Guess that Met

[Cowtipper]

1. From the back of a baseball card: "This player was a solid middle man for the Mets in '90 after coming over from the Dodgers in the off-season. A very slow worker on the mound, he throws a fastball in the 90s and an excellent curve. It took this player nearly three years to re-learn how to pitch without relying on sheer power after he was felled by arm troubles in '85. He was a starter when he first came up to the majors and in '84, he led the National League with a 2.48 ERA. "He's a veteran who knows how to close the door," said Dodger coach Ron Perranoski. "With this player, you're seeing consistency." Who am I?

Hint: Pitched for the Mets in 1990 and 1991.

2. I was an All-Star!
I won a Gold Glove!
What else can you ask for?
What isn't there to love?

So how good was I with New York?
Go ahead, take your bets!
I won one hundred-plus times
But was a loser with the Mets

But don't think I was all bad,
Oh, please don't think that poorly of me
For New York in 1965,
My mark was still below three

Who am I?

3. Who is the former Met who holds the major league record for most consecutive seasons playing 150-plus games?

4. Who am I? "For the past five seasons, this player ranked as one of the top relievers in the league. A feisty southpaw with a stocky build, he mixes a sinking fastball with a wicked changeup that breaks like a screwball to get batters to hit the ball on the ground. He is as tough on righthanded batters as he is on lefties. Before joining the Mets in '90, this player was the ace closer in the Reds bullpen. In '88, he ranked first in the NL with 39 saves in 42 opportunities and allowed only a .198 BA against him. In '89, this player was third in the league with 32 saves in 39 opportunities. Three times he was picked for the All-Star Game and he set a team record with 148 saves in his six seasons with Cincinnati."

5. Who am I?



Running tally of correct guessers:

Johnny Lunchbucket: 137
Edgy MD: 87
stevejrogers: 79
batmagadanleadoff: 34
DocTee: 19
The Hot Corner: 15
metsmarathon: 9
Benjamin Grimm: 6
Methead: 6
MFS62: 4
Batty31: 2
Marshmallowmilkshake: 1

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

3. Brett Butler?
5. MackeySasser

[ashie62]

1 David West

[Methead]

4 has to be John Franco

[Cowtipper]

Sasser and Franco are correct. #3 isn't Butler, the correct answer is in the Hall of Fame. #1 isn't David West, the correct answer has a tilde in his surname. Two new questions have been added.

1. From the back of a baseball card: "This player was a solid middle man for the Mets in '90 after coming over from the Dodgers in the off-season. A very slow worker on the mound, he throws a fastball in the 90s and an excellent curve. It took this player nearly three years to re-learn how to pitch without relying on sheer power after he was felled by arm troubles in '85. He was a starter when he first came up to the majors and in '84, he led the National League with a 2.48 ERA. "He's a veteran who knows how to close the door," said Dodger coach Ron Perranoski. "With this player, you're seeing consistency." Who am I?

Hint: Pitched for the Mets in 1990 and 1991.

2. I was an All-Star!
I won a Gold Glove!
What else can you ask for?
What isn't there to love?

So how good was I with New York?
Go ahead, take your bets!
I won one hundred-plus times
But was a loser with the Mets

But don't think I was all bad,
Oh, please don't think that poorly of me
For New York in 1965,
My mark was still below three

Who am I?

3. Who is the former Met who holds the major league record for most consecutive seasons playing 150-plus games?

4. Who am I?



5. From the back of a baseball card: "This player is a valuable utility player for the Mets. He started the '90 season as the team's regular center fielder, but lost his starter's spot in May when the Mets decided to platoon Daryl Boston and Mark Carreon in center. Aggressive and a hard-nosed hustler, this player then showed his worth to the team by filling in all over the infield. He is a line-drive hitter who sprays the ball to all fields with excellent bat control. This player is also an excellent bunter and has lots of speed on the bases. By mid-July, he was batting .295 and ranked second on the Mets with 13 SBs. 'The guy's a winning ballplayer,' said VP Joe McIlvaine. 'He does things that don't appear in the box score.'" Who am I?

Running tally of correct guessers:

Johnny Lunchbucket: 138
Edgy MD: 87
stevejrogers: 79
batmagadanleadoff: 34
DocTee: 19
The Hot Corner: 15
metsmarathon: 9
Methead: 7
Benjamin Grimm: 6
MFS62: 4
Batty31: 2
Marshmallowmilkshake: 1

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

3 is Mays

[stevejrogers]

4 Tom O’Malley

[stevejrogers]

5 refers to the Juan Samuel, Centerfielder experiment

[stevejrogers]

1, Alejandro Pena?

