M.U.M.'s The Word (Most Underrated Mets): Sid Fernandez

When you think of the best trades in Mets history, a few of them immediately come to mind. Who can forget the 1983 trade that brought Keith Hernandez to the Mets for Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey? How about the deal that netted Gary Carter from Montreal prior to the 1985 season for Hubie Brooks and a bevy of not-ready-for-prime-time prospects? More recently, there was the 1998 deal in which the Mets traded three minor leaguers (including Mookie Wilson's stepson) for Mike Piazza.

However, one trade that doesn't always make the list of "best trades ever" was a deal pulled off by Frank Cashen in December of 1983. The trade between the NL West champion Dodgers and the NL East cellar dweller Mets hardly registered a blip on the baseball radar when it occurred, but when all was said and done, the exchange of utility man Bob Bailor and pitcher Carlos Diaz for infielder Ross Jones and Charles Sidney Fernandez became one of the biggest steals in franchise history.

Whether in color or in black and white, Sid Fernandez was one of the best pitchers in franchise history.

The 1983 Mets finished the season in last place with a 68-94 record. Although the team didn't do well in the standings, it did plant the seeds for improvement in 1984. With the promotion of rookie sensation Darryl Strawberry in May and the trade for first baseman Keith Hernandez in June, two key pieces of the offense were in place. Now it was time to upgrade the pitching staff.

The starting rotation at the end of the 1983 season featured Tom Seaver, Mike Torrez, Ed Lynch and two young pitchers who had been acquired from the Texas Rangers for fan-favorite Lee Mazzilli. Those two pitchers were Walt Terrell and Ron Darling.

Terrell was a hard luck pitcher for the Mets, starting 56 games in his three years with the team, but only winning 19 of them despite a 3.53 ERA. Darling, on the other hand, became a mainstay in the Mets' rotation for the remainder of the 1980s.

The Mets still needed starting pitchers once the 1984 season began. They fully expected Tom Seaver to be part of their 1984 rotation, but he was left unprotected in the free-agent compensation draft and was claimed by the Chicago White Sox. Also, Mike Torrez was reaching the end of his career. After making his major league debut during the same season that Seaver broke in (1967), Torrez lost a career-high 17 games in 1983. But he was still a Met in 1984, hanging on by a thread to his spot in the starting rotation.

The Mets filled one of their rotation spots with rookie phenom Dwight Gooden. They decided to go with another promising prospect, Tim Leary, to fill the role of fifth starter. That experiment ended in early May, after Leary faced 19 Reds batters and allowed 11 of them to reach base (six hits, five walks). A month later, Mike Torrez was released by the Mets, after going 1-5 with a 5.02 ERA in eight starts. That opened up a spot in the rotation, a spot that was filled by Sid Fernandez.

Sid Fernandez had been one of the Dodgers' top minor league prospects. In three minor league seasons from 1981-1983, El Sid went 32-11 and was virtually unhittable. In 60 starts, he struck out 560 batters in 401.2 innings, while allowing only 268 hits. After he was traded to the Mets prior to the 1984 season, he continued to confound batters at Tidewater, allowing only 69 hits in 105.2 innings over 17 starts. Soon after Torrez's release, the Mets called up Sid Fernandez and he was immediately inserted into the starting rotation, making his Mets debut on July 16, 1984.

Fernandez had an Amazin' start to his Mets career, winning his first three starts. He had a good, but not great, half season for the Mets in 1984, finishing the year with a 6-6 record and a 3.50 ERA. He also only struck out 62 batters and allowed 74 hits over 90 innings with the Mets. The dominant Sid Fernandez from the minor leagues had been reduced to a mediocre major league pitcher. That would not last very long.

Although Sid Fernandez finished the 1985 season with a 9-9 record, don't let his .500 winning percentage fool you. He was one of the most dominant pitchers in the major leagues that year. In 26 starts, spanning 170.1 innings, Sid struck out 180 batters. However, what was more incredible was the 108 hits he allowed.

Sid Fernandez gave up five hits or less in 21 of his 26 starts. Only once in those 26 starts did he give up more than four runs in a game, and when he did so against the Reds on July 22, he struck out 13 batters in the same game.

Unfortunately, the Mets wasted many of Sid's great performances in 1985, scoring three runs or less in half of his starts. Despite his lack of run support, Sid's mark of 5.7 hits per nine innings was the best in the major leagues in 1985. In fact, at the time, it was the sixth lowest mark in major league history, not much higher than Nolan Ryan's 5.3 H/9IP when he set the major league record in his first season with the Angels in 1972.

Sid Fernandez was here to stay in the big leagues. However, the Mets had fallen short in their quest to reach the postseason in 1984 and 1985. Fernandez needed to step up in a big way in 1986 if the Mets were finally going to play October baseball. He responded with his best season yet.

According to Davey Johnson, the Mets were not only going to win the division in 1986; they were going to dominate. One player who was particularly dominant in 1986 was Sid Fernandez. Prior to the All-Star Break, Sid was having a Cy Young Award-caliber season. In 16 starts leading up to the Midsummer Classic, Fernandez rolled to a 12-2 record and a 2.67 ERA. In 118 innings, he struck out 103 batters and gave up only 74 hits. Opposing batters hit only .180 against him. For his efforts, Sid was picked for the first time to represent the National League in the All-Star Game.

If Sid Fernandez wore #50 in honor of his home state of Hawaii, was he wearing #10 in this picture to honor his time at Tidewater? (Virginia was the 10th state to join the union.)

Sid Fernandez finished the 1986 season with a career-high 16 wins (against six losses) and 200 strikeouts. It was on to the NLCS against the Houston Astros, where Sid drew the unenviable task of facing the man with the right scuff, Mike Scott, in Game 4. Scott won his second game of the series against the Mets in Game 4, but Fernandez pitched very well for the Mets, allowing three runs on three hits in six innings of work. The Mets eventually won the NLCS in six games and moved on to the World Series against the Boston Red Sox. It was there that Sid Fernandez had perhaps the most important pitching performance of his career.

Despite his good outing in Game 4 of the NLCS, Sid was relegated to the bullpen for the World Series, as the Mets went to three starters (Ron Darling, Dwight Gooden, Bob Ojeda) against the Red Sox. His first World Series appearance did not go very well, as he faced four batters in Game 2 and gave up one run on three hits. However, the Red Sox already had a comfortable lead at the time, so Sid's performance did not affect the game's outcome.

In Game 5, Dwight Gooden started for the Mets and was hit hard, giving up four runs (three earned) on nine hits and two walks. The Mets were down 4-0 when Gooden was removed from the game for Sid Fernandez. Sid pitched the last four innings for the Mets (the Red Sox did not have to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning), allowing no runs on three hits. He struck out five batters and walked no one. His Game 5 performance did not lead the Mets to victory, as they lost 4-2, but did show that the dominant Sid Fernandez was back on top of his game, and that was most evident in the seventh and deciding game.

