Best Mets in MLB The Show 21 diamond dynasty and more

1. 96 overall, Mets Tom Glavine, 300 Win Club card.

2007 was my favorite year of being a Mets fan. I loved 2007 even more than 2015 when my dad got me and two friends tickets to game four of the World Series on the third baseline. My dad is awesome. Anyways, 2007 was the year Tom Glavine got his 300th win, and then 8 year old me had to figure out what a “key to the city” could open for quite a while (it opens doors man). Now I know it is just a trophy of sorts.

I am particularly excited about this in-game Glavine card and think it will end up being one of the most valuable cards in the game long term. In the previous MLB The Show 20 game, the only Tom Glavine card they released was a version of him on the Braves. While Glavine is no doubt an all-time great Brave, with him having spent 17 of his 22 seasons there it is terrific to see the game publishing a Mets version of him and doing it specifically by honoring his membership as a part of the 300 wins club, a feat he accomplished as a New York Met.

Tom’s 96 overall rating is highlighted by a terrific 99 rating for HR/9, honoring his legendary 0.7 HR/9 career average. He also has an over-the-top 112 stamina rating, a nod to his ultra-long and successful career and his ability to pitch deep into ball games.  Fortunate users of the Glavine card are able to choose from his five-pitch repertoire which includes (in order of his best pitch to worst pitch) a 93 mph sinker, a 76 mph circle change, a 72 mph sweeping curve, a 86 mph slider, and 95 mph 4 seam fastball. Yea, 95 mph gas followed up with a 76 mph changeup? Good luck.

2. 92 overall, Tom Seaver, 1975 All-Star card

Now I do not know a ton about Tom Seaver seeing as I was not even a “twinkle” in my mother’s eye, as she likes to say, in 1975. In fact, my mom was 11 years old in 1975 (sorry mom). What I do know though, aside from him being the most valuable property in Mets Monopoly, is that he was greater than Jacob deGrom, and that is saying A LOT.

Tom Seaver comes in as a 92 overall in this year’s game. He is the third most expensive pitcher listed on the market behind only Fernando Valenzuela and this other guy who wears number 48. From looking at the record books I can see that Tom Terrific led the league five times in strikeouts and is still to this day sixth all-time with 3640 strikeouts. Seaver’s best in-game attributes are his stamina (need more be said for such a legend?) and his perfect 100 rated K/9 rating. I would love a chance to get to pitch with this strikeout machine in-game but will need to save up 84,995 stubs, I currently have 9,951. I’m going to save up okay! Seaver has a healthy five-pitch repertoire of 94 mph fastball, 93 mph sinker, 85 mph slider, 78 mph 12-6 curve, and 81 mph changeup.

3. 91 overall, Mets Mike Piazza, Second Half of 2001 card

Now, it’s not my fault. I was born in 1999. There’s nothing I can do about that. I don’t remember watching Mike Piazza play. It may have been possible, 5 or 6 year old me catching him at the end of his career but that was unfortunately just before the beginning of my conscious baseball fanship began. Mike Piazza was a legend though. No doubt about it. There is no better way to collectively bring people together, especially in challenging times, than sports. Mike Piazza helped ease the soles of hundreds of thousands, maybe more, when he hit the go-ahead home run in a post 9/11 game at Shea Stadium in New York. I didn’t consciously live it but the video on YouTube is iconic.

The game does Piazza justice. Listed on the market for 102,000 stubs, over 10,000 more than Tom Seaver, Piazza is currently the best catcher in the game, and by far, with the next most valuable catching option being a 1998 all-star Jason Kendall card on sale for 17,249 stubs. Piazza’s card is worth it too if you have hundreds of thousands of stubs lying around (I don’t).

Piazza has absolutely no weakness as a hitter. His contact and power ratings, the two most important hitting attributes, against righties and lefties are all above 90. His power against left-handed pitcher rating is an over-the-top 101! This is definitely a player I have on my dream team and I will have to keep playing to eventually, hopefully, be able to afford it. There is nothing better than a catcher who can really hit the ball.

4. 91 overall, Mets John Franco, 300 Save Club card

Now I am not going to say much about John Franco because once again due to my limited amount of time on earth I wasn’t always so aptly able to process his pitching performances with the Mets in the nineties and early 2000s; I was maybe 3 years old. The most I remember about John Franco was him being terrifically old (he pitched until age 45).

John Franco is one of the most clutch closing pitchers to ever be called from the pen. Having spent the majority of his career with the New York Mets, Franco is fifth all-time in MLB history with 424 career saves! Franco has terrific, all above 90 rated, H/9, K/9, BB/9, and HR/9 ratings, all the most important attributes for any pitcher. Franco’s highest rating is his PCLT or pitching clutch attribute of 104. This is the guy I would most want coming out of my bullpen too, too bad he is currently unavailable on the open market due to his elite pitching repertoire, highlighted by a ridiculous screwball!

