Mets: Three former players who deserved more playing time

Kevin Mitchell

To the casual Mets fan, Kevin Mitchell is best known for scoring the tying run in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series on a wild pitch to Mookie Wilson. His role in that game was undoubtedly crucial. But Mitchell had a very interesting Mets career outside of that specific game, one that, with more playing time, could have left him with an even larger Mets legacy.

Mitchell initially came up with the Mets in 1984 for a few games, but his first full rookie season was in 1986. He appeared in 108 games that year and batted .277 with 22 doubles, 12 home runs, 43 RBI, and 51 runs scored. Though he started out the year primarily as a pinch hitter, Mitchell eventually played his way into the regular starting lineup.

Perhaps un-coincidentally, Mitchell’s playing time skyrocketed after he stood up for his team during an in-game brawl against the Cincinnati Reds on July 22, while regular left fielder George Foster refused to participate and remained on the bench.

Mitchell’s efforts on the field were rewarded with a third-place finish in that year’s NL Rookie of the Year voting, as well as the heroics of the 1986 World Series. Yet, he was traded to the San Diego Padres shortly after the ’86 season ended, in a deal that brought Kevin McReynolds to New York. Mitchell later went on to the San Francisco Giants, where he had a career year in 1989 that won him an NL MVP award.

So why was Mitchell’s promising career as a Met cut short?

All he did in 1986 was produce on the field and make the most of every playing opportunity he was given. But several off-the-field incidents led Mets management to conclude that Mitchell was a bad influence on the young stars Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry. Though the entire 1986 team engaged in plenty of illicit activities, Mitchell was singled out as the most expendable of the group.

His long playing career and ultimate peak with the Giants proved that, regardless of his off-the-field demeanor, Mitchell could have given the Mets many more memorable years than he did.

Jose Oquendo

In the mid-1980s, stars like Keith Hernandez, Darryl Strawberry, and Dwight Gooden grabbed most of the headlines. On these pre-1986 teams that exuded budding talent and personality, Jose Oquendo began his major league career. The Mets had originally signed Oquendo as an amateur free agent in 1979. In 1983, at age 19, he made his major league debut in Queens with the big club. At the time, Oquendo was notable for being the very first Mets player born after the Mets came into existence in 1962.

Oquendo was initially groomed as a shortstop, and he spent his entire Mets tenure in the hole between second and third base. He saw a lot of playing time in 1983, appearing in 120 games and snagging the starting job away from Ron Gardenhire. Oquendo’s hitting had yet to blossom, however, and he hit only .213 over the entire season.

Oquendo returned for another season in 1984, but he split more of his playing time at shortstop that year with Gardenhire and Rafael Santana. His average increased just a tick to .222, and his OBP remained low at .284. Still, Oquendo showed significantly more promise at the plate in 1984. During May and June, he hit a much-improved .250 and .243, respectively, before his playing time drastically decreased in the second half.

Despite being touted as a strong defender, the Mets ultimately decided that whatever defensive value Oquendo provided was not worth carrying his bat on the roster. They traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals before the ’85 season, in a deal packaged with Mark Davis that netted the Mets John Young and Angel Salazar.

Though he spent all of the 1985 season in the minor leagues, Oquendo enjoyed a career renaissance in St. Louis beginning in 1986, mostly as a second baseman, and his hitting improved tremendously. Oquendo was a key part of the mid-’80s Cardinals teams that had a healthy rivalry with the Mets. He ended up spending the next ten years in St. Louis until he retired after the 1995 season.

The Mets may not have known it at the time, but Oquendo’s bat always had potential and eventually came around. It did take a change of scenery for his hitting prowess to appear, which is why Oquendo falls into the category of “Mets who didn’t fully thrive until they played every day for another team.”

It is very difficult for major leaguers to make their mark as utility players. Many times, talented players are thrust into part-time roles because of their team’s roster construction, not because they don’t have the ability to produce every day.

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The Mets have groomed many players from “rookie status” to “stardom” over the years, but for Turner, Mitchell, and Oquendo, “stardom” would only be achieved once they left the Big Apple.