After the Mets rallied for three improbable runs in the bottom of the tenth inning of Game 6, it was on to Game 7. Because of a rainout, the game was pushed back from Sunday night to Monday night, allowing the Red Sox to scratch Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd from his start and replace him with Bruce Hurst, who had defeated the Mets in Game 1 and Game 5. The Mets responded with Ron Darling, who had pitched well in his Game 1 loss and his Game 4 victory. Game 7, however, was a different story.

Darling struggled early, giving up three runs on six hits in 3.2 innings. The key blows were back-to-back home runs by Dwight Evans and Rich Gedman to lead off the second inning. Darling hit Dave Henderson with a pitch to lead off the fourth inning. After Spike Owen flied out to right field, Henderson was then sacrificed to second by pitcher Bruce Hurst. That was all for Darling, as Davey Johnson replaced him with Sid Fernandez.

Fernandez walked Wade Boggs, but then retired Marty Barrett on a fly ball to right field to end the inning. The Mets were still down 3-0, but Fernandez was able to stop the bleeding. His next two innings gave the Mets all the confidence they needed to make one final comeback.

With the Mets still struggling at the plate against Bruce Hurst, Fernandez made sure that they would not have to come back from more than a three-run deficit. He pitched a perfect fifth inning, striking out two of the three batters he faced, then repeated the feat in the sixth inning. The Shea Stadium crowd was rejuvenated by Sid's electric performance. The electricity finally reached the Mets' bats in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Fueled by Sid Fernandez's yeoman-like effort, the Mets tied the game with three runs in the sixth inning. They followed that up with three more runs in the seventh inning and two insurance runs in the eighth inning. The offensive outburst led the Mets to an 8-5 victory and their first World Championship since 1969.

Although Sid was not credited with the victory for his performance (that honor went to Roger McDowell, who allowed the Red Sox to close to within a single run in the top of the eighth inning after the Mets had taken a 6-3 lead in the bottom of the seventh), it was his masterful work that set the stage for the Mets' comeback. Without Sid cauterizing the Mets' wounds with his blazing heater, the Red Sox might have been the ones to celebrate on the Shea Stadium field that night instead of the Mets.

Sid Fernandez had pitched the game of his life under the biggest spotlight. He did it just weeks after turning 24. Although Sid had his World Series ring, he still had the majority of his career ahead of him. What he did over the next seven seasons is what made him one of the best pitchers in Mets history.

Fernandez followed up his spectacular 1986 season with a solid year in 1987, winning 12 games against eight losses. After winning nine of his first 12 decisions, he was selected to his second All-Star Game. Then in late July, the injury bug that struck the Mets pitching staff all year found its way to Sid Fernandez. Sid missed nearly a month of action on the DL before returning to the team in late August. He went on to make seven more starts for the Mets in 1987, but was a shadow (albeit a large shadow) of his pre-injured self, compiling a 5.34 ERA after his return from the DL.

After his injury-plagued 1987 season, Sid went on to record one of the best prolonged stretches of excellence since Tom Seaver's first stint with the Mets. From 1988-1993, Sid pitched to the tune of a 2.98 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He led the league in winning percentage once (1989, when he finished with a 14-5 record) and was the league leader in fewest hits allowed per nine innings twice (1988, 1990). In fact, during the entire six-year period from 1988-1993, Sid Fernandez pitched 964 innings and allowed only 694 hits. Over those six years, Sid made 151 starts. That averages out to 4.6 hits allowed per start OVER A SIX YEAR PERIOD!

I've heard of guys pitching from the stretch, but this is ridiculous.

One of the reasons why this long stretch of dominance over National League batters has been overlooked was Sid's won-loss record over the period. From 1988-1993, Sid's record was only 55-49. In fact, if you take out his 1989 season, when he went 14-5, Sid actually had a losing record over the other five seasons (41-44).

Despite the mediocre record, Sid still finished his Mets career after the 1993 season with 98 victories, placing him fifth on the all-time list behind Tom Seaver (198 wins), Dwight Gooden (157 wins), Jerry Koosman (140 wins) and Ron Darling (99 wins). His victory total is also second on the all-time list for left-handed pitchers behind Koosman.

If you look at the Mets' career leaderboard, you will find Sid Fernandez's name everywhere. In addition to the wins, Sid finished in the top ten in ERA (10th, 3.14), WHIP (3rd, 1.11), H/9IP (2nd, 6.6), innings pitched (5th, 1584.2), strikeouts (4th, 1,449), games started (4th, 250) and shutouts (8th, 9).

Sid Fernandez was also one of the best Shea Stadium pitchers of all-time. In 124 games at Shea (123 starts), Sid was 58-31 with a 2.52 ERA and a WHIP of 1.00. He also struck out better than a batter per inning (825 Ks in 821.2 IP). In those 124 games at Shea Stadium, opposing batters hit only .182 against him (531 hits in those 821.2 IP). To beat Sid Fernandez at Shea Stadium, teams had to outpitch him because they surely weren't going to beat him with the bat.

When you think of the best Mets pitchers of all-time, the obvious names that stand out are Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden and Jerry Koosman. But given his overall numbers and his extended period of dominance against National League hitters, would it be unreasonable to suggest that Sid Fernandez is the fourth-best pitcher in franchise history? Without question, he is the second-best left-handed starting pitcher in Mets history after Jerry Koosman.

The Mets had Sid Fernandez on their team for ten seasons (1984-1993). His arrival coincided with the revival of the franchise and his departure occurred simultaneously with their return to the bottom of the National League East standings. During his decade at Shea, fans were treated to one of the best pitchers they'd ever see in a Mets uniform. Unfortunately, he was never the ace of the staff and was never treated like one. But he had an ace of a career, a career that is unquestionably one of the most underrated careers in franchise history.

An Amazin'ly Stupid Article In Today's NY Post

Normally, I have a lot of respect for New York Post sportswriter Phil Mushnick. For years, his columns have been among the first I turn to whenever I buy the Post. But today, I feel like he gave the Mets a cheap shot without doing any research on the topic he was blasting them for.

In his weekly Sunday feature, Equal Time, Phil Mushnick discusses the scheduling of an April night game at Citi Field. You can read the entire article here, but if your link-clicking finger is on the disabled list, I will copy and paste the article below. The title of the post is "April Night Game is Amazin'ly Stupid":

"The Mets' 2011 schedule perfectly fits the Bud Selig Era.

For example, if logic were applied what time would you schedule a home game against Washington on Saturday, April 9th? Early afternoon, 1 p.m., right? It's a night game. A night game on Saturday, April 9th. Now get this: Starting May 14 through Sept. 10, the Mets are not scheduled to play an early afternoon Saturday game, not home or away. There are a few 4:10 starts for FOX, but the rest are night games. Not even one traditional (sensible) 1 p.m. Saturday start for 18 consecutive Saturdays!"

Although scheduling a Saturday night game for early April in a cold weather city is unusual, there is a simple reason for this.

Look at the date. It's Saturday, April 9. When is Opening Day at Citi Field? Friday, April 8. Most teams schedule a day off after their home opener. They do this because Opening Day is usually the only game they can count on to be a sellout. Therefore, if the game is postponed because of poor weather, the game can be made up the following day, where it would still be the home opener and the team can still capitalize from the expected high attendance. Without that day off after Opening Day, the league would have to make the game up as part of an in-season doubleheader or find a mutual day off for the two teams to play the game.

