Master Index of Archived Threads


Mets who were better than you thought they would be

Benjamin Grimm Jun 10 2022 07:00 AM

I guess this is the good-news counterpart to the other thread. I'll open with Lenny Randle, Howard Johnson, David Cone, and R.A. Dickey.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 10 2022 07:02 AM Re: Mets who were better than you thought they would be

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I guess this is the good-news counterpart to the other thread. I'll open with Lenny Randle, Howard Johnson, David Cone, and R.A. Dickey. I was just thinking to start this thread. I also had Hojo. And RA Dickey, who's probably gonna end up being the king of this thread. I'll also go with Todd Hundley.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 10 2022 07:09 AM Re: Mets who were better than you thought they would be

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I guess this is the good-news counterpart to the other thread. I'll open with Lenny Randle, Howard Johnson, David Cone, and R.A. Dickey. I was just thinking to start this thread. I also had Hojo. And RA Dickey, who's probably gonna end up being the king of this thread. I'll also go with Todd Hundley. And Jake deGrom. He's been excellent pretty much from his MLB debut. But nothing about his college or minor league history hinted at the level of dominance deGrom attained with the Mets. He didnt even pitch initially, in college. His background was as a converted pitcher who had Tommy John surgery.

Chad ochoseis Jun 10 2022 07:29 AM Re: Mets who were better than you thought they would be

I was thinking about this too... it's a harder thread. I can't really say "hey, Jeff McNeil is better than I thought he'd be" because I never thought about Jeff McNeil at all until out of nowhere we had a .310 hitting middle infielder. But speaking of middle infielders, I never thought Luis Guillorme was ever going to hit enough to stick on a major league roster. Also, I thought Angel Pagan was going to be a scrub, but he turned into a solid player for a couple of seasons.

roger_that Jun 10 2022 07:56 AM Re: Mets who were better than you thought they would be

Woulda been funny if all twelve of us started the same thread simultaneously, no? I remember being flabbergasted when Terry Leach came out of nowhere, specifically out of the bullpen, and turned into a kick-ass starter, way back when. And I remember hoping that this Dykstra kid would fill in for Mookie Wilson half decently when Mookie went down. And that this fat kid from Hawai'i who threw sort of like a girl could fool the hitters for a few weeks with his half-assed fastball. And I really didn't believe in Pete Alonso when I heard he had a little minor-league pop in his bat.

Willets Point Jun 10 2022 08:06 AM Re: Mets who were better than you thought they would be

Rick Reed, 26th round draft pick and 1995 replacement player, suddenly becoming a highly-effective starter for the Mets for a few seasons was a surprise.

G-Fafif Jun 10 2022 12:53 PM Re: Mets who were better than you thought they would be

For one year, Jose Valentin was the power-hitting second baseman we weren't expecting.

TransMonk Jun 10 2022 01:15 PM Re: Mets who were better than you thought they would be

deGrom x100.

Fman99 Jun 10 2022 01:18 PM Re: Mets who were better than you thought they would be

I never thought Daniel Murphy would turn into an impact player.

Marshmallowmilkshake Jun 10 2022 01:21 PM Re: Mets who were better than you thought they would be

Jonathan Villar.

Johnny Lunchbucket Jun 10 2022 01:41 PM Re: Mets who were better than you thought they would be

Yeah Alonso surprised me a lot. I remember seeing him at Spring Training before he made his debut--I think a season before that when he was still "Peter Alonso" I do believe I described him here as a lumpy guy with little dinosaur arms

Benjamin Grimm Jun 10 2022 01:42 PM Re: Mets who were better than you thought they would be

And the buzz was that he'd never have a good enough glove to play first base in the majors.

kcmets Jun 10 2022 01:43 PM Re: Mets who were better than you thought they would be

Justin Turner has to get an honorable mention, no? (or is that even another thread?)

Chad ochoseis Jun 10 2022 02:15 PM Re: Mets who were better than you thought they would be

I think the thought is "better as a Met". We could have a whole 'nuther thread called "What the Hell Were the Mets Thinking?" dedicated to players who we wish we hadn't given up on. Yeah, I remember thinking it was a shame there was no spot for Pete on the club because Dom Smith was going to be our 1B of the future. Half the '22 team probably has spots in this thread.