{"id":1148,"date":"2009-03-16T21:59:36","date_gmt":"2009-03-16T21:59:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beta.mbtn.net\/?p=1148"},"modified":"2013-12-06T22:04:04","modified_gmt":"2013-12-06T22:04:04","slug":"top-10-8s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mbtn.net\/?p=1148","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 8s"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"8\"<\/a>Thanks to a 10-year occupation by\u00a0Yogi Berra<\/a>, and an ongoing state of paralysis while the team frets over the implications of retiring the jersey forever, only 14 Mets \u2013 just 11 of them players including Yogi who barely qualifies \u2013 have ever worn the\u00a0No. 8<\/a>\u00a0jersey. Needless to say, constructing a Top 10 list is challenging and more pointless than usual. But it\u2019s not as if challenging and pointless are deterrents around here. In fact the following list is even more useful than the others in this series because it can also be read upside-down as a Bottom 10 list. Isn\u2019t that something?<\/p>\n

Now, on with the countdown\u2026<\/p>\n

10.\u00a0Rick Sweet<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Big mustache, big hair. Very short Met career as a would-be backup to Stearns and Hodges in1982<\/a>. He had three pinch-hitting appearances in April and was then sold to Seattle, where he happened to have grown up. By mid-season, his No. 8 jersey was on the back of the next man on this list.<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0Phil Mankowski<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mainly remembered as one of the guys we received in the blessed\u00a0Richie Hebner<\/a>\u00a0trade, Mankowski wore 8 only during his\u00a01982\u00a0<\/a>appearance when he subbed at third base for a couple of weeks in place of an injured\u00a0Hubie Brooks<\/a>. I definitely have a stronger association with Mankowski wearing\u00a0No. 2<\/a>\u00a0in 1980 even though looking up the stats reminds me he played very little that year too. Anyhow, by September of 1982, the No. 8 jersey had passed from Sweet to Mankowski to the next man on this list.<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0Ronn Reynolds<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Like Sweet, a backup catcher; and like Mankowski, a guy for whom I have two uni-number associations, Reynolds was the third and final wearer of the No. 8 jersey in 1982, thanks to a September recall from Class AA Jackson. Considered a tough, defense-first type of backstop, Reynolds broke camp with the big club in\u00a01983<\/a>\u00a0as\u00a0Ron Hodges<\/a>\u2019 primary backup while\u00a0John Stearns<\/a>was out with an injury. He\u2019d go back to the minors once Stearns fully recovered.<\/p>\n

Reynolds however wouldn\u2019t return until\u00a01985<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 and by then wearing a different uniform,\u00a0No. 9<\/a>. The new uni number was because the Mets in the interim had acquired the first man on this list. The lengthy gap between appearances was because of the next man on this list.<\/p>\n

7.<\/strong>\u00a0John Gibbons<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Gibbons was the third of the Mets\u2019 three first-round selections in the 1980 amateur draft, and the 24th<\/sup>\u00a0pick overall. The Mets famously selected\u00a0Darryl Strawberry<\/a>\u00a0with the first overall pick and later got\u00a0Billy Beane<\/a>\u00a0picking 23rd<\/sup>\u00a0(the additional selections affording the Mets Beane and Gibbons were compensation for having lost free agents\u00a0Andy Hassler<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Skip Lockwood<\/a>, respectively). It was a fateful haul, with Strawberry destined to become the team\u2019s all-time slugger and Beane a revolutionary team executive. Gibbons would later become a hot managerial prospect with the Mets organization leading to a five-year gig as the Blue Jays manager which ended last summer. Most recently he was named bench coach for the KC Royals.<\/p>\n

