NY Mets: Five times a free agent turned out to be a catfish

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NEW YORK – CIRCA 1993: Vince Coleman #1 of the New York Mets poses for this photograph prior to the start of a Major League Baseball game circa 1993 at Shea Stadium in the Queens borough of New York City. Coleman played for the Mets from 1991-93. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

Vince Coleman, 1991-1993

From 1985-1990, the National League was dominated by Vince Coleman—at least when it came to stealing bases. He led the league each season during this time period and even managed to swipe triple-digits in his first three big league seasons.

So, when he became available and the Mets signed him as a free agent, many were hoping to land a speedy outfielder that could bat leadoff for many years to come.

Coleman never fit in well with the Mets. Judging his numbers is a little difficult because he never even reached 100 games played in any of his three seasons. The reasons for this varied and included both injuries and suspensions.

Some of the disciplinary action even came with Coleman’s interactions with fans. Surely, there were even more incidents that were not reported.

Coleman is a catfish of another color. Both disliked for his play and attitude, fans in Flushing were hopeful for a lot more out of one of the previous decade’s greatest base thieves. Although he stole some bases for the Mets, many see him as a free agent whose best thievery was cash.

The time Coleman spent with the Mets was in the post-Golden Era of the 1980s. Even though a few remnants from the 1986 team remained, the organization was going downhill. Free agent catfish signings such as Coleman were a big reason for it.

Coleman is the kind of catfish that is who they said they were visually but has lied about everything else. He flakes out on you whenever you have plane tickets to meetup and seems to have at least a dozen dead grandmothers he has used as an excuse.

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