Guess that Met

[Cowtipper]

Jay Payton is a good guess, but it was Escobar. One thing that got me about Payton is that, despite being such a well-regarded prospect for so long, he didn't even debut until he was 25 and he didn't get going until he was 27.

As for the Hook question, you did get it right, but it had already been answered correctly earlier in the thread...I just didn't want to burst your bubble :(.

Answering the unanswered (I'll leave a couple still open):

1. Which former Mets prospect is this describing? This is from the back of an old baseball card. Hint: He had an obscenely low batting average in his big league career ... none of which came with New York.

"The New York Mets feel they have a second baseman for the future and with good reason ... This player was named the Mets' number five prospect by Baseball America in 1999, was named number seven prospect in the Gulf Coast League, and was named number two Prospect in the Appalachian League in 2000."

Enrique Cruz

2. Slugging home runs with gusto and stuff
I was a recent's year's gem in the rough
I went from one home run the year before
To a guy who managed 24

Who am I?

Marlon Byrd

____________

Holdover questions and new questions:

1. Who am I?



Hint: Traded for Keith Hernandez.

2. I was a Met 'til 91
Having toiled there five seasons
But with Gregg I was sent away
For potential Cy Young reasons

Who am I?

Hint: Traded for Bret Saberhagen.

3. Who am I? You might know him as a guy busted for smoking that sweet, sweet herb.



4. From the back of a baseball card: "This guy, a 45th round selection in 2001, enjoyed a breakout season with St. Lucie (A), making the '04 Florida State League All-Star Game with a show of power previously unseen from him. The son of former Major League star Brian Harper (who now manages in the Angels system), this guy stays in touch with his father often by phone. This guy credits offseason workouts supervised by his dad for his impressive surge." Hint: He was a decent Mets prospect who never reached the majors. He played in the Mets system until 2007 but never played above Double-A. In 2006, he hit 36 home runs and had 102 RBI between St. Lucie and Binghamton.

5. I lasted only one year because
Well, my last name describes what I was
I was an All-Star in Seattle
In Arizona I did battle
With the Mets I made many faux pas

Who am I?

Running tally of correct guessers:

Johnny Lunchbucket: 112
Edgy MD: 87
stevejrogers: 66
batmagadanleadoff: 34
DocTee: 9
metsmarathon: 9
Benjamin Grimm: 6
MFS62: 4
Marshmallowmilkshake: 1
Methead: 1
The Hot Corner: 1

[The Hot Corner]

Number 1 - Rick Owenby along with Neil Allen were traded to St. Louis for Keith Hernandez. A steal for the Mets.

[The Hot Corner]

#5 - J.J. Putz

[Cowtipper]

Rick Ownbey and JJ Putz are correct!

1. I was a Met 'til 91
Having toiled there five seasons
But with Gregg I was sent away
For potential Cy Young reasons

Who am I?

Hint: Traded for Bret Saberhagen.

2. Who am I? You might know him as a guy busted for smoking that sweet, sweet herb.



3. From the back of a baseball card: "This guy, a 45th round selection in 2001, enjoyed a breakout season with St. Lucie (A), making the '04 Florida State League All-Star Game with a show of power previously unseen from him. The son of former Major League star Brian Harper (who now manages in the Angels system), this guy stays in touch with his father often by phone. This guy credits offseason workouts supervised by his dad for his impressive surge." Hint: He was a decent Mets prospect who never reached the majors. He played in the Mets system until 2007 but never played above Double-A. In 2006, he hit 36 home runs and had 102 RBI between St. Lucie and Binghamton.

4. In my lone year with the Mets there was a strike
And I was a player their fans didn't like
I didn't much endear myself to their hearts -
Made seven appearances, including four starts
In only one of those matches I'd begun
I made it past the fourth before I was done
No, it was not bad luck that would befall me
That made my record a poor zero and three
I gave up 26 hits, five bombs did soar
Pitched 15 frames before I was shown the door

Who am I?

5. Who am I?



Running tally of correct guessers:

Johnny Lunchbucket: 112
Edgy MD: 87
stevejrogers: 66
batmagadanleadoff: 34
DocTee: 9
metsmarathon: 9
Benjamin Grimm: 6
MFS62: 4
The Hot Corner: 3
Marshmallowmilkshake: 1
Methead: 1

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

1 mcreynolds
2 Grant Robers
5. Ryan

[Cowtipper]

McReynolds and Ryan are correct! Keith Miller would have also worked, instead of McReynolds. Grant Roberts is incorrect; the correct answer's name was two first names. New questions have been added, with hints for the rest.

