5 biggest headaches the Mets have had on the roster

The New York Mets have had some characters over the years. Some were even legendary. Guys like Marvelous Marv Throneberry, George "The Stork" Theodore, and Jimmy Piersall. Quirky relief pitchers like Tug McGraw, Roger McDowell, and Turk Wendell. They were all amusing and even a tad kooky. But it reaches a whole other level when a player becomes a disruption, and a headache for management.

Some players will have so much talent and mean so much to the team - on the field - that management will ignore the red flags. There is the obvious, like a young Lastings Milledge, who didn't last very long at all and was very quickly jettisoned out of Flushing. But there have been a number of players brought to the Mets, all of whom, turned out to be nothing more than a nagging problem.

1) Third base was always a headache for the New York Mets and Joe Foy would make it worse

Following the retirement of fan favorite Ed Charles at the conclusion of the 1969 World Championship season, the Mets hierarchy decided that the guy whom they had wanted to succeed Charles at third base was being a malcontent so they worked to rid themselves of the headache. The Mets banished Amos Otis to the Kansas City Royals for Joe Foy.

Foy had been acquired by the Royals in the expansion draft from the Boston Red Sox prior to the ’69 season. In his three seasons with the Sox and one with the Royals, Foy had proven to be a solid run-producer, with a combination of speed and right-handed power, and youth. So it appeared that the Mets had made a great move – getting a proven entity in Foy for an unknown in Otis.

Foy would spend the 1970 season confounding fans, management, and his own teammates. According to a story related by Jerry Koosman, Foy went out to the field high multiple times. According to Koosman, a batter “hit a hard ground ball by Foy. He never even saw it, but even after it went by him, he kept punching his glove and yelling, ‘Hit it to me, hit it to me.”

The Mets released him at the end of the season, and he was out of baseball by the end of the following year. Meanwhile the former future Mets third baseman Amos Otis went on to become one of the top centerfielders in baseball for many years. That’s enough to give management a headache for a while.

2) New York Mets exacerbated the third base headache with Lenny Randle

Lenny Randle was a former first round selection of the Washington Senators (the modern franchise that became the Texas Rangers) and was a two-sport standout for Arizona State University. Randle was a gifted athlete who could play multiple positions in both the infield and out in the outfield.

Randle had a breakout season in 1974, hitting .302 with 26 stolen bases and 65 runs scored, basically as a super utility player under the tutelage of then manager, Billy Martin. When Frank Lucchesi replaced Martin as manager during the ’75 season, Randle’s playing time diminished and his production suffered.

During spring training 1977, Lucchesi let it be known that Bump Wills, the son of the great Maury Wills, was taking Randle’s spot as the team’s second baseman. When Randle approached the manager to inquire about his status, Lucchesi allegedly used some provocative language and Randle took a swing. Apparently he took more swings than he took in batting practice because he put Lucchesi in the hospital. He was charged with assault and suspended.

Uncharacteristically, the Mets, who despised troublemakers and anyone who refused to “toe the line,” traded for Randle while he was suspended. The Rangers pawned their headache off on the Mets. And with another Mets future third baseman, Roy Staiger, turning out to be another in a line of duds, Randle was installed as the Mets starting third sacker and leadoff hitter.

Randle would have a pretty good season, hitting .304 with a .383 on base percentage while stealing a team record 33 bases. But while he was an offensive spark, he was defensive dud. He made 18 errors at third base and didn’t get to a lot of other balls he should have reached. He was also a bit of a clown, and allegedly did some things that upset management.

However, still, the Mets believed his offensive proficiency outweighed his defensive deficiency. So they went to the well one more time in 1978. For the umpteenth time, Mets management misjudged their third base decision. Randle’s did not enjoy the success he had in ’77, dropping to a .233 average and 14 stolen bases. That made his defensive miscues unbearable, and unwatchable. And his cooky attitude was no longer tolerated. And he was given his release as the Mets were breaking camp in 1979.

3) George Foster became a huge headache for the New York Mets during one of the best seasons in the team's history

George Foster became a household name when he had a monster year in 1977 leading the Major Leagues with 52 dingers and 149 runs batted in.  Foster had hit 248 homers in his 10 seasons prior to joining the Mets. He hit the majority of his home runs during the four-year span from 1976 through 1979 when he hit 29, 52, 40, and 30 home runs, which included a .301 batting average and 122 RBI per year. Other than those four seasons, Foster was nothing special. And it could be said that he benefited greatly from being in a lineup with Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, and Tony Perez.

Whether it was that Reds management saw the imminent decline of the Big Red Machine, or Foster had worn out his welcome in Cincinnati, but the Reds were looking to unload Foster on some unsuspecting team. And the Mets, always looking for a bargain, took the bait.

Foster was already in obvious decline when the Mets acquired him and, yet, they still awarded him with a new five-year $10 million contract just to approve the trade, making him the second highest paid player in the game.

He, of course, didn’t even remotely live up to the expectations. And when he was struggling in the midst of a pennant drive in 1986, Foster was finally taken out of the lineup by then manager Davey Johnson. Foster immediately ran to the press and accused Johnson and the Mets of racism. The problem was that the Mets biggest poster children were Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry. Oh, and the player who took away Foster’s playing time was some kid named Kevin Mitchell. Foster apparently didn’t put much thought into the allegations he was making. And it just gave the fans, the media, and teammates to show disdain for him.

5) Bobby Bonilla gives New York Mets fans headaches as they watch him sit back and keep collecting a paycheck year after year after year

There is only one Met to have a day named after him. No…it’s not Tom Seaver. It’s not the first captain of the Mets, Keith Hernandez. Nor is it another Mets captain, Captain America, David Wright. It’s the one, and only, Bobby Bonilla.

Management and fans had a field day with Bonilla when he was signed by the Mets prior to the 1992 season,as a big-time free agent. Bonilla was raised in the Bronx and was quickly viewed as a hometown kid making good, but he just as quickly became a clubhouse headache.

The early to mid 90’s was a bizarre time period for the Mets. The team actually spent money but obviously didn’t spend it wisely. They bought big names, but also bought big attitudes. Big BAD attitudes. (See Vince Coleman above). Whether Bonilla was a victim of it or he was another that played a part in that insanity, he was finally shipped off to Baltimore during the 1995 season for some prospects. As if they needed it to be reinforced that he had worn out his welcome, the Mets brought him back for the 1999 campaign for a mere 60 games and a lot more fan booing.

And much like the headache that is of the chronic nature, that returns over and over again, we are reminded of Bonilla every year on July 1, the day known affectionately (insert eye roll) as Bobby Bonilla Day, when Bonilla is paid $1.19 million dollar annually, through the year 2035.