Attendance at makeup games is usually far below sellout status. With attendance at Citi Field dropping in 2010, any game that has the potential to be a sellout becomes quite important to the team from a financial standpoint. Other than the Subway Series games against the Yankees, Opening Day might be the only guaranteed sellout at Citi Field in 2011.

However, with the league deciding to move away from its usual Monday Opening Day, the Mets will now be opening up the season in Florida on Friday, April 1. Their home opener is scheduled for one week later, also on a Friday. Scheduling a day off after the home opener would create a Saturday without a baseball game at Citi Field. Since teams always play on the weekends (the majority of scheduled off-days are on Monday or Thursday), the Mets would not be able to schedule an off-day on Saturday, April 9.

Therefore, the Mets had to make their first Saturday game at Citi Field a night game. In the event that the home opener is rained out (or snowed out), the game would more than likely be made up as part of a day-night doubleheader the following day (Saturday, April 9). The regularly scheduled night game would go on as scheduled at 7:10pm, but the rescheduled home opener would be played during the day on Saturday. It would still be the first home game of the season for the Mets, maintaining its Opening Day status, and would still attract a sellout crowd.

Had Phil Mushnick put some thought into his article before writing it, he would have realized what took me just a few minutes to explain. The Mets are not Amazin'ly stupid for scheduling a night game on April 9. They're actually doing the right thing, from both a business standpoint and for the sake of the fans who still want to go to Opening Day. It's too bad Mushnick couldn't do the right thing before submitting his article.

After Strawberry, It's Been 20 Years of Musical Chairs In Right Field

Ask any Mets fan who the greatest rightfielder in franchise history is and before you get to the word "franchise", you'll get your answer - Darryl Strawberry. Now ask them who the best rightfielder is after the Straw Man and you'll hear crickets.

It's no surprise that no one can name the second best rightfielder in Mets history. After all, since Darryl planted his Strawberry Patch and claimed the position for his own, the Mets have auditioned a plethora of candidates for the job and none of them has been able to make the position his own.

Here's a trivia question for you. Since Darryl played his last game as a Met in 1990, who has started the most games in right field for the team? Whatever answer you say, you're probably wrong. The correct answer is... wait for it... Jeromy Burnitz!


Burnitz had two short stints with the Mets. He played for the Mets briefly in 1993 (86 games) and 1994 (45 games), but never made much of a splash. He showed some promise in 1993 by hitting 13 home runs in 263 at-bats, but his uppercut to end all uppercuts (except his own) led to many strikeouts and a poor batting average. He paid the price for those home runs by hitting .243 during his rookie season. He fared worse in the strike-shortened 1994 season, hitting three home runs and striking out 45 times in 143 at-bats. (Meanwhile, his replacement in right field, Joe Orsulak, struck out 21 times in 292 at-bats in 1994.)

The Mets gave up on the man they thought would replace Strawberry as their left-handed power-hitting rightfielder after the 1994 season, trading him to the Cleveland Indians for pitchers Paul Byrd, Jerry DiPoto and Dave Mlicki (whose claim to fame is the 1997 shutout of the Yankees). The three pitchers combined for a total of 38 wins during their time with the Mets. Burnitz did a little better than that after leaving New York.

Once Cleveland traded Burnitz to the Brewers in 1996, his career took off. In his first full season in Milwaukee, Burnitz hit 27 HR and drove in 85 runs. The 27 homers were two more than he had hit over his first four big league seasons combined. He then had a stellar 1997 season for the Brewers, collecting 38 HR and 125 RBI. The RBI total is higher than any Met has achieved in nearly half a century of the franchise's existence (Mike Piazza had 124 RBI in 1999, a mark equaled by David Wright in 2008).

From 1997-2001, Burnitz averaged 33 HR and 102 RBI per season for Milwaukee, which made him a top target for the Mets in 2002. The Mets re-acquired the man they gave up on nearly a decade earlier to team up with fellow new acquisitions Mo Vaughn and Roberto Alomar in the hopes of pushing the Mets back to the top of the NL East. Let's just say that once Jeromy returned to New York, his career crashed and burn-itzed.

Jeromy Burnitz played one and a half seasons for the Mets after his return to New York in 2002. The one-time sure bet for a 100 RBI season was only able to drive in 99 runs in his year and a half with the team. However, his tendency to strike out did not abandon him the way his other skills did, as he fanned a total of 190 times in 2002 and the first half of 2003.


Despite his two short unsuccessful stints in New York, Burnitz's 290 starts in right field are the most since Darryl Strawberry left the Mets after the 1990 season to play for his hometown Dodgers. By comparison, David Wright has started 297 games at third base over the past two seasons. That's seven more games than any Mets player has started in right field over the past 20 years! And David Wright actually spent time on the disabled list in 2009 after suffering a direct hit from Matt Cain's head-seeking missile, yet he still started more games at third base over the past two years than any player has started in right field in 20 years.

Third base used to be the musical chairs position for the Mets. Through the end of the 2010 season, a total of 142 men had played at least one game at the hot corner. Third base has been replaced by right field as the position where long-term careers go to die. From 1962-2010, a total of 197 men have played at least one game in right field. If Carlos Beltran moves over to right field in 2011 (which he should), he would become the 198th Met to be player #9 on your scorecard.

Of those 197 men to play right field, only Darryl Strawberry (1,062 games) and Rusty Staub (535 games) have started more than 500 games at the position. Right field has been such a revolving door for players that the 290 starts made by Jeromy Burnitz in right field make him fifth on the all-time Mets leaderboard.

Finally, in the twenty seasons since Darryl Strawberry signed with the Dodgers, the Mets have used 102 players in right field, or more than half of the men who have played the position in franchise history. Now it's Angel Pagan's turn to be the Mets' rightfielder. (Or is it Carlos Beltran?) Given the recent history in right field, neither Pagan nor Beltran will probably keep the position for long.

Most successful teams have stability in their everyday lineup. Since Darryl Strawberry last played for the Mets in 1990, right field has been anything but stable. Isn't it time the Mets found someone they can feel comfortable with as their rightfielder? After all, twenty years is an awful long time to be conducting tryouts for the job.

Joey's Soapbox: The Joey Jinx Strikes Again!

Chris Carter, the man known as "The Animal" to Mets fans, has become the latest player to fall victim to what is now known as The Joey Jinx. What, pray tell, is The Joey Jinx? I'm Joey Beartran and if you're not afraid of my jinx, I will get on my soapbox to tell you all about it.

Take a look at the photo below. That's Chris Carter holding me in the Mets' press conference room.


The photo was taken after the Mets' last regular season game in October. It was also the last time The Animal (not me...I'm talking about Chris!) was photographed as an employee of the Mets. In the offseason, the Mets decided to non-tender him, making him available to sign with any other team.

The Tampa Bay Rays have decided to fill the role of "any other team", as they have signed The Animal to a minor league contract.

If you haven't been able to figure it out yet, The Joey Jinx strikes whenever a Mets player holds me in a photograph. Carter is now the third former Met to fall victim to the Joey Jinx.