1. Who am I? You might know him as a guy busted for smoking that sweet, sweet herb.



Hint: Played for the Mets in 2001 and 2002. Traded by the New York Mets with Rob Stratton (minors) and Jay Payton to the Colorado Rockies for Mark Little and John Thomson. Also played for the Pirates.
Hint: His first and last name were both first names.

2. From the back of a baseball card: "This guy, a 45th round selection in 2001, enjoyed a breakout season with St. Lucie (A), making the '04 Florida State League All-Star Game with a show of power previously unseen from him. The son of former Major League star Brian Harper (who now manages in the Angels system), this guy stays in touch with his father often by phone. This guy credits offseason workouts supervised by his dad for his impressive surge." Hint: He was a decent Mets prospect who never reached the majors. He played in the Mets system until 2007 but never played above Double-A. In 2006, he hit 36 home runs and had 102 RBI between St. Lucie and Binghamton.

Hint: Played professionally from 2001 to 2016.
Hint: Hit over 230 home runs in his career.

3. In my lone year with the Mets there was a strike
And I was a player their fans didn't like
I didn't much endear myself to their hearts -
Made seven appearances, including four starts
In only one of those matches I'd begun
I made it past the fourth before I was done
No, it was not bad luck that would befall me
That made my record a poor zero and three
I gave up 26 hits, five bombs did soar
Pitched 15 frames before I was shown the door

Who am I?

Hint: Shares the name with a successful manager currently in the NL West.
Hint: The Mets were his final team; he debuted in 1969 with San Diego and also played for Houston, Detroit, Chicago, San Francisco, Pittsburgh and Seattle.

4. Let's see if anyone can get this trivia question. When was the first time in major league history that four Asian-born pitchers played consecutively in a game? Since I'm asking it here, it was by the Mets. Who can tell me the year? The pitchers involved? I don't think the answer has changed since this question was first posted.

Hint: One was born in Vietnam, has a very American sounding name, was briefly a star closer for the Reds and flopped as a starting pitcher. Another was an older guy who came from Japan, performed very well with Chicago his first year, tanked the next year, went to the Mets to resuscitate his career after the White Sox got rid of him and (though he did well in his brief stint with New York) was gone from the bigs after two seasons. Another was a starter from Korea who once went 8-2 with a 2.59 ERA in 14 starts for the Mets before being shipped off the Los Angeles following the season. The last guy was a Japanese starting pitcher who arrived from Japan, had some good years with the Dodgers, was clocked in the head by a line drive and pitched his last big league campaign in New York before ending his career. The year was a year BEFORE the team went to the NLCS.

5. I was with the Mets in '96
Not long enough for many tricks
Yet another cruddy, short-lived sub
Like when I was a Chicago Cub

Despite being there 'bout an hour
Fans could not deny my great power
Of my eight hits, three left the park
But I whiffed more than I hit the mark

Who am I?

Hint: Played in the majors from 1993 to 1996. Previously played for the Cubs. Not a great player, but had good power, hitting 20 home runs in 309 career at-bats. Spent 16 years in pro ball.

Running tally of correct guessers:

Johnny Lunchbucket: 114
Edgy MD: 87
stevejrogers: 66
batmagadanleadoff: 34
DocTee: 9
metsmarathon: 9
Benjamin Grimm: 6
MFS62: 4
The Hot Corner: 3
Marshmallowmilkshake: 1
Methead: 1

[Cowtipper]

New day, new hints added above.

[stevejrogers]

Dave Roberts #3, Mark Corey #1

[Cowtipper]

Roberts and Corey are correct!

Answering the unanswered:

From the back of a baseball card: "This guy, a 45th round selection in 2001, enjoyed a breakout season with St. Lucie (A), making the '04 Florida State League All-Star Game with a show of power previously unseen from him. The son of former Major League star Brian Harper (who now manages in the Angels system), this guy stays in touch with his father often by phone. This guy credits offseason workouts supervised by his dad for his impressive surge." Hint: He was a decent Mets prospect who never reached the majors. He played in the Mets system until 2007 but never played above Double-A. In 2006, he hit 36 home runs and had 102 RBI between St. Lucie and Binghamton.

Brett Harper

Let's see if anyone can get this trivia question. When was the first time in major league history that four Asian-born pitchers played consecutively in a game? Since I'm asking it here, it was by the Mets. Who can tell me the year? The pitchers involved? I don't think the answer has changed since this question was first posted.

