MMO Roundtable: Which Met Are You Bringing To Thanksgiving Dinner?

Ah, Thanksgiving. Eating too much until you feel like you are going to explode. A great, great holiday if I may say so myself.

We here at MMO wanted to have some fun with you all this turkey day, so we have a special roundtable for you to enjoy. We asked ourselves, if we could choose just one Met from past or present to come to Thanksgiving Dinner with us, which one would it be and why. Here are some of our answers, and share yours with us in the comments below or by tweeting at us.

Joe D. 

I usually would respond to this question with Gil Hodges, Gary Carter or Tom Seaver. But on this Thanksgiving, I would love to have dinner with Ron Taylor who was a key reliever for the Miracle Mets in 1969.

Ron had one of the best seasons out of the bullpen as Gil Hodges tapped Taylor for a long relief role.

All Taylor did was appear in 59 games, posting a 2.72 ERA (5th in league), a 1.181 WHIP (3rd among all relievers, finished 4th in games finished. His ERA+ of 137 ranked 2nd among all relievers.

After his playing career ended, Taylor entered medical school to become a doctor, having been inspired to do so after visiting hospitals while on a goodwill tour during the Vietnam War.

A devoted healthcare provider, Dr. Ron Taylor was a true hero and I’d love to have him at my Thanksgiving dinner.

Marshall Field 

As many of you know, I go back to the late sixties when it comes to baseball. To get a feel for earlier than that, I would love to invite one Charles Dillon Stengel a.k.a. Casey. The Hall-of-Fame manager and nine-time World Series winner, Stengel embodies the game like few others could. As both a player and a manager, through five decades of baseball, Stengel could no doubt tell stories long after the turkey turned cold. His tepid relationship with Joe DiMaggio, his on-again, off-again tiffs with Yogi Berra (and catchers in general), his sometimes complete disjointing of the English language at times, and much more make for an evening (or a weekend) of stories never published or seldom recanted.

The Mets first manager, he didn’t wait long to make his mark in his new borough once opining, “Every manager wants to throw himself off a bridge sooner or later, and it’s very nice for an old man to know he doesn’t have to walk fifty miles to find one.” Or of course, “the trouble is not that players have sex the night before a game. It’s that they stay out all night looking for it”. And after a round or two of Mets baseball, “Can’t anybody here play this game?”. I could add dozens more quotes to a man who was a living quotation. With his own brand of eloquence, I would be honored to have Thanksgiving with Casey Stengel.

Rich Sparago

My Thanksgiving dinner guest of choice would be Keith Hernandez. Keith’s breadth of experiences and interests would make for outstanding dinner conversation. Think about it. Keith spans baseball from the early 1970s to today. It would be fascinating to hear his thoughts on the game’s evolution. Keith also is a two- time world champion, and can you imagine his stories about the 1986 Mets?

By the time dessert is served, Keith could then talk about being in the SNY booth, and what it’s like to segue (with a big gap between) from the field to the booth. And finally over coffee and after-dinner cocktails, Keith could get into his other interests. He’s a history buff (as am I), with a particular interest in the Civil War. Last but not least, Keith is very into rock music, again an interest we share. I’d love to hear about his favorite groups, albums, and concerts. Yes, Keith Hernandez would be a versatile and entertaining dinner guest.

Sal Manzo

If I were to invite a Met over for Thanksgiving, believe it or not I would choose Pete Alonso. Reason being is completely food based, because the man can cook some mean BBQ and other meaty goodness. He also seems like he’d be fun to have a conversation with at the dinner table, and would be into playing some turkeybowl street football once dinner is over.

Ryan Finkelstein 

This is a hard question for sure, because there have been so many amazing personalities that have come through Queens over the years. When it comes to my fandom, Mike Piazza, Robin Ventura and Edgardo Alfonzo were all my childhood heroes. But the team that really made me a Mets fan for life was the 2006 Mets.

So who from that team would I bring to Thanksgiving?

David Wright, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran may have been the star players, but when it comes to personality, I’d want to spend time with Cliff Floyd. Floyd was always one of my favorite players going back to his days with the Marlins. Growing up in South Florida, I even met Cliff once as an instructor at baseball camp I went to. It would be great to see him again a few decades later for a meal that I am sure would be filled with a lot of laughs.

Michelle Ioannou 

I know I’m the one who posed this question to the group but this is a hard one! Do I choose a Met from my youth like Mike Piazza? One from my mother’s like Keith Hernandez? One from recent history like David Wright? Or one from the current roster like Pete Alonso, J.D. Davis, or Michael Conforto? If I had just one choice, I think I’d have to go the selfish route and go with Piazza for so many reasons.

First off, you all know he’d be bringing something delicious and Italian with him to dinner, which would compliment my Greek-style Thanksgiving quite well. Piazza is also a player who is (mostly) respected by baseball lovers of all fandoms, and coming from a family with Mets, Yankees, and Red Sox fans, this would especially go over well. He’s the player that will always remind me of my youth, my father, and my brother and since Thanksgiving is all about being grateful, those are the memories I am the most grateful for.