The first one was Eddie Kunz (see photo, right). Sweaty Eddie was invited to Port St. Lucie in February, after a brief cup of coffee with the Mets in 2008 and a full season at AAA-Buffalo in 2009. Then he met me in Spring Training and agreed to hold me for a picture. You can imagine what happened next.

Not only did Eddie Kunz fail to break camp with the Mets, he didn't even make it back to Triple-A. He played his entire 2010 season at AA-Binghamton and had the type of season that only his mother and Oliver Perez could be proud of.

He pitched in 42 games, of which 12 were starts. In 111.1 innings, Kunz recorded a 5.34 ERA, 1.65 WHIP and actually walked more batters than he struck out (68 walks/63 strikeouts). The only positive thing to come out of our meeting was his great Wikipedia photo (taken by Sharon Chapman).

The second player to be victimized by my jinx was Pedro Feliciano. He may have been known as Perpetual Pedro, but once he put his hands up my...I mean, once he was photographed holding me, his stay with the Mets was no longer perpetual.

Feliciano was a mainstay in the Mets bullpen for almost a full decade. He set the franchise record for appearances in each of the last three years. His 86, 88 and 92 games pitched from 2008-2010 also led the National League. Pedro has a solid 2009 season for the Mets, finishing the year with a 6-4 won-loss record, to go with a tidy 3.03 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.

Then in between the 2009 and 2010 season, our photo op occurred. During the ensuing regular season, Pedro's record dropped to 3-6, while his ERA increased slightly (3.30) and his WHIP increased dramatically (1.53).

The Mets decided not to re-sign Pedro during the offseason, and he signed with the crosstown New York Yankees for two years and $8 million. Just between you and me, I hope he brings my jinx over to The House That Juice Built.

Chris Carter and Eddie Kunz were probably never going to be big stars in New York, while Pedro Feliciano, although important to the team, was only a middle reliever. I've been careful not to spread The Joey Jinx to one of the Mets' everyday players...or have I?

It is with great regret that I must inform you that this past December, I attended the Mets MVP Reception at Citi Field. Numerous players were in attendance that afternoon. I went for the food and the opportunity to discuss team politics with new GM Sandy Alderson and new manager Terry Collins.

Except those weren't the only people I ran into.

In a faraway corner of the Caesar's Club, one lone figure stood. I couldn't help but notice his unshaven face. He had the look of a man wise beyond his years and appeared slightly exhausted, perhaps due to months of throwing his body around into immovable objects, like a dugout railing or three.

I felt sorry for the bearded fellow, so I walked over to him and asked him if it would make him feel better if I took a photograph with him. He thought to himself for a moment, then smiled as he answered (and I quote) "uh...sure, why not?" It was then that I realized who this hirsute Metropolitan was...


Ladies and Gentle-Mets, the lonely bearded man in the corner was Mets first baseman Ike Davis.

It is unknown whether The Joey Jinx will cause Ike Davis to have a Sophomore Slump in 2011. He did finish the 2010 season well, hitting .330 and compiling a .427 on-base percentage after the calendar turned to September. But we have already seen the negative effects of being photographed with me.

Three times a Mets player has posed with me for a photo. Three times that player's production suffered and he was either demoted or signed with another team.

So to all you Mets fans out there, I would like to apologize in advance for going over to Ike Davis on that cold December day in the Caesar's Club. Had he been standing next to a railing instead of alone in the corner, perhaps I would have recognized him before I had the chance to jinx his 2011 season.

I promise that if I am ever photographed again with another baseball player, it will either be with Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay or Chase Utley. The Joey Jinx doesn't discriminate.

Mike Francesa And The Case of Roberto Alomar vs. Craig Biggio

Earlier this afternoon on WFAN, Mike Francesa was talking about the Hall of Fame vote when a caller asked him about his opinion on Craig Biggio's chances to get into Cooperstown now that Roberto Alomar was elected. To my surprise (and the caller as well), Francesa said that Biggio should not be elected into the Hall of Fame.

The caller vociferously disagreed with Francesa's statement that Alomar was superior to Biggio in every way, leading Mike to huff and puff and blow the caller's opinion down.

Between every other sentence ending with "Alomar hit 20-something points higher than Biggio" (despite the fact that Robbie's career batting average was .300 as opposed to Biggio's .281, a difference of 19 points on every planet not inhabited by Francesa), Francesa went on to toss random stats on why Alomar was far better than Biggio and why Biggio is not a Hall of Famer. He said:

• Alomar won 10 Gold Glove Awards to Biggio's four.
• Alomar made 12 All-Star teams to Biggio's seven.
• In Alomar's best season, he drove in 120 runs; Biggio's career-high was 88.
• Alomar hit .313 in 58 postseason games; Biggio hit .234 in 40 playoff games.

Okay, I'll give Francesa the benefit of the doubt on the last comparison. Alomar was a better postseason player than Biggio. As a result, his teams were better. Alomar won two World Series and played in the League Championship Series five times. Biggio, on the other hand, didn't even make it to the NLCS until his 17th season in the majors. Overall, he appeared in two League Championship Series and one World Series (losing to the White Sox in 2005).

But the caller was not trying to argue that Biggio was better than Alomar. Rather, he was merely attempting to say that Biggio should join Alomar in the Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible to do so in 2013.

All Francesa did was run down the list of categories that Alomar was better in. Not once did he look at the stats that Biggio was better than Alomar in. In addition, he made no consideration of certain variables that would bring down Biggio's numbers.

For example, when Francesa mentioned that Alomar drove in 120 runs in his best season (1999), he did not say that Robbie was Cleveland's #3 hitter that year (149 starts in the three-hole). The year Biggio drove in 88 runs (1998), he was the Astros' leadoff hitter in 155 games. Many hitters drive in 120 runs or more hitting third in the batting order. Not too many hitters can drive in as many as 88 runs batting leadoff. In addition, Biggio was hitting directly behind the pitcher for most of his career, while Alomar played the majority of his career in the American League, where everyday players bat in the ninth spot.

Craig Biggio played in 2,850 games over his major league career. He was the Astros' leadoff hitter 1,564 times and their #2 hitter 754 times. That's over 2,300 games batting in a spot in the order where you're not expected to be an RBI guy. Yet Biggio found a way to drive in 1,175 runs over his major league career, which Francesa failed to mention was MORE THAN the 1,134 runs Roberto Alomar drove in over his career. Oh yeah, both Alomar and Biggio started their careers in 1988 so they perfectly overlapped each other.



What else did Francesa overlook while he was pounding his chest over Alomar's superiority to Biggio? Let's consider these five items:

1) Biggio scored 1,844 runs in his career to Alomar's 1,508. Only 12 men in baseball history have scored more runs than Biggio. All of them are in the Hall of Fame except for Pete Rose, who is ineligible for Hall of Fame consideration. By contrast, Johnny Damon has scored more runs (1,564) than Roberto Alomar and I don't think the Hall is going to be calling Damon five years after he retires.

