Good NY Mets players best known for one real bad moment

These three New York Mets had good careers in Flushing but are best known for one bad moment.

Some players in New York Mets history managed to become notorious for one single great moment. Endy Chavez comes to mind. His amazing catch in the 2006 NLCS is legendary in the minds of Mets fans.

A similar sentiment could be said about Mike Baxter whose catch in Johan Santana’s no-hitter made him a guy we would never forget.

Unfortunately, there are some players in Mets history who are best known for one single bad moment despite having years of success. From all-time greats to just productive, these good Mets are unfortunately best remembered for coming up short when the team needed the most.

Good Mets known for one bad moment – Carlos Beltran

Carlos Beltran is known for a lot of things relating to his time with the Mets. Along with putting up some amazing numbers on the field, he also has the distinction of being the only Mets manager to never actually manage a game. We all remember why that is. Amazingly, it’s not what he is best remembered for.

Despite his place as one of the best outfielders in franchise history, it’s Beltran’s performance in 2006 NLCS that many remember him for most. Not long after Chavez’s game-saving catch, Beltran went down on three straight pitches from St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright. With the bat on his shoulder, Beltran struck out with the bases juiced in the bottom of the ninth.

The strikeout ended the game, put the Cardinals in the World Series, and laid down the groundwork for the Mets to miss the postseason every year until they went back in 2015.

Sadly, the Mets would see two more infamous moments in the 2015 playoffs that defined the careers of other quality players.

Good Mets known for one bad moment – Jeurys Familia

You know a moment is important in baseball lore when it has a name. Not many plays have a specific name, but this one does. You say it to a Mets fan and they know exactly what you mean. I’m referring to Jeurys Familia’s quick-pitch in Game One of the 2015 World Series.

The Mets had not been to the World Series since 2000 when they dropped the series to the New York Yankees. Their last trip to the playoffs ended with Beltran’s strikeout against Wainwright.

After narrowly defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS 3 games to 2, the Mets blazed by the Chicago Cubs with a sweep in the NLCS. Now it was time to take on the Kansas City Royals.

With the Mets leading 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth, Familia took the mound looking to close it out as he had successfully done many times before. Familia attempted to catch the batter, Alex Gordon, by surprise with a quicker than usual pitch. Gordon wasn’t fooled in the least. He drove the ball over the wall and tied up the game.

The Mets would go onto lose the game and the series.

Familia never really recovered from this one pitch. Although he put together another great year in 2016, he blew the 2016 NL Wild Card game versus the San Francisco Giants with yet another big home run allowed. The amazing thing about this 2016 home run is that he allowed only one in the regular season.

Anyone who looks at Familia’s numbers might see talent. If you were to actually go through the pain of watching him pitch, even in his best years, you might think otherwise. He is best known for blowing big games, not closing them.

Good Mets known for one bad moment – Lucas Duda

In the middle of the 2010s, Lucas Duda was one of the best sluggers on the Mets roster. Whether he was the first baseman or in the outfield, Duda hit regularly and with some great power.

Something Duda didn’t do was have one of those tremendous moments where we look at him fondly. Sure, his overall totals were good. When it comes to making a name for yourself, it can take one moment to erase all of the good.

Flipping forward a few days after Familia’s quick-pitch, we land at Game Five of the 2015 World Series. Ironically enough, the end result is yet another blown save by Familia. This time, however, it’s Duda who deserves some of the blame.

Eric Hosmer stood on third base with Salvador Perez at the plate. A groundball to third base landed in Duda’s glove at first for the out, but after some hesitation to throw the ball back home, he delivered an errant throw which allowed Hosmer to cross the plate and score a run.

The Royals had nothing to lose. And after falling just shy of tying the game in the World Series prior, they were willing to take a risk with the not-so-fleet-footed Hosmer barreling home.

Duda’s play wasn’t charged as an error, but in the mental part of baseball, it definitely was.

To add a little more insult to the mental injury, Duda eventually wound up replacing Hosmer as the first baseman in Kansas City a few years later. It’s an ironic twist to an unfortunate Mets story of a good player getting a bad reputation for one major blunder.