Mets Madness Tournament: Match-Up Schedule for December 28-January 5

The fifth and final week of the first round of Mets Madness concludes with 8 tough choices for New York Mets fans to make.

Week four of Mets Madness included some surprises, upsets, and blow-outs. We’re now in the final week of round one. Before we proceed, let’s take a look at the results so far in this tournament to find the fans’ favorite New York Mets player of all-time.

And if you haven’t already, be sure to follow us on the Rising Apple Twitter page to participate in these daily polls.

December 1: Steven Matz wins with 60% of the vote over Joe McEwing for the number 11 seed
December 2: Endy Chavez wins with 63% of the vote over Billy Wagner for the number 15 seed
December 3: Art Shamsky wins with 85% of the vote over Jack Fisher for the number 14 seed
December 4: Lenny Dykstra wins with 53% of the vote over Ray Knight for the number 16 seed
December 5: Wilmer Flores (7) wins with 52% of the vote over Curtis Granderson (10)
December 6: Gary Carter (5) wins with 93% of the vote over Sid Fernandez (12)
December 7: Bartolo Colon (3) wins with 77% of the vote over Benny Agbayani (14)
December 8: Tom Seaver (1) wins with 95% of the vote over Wayne Garrett (16)
December 9: Noah Syndergaard (6) wins with 93% of the vote over Steven Matz (11)
December 10: Ron Darling (4) wins with 86% of the vote over Todd Hundley (13)
December 11: Edgardo Alfonzo (2) wins with 71% of the vote over Endy Chavez (15)
December 12: Cleon Jones (9) wins with 89% of the vote over Ron Hunt (8)
December 13: Jose Reyes (5) wins with 63% of the vote over Pedro Martinez (12)
December 14: Darryl Strawberry (3) wins with 97% of the vote over Bret Saberhagen (14)
December 15: Mike Piazza (1) wins with 94% of the vote over Al Leiter (16)
December 16: Tommie Agee (10) wins with 80% of the vote over John Stearns (7)
December 17: Johan Santana (4) wins with 74% of the vote over Matt Harvey (13)
December 18: Dwight Gooden (2) wins with 92% of the vote over Bob Ojeda (15)
December 19: Jesse Orosco (8) wins with 73% of the vote over Lee Mazzilli (9)
December 20: Jerry Grote (6) wins with 66% of the vote over Felix Millan (11)
December 21: Carlos Beltran (3) wins with 71% of the vote over Carlos Delgado (14)
December 22: Keith Hernandez (1) wins with 96% of the vote over Lenny Dykstra (16)
December 23: Yoenis Cespedes (10) wins with 51% of the vote over Daniel Murphy (7)
December 24: Nolan Ryan (12) wins with 61% of the vote over Jon Matlack (5)
December 25: Jacob deGrom (2) wins with 98% of the vote over Jeurys Familia (15)
December 26: Mookie Wilson (8) wins with 87% of the vote over Wally Backman (9)
December 27: Rusty Staub (6) wins with 53% of the vote over the vote over R.A. Dickey (11)
December 28: Jerry Koosman (4) wins with 96% of the vote over Craig Swan (13)

On December 29, we open with our final 1 seed versus 16. David Wright will go up against Tom Glavine. And while Glavine is a member of the Hall of Fame, his Mets tenure was far from Cooperstown worthy. Plus, it’s Wright we’re talking about. He’s an easy choice to win the whole tournament. He’ll win, easy.

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This week’s Sunday match-up may include an upset. From the 80s/90s Conference, number 7 seed David Cone matches up with 10 seed Bud Harrelson. Considering Cone isn’t necessarily best known for his Mets career and Harrelson is, I have a feeling we’ll see the higher seed advance. Good luck to Cone. He’s going to need it.

We wrap up the year on December 31 with what I predict will be an upset. Number 5 seed Robin Ventura goes one-on-one with 12 seed Rey Ordonez. I would argue Ventura was a more productive player for the Mets. However, Ordonez’s connection with fans in Flushing runs far deeper. He’ll go to the next round in our Overflow Conference, not Ventura.

A new year begins with a trip back to the 60s/70s Conference. Number 3 seed Tug McGraw will face 14 seed Art Shamsky. Shamsky needed to win a play-in to reach the field of 64. I don’t think he’ll get nearly as much love this time around. Give me McGraw all day, every day.

Likely, you go back to work on January 2. Before you do, be sure to vote in what should be an absolutely epic battle. Number 8 seed Brandon Nimmo goes up against 9 seed Michael Conforto. I really think this one may come down to who kisses the most babies. I’ll give Nimmo the slide edge although Conforto could easily come away the victor.

Things don’t get too much easier when 6 seed Howard Johnson goes up against 11 seed John Franco. Each connected well with Mets fans and have their share of fans. I think a few blown saves may cost Franco here. I’m picking Howard to advance.

In what may end up as the most exciting week of Mets Madness yet, January 4 offers yet another tough choice. Number 4 seed John Olerud will face 13 seed Dave Kingman. These two completely different types of players contributed to the Mets in their years. More fans on Twitter remember Olerud better so I do believe he will come away on top. Still, it should be close.

We actually finish round one with a bonus Saturday fight between 2 seed Ed Kranepool and 15 seed Ron Swoboda. We may be in for a surprise here, but I firmly believe Kranepool’s long career with the Mets makes him an easy winner. He’s also someone who may end up sneaking into the final four.

For a recap of the fifth and final week of round one, see below. Be sure to follow us on Twitter for your chance to help crown the winner.

December 29: David Wright (1) vs. Tom Glavine (16)
December 30: David Cone (7) vs. Bud Harrelson (10)
December 31: Robin Ventura (5) vs. Rey Ordonez (12)
January 1: Tug McGraw (3) vs. Art Shamsky (14)
January 2: Brandon Nimmo (8) vs. Michael Conforto (9)
January 3: Howard Johnson (6) vs. John Franco (11)
January 4: John Olerud (4) vs. Dave Kingman (13)
January 5: Ed Kranepool (2) vs. Ron Swoboda (15)

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