Gibbons\u2019 breakout season at Class AA Jackson in 1983 (he batted .298\/.375\/.515 with 18 home runs as a 21 year-old) allowed him to surpass Reynolds among the Mets up-and-coming catchers. The performance had him touted as the heir to\u00a0John Stearns<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Jerry Grote<\/a>, the latter of whom was, like Gibbons, a product of San Antonio, Texas. Writing in Newsday in 1984, Marty Noble dreamily described Gibbons as \u201ca rookie catcher with ability and eyes bluer than Paul Newman\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But injuries would eventually arrest Gibbons\u2019s progress: A broken jaw in\u00a01984<\/a>\u00a0cost him his first opportunity and he wouldn\u2019t get a second \u2013 other than a brief backup role wearing\u00a0No. 35<\/a>\u00a0in1986<\/a>. Also in the official records is a September appearance in\u00a01985<\/a>\u00a0when he was issued\u00a0No. 43<\/a>but did not appear in a game.<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0\u00a0Dan Norman<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another strange thing about Met No. 8s. Of the 11 players on this list who wore No. 8, seven of them also spent time in a Met uniform with a different number on the back. You might remember Dan Norman as a\u00a0No. 33<\/a>, which was his number in his first few appearances with the Mets in\u00a01977<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a01978<\/a>. He eventually got No. 8 when he came up for a lengthier stay beginning in\u00a01979<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Norman is probably best remembered for being the fourth and final piece of the\u00a0Tom Seaver<\/a>\u00a0haul \u2013 the only player in that fateful 1977 trade who didn\u2019t immediately join the Mets, and to certain heartbroken 11-year-olds, he held a certain mysterious promise. Norman was a powerfully built outfielder with good numbers in the minors but limited success with the Mets. After a brief trial as an everyday outfielder in \u201979, they turned him into a full-time reserve in\u00a01980<\/a>\u00a0and later included him with\u00a0Jeff Reardon<\/a>\u00a0in a deal for another ultimately disappointing right fielder,\u00a0Ellis Valentine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

5.<\/strong>\u00a0(tie)\u00a0Dave Gallagher<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Desi Relaford<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

In order to fit 11 players into 10 slots I needed a tie somewhere so I chose this pair of veteran journeymen, each known for their professionalism and positive attitude.<\/p>\n

Dave Gallagher of Trenton, N.J. is among the few Mets of the \u201cWorst Team Money Can Buy\u201d Era not to be remembered poorly. Acquired from the Angels for\u00a0Hubie Brooks<\/a>\u00a0prior to the\u00a01992<\/a>season, Gallagher had a reputation as a good defensive outfielder and most often was called on late in games to curtail the potential defensive shenanigans the rotation of starters (Bonilla, Johnson, Coleman, etc.) represented.<\/p>\n

Desi Relaford was just the kind of bench player a team likes to have: Though he\u2019d failed as a starter and came only at the cost of waiver claim, he was still young (27) and possessed both young player\u2019s skills (speed and the ability to play the middle infield) and the demeanor to re-establish his reputation. His one and only season for the Mets,\u00a02001<\/a>, would turn out to be the best of his career, and the Mets alertly parlayed into a trade for two players who would help \u2013 theoretically, at least \u2013 in 2002.<\/p>\n

On May 17, 2001, with the Mets getting hammered by San Diego, Relaford entered as a pitcher in the 9th<\/sup>\u00a0inning and retired the Padres in order on 12 pitches, including a strikeout. We\u2019re fairly sure that event marked the lowest number ever to pitch in a game for the Mets.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Chris Cannizzaro<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The Mets\u2019 first No. 8 in their history was catcher Chris Cannizzaro, selected in the expansion draft from St. Louis. He was an actual prospect but had missed the majority of the 1961 season after an appendectomy and his future behind the plate was blocked by a kid named Tim McCarver. Were he any more desirable in other words, he would be off-limits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad they picked Cannizzaro, because I\u2019m happy he is getting a chance to play. He is a fine prospect who never had a chance with us,\u201d said Cardinals general manager Bing Devine.<\/p>\n

Cannizzaro\u2019s chances with the Mets were difficult to come by too, though by\u00a01964<\/a>\u00a0he\u2019d demonstrate a certain usefulness with a .311 batting average in part-time duty. Cannizzaro would later play for the expansion San Diego Padres and become the first All-Star in that franchise\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Carlos Baerga<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Met GM Joe McIlvaine by the 1990s for the most part had become a value speculator: His portfolio was full of good stocks purchased at low prices \u2013 Gilkey, Olerud and Johnson types \u2013 that sometimes paid off big. Then there was Carlos Baerga, whose value was not only down but whose price would be a lot higher than Joe Mac ever imagined.<\/p>\n

