How good do you have to be?!

Sunday, September 29, 2013, was Mike Piazza Day at Citi Field.  The (rightful) future Hall of Famer was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame.  The Greatest Hitting Catcher of All Time joined the ranks of 26 other notable names from the Mets relatively short history.  Everyone from owners like Joan Payson; general managers like Frank Cashen; managers like Casey Stengel, Gil Hodges; broadcasters like Ralph Kiner, Bob Murphy, and Lindsey Nelson; to, of course, players; like Tom Seaver, Rusty Staub, Jerry Koosman, Tug McGraw, and several others.

As a retired player, being honored by a former team in such a way is undoubtedly a thrill and a great memory to have.  But, is it enough?

There are a series of numbers: 37, 14, 41, 42.  To the non-faithful, it may seem like a random collection of numbers, or even a lottery ticket.  But, to any who have been to Shea Stadium Citi Field for a ball game, they can tell you that those are the only numbers that will never be seen on a home team uniform.  Those are the only four numbers retired by the New York Mets in honor of Casey Stengel, Gil Hodges, Tom Seaver, and Jackie Robinson (retired across MLB on April 15, 1997 at Shea Stadium), respectively.  In addition to these four numbers is the name "Shea."  Shea was added to the list on April 8, 2008, the final home opener of the Mets first own ballpark, and second home, in honor of William A. Shea who was instrumental in bringing the National League back to New York after the Giants and Dodgers skipped town four years earlier.  Dem Bums!

In sports, having your number retired by your team is perhaps the highest honor you can receive, besides being elected to the Hall of Fame.  It's a sign that the impact you had on the team and that particular city was above and beyond, and signifies that there will never be another you.

It became apparent early on, after the announcement of Piazza's that his number, 31, would not be retired by the team.  It became apparent that this was a Mets Hall of Fame induction, nothing more.

So my question is, "how good do you have to be?!"  Casey Stengel was the team's first manager and was embraced by the city as the face of the "lovable losers."  By regular baseball standards, his time as Mets skipper was... abysmal.  But he set the tone for what would become the appeal of the Mets: constant underdogs that aren't going to take themselves too seriously, or, the anti-Yankees.  Gil Hodges, by baseball standards, was a much better manager, not only was he a player on the original Mets, but he led the team to it's first World Series when the Miracle Mets shocked the Orioles, and the world in 1969.  Is there anything
that needs to be said about Tom Seaver's impact to the Mets?  No.  So, I will move on.  Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, his number is retired league-wide, enough said.  I will now skip over "Shea" because it's a nice gesture, and Shea was important to the Mets, but how is it handled?  If a top prospect, let's say, Jacob Shea is drafted by the Mets, is he not allowed to wear his name on his jersey?  I don't get it.

This brings me to the debate at hand, Mike Piazza, one of the best players of his generation, and the greatest hitting catcher of all time, apparently is not worthy enough to have his number retired.  Take a look at his stats.  In his 16 years in the big leagues, he was named 1993 Rookie of the Year, named to 12 All-Star Games (including 10 straight), he finished 2nd in MVP voting twice ('96, '97) and 3rd once ('00), 10 Silver Slugger Awards, and was the face of Mets franchise pretty much from day one.  The on-field numbers speak for themselves, 427 homers, 352 as a catcher (the most in history), 2,127 hits, 1,335 RBI, a .308 career avg., a .377 OBP, and a .545 SLG%.  His numbers as a Met are equally as impressive.  In 8 years, Piazza hit 220 HR (2nd in team history), 655 RBI (3rd), 415 Extra Base Hits (4th), .296 Avg. (4th), 1,208 Hits (8th), and holds the franchise record for career SLG% (.542).  But, according to the Mets front office, his number doesn't deserve to be retired?  Why?  My only guess is that is because he is not Tom Seaver.  Or, perhaps, because he is not a Hall of Famer.  But who could ever be as important to a franchise as Tom Seaver, and what if, as I've ranted about earlier, no one from this generation gets elected to the HoF because of the suspicion of steroids?

Well, they can't possibly use the lack of a Hall of Fame plaque as a reason to not retire a players number.  Why?  Because former team co-captain Gary Carter is in the Hall of Fame.  The only problem is, Carter is in as an Expo.

But, he did want to go into the Hall of Fame wearing a Mets hat.  But, thanks to rumors surrounding several players, Carter, Wade Boggs, and Andre Dawson were affected by a rule change and not allowed to pick their teams.  So, if you're not a Met in the Hall of Fame, you can't have your number retired, right?