Danny Graves, Jae Seo, Shingo Takatsu, Kaz Ishii; not 100% sure if it was in that order. 2005.

I was with the Mets in '96
Not long enough for many tricks
Yet another cruddy, short-lived sub
Like when I was a Chicago Cub

Despite being there 'bout an hour
Fans could not deny my great power
Of my eight hits, three left the park
But I whiffed more than I hit the mark

Who am I?

Kevin Roberson

Running tally of correct guessers:

Johnny Lunchbucket: 114
Edgy MD: 87
stevejrogers: 68
batmagadanleadoff: 34
DocTee: 9
metsmarathon: 9
Benjamin Grimm: 6
MFS62: 4
The Hot Corner: 3
Marshmallowmilkshake: 1
Methead: 1

[Cowtipper]

1.



Who am I?

2. Holy cow, was this lame
Yet another washed up name
A guy with good speed and
Power with a bat in hand

Well, once long, long ago
But with the Mets, not quite so
He was Philly's big star
As a Met, he fell so far

Who is he?

3.



Who is the guy in the front?

4. Who is the guy in the back of the image in question #3?

5. Which player, who briefly played with the Mets in 1979 and 1980, is often credited as the first to use a cupped baseball bat?

Running tally of correct guessers:

Johnny Lunchbucket: 114
Edgy MD: 87
stevejrogers: 68
batmagadanleadoff: 34
DocTee: 9
metsmarathon: 9
Benjamin Grimm: 6
MFS62: 4
The Hot Corner: 3
Marshmallowmilkshake: 1
Methead: 1

[Cowtipper]

Answering the unanswered:



Who am I?

Mike Phillips

Holy cow, was this lame
Yet another washed up name
A guy with good speed and
Power with a bat in hand

Well, once long, long ago
But with the Mets, not quite so
He was Philly's big star
As a Met, he fell so far

Who is he?

Bobby Abreu



Who is the guy in the front?

David Aardsma

Who is the guy in the back of the image in question #3?

Daniel Murphy

Which player, who briefly played with the Mets in 1979 and 1980, is often credited as the first to use a cupped baseball bat?

Jose Cardenal

[Cowtipper]

New questions:

1. Which pitcher surrendered Ventura's Grand Slam Single in 1999?

--originally posted by "GiambiJuice"

Hint: Solid, short-lived reliever for the Braves in 1999 and 2000. Had 2.75 ERA in 74 career games.

2. In 2000, Mike Hampton became the fourth putcher to toss a Shutout in an NLCS-clinching game. Which three pitchers did it before Hampton?

--originally posted by "GiambiJuice"

Hint: One was a Met in 1999, who had a long career, won over 200 games, is currently a Dodgers broadcaster and once held a record for most innings without allowing a run. Another was never a Met; he won a World Series ring in 1993 with Toronto, but spent the bulk of his career with St. Louis. The other was part of a Big Three, one of which spent a fair amount of time with New York in the 2000s. The guy in question is in the Hall of Fame, having excelled as both a starter and a closer, racking up over 3,000 career Ks.

3. Who was the last Met rookie to hit two home runs in a single World Series game?

--originally posted by "jjpm74"

Hint: The current answer is currently with the Giants; he was a wunderkind who—though solid—never quite lived up to the stardom expected of him. He hit over 130 homers with the Mets.

4. Through May 2016, four major league players had attended Liberty University. One of those players played for the Mets. Can you name that player? He was a short-lived reliever for the club in 1992. Since 2016, three more men from Liberty University have reached the majors, including 2020 Met Ryan Cordell.

Hint: Traded for Tim Burke in 1992, he spent most of his career in the American League. The reliever debuted in 1984, last played in 1996 and spent all of 43 games with the Mets (in '92).

5. Who am I?



Hint: Hall of Famer with 500 home runs and 3,000 hits. Part of the Worst Team Money Can Buy. Spent the bulk of his career with Baltimore.

Running tally of correct guessers:

Johnny Lunchbucket: 114
Edgy MD: 87
stevejrogers: 68
batmagadanleadoff: 34
DocTee: 9
metsmarathon: 9
Benjamin Grimm: 6
MFS62: 4
The Hot Corner: 3
Marshmallowmilkshake: 1
Methead: 1

[Cowtipper]

New day, new hints.

[Cowtipper]

Answering the unanswered:

Which pitcher surrendered Ventura's Grand Slam Single in 1999?

Kevin McGlinchy

In 2000, Mike Hampton became the fourth putcher to toss a Shutout in an NLCS-clinching game. Which three pitchers did it before Hampton?

