The all-time “only played for the Mets” team

Taken from a recent post on a well regarded Mets message board, here is an interesting take on an All-Time Mets Team. The All-Time Only Played For The Mets Team.

To make this team, there is going to be a couple of ground rules: A player must have played parts of five years as a Met, and the second is that even though Mike Pelfrey has yet to pitch a regular season game as a Twin, as of right now he does not count towards this team. Sadly, there isn’t much debate as there are only 11 (sans Pelfrey), players, so instead it is just the following:

1st Base: Could it be anyone but Ed Kranepool? Well, let’s see where Ike Davis is by 2014. But for now, Steady Eddie is the leader in the clubhouse with his long 18 year Met career, spanning the first 18 years of the franchise.

2nd Base: This is going to have to be a bit of a fudge, unfortunately, as Daniel Murphy missed being in the majors in 2010, and 2013 will start the 5th season he’s been with the club for at least part of the year. But do due to lack of other prominent candidates, the current Met second baseman gets the nod.

SS: Ron Gardenhire. Pretty much due to lack of other options, even riding the Tidewater shuffle and being injured a while, the future long time Twins skipper lasted from 1981-1985 in a Met uniform.

3B: Come on, anyone other than David Wright at this point? Well, then again there have been only 3 infielders that make the criteria of playing parts of five seasons or more with the team.

OF: Bruce Boisclair 1974, 1976-1979. By process of elimination, the only outfielder that makes the criteria! Pushing the boundaries out to parts of four or more seasons, and, well, there is Nick Evans who rode the Triple A shuttle from 2008-2011, and Lucas Duda would qualify for parts of four season when he debuts for the year next week.

C: Again, just one. Unfortunately, the guy he backed up for most of his time riding the Shea pine from 1973-1984, John Stearns got into one game and had two at bats as a September call-up with the 1974 Philadelphia Phillies. Otherwise it’d be him, and not Ron Hodges as this team’s backstop.

Pitching Staff: The parts of five seasons or more list of Met pitchers is made mostly of long relievers, but it wouldn’t be surprising if any of them would be fine in a pinch as a starter.

First, Perpetual Pedro Feliciano, 2002-2004, 2006-2010 and hopefully he gets to hurl one more time at Citi Field this year, it’s not looking very likely, but stranger things have happened, and Feliciano’s professional baseball career is a good example of long strange journeys.

Jeff Innis, 1987-1993. Decent pen guy, a good sidewinder, and someone filled his role on those late 1980s-early 1990s staffs well.

Bob Apodaca 1973-1977. Known more for what would happen in 1999 as pitching coach than his playing days in the midst of the decline of the 1969-1973 era.

Grant Roberts 2000-2004. Interestingly another pitcher that was around for a decline of an era, but gone too soon as the next era was about to start. Propped up to fulfill the promise that GenK failed to deliver, and it just didn’t turn out for him, nor his successor of sorts, in Pelfrey whom would be on this list if he wasn’t soon to pitch as a Twin.

Jonathon Niese and Bobby Parnell. The final two members of the parts of five or more squad came up in 2008, and are both proving to be solid members, when healthy, of the Met pitching staff. And hopefully will be sticking around if, and when, the franchise turns things around.