Tom Seaver
To his parents, he was George. To friends, Tom. To the National League, he was Cy Young. He went by and was known by many names including Tom Terrific.
The most important of those monikers was The Franchise.
Perhaps no player was more synonymous with a team than Tom Seaver was with the New York Mets. He brought the team to greatness. He was easily the best player to ever play for the franchise.
For that matter, he’s quite possibly the best greatest starting pitcher post World War II. To date, there has never been a starting pitcher inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame with a higher percentage of the vote.
There are many who can wax poetic about the Imperfect Game, the 19 strikeout game, the Rookie of the Year, three Cy Young, 1969, 1973, and his return in 1983.
We can talk about our rejoice in his no-hitter and reaching 300 wins and 3,000 strikeouts. There was so much to appreciate and cheer.
As Mets fans we were lucky to have Seaver. But now, like in 1977, he’s gone, and we’re absolutely heart broken. At age 75, Seaver has died.
We talk about the Midnight Massacre. There was the 1973, 1988, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2015, and 2016 postseason losses. There was the 1998, 2007, and 2008 collapses. As Mets fans, we’ve known many low and sad moments.
This is worse than all of them combined. Seaver, the best thing about this team, is gone. The Franchise is gone forever.
Hopefully soon, we can one day walk down 41 Seaver Way. We may one day soon see the Seaver statue. His number hangs in left field, and his plaque is in Cooperstown. There are just so many honors and memories of him.
We each have our own special ones. Those will never go away. Now, more than ever, as should cherish them while saying a prayer for Seaver and his family.
Say one for your fellow Mets fans as well. We lost the person which made our team great. We lost the man who showed us anything is possible, even for the Mets.
But, the memories, those remain. They’ll live on forever. And so will Seaver because the legends never truly die.
He’s alive in the record books, the plaques, statues, and the stories you hear. You’ll hear more of them from Gary Cohen, Howie Rose, other Mets fans, and baseball greats. You’ll hear it from parents and grandparents. Listen and take it all in.
Appreciate what made Seaver great from those who knew and saw. Love them for it, and remember why you move the Mets. And yes, mourn Seaver being gone.
As Mets fans, we love and cherish Seaver. We always have and always will. That will never change.
Thank you for everything Seaver. May you Rest In Peace.
After going through each of their brackets, all of the top seeds advanced to the Final Four. Instead of having individual match-ups to create a championship game, instead we’re going to have all four top seeds battle it out at the same time.
(1) Tom Seaver – Seaver is dubbed The Franchise for taking the team from a losing franchise to World Series winners. He holds nearly every pitching record in team history, and he is considered to be, if not the greatest, among the greatest right-handed pitchers in Major League history. He was the first Mets player to have his number retired, and he was the first Mets player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. To date, he is the starting pitcher with the highest percent of the vote.
(1) Keith Hernandez – His trade to the Mets was widely credited with bringing the Mets to prominence. Won a team record five Gold Gloves at first base further cementing reputation as best defensive first baseman of all-time. Member of the 1986 World Series team who famously threatened Jesse Orosco and Gary Carter not to throw another fastball to Kevin Bass. Was named the first captain in team history. Has become part of the iconic and loved GKR on SNY broadcasts.
(1) Mike Piazza – greatest offensive catcher in Major League history who decided to wear a Mets cap on his Hall of Fame plaque. Second player to have his number retired by the Mets. Hit a number of big homers for the franchise including one capping off the 10 run inning against the Braves and the one post 9/11. Mets all-time leader in slugging and second in OPS. All over the single season and career top 10 offensive categories. Took those late 90s Mets teams over the top. Caught final pitch at Shea Stadium and first pitch at Citi Field.
(1) David Wright – The franchise leader in nearly every offensive category and is widely considered to be the best position player in franchise history. Only homegrown Met to be named team captain. Dubbed Captain America for his exploits in the World Baseball Classic. Once named by Bill James as the perfect baseball player. Seven time All-Star, two time Gold Glove winner, and two time Silver Slugger. Hit the first Mets homer in Citi Field, and he hit the first ever World Series homer in Citi Field. Had perhaps the most emotional good-bye game we have ever seen a player in sports history ever have. A lifetime Met who had a hand in helping ensure Jacob deGrom does the same.
Typically speaking, deciding who is “THE BEST” at something is a futile endeavor. After all, trying to apply objective measures to reach a subjective opinion is a concept somewhat at odds with itself.
In terms of baseball, it’s nearly impossible with the change of eras. Should Babe Ruth be considered the best ever when he played before integration? Should Barry Bonds be disqualified due to PEDs? Should we split the difference and say it’s Willie Mays?
Again, there’s just too many factors at play to determine who is THE BEST. To that end, we should look at this more as who’s in the discussion rather than who is atop the list.
In terms of the Mets, we know Tom Seaver is the best player to ever play for the team. That’s one of the rare instances where it’s clear-cut. It’s far from clear-cut on the manager side.