Orel Hershiser, Danny Cox, John Smoltz

Who was the last Met rookie to hit two home runs in a single World Series game?

Michael Conforto

Through May 2016, four major league players had attended Liberty University. One of those players played for the Mets. Can you name that player? He was a short-lived reliever for the club in 1992. Since 2016, three more men from Liberty University have reached the majors, including 2020 Met Ryan Cordell.

Lee Guetterman



Who am I?

Eddie Murray

[Cowtipper]

New questions:

1. Who was the New York Mets general manager in 1977? He was later GM for the Cardinals and Tigers.

2.



Who am I?

3.



Who am I?

4.



Who am I?

5.



Who am I?

Running tally of correct guessers:

Johnny Lunchbucket: 114
Edgy MD: 87
stevejrogers: 68
batmagadanleadoff: 34
DocTee: 9
metsmarathon: 9
Benjamin Grimm: 6
MFS62: 4
The Hot Corner: 3
Marshmallowmilkshake: 1
Methead: 1

[stevejrogers]

1 Joseph Anthony Aloius McDonald, Sr.

2 Jose Vizcaino

3 Hundley

4 Saberhagen

5 Telgahder

[Cowtipper]

All correct, save for #5. #5 was more well-known as a reliever for the Braves in the late-80s and early-90s. He was involved in this trade: "November 24, 1993: Traded by the Atlanta Braves to the New York Mets for Dave Gallagher." Well done on the others! Here's some more.

1.



Who am I?

2.



Who am I?

3.



Who am I?

4.



Who am I?

5.



Running tally of correct guessers:

Johnny Lunchbucket: 114
Edgy MD: 87
stevejrogers: 72
batmagadanleadoff: 34
DocTee: 9
metsmarathon: 9
Benjamin Grimm: 6
MFS62: 4
The Hot Corner: 3
Marshmallowmilkshake: 1
Methead: 1

[The Hot Corner]

#3 Brian McReynolds & #5 Jeff Kent

[Cowtipper]

McReynolds and Kent are correct! Two new questions have been added, with hints for the rest:

1.



Who am I?

Hint: Spent just 1994 with New York, going 4-10 with a 5.55 ERA in 21 starts. Went 47-71 in a big league career that spanned from 1987 to 1998.

2.



Who am I?

Hint: Played for the Mets in 1994 and 1995, but spent most of his career with the Orioles. Was traded for Reid Cornelius. Was hitting .329 in 1995 at the time of his trade away from NY.

3.



Who am I?

Hint: Played for the Mets in 1993 and 1994, then returned for 2002 and 2003. Hit over 300 career home runs. Traded by the New York Mets with cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Kole Strayhorn (minors), Jose Díaz and Víctor Díaz.

4.



Who am I?

5. From the back of an old baseball card: "When the Mets traded Kevin Baez and Tom Wegmann to the Orioles for this player, they obtained a first-rate first baseman and considerably tightened up on their infield defense. A contact hitter, he has power to the gaps." Who am I?

Running tally of correct guessers:

Johnny Lunchbucket: 114
Edgy MD: 87
stevejrogers: 72
batmagadanleadoff: 34
DocTee: 9
metsmarathon: 9
Benjamin Grimm: 6
The Hot Corner: 5
MFS62: 4
Marshmallowmilkshake: 1
Methead: 1

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

2. Segui
3. Burnitz
4. Brogna
5. Manny Alexander

[Cowtipper]

Segui, Burnitz and Brogna are correct! Alexander, though a good guess, is incorrect. The correct answer might have been the son of a '60s and '70s relief pitcher named Diego. New questions have been added:

1.



Who am I?

Hint: Spent just 1994 with New York, going 4-10 with a 5.55 ERA in 21 starts. Went 47-71 in a big league career that spanned from 1987 to 1998.

2. From the back of an old baseball card: "When the Mets traded Kevin Baez and Tom Wegmann to the Orioles for this player, they obtained a first-rate first baseman and considerably tightened up on their infield defense. A contact hitter, he has power to the gaps." Who am I?

3. From the back of an old baseball card: "This pitcher became a regular starter for the Mets in '94 after being traded by the Braves for Dave Gallagher. A big righthander who was 7-0 in '92, he has fine control and relies chiefly on a tremendous curveball and a hard-breaking slider." Who am I?

