MMO Roundtable: Favorite Mets by Position – Third Base
The MMO team will be going all around the field, sharing our favorite Mets players by position.
Next up, third base…. or to sum it up, a lot of The Captain (as it should be!).
Ryan Finkelstein
When David Wright made his debut back in 2004, I remember being upset that someone was coming up and taking playing time away from one of my favorite players at the time, Ty Wigginton. Then I watched Wright play and everything changed.
Watching Wright’s career was an amazing experience for me as a young fan because it came at a time when I was getting really serious about playing the game myself. I began playing travel ball at nine years old and after watching Wright’s rookie season, my number of choice had already become No. 5. I had plenty of Wright jerseys and shirts, with countless pictures of him all over my wall.
Even with the star-studded group of Mets that is coming through the pipeline right now, I think it will be hard for any player to ever connect with me as a fan in the same way that David Wright did during that time. Not just my favorite Met third baseman of all-time, but my favorite athlete of all-time.
Rich Sparago
The easy answer to this question is the obvious one-David Wright. I’ll take a different approach and go with a historical figure, though one not nearly as talented as Wright. I was a big Lenny Randle fan in the late 1970s. Randle played for the Mets in 1977 and 1978, the dark days for the franchise (they had just traded Tom Seaver).
Randle came to the Mets under unfortunate circumstances. He had been released by the Rangers after a physical altercation with Rangers’ manager, Frank Lucchesi. The Mets picked him up early in the 1977 season, and Randle went on to post a .304 average with 33 stolen bases as a third baseman. To add to Randle’s place in Mets history, he was at bat when the lights went out at Shea Stadium in July of 1977 during the NYC blackout. Randle was not nearly as good in 1978, his final year with the Mets. Though not a superstar, Lenny Randle was an exciting player on a Mets team that needed any excitement possible as a distraction from their fall into the doldrums.
Mike Mayer
David Wright is the obvious answer for me here, loved the anticipation of him coming up and how he performed before the unfortunate injuries destroyed his career.
Also, given that I’m weird and like random stuff, whenever I think about third base for the Mets I relish the memories of Gary Carter and Travis d’Arnaud making cameos at the hot corner.
Brian Wright
With the popular choice clearly being David Wright (and how could I go against a guy who shares my last name?!), I’d like to use this space to show appreciation for the underrated Howard Johnson. Prior to “The Captain,” no Met occupied third base more often than HoJo.
Although he was far from Gold Glove caliber, and shifted to shortstop and later to the outfield, Johnson’s hitting numbers put him among the very best. He was a 30-steal, 30-homer performer during his breakout year of 1987. Then he did it again in 1989. And again in 1991 — the only Met (and one of a handful in big-league history) to have multiple 30-30 seasons. HoJo still ranks fourth in homers, fourth in RBIs, third in stolen bases, and fifth in offensive bWAR.
Michelle Ioannou
I loved Ty Wigginton. And then David Wright came along… and man, I haven’t loved a player like that since Mike Piazza. What a player! What a teammate! What a Captain! Wright was one of the best possible people you could have on your team and as the face of your organization. I was 13 when he made his debut for the Mets — still young, but old enough to fully understand his value and contribution both on and off the field.
A special shoutout does need to go to Travis d’Arnaud, as we will never forget how he played both third base and second base during the same game.
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