NY Mets free agent retrospective: The wrong firecracker at the top of the lineup

Baseball was different in the 1980s. Speed was a big part of the game and one of the best at swiping a bag was Vince Coleman. For the first six seasons of his MLB career, Coleman led the National League in stolen bases. His low was 65. Of course, when he became available via free agency after the 1990 season, a new look New York Mets team sans Darryl Strawberry had to pounce.

A fresh decade coincided with a much different feel around the Mets. The latter part of the 1980s was the golden age of Mets baseball with a championship in 1986 and several other competitive seasons including a trip to the NLCS in 1988. The 1991 Mets had very little in common with those glory days. Other than Howard Johnson, the starting lineup had completely changed.

The signing of Coleman on December 5, 1990 came about a month after Strawberry officially left for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Positioned in center field for a Mets team that relied on the platoon of Mookie Wilson and Lenny Dykstra for their best years, this ended up as one of the biggest busts imaginable going beyond even the play on the field.

The Mets free agent signing of Vince Coleman remains one of the franchise’s all-time worst

In three seasons with the Mets, Coleman never managed to reach 100 games in a season. Even though he was in his late 20s when the contract began, he was showing his age while also displaying immaturity. His 37 stolen bases in year one looks awesome by today’s standards but was 40 fewer than he stole the season before.

Oddly, Coleman’s slash line with the Mets of .270/.336/.356 beats out what he did for the St. Louis Cardinals by a small margin. He was only a .265/.326/.339 hitter there, but it’s what he lost with New York that stood out more. A lack of playing time and stolen bases hit harder than the extra points in his batting average and OBP. A poorly rated defender in left field for the Cardinals, things weren’t any better in center field for the Mets nor did they shine down favorably in years two and three when he saw some action in left field.

Arguments with coaches, injuring teammates with golf swings, and throwing firecrackers at fans highlighted his stay in New York along with heinous allegations against him during spring training of 1992. Every which way you look, Coleman became a notorious Mets addition during a time when the franchise couldn’t seem to do anything right.

Front and center of the misses was the choice of Coleman to be their next star outfielder.