[Cowtipper]

Mays, O'Malley and Pena are correct. Five is not Coleman, unfortunately, it was someone who was traded with Gregg Jefferies and Kevin McReynolds to the Kansas City Royals for Bill Pecota and Bret Saberhagen.

1. I was an All-Star!
I won a Gold Glove!
What else can you ask for?
What isn't there to love?

So how good was I with New York?
Go ahead, take your bets!
I won one hundred-plus times
But was a loser with the Mets

But don't think I was all bad,
Oh, please don't think that poorly of me
For New York in 1965,
My mark was still below three

Who am I?

Hint: Pitched for the Mets in 1964 and 1965. Involved in these trades: August 8, 1964: Traded by the New York Mets to the Milwaukee Braves for Dennis Ribant and cash and July 8, 1965: Traded by the New York Mets to the Chicago White Sox for a player to be named later. The Chicago White Sox sent Jimmie Schaffer (July 26, 1965) to the New York Mets to complete the trade.
Hint:


2. From the back of a baseball card: "This player is a valuable utility player for the Mets. He started the '90 season as the team's regular center fielder, but lost his starter's spot in May when the Mets decided to platoon Daryl Boston and Mark Carreon in center. Aggressive and a hard-nosed hustler, this player then showed his worth to the team by filling in all over the infield. He is a line-drive hitter who sprays the ball to all fields with excellent bat control. This player is also an excellent bunter and has lots of speed on the bases. By mid-July, he was batting .295 and ranked second on the Mets with 13 SBs. 'The guy's a winning ballplayer,' said VP Joe McIlvaine. 'He does things that don't appear in the box score.'" Who am I?

Hint: Played for the Mets from 1987 to 1992. Spent a significant amount of time in the outfield and at second base. Later traded to the Royals.
Hint:


3. Which former Met holds the major league career record for most home runs in extra innings?

Hint: Debuted with the New York Giants in 1951. Hit 660 major league home runs.
Hint:


4. Which former Met holds the LCS career record for most RBI as a pinch hitter? This is through 2005 and I'm pretty sure the answer is still up to date.

Hint: Played for the Mets in 2006 and 2007. This Puerto Rican was a top prospect in the Yankees system once.
Hint:


5. Who am I?



Hint: Former Padres #1 pick. Pitched for the Mets in 2015. Played for the Padres from 2005 to 2014.
Hint: This former pitcher was drafted fourth overall by the Padres in 2003 and made his MLB debut in 2005. Known for battling injuries throughout his career, he played for the Padres, Mets, and Twins, with his best season as San Diego’s 2011 Opening Day starter.

Running tally of correct guessers:

Johnny Lunchbucket: 139
Edgy MD: 87
stevejrogers: 81
batmagadanleadoff: 34
DocTee: 19
The Hot Corner: 15
metsmarathon: 9
Methead: 7
Benjamin Grimm: 6
MFS62: 4
Batty31: 2
Marshmallowmilkshake: 1

[Cowtipper]

New days, new hints.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

5. is Joey Lawrence or Bobby Lawrence or Brian Lawrence. His name was Lawrence

[Cowtipper]

Great guess, a nice obscure Met was Brian Lawrence. But #5 isn't Lawrence. The only way #5 could have been voted into an All-Star Game would have been if one of his fans was a ballot stauffer.

[Cowtipper]

New day, new hints added above.

[Cowtipper]

Answering the unanswered:

1. I was an All-Star!
I won a Gold Glove!
What else can you ask for?
What isn't there to love?

So how good was I with New York?
Go ahead, take your bets!
I won one hundred-plus times
But was a loser with the Mets

But don't think I was all bad,
Oh, please don't think that poorly of me
For New York in 1965,
My mark was still below three

Who am I?

Frank Lary

2. From the back of a baseball card: "This player is a valuable utility player for the Mets. He started the '90 season as the team's regular center fielder, but lost his starter's spot in May when the Mets decided to platoon Daryl Boston and Mark Carreon in center. Aggressive and a hard-nosed hustler, this player then showed his worth to the team by filling in all over the infield. He is a line-drive hitter who sprays the ball to all fields with excellent bat control. This player is also an excellent bunter and has lots of speed on the bases. By mid-July, he was batting .295 and ranked second on the Mets with 13 SBs. 'The guy's a winning ballplayer,' said VP Joe McIlvaine. 'He does things that don't appear in the box score.'" Who am I?

Keith Miller

3. Which former Met holds the major league career record for most home runs in extra innings?

Willie Mays

4. Which former Met holds the LCS career record for most RBI as a pinch hitter? This is through 2005 and I'm pretty sure the answer is still up to date.

Ricky Ledee

5.



