Some New York Mets acquisitions have gone terribly bad.

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There have been some acquisitions the New York Mets have made in their history where it was quite easy to get really excited…only to be hit with a big let down.

Some of those players were pretty well-known…in fact…some of them were Hall of Famers. It’s just…well…they were pretty much done with their careers and, by the time they donned a Mets uniform, it had actually become pretty embarrassing.

Duke Snider was brought back to New York from Los Angeles prior to the 1963 season. But the Duke of Flatbush was a mere shell of himself. After two injury-riddled seasons where he played less than 100 games, he managed to play in 129 games and hit .243 with 14 home runs and 45 RBI at the age of 36. The Mets were so bad that he was still selected as an All Star for the first time in seven years. But the Duke was really done.

Warren Spahn and Yogi Berra each had some time on the field in 1965. But that battery was, let’s just say, that battery was dead. Spahn was released after going 4-12 with a 4.36 ERA at the age of 44 years old. Berra got into four games, managed to get two hits in nine at bats before retiring to become a full-time coach at the age of 40.

In 1966, two years after winning the National League MVP Award, the Mets acquired All Star third baseman Ken Boyer. At the age of 35, Boyer was already over the hill and even though he was somewhat productive during the ’66 season, the seven-time All Star was gone midway through 1967.

Some years later, owner Joan Payson would insist on bringing Willie Mays to the Mets. Mays was already 41 years old when he arrived during the 1972 season. He played a total of 135 games over a season and a half, batting .238, with 14 home runs and 44 RBI. But it was truly painful to watch the the guy thought to be the best all-around player of all-time, struggle so mightily. I think they call it “second hand embarrassment.”

It may have been exciting to have those guys in a Mets uniform, but to expect anything more would have been somewhat unreasonable. So was it really a “let down” after Snider, Spahn, Berra, Boyer, and Mays – five of the best players of all-time – failed so miserably?

There have been a few players, though, who came to the Mets with super high expectations, only to become the target of the ire of Mets fans and the New York media for being such epic failures.

Vince Coleman was a member of the hated St. Louis Cardinals when the New York Mets decided to “steal” him from their hated division rivals prior to the 1991 season.

Coleman would spend three seasons in a Mets uniform and never play 100 games in any of those seasons. He was only 29 years old but was his wheels were already flat. Vincent Van Go became Vincent Van Slow. After averaging 90 stolen bases in six seasons with the Cardinals, he averaged just over 30 stolen bases with the Mets.

Mets management believed he would ignite the lineup, but the only thing Coleman would ignite were the firecrackers he threw into the stands at Dodgers Stadium, injuring a number of people. He was fined and sentenced to over 200 hours of community service.

He turned out to be a huge dud.

While the Yankees were signing Japanese home run slugger Hideki Matsui, the New York Mets figured to make a splash when they signed the “other” Matsui, 28-year-old shortstop Kaz Matsui prior to the 2004 season.

Both were very popular players in Japan and both enjoyed great success. It would have seemed like the Mets may have gotten the better bargain with this one. Hideki was a one-dimensional player, a left handed slugging outfielder, suited perfectly for Yankee Stadium.

On the other hand, Kaz was a switch-hitting shortstop that displayed both speed and power. His Japanese career numbers included a .291 average with 201 home runs and 363 stolen bases. He had home run totals of 36 and 33 in the two seasons just prior to the Mets signing him.

One Matsui would become a shining star and the other would just fizzle out. Unfortunately for Mets fans, it would be Hideki who would win the hearts of Yankees fans while Kaz incurred the wrath of Mets fans, the media, and anyone else who would chime in.

The only reason it wasn’t worse than it was for him, was because David Wright had already arrived and Jose Reyes burst onto the scene. Even moving to second base couldn’t save Kaz Matsui and he would soon be banished to Colorado midway through the 2006 season. In two plus seasons with the Mets, he would hit .256 with 11 homers and 22 stolen bases in 239 games.

Unfortunately something apparently must have gotten lost in the translation.

The story of Jason Bay with the New York Mets is actually a sad one.

Bay had once been the property of the Mets, however, never made it to the Major Leagues his first time in the organization. He broke out with the Pittsburgh Pirates and in five-plus seasons with the Bucs, he averaged .281 with 29 homers and 92 RBI. He was traded midway through the 2008 season to Boston and had a great second half. Then in 2009, Bay had a monster year, thanks in part to the Green Monster, slugging a career high 36 homers, with a career high 119 RBI.

The Mets would sign him to a four-year deal following the 2009 season, when Bay was only 30 years old. Bay was old-school. He hustled. He got dirty. He tried. He tried real hard. But…it all went awry.

Bay would go from the small ballparks in Pittsburgh and Boston to what seemed like a cavernous Citifield. David Wright admitted that the Citifield outfield dimensions, and the way the balls carried, or, rather, didn’t carry, psyched him out after playing in pitcher-friendly Shea Stadium. Imagine what Bay felt like after playing in the band boxes in Pittsburgh and Boston.

Adding insult to injury, literally, Bay would suffer a fractured rib diving for a ball in leftfield in his first season with the Mets. And, then, he would suffer multiple concussions, while crashing into the outfield wall.

What really crashed was his career. The Mets expected to get the power hitter for the middle of the lineup to protect Wright. Instead, Bay is the one who needed protection, and it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Bay would only play a total of 288 games during his three seasons in a Mets uniform. He would manage to hit only 26 home runs and drive in 124.

There was reason for Mets fans to be excited at the thought of Vince Coleman, Kaz Matsui, and even Jason Bay wearing Mets uniforms. They were each, in fact, in the midst of the prime of their respective careers, all coming off outstanding seasons, with a history of success.

Unfortunately, excitement can turn to disappointment rather quickly. And in the case of Coleman, Matsui, and Bay, it can happen VERY quickly in the eyes of Mets fans.

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Vince Coleman was a member of the hated St. Louis Cardinals when the New York Mets decided to “steal” him from their hated division rivals prior to the 1991 season.

While the Yankees were signing Japanese home run slugger Hideki Matsui, the New York Mets figured to make a splash when they signed the “other” Matsui, 28-year-old shortstop Kaz Matsui prior to the 2004 season.

The story of Jason Bay with the New York Mets is actually a sad one.

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