2) Craig Biggio hit 668 doubles in his career, while Alomar hit 504. It is true that Alomar is one of only 51 men to ever surpass the 500 double plateau, but Biggio's total is fifth on the all-time list, surpassed only by Tris Speaker, Pete Rose, Stan Musial and Ty Cobb. If they sound like Hall of Famers, that's because they are (except for the man who liked the horsetrack a little too much).

3) Biggio hit 291 HR as opposed to Alomar's 210. Whereas Alomar only had three seasons of 20+ HR, Biggio produced eight such seasons. In fact, Biggio had as many 20+ HR seasons after his 38th birthday (three) as Alomar had in his entire career.

4) For as great a hitter as Alomar was, he only won four Silver Slugger Awards over his career. Biggio did him one better by winning five. Maybe Biggio's extra Silver Slugger Award had something to do with the fact that he picked up over 1,000 extra-base hits over his career (1,014 to be exact) compared to Alomar's 794.

5) Alomar's career fizzled out after he was 33. Once he turned 33, he only hit .262, with 58 doubles, 20 HR, 116 RBI, 167 runs scored and 28 stolen bases. After Biggio turned 33, he hit .266, but had 279 doubles, 139 HR, 469 RBI, 724 runs scored and 68 stolen bases. Biggio actually started driving the ball more as an elder statesman than as a spry youngster.


Now let's stop comparing the two and just focus on Biggio. Tell me these numbers aren't Hall of Fame-worthy...

.281 batting average, 1,844 runs scored, 414 stolen bases, 668 doubles, 55 triples, 291 HR, 1,175 RBI (mostly as a leadoff hitter, which by the way, was the position in the order Rickey Henderson batted out of. Henderson had 1,115 RBI despite the fact that he played five more seasons than Craig Biggio.)

I feel like I'm forgetting something. Something's missing up there that would shut Mike Francesa up regarding his anti-Craig Biggio shpiel. Ah, yes. Now I remember. Come closer to your screen so that you can't miss it.

CRAIG BIGGIO HAD 3,060 HITS!!

The last time I checked, if you had 3,000 hits, you were going to the Hall of Fame, assuming that you weren't on the permanently banned list (you're such a dummy, Pete Rose) or tested positive for steroids. (Don't point your finger at me, Rafael Palmeiro. You know I'm talking to you.)


Alomar didn't make it to 3,000 hits, calling it a career after picking up 2,724 safeties. Even if Mike Francesa ignored all of the other statistics, surely the 3,000+ hits for a non-gambling, non-PED using Biggio would have been enough to make him change his mind on his Hall of Fame candidacy.

But alas, we're talking about Mike Francesa here. Whatever he says is gospel. Who are we to disagree with him? He's the one with the radio show. We're just little ol' sports fans.

Be thankful he's not in charge of the Hall of Fame Committee. If he was, Craig Biggio would have to pay his way to Cooperstown to see all the players he should be enshrined with.

If Studious Metsimus Had A Hall of Fame Vote...

On Wednesday, the National Baseball Hall of Fame will announce their Class of 2011. The first time nominees include former Mets John Olerud, John Franco, Al Leiter and Carlos Baerga. Notable first-timers include Jeff Bagwell, Juan Gonzalez, Rafael Palmeiro and Larry Walker.

A number of returnees are also on this year's ballot, including Roberto Alomar (another former Met) and Bert Blyleven, who both narrowly missed enshrinement last year. Alomar was selected on 73.7% of the ballots and Blyleven's name was chosen on 74.2%. Of the 21 previous players who received at least 70% of the votes, but failed to register the minimum 75% needed for election, all of them eventually got the call to the Hall.

Studious Metsimus was not allowed to vote in this year's Hall of Fame election. (Note to self: Remember to add another $20 bill the next time I send the Baseball Writers Association of America a letter asking them to join their ranks.) But we still have an opinion as to who should reserve a hotel room in Cooperstown the last weekend in July.


Roberto Alomar

Can you name a more complete second baseman in the expansion era? Maybe Joe Morgan (who's already in the Hall of Fame). Certainly not Jeff Kent, unless if you include his '70s porn 'stache as one of his five tools.

If you take the 10-year time period from 1992-2001, you'd have a hard time finding another player, regardless of position, whose numbers could match up with Alomar. During those ten years, Alomar hit .315, with 327 doubles, 49 triples, 159 HR and 792 RBI. He also stole 303 bases and scored 1,007 runs. He was an All-Star in all of those seasons and won the Gold Glove Award in all but one of them.

For his career, Alomar hit .300, with 504 doubles, 210 HR, 1,134 RBI, 1,508 runs scored and 474 SB. He also made 12 All-Star teams, won ten Gold Gloves and earned four Silver Slugger Awards. Although he never won a regular season MVP Award, he did finish in the top six in MVP voting five times. He also won the 1992 ALCS MVP Award for leading the Blue Jays to their first World Series appearance and took home the 1998 All-Star Game MVP trophy.

Bert Blyleven

It is a travesty that Blyleven has been retired for nearly 20 years and has still not been elected to the Hall of Fame. His numbers speak for themselves.

In 22 major league seasons, Blyleven won 287 games, mostly for poor teams (Blyleven's teams finished below .500 in ten of his 22 seasons). Despite playing most of his career in the American League during the DH era, Blyleven registered ten seasons with an ERA of 3.00 or lower. His low ERA was helped out by his astonishing 60 career shutouts. That's approximately two full seasons of starts without allowing an earned run in any of them!

He also possessed one of the most devastating curveballs in major league history, fooling hitters to the tune of 3,701 career strikouts, which is good for fifth on the all-time list. Unlike Nolan Ryan, he didn't need to rely on gas to send hitters back to the bench, unless if he was wearing the shirt below.


Blyleven was also an excellent pitcher in the postseason, despite having only played for three teams that made the playoffs (1970 Twins, 1979 Pirates, 1987 Twins). In six career postseason starts, Blyleven was 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA. He was also the winning pitcher in two pennant-clinching games (1979 NLCS Game 3, 1987 ALCS Game 5).

Simply put, Blyleven was one of the best pitchers in the game during the 22 years that he played it. He just didn't get the attention he deserved because he spent many of those seasons toiling in places like Texas, Cleveland and California, which were not exactly hotbeds for baseball.


Jeff Bagwell

One stat should say it all regarding Jeff Bagwell's candidacy for the Hall of Fame. Prior to this year, every player who scored at least 1,500 runs and drove in at least 1,500 runs (and is eligible for the Hall of Fame) is already in the Hall of Fame. Jeff Bagwell scored 1,517 runs and picked up 1,529 RBI over his 15-year career. Let me repeat that in a separate paragraph.

Jeff Bagwell scored and drove in over 1,500 runs. He only played 15 years in the major leagues. Therefore, he averaged over 100 runs scored and 100 RBI every year he played in the major leagues. If that isn't worthy of the Hall of Fame, I don't know what is.

Just in case that's not enough for you, I'll give you some more bits o' Bagwell. Before injuries sapped him of the last few years of his playing career, forcing him to retire at age 37, Bagwell was ultra-durable. He played in all 162 games four times. He hit 488 doubles, including 26 or more in each of his first 14 seasons. He stole 202 bases, a number almost unheard of for a first baseman. He became (and still is) the only first baseman in history to register a 30-30 season when he hit 42 HR and stole 30 bases in 1999. He hit over .300 six times, including a career-high .368 in his MVP season of 1994. In addition to that MVP Award, Bagwell was also the 1991 NL Rookie of the Year.

