher. Since the 2017 All Star Break, his ERA is over 6.00. This is a rare feat for a Mets pitcher as there are just two qualifying Mets starters with an ERA over 5.00. Can you name them? Good luck!
Last year, the Mets were the second worst defensive team in the National League with a combined -77 DRS. So far, the Mets ate the worst defensive team in the National League with a -22 DRS.
The biggest culprits are Amed Rosario (worst SS in the NL by DRS) and J.D. Davis (worst infielder in baseball). This is a far cry of the days John Olerud, Edgardo Alfonzo, Robin Ventura, and Rey Ordonez made up the best infield in history.
What we don’t know is what their DRS would’ve been. The reason is DRS came widely available in 2003. Can you name the Mets best defensive players at each position since then? Good luck!
Tom Glavine Kevin Plawecki Daniel Murphy Jose Valentin Chris Woodward Endy Chavez Juan Lagares Jeff Francoeur
Right now, we are seeing Pete Alonso do things which have not been done in Major League history. While he will have plenty of competition from the likes of Fernando Tatis Jr., Alonso has jumped out to an early lead in Rookie of the Year candidacy. If he does win, he will be the 14th first baseman to win the Rookie of the Year. Can you name them? Good luck!
Jackie Robinson Walt Dropo Orlando Cepeda Willie McCovey Chris Chambliss Mike Hargrove Alvin Davis Mark McGwire Jeff Bagwell Eric Karros Ryan Howard Jose Abreu Cody Bellinger
In his last on Thursday, Jacob deGrom tied Bob Gibson‘s Major League record for consecutive quality starts while extending his own Major League record for consecutive starts allowing three earned or less. That’s not his only noteworthy feat. In that start, he struck out 14 and hit a homer making him just the ninth pitcher to do that in Major League history. Can you name the other eight? Good luck!
Dazzy Vance Warren Spahn Pedro Ramos Tom Seaver Steve Carlton Madison Bumgarner
With the NCAA Tournament in Day Two and Opening Day less than a week away, college basketball fans will be rooting for their favorite teams and/or their alma mater. Personally, this means I will be rooting for Seton Hall to go on a run like they did in 1989 and hope beyond hope they don’t get screwed by a phantom foul call.
As a Mets fan, well, judging from past history, you should just be rooting for two teams from the same conference to make the Final Four. Since the field expanded to 64 teams, the Mets have made six postseasons, and in five of those six years, two teams from the same conference made the Final Four. That list grows to six of six if we use current conference alignment.
Can you name all of the teams who made the Final Four in each of the years the Mets made the postseason? Good luck!
With the new proposed rule changes, Major League Baseball is effectively eliminating left-handed relievers. As a result, we are not going to see situations where Josh Edgin comes into a pressure situation to strike out Bryce Harper to get the improbable save. Now, you can’t risk that because you can’t let Edgin face the next two batters.
Seeing this rule change the Mets are going to have to look more at left-handed relievers like Justin Wilson and less of the ilk of Luis Avilan. Before this baseball alerting rule goes into effect in the 2020 season, it seems like a good time to take a look at who the best left-handed relievers are in Mets history. Can you name them? Good luck!
Billy Wagner Pete Falcone Jesse Orosco Randy Myers Tug McGraw Bob Myrick John Franco Ray Sadecki Jerry Blevins Pedro Feliciano
In this offseason, the Mets went out and signed Wilson Ramos to a two year deal hoping he will be the team’s answer at catcher. Barring injury, he will be the ninth Mets Opening Day catcher since Mike Piazza left in free agency after the 2005 season. Put another way, the Mets are still searching out a way to replace the Hall of Famer.
Can you name the eight Opening Day catchers between Ramos and Piazza? Good luck!
Paul Lo Duca Brian Schneider John Buck Josh Thole Travis d’Arnaud Kevin Plawecki Rene Rivera Rod Barajas
With Bryce Harper signing with the Phillies, his career with the Nationals has come to a close. In that time, he has posted a 27.4 WAR. If Harper did that with the Mets, that would have ranked as ninth best in Mets history. Can you name the Mets who have posted a higher WAR with the team than Harper did with the Nationals? Good luck!
Tom Seaver David Wright Dwight Gooden Darryl Strawberry Sid Fernandez Jacob deGrom Edgardo Alfonzo Jerry Koosman Carlos Beltran