Wrong!  Take a look at this Hall of Fame plague.

Is that a Yankee hat? On Casey Stengel?  Who's number is retired by the Mets?  Why yes it is.

Now take a look at Gil Hodges' Hall of Fame plaque.

Oh, Gil isn't in the Hall of Fame.  So, what exactly is the criteria to have your number retired by the Mets?  Beats me!

When the news broke that Carter had passed away on Feb. 16, 2012, there was an immediate reaction among many Mets fans that a great way to honor his memory would be to retire his #8.  For a brief moment when his family was on the field for Opening Day 2013, and approached a tarp hanging on the outfield wall, it seemed like that wish would come true.  But we only got the unveiling of the Memorial Patch that was on the uniforms. 

A nice gesture, but honestly, not really adequate.

Why do I think this is such a big deal?  The Mets have been around for 51 years and have only retired 3 numbers (not counting 42 as it was retired by the league).  That's one number retired every 17 years.  Compare that to the crosstown rival New York Yankees.  The Yankees have been around since 1901 and have retired 18 numbers.  That's an average of one number every 6.2 years.  Now, I'm not trying to say the Mets and Yankees have had comparable names on their rosters.  Admittedly, the Mets cannot compare to Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggion, Mantle, Berra, Dickey, Maris, etc, etc, etc, etc.  But that doesn't mean the Mets haven't had their own lineup of great players.

Because of their historic number of Hall of Fame players, the Yankees are constantly joked about with the number of retired numbers.  "Soon no one is going to be able to wear anything lower than 50," is a common phrase that garners a few chuckles, but obviously, from 1-99 there are many numbers still available.  But, they seem to retire numbers with ease, as witnessed this season.  Mariano Rivera, the league's all-time saves leader, announced that this would be his last season and the year has rightfully, been more or less dedicated to him.  Including, retiring his number 42 (the last player to wear it) before the season was even over. 

Who else can say that their number got retired while they were still wearing it?  (If you want to get technical, Rivera had that happen to him twice).

I can't believe I'm going to say this.  But, it's time that the Mets take a page out of the Yankees book.  Retire some more numbers, honor some of the best players you've had, and make Citi Field a little more Mets-y, since that seems to be the only thing wrong with it.

But, who's worthy of being retired?  As mentioned, Piazza and Carter are, in my mind, no-brainers.

Carter's co-captain Keith Hernandez's 17 should be on the list.  Hernandez went to 3 All-Star Games as a Met and won 6 of his 11 consecutive Gold Gloves as a Met, and without him, the 1986 World Series Title may not have happened.  Not to mention, Hernandez has become part of, arguably, the best broadcast team
in baseball, calling game for the Mets on the Mets network, SNY, with Gary Cohen and 1986 teammate Ron Darling.

Another number that should be on the list?  36.  Jerry Koosman spent 12 years with the Mets ('67-'78) and if not for Seaver, would have been the team's ace.  He ranks 2nd in team history in complete games, 108, behind only Seaver; 3rd in wins, 140; 2nd in innings pitched, 2,545,
behind only Seaver; 2nd in hits allowed, 2,281, behind Seaver; 5th in ERA, 3.09; 3rd in strikeouts, 1,799; and 2nd in shutouts, 26, behind only Seaver.

One could also make a case for lovable reliever Tug McGraw's #45.  While his numbers were better as a Phillie, his impact on the Mets is undeniable.   

A case could also be made for Ed Kranepool's #7.  He spent all 18 years of his career as a Met and ranks in the top 10 of almost every offensive category in team history.  This will tend to happen out of just longevity rather than skill, but, an argument can be made.  The problem with Kranepool is that when I think of a Met wearing #7, I think of someone else.

The two other "no-brainers" that are on the list, I'm actually opposed to retiring.  That's 16 and 18, in honor of Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry.  Their numbers as Mets certainly warrant it and like Carter and Hernandez, were undoubtedly vital to the 1986 Championship, but their struggles with off field issues, of varying legality, have been well documented.  I've previously complained about the Hall of Fames "Character Clause," but in this case, I'm invoking it.  I like listening to Doc and Straw talk on-air during games on SNY and appreciate their involvement with the team, but their past mistakes are just too much to overlook to have their numbers retired.

It may also be premature, but there is also one name that will likely deserve the "Mariano treatment" in the, hopefully, distant, future.

And that's what's going on in Bronto's Brain.