4. From the back of an old baseball card: "A superb combination of speed and power, this player is one of the Mets' bright young hopes for the future. He has outstanding bat speed as a classic pull hitter and great makeup. 'He gets dirty, gets after it,' said an observer, 'He doesn't leave anything on the field. And he doesn't take himself too seriously.'" Who am I? This is vague, but the player in question is from the era of the majority of the recent answers. He also might have been a recent answer to one of the baseball card image questions.

5. From the back of an 'old' baseball card: "Sports Illustrated recently published a photo of this player as a tiny tot, wearing powder-blue jammies (with footsies) and a catcher's mask. Little did his parents know that by age 24, in 2013, he would be a starting pitcher in the MLB All-Star Game." Who am I?

Running tally of correct guessers:

Johnny Lunchbucket: 117
Edgy MD: 87
stevejrogers: 72
batmagadanleadoff: 34
DocTee: 9
metsmarathon: 9
Benjamin Grimm: 6
The Hot Corner: 5
MFS62: 4
Marshmallowmilkshake: 1
Methead: 1

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

5. Matt Hovvey

[Cowtipper]

Matt Harvey is correct! A new question has been added, with hints for the rest.

1.



Who am I?

Hint: Spent just 1994 with New York, going 4-10 with a 5.55 ERA in 21 starts. Went 47-71 in a big league career that spanned from 1987 to 1998.
Hint: A Phillies first round pick in 1984, he was traded by the Philadelphia Phillies with Ozzie Virgil to the Atlanta Braves for Steve Bedrosian and Milt Thompson in 1985 and traded by the Atlanta Braves to the New York Mets in 1993.

2. From the back of an old baseball card: "When the Mets traded Kevin Baez and Tom Wegmann to the Orioles for this player, they obtained a first-rate first baseman and considerably tightened up on their infield defense. A contact hitter, he has power to the gaps." Who am I?

Hint: His father, Diego, was a relief pitcher in the 1960s and 1970s. He played from 1990 to 1994, mostly for the Orioles. Involved in a handful of trades throughout his career: 1994: Traded by the Baltimore Orioles to the New York Mets for Tom Wegmann (minors) and Kevin Baez. 1995: Traded by the New York Mets to the Montreal Expos for Reid Cornelius. 1999: Traded by the Seattle Mariners to the Toronto Blue Jays for Tom Davey and Steve Sinclair. 2000: Traded as part of a 3-team trade by the Toronto Blue Jays with cash to the Texas Rangers. The Texas Rangers sent Lee Stevens to the Montreal Expos. The Montreal Expos sent Brad Fullmer to the Toronto Blue Jays. 2000: Traded by the Texas Rangers to the Cleveland Indians for Ricky Ledée.

3. From the back of an old baseball card: "This pitcher became a regular starter for the Mets in '94 after being traded by the Braves for Dave Gallagher. A big righthander who was 7-0 in '92, he has fine control and relies chiefly on a tremendous curveball and a hard-breaking slider." Who am I?

Hint: The owner of a very common first and last name, he has the same name as a short-lived Red Sox pitcher of the 1960s.

4. From the back of an old baseball card: "A superb combination of speed and power, this player is one of the Mets' bright young hopes for the future. He has outstanding bat speed as a classic pull hitter and great makeup. 'He gets dirty, gets after it,' said an observer, 'He doesn't leave anything on the field. And he doesn't take himself too seriously.'" Who am I? This is vague, but the player in question is from the era of the majority of the recent answers. He also might have been a recent answer to one of the baseball card image questions.

Hint: A Mets first round pick in 1990, he was traded by the New York Mets with Joe Roa to the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named later, Paul Byrd, Jerry Dipoto and Dave Mlicki. The Cleveland Indians sent Jesus Azuaje (minors) (December 6, 1994) to the New York Mets to complete the trade.

5. From the back of an old baseball card: "A career .281 hitter, this player caught fire in 1969, helping to inspire a miraculous run by New York that culminated with an improbable championship. The All-Star batted .340 during the regular season, the fourth-highest average in franchise history and third-best mark in the league, and then connected at an impressive .429 clip in a three-game playoff sweep of Atlanta. His bat came back down to earth in the World Series, but he did glove the final fly ball in the Game 5 clincher in Baltimore." Who am I?

Running tally of correct guessers:

Johnny Lunchbucket: 118
Edgy MD: 87
stevejrogers: 72
batmagadanleadoff: 34
DocTee: 9
metsmarathon: 9
Benjamin Grimm: 6
The Hot Corner: 5
MFS62: 4
Marshmallowmilkshake: 1
Methead: 1

[The Hot Corner]

#5 - Cleon Jones

[DocTee]

2. David Segui