For 25 years, it was clearly Gil Hodges. He led the Miracle Mets to the 1969 World Series partially due to innovation. Hodges utilized platoons, and he might’ve been the first manager to utilize a five man rotation.
As we all know Hodges never got the chance to cement himself as the best manager ever as he suddenly died of a heart attack on the eve of the 1972 season. You can’t help but wonder what he could’ve done with the Mets getting Rusty Staub.
In 1984, the Mets hired Davey Johnson, who arguably went on to become the best manager in team history. In addition to winning the 1986 World Series, his teams never finished lower than second in the division.
Johnson was also the only Mets manager to win multiple division titles. In his tenure, his teams averaged 96 wins. It’s part of the reason why he has the most wins and highest winning percentage. Those were the Mets glory years, and he was at the helm.
Arguably, Hodges and Johnson are the Mets two best managers. However, there could be a case for Bobby Valentine.
Valentine is third in terms of wins and winning percentage. He came one year short of Johnson’s team record by having five consecutive winning seasons. However, notably, Valentine’s teams were not as loaded as Johnson’s.
Despite that, Valentine was the first Mets manager to lead the team to consecutive postseasons. He’s the only Mets manager to lead his team to a postseason series victory in consecutive seasons. In fact, he’s the only one to do it in any two seasons.
Overall, that’s the top three, and people should feel comfortable ranking them as they see fit. There’s a justifiable reason to put them in any order from 1-3. That said, Hodges and Johnson have the edge having won a Word Series.
After that trio, it’s fair to say Willie Randolph was a clear fourth. In addition to his leading the Mets to the 2006 NLCS, he never had a losing record while amassing the second best winning percentage in team history. His hand in developing David Wright and Jose Reyes to not only reach their potential, but also handling the city should never be discounted.
Honestly, if that isn’t your 1-4, you’re simply doing it wrong.
Terry Collins has a losing record and the most losses in team history. He blew a World Series. He also unapologetically destroyed reliever careers (see Tim Byrdak, Jim Henderson) while admitting he didn’t want to develop young players like Michael Conforto.
Yogi Berra was the manager who led the Mets to their second pennant, but he also finished with a sub .500 career despite having a World Series contending type of roster for part of his tenure.
After that, well, just consider there are only six Mets managers with a winning record. Two of them, Bud Harrelson and Mickey Callaway, were not generally well regarded for their managerial abilities. After that, there’s a lot of bad, including Hall of Famers Casey Stengel and Joe Torre.
Through Mets history, it’s clear who the four best managers are even if the order isn’t nearly as clear. Past them, it’s an uninspiring debate among pretty poor choices.
In the end, your list is personal to you, and no one can quite tell you you’re right or wrong. That is unless you do something monumentally stupid like having Hodges outside the top three or putting Stengel on your list.
Short of that, everyone’s opinions are valid, and it’s a fun debate. And remember, that’s all this is – a fun debate. It’s nothing more than that because you can’t definitely prove one is better than the other.
(1) Tom Seaver – Seaver is dubbed The Franchise for taking the team from a losing franchise to World Series winners. He holds nearly every pitching record in team history, and he is considered to be, if not the greatest, among the greatest right-handed pitchers in Major League history. He was the first Mets player to have his number retired, and he was the first Mets player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. To date, he is the starting pitcher with the highest percent of the vote.
(2) Jerry Koosman – Best left-handed pitcher in Mets history, and he will be the first non-Hall of Famer to have his number retired by the Mets. A Rookie of the Year and Cy Young runner-up. Was great in the 1969 World Series. Beat the Orioles in a needed Game 2 victory, and he was the winner for the Game 5 clincher. He was the one who swiped his shoe in the infamous shoe polish incident. Was great again in the 1973 postseason winning a pivotal Game 5. Finished Mets career with a 4-0 postseason record with a 2.55 ERA. Holds nearly every left-handed starting pitcher record.
(2) Edgardo Alfonzo – Best second baseman in Mets history in addition to being one of the best third baseman. Part of the best defensive infield in history. First Mets player to ever go 6-for-6. Homered in the first inning of the Mets first ever NLDS game, and he hit a grand slam off Bobby Chouinard in that game to give the Mets the victory. All-Star in 2000. Hit .444/.565/.611 in the 2000 NLCS. Last Mets player to ever record a World Series base hit in Shea Stadium. Led the 2019 Brooklyn Cyclones to their first ever outright New York-Penn League title.
(3) Al Leiter – Was a 1 or 1A during most of his Mets tenure, and he gave his all battling tough when the Mets needed him most. Had arguably the single greatest pitching performance in team history with his two hit shut out of the Reds in the Wild Card play-in game. Won the Roberto Clemente Award in 2000. Became the first ever pitcher to beat all 30 teams. Wore the caps for each and every first reponder agency during his complete game on the one-year anniversary of 9/11. Trails only Tom Seaver and Jacob deGrom in ERA+ among Mets pitchers with at least 1,000 innings arguably making him the best left-handed pitcher in team history.