Tim Stauffer

New questions to be added shortly.

[Cowtipper]

1. Who am I?



Hint: Played for the Mets in 2006 and 2007. Also pitched for the Pirates and Reds. Traded by the Cincinnati Reds with cash to the New York Mets for Robert Manuel. Was 3-2 with a 7.83 ERA in 8 games (6 starts).

2. Who am I?



Hint: Pitched a single game for the Mets in 2012. Played in their system in 2011 and 2012. Previously pitched for the White Sox in 2009.

3. Who am I?



Hint: Pitched for the Mets in 1965 and 1966. Went 2-4 with a 5.20 ERA in 50 games. Previously played for the Cardinals. Traded by the St. Louis Cardinals with Johnny Lewis to the New York Mets for Elio Chacón and Tracy Stallard.

4. Who am I?



Hint: Pitched for the Mets in 1965. Had a 0.56 ERA in 5 G (1 GS)/16 IP. Was 21 when he pitched for the Mets.

5. The Mets have had two players from the UK play for them. Both were pitchers. Les Rohr was from England, that's semi-well-known. Can anyone name the Mets player born in Northern Ireland?

Hint: Pitched for the Mets in 2018, going 0-0 with a 8.22 ERA in 3 games (2 starts). Was a 13th round pick in 2015. Pitched professionally through 2019.

Running tally of correct guessers:

Johnny Lunchbucket: 139
Edgy MD: 87
stevejrogers: 81
batmagadanleadoff: 34
DocTee: 19
The Hot Corner: 15
metsmarathon: 9
Methead: 7
Benjamin Grimm: 6
MFS62: 4
Batty31: 2
Marshmallowmilkshake: 1

[Cowtipper]

New day, new hints added above.

[Cowtipper]

Answering the unanswered:

1. Who am I?



Dave Williams

2. Who am I?



Jack Egbert

3. Who am I?



Gordie Richardson

4. Who am I?



Dennis Musgraves

5. The Mets have had two players from the UK play for them. Both were pitchers. Les Rohr was from England, that's semi-well-known. Can anyone name the Mets player born in Northern Ireland?

PJ Conlon

[Cowtipper]

New questions.

1. Who am I?



2. Who am I?



3. Who am I?



4. Who am I?



5. Who am I?



Running tally of correct guessers:

Johnny Lunchbucket: 139
Edgy MD: 87
stevejrogers: 81
batmagadanleadoff: 34
DocTee: 19
The Hot Corner: 15
metsmarathon: 9
Methead: 7
Benjamin Grimm: 6
MFS62: 4
Batty31: 2
Marshmallowmilkshake: 1

[Batty31]

4. Our board namesake Mr Ed Kranepool
5. Bud Harrelson

[The Hot Corner]

I think #2 is Jon Matlack

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

1 is an overrated bust
3 is a fraud they should have traded

[Cowtipper]

Though your descriptions for #1 and #3 technically are accurate as it pertains to the correct answers, those descriptions can apply to lots of Mets. Can you name the players specifically?

[stevejrogers]

OE, already guessed…RMPL

[Cowtipper]

Kranepool and Harrelson are correct. #2 isn't Matlack, though you got the "J" part of the first name right. The correct answer had significantly less success with New York; he wasn't an original Met, but he came aboard when they were still bad. "is an overrated bust" and "is a fraud they should have traded" do describe the remaining guys, but I think names are necessary to call the answers 'correct.' Two new questions have been added, with hints for the rest.

New questions.

1. Who am I?



Hint: 18 years old in 1965, his only year with New York. Went 2-0 with a 4.28 ERA in 25 relief appearances. Never played in the majors again. If you don't get this, well Heavens to Bethsy, I'd be shocked.

2. Who am I?



Hint: 22-year-old with the Mets in 1965, his only big league season. Was 1-1 with a 2.72 ERA in 20 games (4 starts) for the club.

3. Who am I?



Hint: Nickname was "Fat _ _ _ _." Played in the majors from 1959 to 1969, 1964 to 1967 with the Mets. Lost 24 games with New York in 1965, led league in losses twice while with New York. Traded by the New York Mets with Buddy Booker, Tommy Davis and Billy Wynne to the Chicago White Sox for Tommie Agee and Al Weis.

4. Who am I?



5. Who am I?



Running tally of correct guessers:

Johnny Lunchbucket: 139
Edgy MD: 87
stevejrogers: 81
batmagadanleadoff: 34
DocTee: 19
The Hot Corner: 15
metsmarathon: 9
Methead: 7
Benjamin Grimm: 6
Batty31: 4
MFS62: 4
Marshmallowmilkshake: 1