5. 91 overall, Mets Jacob deGrom, Topps card

How could we get through a Mets top player list without including the man, the myth, the legend, shortstop turned Cy Young award winner, Jacob deGrom himself. Somehow down from his 94 overall ratings last year, 91 deGrom, with an asking price of 116,669 stubs, is currently the most expensive pitcher on the market (he’s that other guy from the Tom Seaver paragraph). deGrom’s value is largely in part to his blazing fast 99 MPH fastball. He also sports a 92 mph slider, a 88 mph changeup, an 84 mph curveball, and a 97 mph 2 seam fastball. Pick your poison, deGrom has plenty of weapons to choose from. Need I say more. If you can get more than two runs with him on the mound you should be good.

Honorable mentions:

90 overall, Mets Jeurys Familia, 2016 50 Saves Club card

87 overall, Mets Francisco Lindor, Topps card

Mets players I would like to see included in this years MLB The Show 21 Diamond Dynasty mode:

Please keep in mind I came up with these ratings but I think they are justified.

93 overall, Mets David Wright, 2007 Silver Slugger card

David Wright is and always will be the definition of a Met in my opinion. He was a third baseman and I am a third baseman. He was also a seven-time all-star and the cover athlete of the now ancient MLB The Show 07, which was popular in my life on the Playstation Portable (PSP). 2007 was also Wright’s best year as a major leaguer, where he won a silver slugger award and finished fourth in all-star voting (snub). That year Wright had .325/.416/.546 splits and while the Mets ultimately disappointed that year for the postseason, I’ll always remember that team very fondly. Wright would have very strong fielding attributes, an importance in the game with batters able to beat out infield hits on occasion. He would also most likely have terrifically high contact attributes, but be a little lighter on the power side of things.

92 overall, Mets Daniel Murphy, 2015 NLCS card

Let’s be honest, Murphy was one of the main reasons alone the Mets made it to the World Series that year. He went 9-17 in the series with four home runs. The Murphy card would have him listed as a primarily second baseman, with the ability to also play third and first. He would be a stronger hitter against righties than lefties, with his contact attributes generally being slightly greater than his power attributes. I would give him, specifically for this NLCS edition card, on average 95 power and 85 contact attributes. Murph could lock down the clean-up spot in some lineups and be a welcome plus hitting second baseman on most.

91 overall, Mets R.A. Dickey, 2012 Cy Young card

If you have never watched the Knuckleball documentary titled Knuckleball, you should. You’ll fall in love with R.A. Dickey. He is a sweetheart. He is also a lot of fun to play within video games thanks to his dancing knuckleball. This year’s diamond dynasty would mark an excellent time for the return of an R.A. Dickey card into the game. He would have at least a 100 K/9 rating but be brought down due to a poor BB/9 rating. Don’t let the Knuckleball go extinct! Bring R.A. Dickey back to the game as a Met with a 2012 Cy Young edition card!

89 overall, Mets Jose Reyes, Topps card

Jose Reyes and David Wright were the best duo to ever wear Mets jerseys at the same time. Don’t @ me. Reyes is the ideal leadoff hitter. He is a contact hitter who once gets on base can steal second and third base no problem. This would allow for you to bunt him in with the next batter, giving you the one run you would need to win with if you had deGrom on the mound on the other end of things. He would have terrific 90 contact ratings and have 99 speed and 98 stealing ability. He also is a plus defender with a projected 89 fielding ability. The combination of his strengths and limited weakness would give him a high overall rating and make for a valuable player for any Diamond Dynasty squad.

92 overall, Mets Johan Santana, No-Hitter card

The game in the past has made special cards for players to honor personal achievements. There hasn’t been a Johan Santana Diamond Dynasty card that I can remember. There would be no better way to satisfy Mets (and Twins) fans than bringing back the lefty in all his glory this year than0 by making the special card. Santana would sport his specialized three-pitch repertoire that includes his running fastball RFB, his slider SL, and trademarked circle changeup CIR, which he was kind enough to teach to young Jacob deGrom when he was coming up through the Mets organization for the first time back in the day. Santana’s 92 overall ratings would most be supported by a 100 stamina rating, reflecting his ability to throw the complete game as well as a 100 PCLT rating for his clutchness and ability to finish the no-hitter, which he did.

Honorable mention:

89 overall, Carlos Beltran 2006 Silver Slugger card

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What do you think of the new MLB The Show 21 and more specifically the Mets included in the game this year? I would love to hear any of your comments. Good luck to all my gamers out there and let’s go Mets!