FanSided

5 Mets players fans never really embraced

In New York, it's hard to be loved but easy to become polarizing.

By James Malone |
New York Mets
New York Mets / Focus On Sport/GettyImages
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Hundreds of players have suited up in the blue and orange to represent the New York Mets since 1962. Of those hundreds, some players get their numbers retired and are spoken about in glowing manner such as Mike Piazza and Tom Seaver. Some players have been chased out of Shea Stadium or Citi Field for poor performance such as Roberto Alomar or Jason Bay. Most we just say "oh yeah, I forgot he was a Met" like Jose Bautista or John Buck.

Through those hundreds of players, some have become polarizing for their lack of production in correlation to our expectations. In recent memory, Marcus Stroman was mediocre in 2019 but became polarizing for his social media presence. Bobby Bonilla was polarizing for fighting with the media and then playing cards during a 1999 postseason game. We set the bar high for these players, but there were reasons we never embraced Bonilla or Stroman for their off-the-field antics. Which players did we just not appreciate because we set the bar too high?

1. Dave Kingman

From 1971-86, Dave Kingman was known as the ultimate all or nothing player; he hit a bunch of home runs, but never hit for a high batting average. The outfielder hit for a .236 career batting average with 442 home runs, 154 of them came in 6 seasons with the Mets. In an era where players struck out at a much lower rate than in 2023, Kingman led the national league 3 times in doing so.

On the flip side, Kingman led the NL twice in home runs during an era where hitting 40 or more was unheard of. He was an all-star with the Mets in 1976, barreling 37 home runs. Kingman was a bright spot for the late 1970's Mets where wins were hard to come by. With all of his successes, why is Kingman laughed at for his Mets tenure?

The answer is easy- he was known as the 'strikeout king'. For all of the home runs Kingman hit, including the ball that hit the roof of Olympic Stadium, his downsides offensively never made up for his incredible power. Mets fans had an expectation of 40 or more home runs and 100 or more RBI. Fans were disappointed to see a player strikeout a lot and play decent defense in the outfield.

2. Kevin McReynolds

Across six seasons with the Mets from 1987-1991 and 1994, outfielder Kevin McReynolds hit .272 with 122 home runs and 456 RBI. He performed well in the 1988 playoffs hitting .250 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI. Although McReynolds was brought in to help create a dynasty team in the late 1980's, the 1988 NLCS would be the closest the Mets would be to the World Series until 1999. It's hard to put the blame on McReynolds- he did finish 3rd in the 1988 MVP voting behind Gibson and Strawberry.

Though having two stints with the Mets, McReynolds was never a fan favorite. For starters, he was acquired in a 1987 trade that sent outfielder Kevin Mitchell to the San Diego Padres, who went on to win the NL MVP in 1989. In 1987, McReynolds was also a part of one of the most disappointing seasons in team history where the Mets went 92-70 and missed the playoffs after winning the World Series in 1986. McReynolds was also a part of the 1988 team that lost the NLCS to the Dodgers.

Why was McReynolds never a fan favorite? It is quite simple- the Mets never won a championship while he was here. It started with the disappointment of 1987, though many key players such as Keith Hernandez missed time with injury. There was also the clubhouse controversy when Hernandez believed McReynolds should have won the 1988 MVP instead of Gibson or Strawberry. Fans also questioned how much McReynolds truly cared about winning given he was not known for wanting attention. In all, McReynolds had a good Mets career, but he was never embraced like those 1986 Mets.

3. Jon Niese

Making his MLB debut with the Mets in 2008, Jon Niese was a promising young pitching prospect with a wicked 12-6 seam curveball and solid fastball velocity. As fans, we all saw flashes of great potential throughout Niese's 9-year Mets career. In 2012 and 2014, Niese pitched to a 3.40 ERA across 30 starts each season, which is quality enough to be a mid-top of the rotation starter. We saw flashes of a dominant left handed weapon out of the bullpen during the 2015 postseason having gotten big outs against the Dodgers and Cubs.

Although Niese showed glimpses of a high-end starter, his inconsistency made him another disappointing Mets prospect. His 2015 regular season was lackluster, pitching to a 4.13 ERA across 29 starts. This was not enough to keep him in the picture for 2016 with the Mets having the big 5 in deGrom, Harvey, Matz, Syndergaard, and Wheeler already on the staff. After committing to Bartolo Colon for the 2016 season, Niese was dealt to Pittsburgh for Neil Walker.

Why did Mets fans never embrace Jon Niese? It was the disappointment of never living up to the blue-chip prospect ceiling he was given in 2008. Niese never seemed to find that consistency and became an every-other year solid starting pitcher. Once the Mets developed the young arms, Niese's rotation security was in jeopardy. He didn't have the fan gravitating personality of Bartolo to save him after the 2015 World Series. In remembering the early 2010's, Niese was a good Met that just never hit his ceiling. Beyond that, I never minded his comments after being traded either, saying "I can't wait to pitch in front of the Pirates defense". Let's be honest- defense cost us the 2015 World Series.

4. Ruben Tejada

Ruben Tejada made his MLB debut with the Mets in 2010 as a 20-year-old middle infielder with tremendous line-drive, gap-to-gap ability. His high batting average, contact rate, and steady defense made him an asset for a rebuilding Mets franchise when Sandy Alderson took over in 2011. After hitting .284 with 15 doubles in 96 games with the Mets in 2011, Tejada took the shortstop reigns from Jose Reyes once he departed for Miami.

In 2012, Tejada handled the position well and hit .289 across 114 games and showed that line-drive ability slashing 26 doubles. After 2012 however, Tejada never built upon his early success. He was demoted to AAA in 2013 after hitting just .202, and then lost his everyday shortstop role to Wilmer Flores in 2014.

Mets fans never embraced Tejada because of his disappointing performance following the departure of Reyes. As fans, we were hoping Tejada would be closer to Rey Ordonez with the contact and defensive ability, but that was never the case. Taking over for Reyes put a lot of pressure on the young shortstop, and he just never lived up to the expectation. Fans embraced Tejada after the Chase Utley slide during the 2015 NLDS, but Tejada would be released during Spring Training in 2016 following the acquisition of Asdrubal Cabrera.

5. Travis d'Arnaud

Travis d'Arnaud was always a highly touted prospect upon being drafted by the Phillies in 2007. He was dealt twice for Cy Young Award winners before making his debut with the Mets in 2013; Roy Halladay and R.A. Dickey. These blockbuster trade deals made d'Arnaud a blue-chip prospect with 'Mike Piazza' power at the plate. His defense was a question mark, even as a young prospect but he handled pitching staffs well and was a great pitch framer.

d'Arnaud never lived up to the hype of being acquired for R.A. Dickey; in fact, we remember this trade more as the Noah Syndergaard trade than the d'Arnaud. He was demoted early on in 2014 for poor performance, but bounced back nicely in the second half, earning himself the starting role in 2015. d'Arnaud only played in 67 games in 2015 due to injury but played his best baseball as a Met during this stretch including 3 postseason home runs.

d'Arnaud may be the most frustrating player in Mets history. Outside of his struggles in 2016, d'Arnaud always hit the ball well and was an asset for a young pitching staff. He struggled to throw out base stealers, though I would put more blame on the pitchers themselves given Mesoraco, Plawecki, Ramos, and Rivera couldn't throw anyone out either. Most Mets fans never embraced d'Arnaud because of the Mike Piazza expectation set on him in 2013. Speaking personally, I always liked d'Arnaud and felt that expectation was unfair. Since signing with the Braves in 2020, d'Arnaud has become another Met-killer just like Daniel Murphy and Justin Turner.

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