Larry Walker

Perhaps a questionable call, due to the many years he played in the pre-humidor Coors Field, but Larry Walker still put up incredible numbers and was a phenomenal defensive player.

Over a career that spanned from 1989-2005, Walker hit for average (.313), could draw a walk (.400 career on-base percentage), hit for power (383 HR), stole bases (230 SB), could find the gaps (471 career doubles) and made opposing runners fear his cannon in right field (six Gold Glove Awards).

Walker played the first six seasons of his career in Montreal and the last season and a half of his career in St. Louis (for which he made his only World Series appearance in 2004), but it was his time in Colorado that made him a superstar. In fact, he had one of the best six-year stretches in recent history from 1997-2002.

During those six seasons, Walker hit a whopping .353. He won three batting titles (1998, 1999, 2001) and hit .366 in 1997, a season in which he didn't win the batting title. However, that 1997 season was one for the ages. That year, Walker hit 49 HR. He also scored 143 runs, tallied 130 RBI, laced 46 doubles and stole 33 bases, in addition to the .366 batting average. He also led the league in on-base percentage (.452) and slugging percentage (.720), en route to winning every accolade possible (All-Star team, NL MVP Award, Gold Glove Award, Silver Slugger Award).


There are other players who are certainly worthy of Hall of Fame induction, such as Rafael Palmeiro, who, like Jeff Bagwell, is another member of the exclusive 1,500 runs scored, 1,500 RBI club.

You can also include Edgar Martinez (.312 career batting average, 514 doubles, 309 HR, seven-time All-Star) and Barry Larkin (.295 career batting average, nine-time .300 hitter, 198 HR, 379 SB, 441 doubles, 12-time All-Star, nine Silver Slugger Awards, three Gold Glove Awards, 1995 NL MVP) to the list.

All three of those players might make it to the Hall of Fame someday, perhaps even this year. However, I believe only four players should be inducted into the Hall of Fame's Class of 2011. Roberto Alomar, Bert Blyleven, Jeff Bagwell and Larry Walker should all be Hall of Famers.

In Blyleven's case, he is long overdue for enshrinement. In the other three players' cases, they represented the complete baseball player. They possessed all five tools and excelled in all of them. When the Hall of Fame makes their calls on Wednesday, those four players should make sure their phone lines are clear. They just might be getting the calls of their lives.

M.U.M.'s The Word (Most Underrated Mets): John Olerud

Greetings, Earthlings! Welcome to the first installment of M.U.M.'s The Word, a feature that will focus on the most underrated Mets players over the years. In this inaugural episode, we will turn the spotlight on a man who was only a Met for three seasons, but was instrumental in the team's return to respectability in the late '90s. Ladies and Gentle-Mets, today's Most Underrated Met is John Olerud.

Underrated first baseman John Olerud

In 1996, the Mets had a triumvirate of stars in centerfielder Lance Johnson (.333 batting average, 50 stolen bases and a franchise record 227 hits and 21 triples), leftfielder Bernard Gilkey (.317, 30 HR, 117 RBI, 108 runs scored and a franchise record 44 doubles) and catcher Todd Hundley (41 HR, which at the time set the major league record for home runs by a catcher as well as the Mets single season home run record). Despite the trio's phenomenal success at the plate, the Mets struggled in the win column, finishing fourth in the NL East with a 71-91 record, leading to the dismissal of Dallas Green as Mets manager in August and the beginning of the Bobby Valentine era.

The Mets began the 1996 season with fan-favorite Rico Brogna at first base, but injuries limited him to 55 games. Butch Huskey took over for Brogna on an interim basis and performed well (.278, 15 HR, 60 RBI), but Huskey was a third baseman/outfielder. Entering the 1997 season, the Mets wanted a dependable sure-handed first baseman who was not susceptible to injuries like Rico Brogna. Enter John Olerud.

On November 27, 1996, the Mets traded Rico Brogna to the Philadelphia Phillies. They were now on the lookout for his permanent replacement. When the Toronto Blue Jays dangled John Olerud in front of the Mets and all they asked for in return was Robert Person, a starting pitcher who won a total of five games for the Mets in 1995 and 1996, the Mets jumped at the opportunity.

Olerud had won two World Series rings as a member of the Blue Jays in 1992 and 1993. His 1993 season saw him flirt with a .400 batting average for most of the season, before a late-season slump caused him to "settle" for a .363 mark, which was still good enough to win the American League batting title.

His next three seasons were a bit of a disappointment, as Olerud could not regain the batting stroke that made him one of the top hitters in the American League during his magical '93 season.

In 1993, Olerud led the league with 54 doubles and also set career highs with 24 HR and 107 RBI. However, from 1994-1996, despite having a respectable .287 average, Olerud's extra-base hit and RBI figures dropped dramatically. He averaged 29 doubles, 13 HR and 61 RBI per season over the three-year span, numbers which were not only well below his breakout 1993 figures, but were also far below the numbers expected from a corner infielder.

At the same time, Carlos Delgado was starting to break out in Toronto. Delgado had just come off his first full season as a Blue Jay in 1996. His 25 HR, 92 RBI season dwarfed Olerud's pedestrian numbers, making John expendable.

Once the Mets showed interest and offered Robert Person to the Blue Jays, the former AL batting champion switched leagues hoping the change in scenery would revitalize his career. Not only did the deal bring Olerud's production back from the dead, it did the same for the Mets in the NL East standings.

The 1997 Mets were not expected to do much in the NL East. Finishing at .500 would have sufficed for a team that had suffered through six consecutive seasons with a losing record. But then things started clicking in Bobby Valentine's first full season at the helm with John Olerud at the center of the Mets' rebirth.

After three consecutive subpar seasons in Toronto, Olerud found his batting stroke in Flushing. He produced the second 100+ RBI season of his career by driving in 102 runs. Also, his 34 doubles and 22 homers were the most he had produced since, you guessed it, 1993. In addition, his keen batting eye led to a .400 on-base percentage. Combine that with steady defense at first base, and you can see how his presence in the lineup and on the field led to the Mets' resurgence in the standings. The Mets finished the 1997 season with an 88-74 record, remaining in contention for the wild card until the last week of the season before eventually falling short by four games to the Florida Marlins, who went on to win the World Series.

Now that the Mets had established themselves as contenders in the National League, it was up to Olerud to continue his renaissance into 1998. What happened in his second season as a Met was far more than anyone could have expected.

In 1998, the Mets acquired Mike Piazza in a trade with the Florida Marlins (who had traded for the All-Star catcher a week earlier). The acquisition of one of the game's premier sluggers to serve as protection for John Olerud in the lineup elevated the first baseman's game to another level.

