New York Mets: Five failed Mets reunions with former players

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19 Apr 1999: Bobby Bonilla #25 of the New York Mets looks on during the game against the Montreal Expos at the Shea Stadium in Flushing, New York. The Expos defeated the Mets 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Al Bello /Allsport /

Failed Mets Reunion with Bobby Bonilla

Bobby Bonilla’s first tour with the Mets came with plenty of hype. He was an All-Star player about to make a fortune with an orange and blue “NY” emblem at the top of his paychecks.

The results were not fantastic. He hit .249 in his first season and the club was clearly heading in the wrong direction. Despite an All-Star season from him in 1993 with a34 home runs, the team had one of its worst years in franchise history.

Bonilla’s time with the Mets from 1992-1995 was disappointing. However, the reunion with his former club in 1999 was far worse.

Following a year and a half with the Baltimore Orioles, a World Series-winning campaign in 1997 with the Florida Marlins, and then a half-season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Bonilla found himself back at Shea Stadium. His 1999 season was painful. In 141 plate appearances, he slashed .160/.277/.303. He was released the following January.

With Bonilla, things get a little more complicated. The deferred money on his contract with the Mets is often the laughing-stock of the Major League Baseball world whether it’s July 1st or not. Even if every organization does this now, Bonilla is somehow the poster boy for paying players millions of dollars well after they’ve retired.

The failed Bonilla reunion left a different kind of sting on the franchise. It showed ineptitude of the ownership and made the franchise a joke.

Even after a bad first stint with the club, the Mets thought that maybe Bonilla’s second might turn out better. It didn’t and we’re still hearing about it two decades later.

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