And that value was down to stay. Although Baerga arrived amid whispers he was more attached to his cellphone than to his teammates, his attitude in New York looked pretty good. It was his slowing bat and expanding waistline that were the trouble. And while it may be unfair to hold\u00a0Jeff Kent<\/a>\u2019s future success against Baerga the least he coulda done was outplayed\u00a0Jose Vizcaino<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Baerga began his Met career in 2006 wearing\u00a0No. 6\u00a0<\/a>\u2013 coach\u00a0Steve Swisher<\/a>\u00a0had the No. 8 jersey then. He moved into 8 at the beginning of\u00a01997<\/a>\u00a0and wore it until his contract expired after\u00a01998<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Yogi Berra<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Among\u00a0Gil Hodges<\/a>\u2019s lasting legacies was a competent coaching staff, the core of which was still doing business together a decade after he passed away. There was pitching coach\u00a0Rube Walker<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 who was a former catcher.\u00a0Joe Pignatano<\/a>, also a former catcher, tending the tomatoes in the Shea bullpen. And\u00a0Eddie \u201cThe Walking Man\u201d Yost<\/a>\u00a0on the coaching lines at third, a superstar of on-base percentage long before anyone really cared much for the stat.<\/p>\n

One thing that long-lived coaching staff wasn\u2019t comprised of was future managers, which put the Mets in a bind when Hodges suddenly passed away shortly before the season was to begin in\u00a01972<\/a>. Bob Scheffing, who himself was thrust to the general manager\u2019s role following a sudden death in the front office, was a former manager but not a particularly accomplished one. He expressed lukewarm interest in nominating himself for the role. The next internal candidate was former Yankee legend Yogi Berra, who\u2019d been fired following his single season managing the Yankees in 1964 and been in the Mets\u2019 employ as a catcher \u2013a few turns at-bat only \u2013 and a coach ever since.<\/p>\n

As one writer remarked Berra could probably have stayed a Met coach forever \u2013 he was that well-liked by players and the media. But subject to the greater scrutiny that comes with the Skipper\u2019s hat, he wouldn\u2019t last forever. Berra in fact survived a lengthy referendum on his job in\u00a01973<\/a>\u00a0and by the end of that year he and the Mets had improbably staved off elimination. But he was fired in\u00a01975\u00a0<\/a>amid the general feeling that the Mets underachieved given their level of talent during his reign.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Asked once the difference between playing for Hodges and playing for Berra,\u00a0Tug McGraw<\/a>\u00a0replied with a murderous quip. \u201cSix innings,\u201d he said. \u201cHodges in the third inning would be thinking about what he might do in the sixth, while Berra in the sixth was thinking about what he should have done in the third.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ouch.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Gary Carter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"A year ago, while schilling copies of the\u00a0Mets by the Numbers book<\/a>\u00a0at a New Jersey book store, I had a chance for a brief meeting with Gary Carter \u2013 on hand to schill his own book. During a brief break in his furious signing activities I presented him with an autographed copy bookmarked at Chapter 8. \u201cThanks!\u201d he replied with a big smile and firm handshake, as an assistant put the book aside. \u201cI\u2019ll be sure to read it!\u201d and resumed signing.<\/p>\n

As I walked away I had two thoughts:<\/p>\n

1) That was a really nice thing to say.<\/em><\/p>\n

2) Could he have possibly meant it?<\/em><\/p>\n

And I knew right then: I\u2019d definitely met Gary Carter.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m on record here as favoring a less-is-more attitude when it comes to number retirement and the ongoing limbo of No. 8 since Carter\u2019s enshrinement in the Hall of Fame is a good example of why. If you\u2019re going to be wavering on it for years, and if you\u2019re terrified that in his next interview the guy\u2019s going to say something that will embarrass the organization, then he probably isn\u2019t a guy whose number deserves retiring anyway.<\/p>\n

This is to take nothing away from Carter\u2019s achievements on the field which were sublime and often heroic and make him, by a long shot, the greatest man ever to wear No. 8 for the Mets, much less anyone else. And Carter to his credit was a bit of a freak about it. His one non-negotiable demand upon joining the team was that he be offered No. 8 (sorry Gibbons), a number reflecting both his birthday (April 8) and wedding day (Feb. 8).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thanks to a 10-year occupation by\u00a0Yogi Berra, and an ongoing state of paralysis while the team frets over the implications of retiring the jersey forever, only 14 Mets \u2013 just 11 of them players including Yogi who barely qualifies \u2013 have ever worn the\u00a0No. 8\u00a0jersey. Needless to say, constructing a Top 10 list is challenging … Continue reading “Top 10 8s”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[424],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-top-10"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mbtn.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mbtn.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mbtn.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mbtn.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mbtn.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1148"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mbtn.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1149,"href":"https:\/\/www.mbtn.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1148\/revisions\/1149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mbtn.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mbtn.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mbtn.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}