Prior to Piazza's first game as a Met on May 23, 1998, the Mets had played 44 games. In those 44 games, Olerud was hitting a lofty .345, but had only banged out 12 extra-base hits (seven doubles, five home runs), scored 19 runs and picked up 23 RBI. Those were all good numbers, but once Piazza was inserted behind Olerud in the batting order, John's numbers became otherworldly.

In his first seven games after the trade for Piazza, Olerud hit .500 and reached base in 18 of his 32 plate appearances (.563 OBP). He scored eight runs, drove in six and roped five doubles. The Olerud from 1993 was back and the Mets were more than happy to see him.

With Mike Piazza firmly entrenched in the middle of the Mets lineup, the hits just kept on coming for Olerud. John nearly registered the first 200 hit, 100 walk season in Mets history, falling just short with 197 hits and 96 walks. Still, the 197 hits were the second most hits in franchise history and the 96 walks were one short of the team record held by Keith Hernandez and Darryl Strawberry. At the end of the season, Olerud had racked up 36 doubles, 22 HR and 93 RBI. Of course, those numbers were nothing compared to these two numbers: .354 and .447.

The first number represented Olerud's batting average, which became (and still is) the Mets' all-time single season record. Olerud would have led the league in hitting if not for Larry Walker's .363 average for the Colorado Rockies. The second number was Olerud's on-base percentage for the year, also a still-standing Mets record and second in the league to Mark McGwire's .470 OBP. Of course, McGwire drew a ton of walks in 1998 to pad that on-base percentage. Seventy steroid-assisted home runs will tend to do that to a person's OBP.

Unfortunately, the 1998 season ended in disappointment for the Mets, as they lost a one-game lead in the wild card race by dropping their final five games of the season. Of course, Olerud was one of the few bright spots on the Mets during this season-ending slump, reaching base in 12 of his 22 plate appearances over those five games.

The Mets had something to prove in 1999. With the help of John Olerud, the Mets returned to contention in 1997. They failed to improve in 1998, falling short of the postseason on the final day of the regular season, despite a record-setting season by Olerud. The Mets' first baseman had already been quite successful in his first two years on the team. From an individual standpoint, Olerud had nothing left to prove. All that was left was for him to lead the team into the postseason.

The names might have been missing from the backs of the Mets' jerseys in 1999, but the mojo was risin' at Shea Stadium that year. Robin Ventura was added to the team and Edgardo Alfonzo was coming into his own. Both players had career years in 1999. Mike Piazza was his usual self, but this time he had a full season (and a new seven year, $91 million contract) in which to be that usual self. New acquisitions Rickey Henderson (signed as a free agent) and Roger Cedeño (acquired in the Todd Hundley trade) gave the Mets a speed combo at the top of the order they hadn't had since the days of Mookie, Lenny and Wally.

With the addition of these players, it was easy to overlook John Olerud. Then again, he never wanted the spotlight to be on him. Olerud just wanted to come in, do his job and help the Mets win as many games as he could. He saved his most clutch performances for his final season in New York.

On September 29, 1999, with the Mets in the midst of a seven-game losing streak that dropped them out of the wild card lead, John Olerud put on his cape and became Captain Clutch. The Mets were facing the NL East Champion Braves at Shea Stadium and their nemesis, Greg Maddux.

Is Greg Maddux about to throw a pitch or is he looking over his shoulder as he's running away from John Olerud?

The all-time leader in victories against the Mets (Maddux retired with a 35-19 record against New York in his career), Greg Maddux took the mound on that fateful night with the Mets trying desperately to stay alive in the wild card race. The Mets had already fallen behind 2-1 as they entered the fourth inning. But in that fourth inning, the Mets scored two runs on six hits to take a 3-2 lead on their arch-rivals. They had the bases loaded, nobody out and their first baseman coming up to bat. Captain Clutch had entered the building and no one, not even the nefarious Mr. Maddux, could stand a chance. With one swing of the bat, the Mets had an unscheduled Fireworks Night, capped by a John Olerud cherry bomb. The grand slam by Olerud gave the Mets a 7-2 lead, knocked Maddux out of the game under a sea of sarcastic tomahawk chops, and propelled the Mets back onto the wild card track.

The Mets started to win again after the Olerud grand slam, but they still needed to pull out a win against the Pittsburgh Pirates on the last day of the regular season to guarantee that Game No. 162 would not be the last game of the season for the Mets as it had been during the final week collapse of the previous year.

As he did in the previous two seasons, John Olerud always found a way to get on base. He delivered his share of hits but also knew how to draw a walk. In 1999, he became the first (and to this date, the only) Met in franchise history to draw 100 walks. He shattered the previous record of 97 by drawing 125 bases on balls. His biggest walk came in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game No. 162.

After Melvin Mora and Edgardo Alfonzo delivered one-out singles, the stage was set for Olerud to deliver the game-winning hit. Unfortunately, the Pirates had other ideas. They walked the slow-footed Olerud intentionally to load up the bases for Mike Piazza. Despite the fact that a ground ball by Olerud would have surely led to an inning-ending double play, the Pirates decided they had a better chance to get Mike Piazza to do the same. This was not the end-of-his-career, let's-move-him-to-first-base Mike Piazza. This was the in-his-prime Mike Piazza, who was finishing up a season in which he hit .303, with 40 HR and 124 RBI. John Olerud was intentionally walked to get to an offensive behemoth. As Aretha Franklin would say, that's what I call R-E-S-P-E-C-T!

You know what happened after that. Brad Clontz was called in to face Piazza, threw one pitch, gave a souvenir to a fan sitting in the loge level and Mora joyously scampered home with the winning run to set up the winner-take-all Game No. 163 against the Cincinnati Reds the following night, which the Mets won to earn them their first trip to the playoffs since 1988.

Upon reaching the big stage of the playoffs for the first time as a Met, Olerud continued to be a marquee player under the bright lights. The Mets played a total of ten games in the NLDS and the NLCS that year. Over those ten games, Olerud was an absolute beast. He hit .349 (15-for-43) over those ten games and reached base an astounding 20 times (15 hits, five walks).

Most people remember Edgardo Alfonzo as being the star of the first game of the NLDS. After all, he hit two homers in that game, including the go-ahead ninth inning grand slam off Bobby Chouinard. However, John Olerud played a big role in that game as well. His third inning two-run homer against Randy Johnson (a rare lefty vs. lefty shot against the Big Unit) gave the Mets a 3-0 lead. He also added two other hits in that game to help the Mets to the 8-4 series-opening victory.

After the Diamondbacks tied the series with a Game 2 victory, Olerud came up in big again in Game 3. His two-run single in the sixth inning was part of a six-run rally by the Mets, blowing the game wide open in the eventual 9-2 victory. It was his second run-scoring hit of the game, as his RBI single in the third inning had given the Mets a 2-0 lead.

It was then on to Game 4, with the Mets trying to close out the series at home. But the Diamondbacks were not going to go away easily. Arizona took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning, six outs away from forcing a fifth and deciding game to be played in their ballpark. The Mets did not want to have to fly to Arizona for Game 5, especially knowing that they would be facing Randy Johnson again.

