The Mets are retiring too many numbers Part 2
Part II
Two years ago, Keith Hernandez had his number retired. Obviously, he was part of the core of the team which consisted of the quartet of himself, Gary Carter, Dwight Gooden, and Darryl Strawberry.
Once again, another man who had a great Met career but does not have a bronze plaque in upstate New York. He was one of the greatest defensive Firstbaseman of all time winning 11 Gold Gloves and the never-ending discussion will always be who was the better Firstbaseman in NY in the ‘80’s? Don Mattingly or Keith Hernandez? Hernanadez attained a .297 batting average in 7 seasons in NY, drove in 468 runs and tallied 12 RBIs in 20 postseason games for the Mets in 1986 and 1988. Though, for some reason his St. Louis career is far less talked about. With the Cardinals he won an MVP and a batting title. A World Series too. Though the title in 1986 was far more memorable because it’s New York, because winning championships is a rarity for the Mets, and of course because of all the hooligan-esque behavior in which the entire team partook during a time when very favorable to the Mets fortunes social media was unbegun.
The Cardinals have it right. They only retire players who are Hall of Famers with the exception of Ken Boyer who should be in the Hall of Fame. But just saying, Keith Hernandez’ number is retired in New York but not St. Louis.
Also, in 2022 The Say Hey Kid’s number was retired. I have multifaceted views on that one. We all know he is one of the greatest to ever step on a diamond. But he played 2 brief seasons as a Met where his skills were greatly diminished, and he was not an everyday player playing 69 games in 1972 and 66 games in 1973. Barring #24 past his prime as a Met and the lack of his habitual mega star numbers what makes the Willie Mays retirement ceremony at Old Timer’s Day 2022 tickling is that it was just simply done as a kind gesture.
It’s obvious this one was not a cash grab because there was no announcement of it. The Mets organization could have announced it a year prior, and they knew they would have drowned in revenue from ticket sales and #24 memorabilia. But it was not done in that fashion. To everyone’s bewilderment on Old Timer’s Day it was announced, and it could not have been done in a classier fashion. To make it even better it was consequential to Steve Cohen that he honored Joan Payson’s wish in a way that the Wilpon’s certainly did not. Where Miss Payson told Willie Mays that his number would be retired post his playing days. Even though the accolades in a Mets uniform do not qualify for a number retirement merit the kindheartedness of the gesture makes up for it.
Lastly Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry. Both won the Rookie of the Year award, Doc won a Cy Young, Darryl led the league in home runs in 1988 and had three 100 RBI seasons. Unfortunately, substance abuse and legal trouble got the best of them and after their time with the Mets their careers dissipated. Darryl won three World Series with the Yankees and Doc one two opposed to just 1 with the Mets and Doc pitched a no-hitter in Yankee pinstripes. Darryl and Doc’s numbers being retired just like many others is a cash grab. They were superstars but they aren’t “Legends”.
Gary Carter is a Hall of Famer, yet the Mets didn’t retire his number. Maybe it’s because he only spent 5 seasons in Flushing. But he was the captain co-shared with Keith Hernandez. The Mets have certainly gotten their piece of the action.