New York Mets: All-time weirdest pitching windups in franchise history

Memorable Mets Windups: Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez

Second up on this list is another notable member of the 2006 Mets and a key part of that year’s rotation, Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez. He only spent parts of two years in Queens, coming to the Mets from the Arizona Diamondbacks via trade during the 2006 season after spending most of his MLB career with the Yankees and his pre-MLB career pitching in Cuba.

El Duque didn’t have a sidearm or submarine delivery like several other entries on this list, but he was famous for his extremely high leg kick. While delivering the ball to the plate, El Duque appeared to nearly knee himself in the face with every pitch. Despite this jerky motion, he got the ball to the plate quickly and fielded his position well.

His delivery out of the stretch was almost a complete 180 from his regular windup. With runners on base, El Duque morphed his windup into a near-sidearm delivery, with no leg kick in sight.

Hernandez was a solid starter for the Mets throughout the 2006 season, but unfortunately, his Mets legacy did not extend into that memorable postseason. El Duque tore a calf muscle in early October while jogging in the outfield, of all things, and missed the entire playoffs. His injury, on top of the injury to Pedro Martinez, meant that the Mets’ starting pitching depth was razor-thin entering the 2006 ALDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Had El Duque remained healthy and pitched in that 2006 postseason, who knows how many games he might have won in the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals. Nonetheless, El Duque still made his mark on franchise history for his unusual delivery and indeterminate age.

Memorable Mets Windups: Joe Smith

Joe Smith was most recently thrust into the national baseball spotlight as a member of the AL pennant-winning Houston Astros in 2019, but loyal Mets fans will remember that the sidearmer got his start in Queens. Smith was the Mets’ third-round draft pick in 2006, and made his major league debut with the big club the following year.

In 2007 and 2008, Smith was a mainstay of the Mets’ bullpen. He appeared in 54 and 82 games, respectively, in those two seasons, almost rivaling “Perpetual Pedro” Feliciano in appearances. Despite the heavy workload, Smith was very effective in both years, compiling a combined 3.51 ERA as a New York Met.

Unfortunately, the Mets decided after the 2008 season that Smith was not worth keeping, with years of control left and a major league minimum salary to his name. They traded him away in a three-team deal with the Cleveland Indians and the Seattle Mariners that netted them the whopping return of Sean Green, J.J. Putz, and Jeremy Reed. The Mets also departed with Endy “the catch” Chavez and Aaron Heilman in that trade, who were both immortalized in 2006 for very different reasons.

Smith has enjoyed a long major league career since his days in Flushing and has featured his signature sidearm delivery in every one of them. He entered the 2020 season as baseball’s active leader in games pitched, though he then opted out of the season due to COVID-19. If he comes back strong in 2021, he has a chance to become the 17th pitcher in major league history with 1000+ career appearances.

Though Smith was only in Flushing for a couple of seasons, Mets fans today remember him well as one of the team’s most consistently reliable relievers in the last fifteen years.

Memorable Mets Windups: Darren O’Day

Mets fans often lament “the one that got away” for players like Justin Turner, but another player who has excelled since leaving the team is righty sidearm reliever Darren O’Day. He enjoyed a very brief cup of coffee in Queens, making just four appearances for the Mets in 2009 after they selected him in the Rule 5 Draft.

The Mets evidently decided that he was expendable after four relief outings with no earned runs allowed. They placed him on waivers in May 2009, when he was quickly snatched up by the Texas Rangers.

O’Day’s signature is a low, sweeping sidearm delivery that sometimes veers into submarine territory. The ball comes out of his hand low to the ground, but rises as it approaches home plate to the point where hitters often can’t catch up. He has fooled hitters plenty over his 13-year big league career, in which he has pitched to a cumulative 2.51 ERA.

After departing unceremoniously from Flushing in 2009, O’Day has enjoyed success with the Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and Atlanta Braves. Every time I’ve completely forgotten about him, he shows up in a game against the Mets, and I am reminded that quality relievers with long baseball careers don’t just grow on trees.

O’Day is proof that no matter how nasty a pitcher’s arsenal is, mere filth is not enough to have a long big-league career. A successful pitcher needs to consistently baffle opposing hitters, and O’Day’s sidearm delivery helps do just that.

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Based on this list, the mid-2000s were the prime time for “odd pitching windups” in Queens. Most of the current pitching roster has a traditional overhand delivery, but there is always room for one wild card windup in the rotation or bullpen. I look forward to the next pitcher the Amazins acquire that fits the bill of “sidearm assassin” on the mound.