The eighth inning began with a walk to Edgardo Alfonzo. Up stepped John Olerud to the plate. He delivered a long fly ball to right, which rightfielder Tony Womack (who had just been moved from second base prior to the start of the eighth inning) dropped for a two-base error. The Mets tied the game on a Roger Cedeño sacrifice fly and the game went into extra innings.

After Arizona failed to score in the top of the tenth inning, Todd Pratt (filling in for the injured Mike Piazza) became a household name with his walk-off home run over Steve "I'm no Endy Chavez" Finley's outstretched glove. It was on to the NLCS against the hated Braves for John Olerud and the Mets.

The photo may be small, but the moment was certainly big.

The Mets started out slowly against the Braves, losing three tight games to Atlanta. The team could have rolled over and played dead, but Olerud wasn't about to let them fade away. He took his game up a notch over the next three games, trying desperately to lead the Mets to an historic NLCS comeback. In those three games, Olerud reached base seven times (six hits, one walk). He banged out two home runs, drove in six runs and scored four more.

In Game 4, after Brian Jordan and Ryan Klesko had hit back-to-back home runs to give the Braves a 2-1 lead, it was John Olerud who played the hero by lashing a two-out, two-run single to center off fellow lefty and Public Enemy #1 John Rocker, scoring Roger Cedeño with the tying run and Melvin Mora with the go-ahead run. Olerud was responsible for all three runs the Mets scored in the game, as in his previous at-bat, he had homered off John Smoltz to break the scoreless tie.

Following his Game 4 heroics, John Olerud started off with a bang in Game 5. His two-run homer off Greg Maddux in the first inning (the same Maddux responsible for giving up Olerud's season-changing grand slam on September 29) gave the Mets an early 2-0 lead. Those were the only runs the Mets would score until the 15th rain-soaked inning.

Chicks may dig the longball, but apparently so did John Olerud.

With the Braves up 3-2, the Mets were trying to save their season in the bottom of the 15th. After Shawon Dunston led off the inning with an epic 12-pitch at-bat that ended when he singled up the middle, Matt Franco walked (Dunston had already stolen second base before the walk to Franco). Edgardo Alfonzo laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position for John Olerud. Braves manager Bobby Cox ordered pitcher Kevin McGlinchy to intentionally walk Olerud to load up the bases in an attempt to set up a potential inning-ending double play.

However, this also left the Braves with no room for error. They had no place to put Todd Pratt, who was the next batter up, and were hoping for a strikeout or a double play. They got neither, as McGlinchy walked Pratt to bring home the tying run, then gave up the Grand Slam Single to Robin Ventura that would have scored Olerud had Todd Pratt heeded Ventura's wish to keep running.

Todd Pratt's heave-ho of Robin Ventura after his Grand Slam Single denied John Olerud (bottom of photo) an opportunity to score yet another run in the 1999 NLCS.

The hard-fought series shifted to Atlanta for Game 6. However, the Mets did not fill up their tanks for the trip, running out of gas in the 11th inning when Kenny Rogers gambled on a 3-2 pitch to Andruw Jones and ended up walking in the pennant-winning run.

Of course, Olerud did his part to help the Mets get to extra innings after the team was down by five runs at one point. His sixth inning single and subsequent run scored was a key part of the Mets' three-run sixth inning. With the Mets down 7-4 in the seventh inning, Olerud laced an RBI single, scoring Rickey Henderson and bringing up Mike Piazza as the potential tying run. Naturally, Piazza homered to temporarily tie the game at 7, but the bullpen could not continue the momentum the hitters generated for them.

After the 1999 season ended, Olerud became a free agent. Instead of returning to the Mets, he opted to sign a three-year, $20 million deal with his hometown Seattle Mariners. From 2000-2002, Olerud continued to be the star player he was on the Mets. He hit for a high average (.296), was among the league leaders in on-base percentage (.399), drove in a ton of runs (300 RBI over the three years, an average of 100 per season) and continued to be among the league leaders in doubles (116 two-base hits from 2000-2002).

He also brought along the glove that helped him become the anchor of the best infield ever, according to Sports Illustrated. As a member of the Mariners, Olerud won three Gold Glove awards for defensive excellence.

In the 11 seasons that have passed since Olerud's departure to the Pacific Northwest, the Mets have used 46 men at first base, hoping that current first baseman Ike Davis will finally bring stability to the position.

Wherever John Olerud played, postseason success was sure to follow. He was a member of two World Series-winning teams (1992, 1993 Blue Jays) and made the playoffs eight times with five different teams (1991-93 Blue Jays, 1999 Mets, 2000-01 Mariners, 2004 Yankees, 2005 Red Sox).

John Olerud also has a rare distinction in the major leagues. As slow as he was, Olerud always seemed to have his share of "leg hits", most of them doubles. However, he is one of only two players in major league history (the other being Bob Watson) to have hit for the cycle in both leagues. He picked up a single, double, triple and home run for the Mets in 1997, then repeated the feat in 2001 for Seattle. What's odd about this accomplishment? Olerud only hit 13 triples over his 17-year career, but two of them came in games where he hit for the cycle.

The Toronto Blue Jays thought John Olerud was washed up when they traded him to the Mets prior to the 1997 season. Olerud had not performed at the level Toronto expected of him after he set the bar so high during his memorable 1993 season. Then something changed once the first baseman came to New York. Just as he helped bring the Mets back from the depths of the National League, he did the same thing to his career, revitalizing it to the point where he is now on the Hall of Fame ballot.

Olerud finished his career with a .295 career batting average and a .398 career on-base percentage. He also racked up 2,239 base hits, including a whopping 500 doubles (one of only 50 players ever to achieve that figure).

Despite the fact that Olerud never hit more than 24 home runs in a single season, he still managed to hit 255 career longballs. Over his 17-year career, which included two All-Star Game selections, Olerud scored 1,139 runs and drove in 1,230 more. As mentioned before, Olerud was not only a threat at the plate, but was also a stalwart defensive player, as evidenced by his three Gold Gloves.

Those numbers, although good, might not be enough to earn Olerud his way into Cooperstown. They might not even be enough to get him the necessary 5% of the votes needed to remain on the Hall of Fame ballot. But his three years as a member of the New York Mets will always be Hall of Fame-worthy in the eyes of Mets fans.

John Olerud's sweet swing at sweet Shea.

Olerud's .315 career batting average and .425 career on-base percentage as a Met are the highest marks in franchise history. In fact, before Olerud, no Met had ever compiled a .425 OBP in a single season. Olerud averaged that over three years! Perhaps even more surprising is that John Olerud has the franchise record for highest career OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) with his .926 mark. He is directly ahead of three genuine power hitters (Mike Piazza, David Wright, Darryl Strawberry) despite the fact that Olerud wasn't considered a power hitter himself.

In the eyes of Mets fans, John Olerud might have been the best first baseman (and perhaps the most clutch player) since Keith Hernandez. His stay in New York may have been abbreviated, but the memories of the first baseman who always wore a batting helmet on the field will always remain strong. John Olerud was never the star of the team and he was never in your face. However, he was the rock for some very good late '90s teams, and always seemed to come up with a big performance when the team needed it the most. John Olerud was truly an underrated Met and his time with the team will always be remembered as one of the most successful periods in franchise history.