60 Seconds

Leave it to the Mets to trade for a guy who was just waived by Milwaukee, suit him up in No. 60, and bat him cleanup.

Billy McKinney tonight becomes the second position player to wear No. 60 for the club (Andres Gimenez wore it last year) despite No. 7 sitting around unissued. Anyway McKinney seems a decent emergency outfielder with the ability to hit one out now and again and a tendency to get exposed over longer periods as a starter. Like a lot of our guys, he’s a former Blue Jay and Brewer.

We’ve been over this before but just because Marcus Stroman found 7 sacred doesn’t mean the Mets have to, and the idea that they are “saving” it (along with 8 and 17 which were all once okay to use but today are mothballed as the club slow-plays retirement ceremonies that troublingly intermingles jersey retirement and club Hall of Fame) is really coming around to roost with 17 guys on the disabled list. And unless they’re also stealth-retiring Rick Aguilera and RA Dickey, I think 38 and 43 are still out there. Or have I lost count again?

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3 comments

  1. Chris says:

    McKinney and Drury were the guys that the Yankees traded to acquire J.A. Happ.

  2. 9th string catcher says:

    Seriously. Reyes left the team while he was still good, beat up his wife, came back to the Mets when he was washed up, sucked balls in his stint and then was forced to retire when no one would bother offering him a contract.

    Reissue 7, 17, 24. Consider reissuing 14 and 37 – they were managers for god sakes. 36 – Koosman was great, but he wasn’t Seaver. Retire 8 or reissue. I can see retiring a number for a hall of famer, I can also see not retiring 8 since Carter wasn’t here that long. 5 is going to be retired for sure. But a team that has two championships in 60 years shouldn’t be retiring 10 numbers.

    41, 31. Maybe 8. I would stop there.

  3. Richard says:

    I agree with you 9th string catcher. I don’t understand why #37 is retired. Stengel is a Yankee and all he did was lose with the Mets. He may be New York baseball royalty, but he should not have a retired number with the Mets.

    7, 8, 17, 24 need to be in full time circulation. Either retire them or let players wear them. The only number in that group that is deserving to be retired is Keith Hernandez given his contributions as a player and announcer. Carter is an all time great Met, but he doesn’t have enough years as a Met (arguably neither does Keith). Also, he’s in the HOF with an Expos hat (despite his wish to be in as a Met).

    I also agree with you that retiring #36 for Koosman is ridiculous. They let #36 be worn for 40 years and then retire it, meanwhile, 8 and 17 haven’t been worn in 15-20 years now.

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