T.J. Rivera
The shocking part of The Oscars was when Will Smith responded to a Chris Rock joke about his wife by slapping him in the face and then yelling at him. Being a diehard Mets fan, Rock is obviously accustomed to unexpected slaps in the face.
In fact, through the years, there are just a number of players Mets fans just wanted to give the Will Smith treatment to for what they did on or off the field. To wit, here is the Mets all-time deserved a slap team:
SP Tom Glavine – Glavine was never truly appreciated by Mets fans after he had beaten them all those years with the Atlanta Braves. Despite his success, any goodwill he had unraveled as he did in the final game of the 2007 season. After the game, Glavine explained to devastated fans, he was disappointed but not devastated.
RP Guillermo Mota – How do you shake off Paul Lo Duca and then get beat by Scott Spiezio ? That moment forever changed the trajectory of that series. Also, why was he such a punk constantly throwing at Mike Piazza?
C Kevin Plawecki – When T.J. Rivera wore the crown after a Mets win (why was that ever a thing?), we saw the type of objects he kept in his locker. Making matters worse, he was a better relief pitcher than he was a hitter with the Mets (I kid, I kid).
1B Lucas Duda – Duda was an underrated Met, and he was a driving force for the 2015 Mets comeback to win the division, but that throw to home plate was one of the worst throws in Mets history.
2B Luis Castillo – How in the world do you just drop an easy pop-up which could end the game, and why did he have to do it against the Yankees? Consider he under performed his contract so much even the Wilpons were willing to eat money just to get rid of him.
3B Jim Fregosi – It’s astounding. The 1962 Mets were the worst team in Major League history, and yet, the first real instance we see the Mets mocked for is when the team traded Nolan Ryan in the deal for Fregosi. After the trade, Ryan became a Hall of Famer, and the Mets would eventually see Fregosi off to the Rangers. To make matters worse, we’re constantly reminded of this every single trade deadline when we hear about all-time worst trades.
SS Mike Bordick – In typical Mets fashion, Bordick went from career year to near career worst numbers when he went from the Baltimore Orioles to the Mets. Making this even worse is the fact the trade cost the Mets Melvin Mora who was both beloved and a future All-Star and Silver Slugger.
OF Vince Coleman – There should be no more reviled Mets player than Coleman. He was the enemy with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was flat out terrible with the Mets, and he would throw a firecracker at fans. He would even injure Dwight Gooden‘s shoulder practicing his golf swing, He’s literally the worst to put on a Mets uniform.
OF Roger Cedeno – Mets fans were beyond excited Cedeno was returning in what we hoped was a retooling of the pennant winning roster. Instead, what we got was “The Worst Team Money Could Buy” Part Deux with Cedeno being flat out terrible.
OF Bobby Bonilla – He wore earplugs because he couldn’t handle the heckling. He was playing cards in the clubhouse when the Mets lost the 1999 NLCS. He became a perpetual punchline for a team who never spent money.
Keep in mind, this is not a complete list. We can go on and on and on. No matter where you wind up on any of these players and your suggestions for others, please keep in mind, no one deserves the treatment more than Jeff Wilpon. No one did more to hurt the Mets than him during his stretch of absolute embarrassing incompetence.
Last night, Mike Brosseau hit an eighth inning go-ahead homer off of Aroldis Chapman to help send the Tampa Bay Rays to the ALCS. It was an incredible postseason moment:
French poetry pic.twitter.com/8MxtGf1kMC
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 10, 2020
There were many reasons why it was phenomenal story. The Rays entire payroll makes less than Gerrit Cole. In September, Chapman was suspended for throwing at Brosseau’s head (only for the appeal not to be addressed until next year). Mostly, it was incredible because Brosseau was an undrafted free agent.
Brosseau played for Oakland University in college. Oakland University is a mid-major team playing in the unheralded Horizon Conference. Their home field has at times been in an unplayable condition.
Players like Brosseau aren’t supposed to make it to the Major Leagues, but that’s the beauty of short season baseball.
Short season baseball gives Major League teams the opportunity to identify previously overlooked talent. It gives them a chance to give a player a chance in a much better baseball environment to see if they can blossom. Every team has a story of why this is great.
Take the Mets for example. Mike Piazza wears a Mets cap on his Hall of Fame plaque. That never would’ve been possible had the Los Angeles Dodgers drafted the 1B/DH with their 62nd round pick to look to move him to catcher.
In 2016, an injury riddled Mets team probably misses the postseason if T.J. Rivera didn’t get his opportunity to play at second everyday late in the season. Like Brosseau, Rivera was an undrafted free agent.
Now, none of these three players likely get a chance because there’s no longer a place to give them an opportunity. Rob Manfred has eliminated these short season leagues for no other reason than to save money.
The Appalachian League is now the equivalent of a Midwest Cape Cod League. That may be good for scouting, but it does little to nothing to develop players like Brosseau.
No, Brosseau is a player who won’t get a chance starting next year. With that, future postseason series will be effectively be forever altered because Brosseau wouldn’t have even had a chance to develop into a player to take that at-bat against Chapman.
In the end, last night just wasn’t a great moment for the Rays, it was a complete indictment of how terrible a commissioner Rob Manfred is.