The Mets Police

If you're new to Mets Police, on Saturday morning I often post old baseball cards so I can relive my youth.  I'm trying to stay focused on fan advocacy stuff, but with the coffee and donuts on a Saturday morning, I like to take a look back.   Today, it's a visit to  Dinged Corners: 1983 Topps Mets baseball cards

The shape of the ballplayer sure has changed.  Rusty Staub was known for being "fat" at the end of his career.  Not in this picture.  Let's put him side by side with a McGwire.  Rusty would look like a little kid.

I once sat next to Rusty at a concert.  He had the two hottest chicks ever with him and the man was not fat.  Go Rusty!  Seriously, those were some nice looking friends he had.



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Rusty Staub retired with 2716 hits.

What if Rusty had signed with an AL team?  Might he have found 300 more hits.

In 1980, Rusty had 102 hits in 340 at bats.  A nice even .300

Coming back to the Mets in 1981 (strike year) he only played 70 games.  51 hits.

The year that catches my eye is 1983.   Rusty was the Mets pinch hitter.  Only 115 ABs on 104 games.  What if Rusty had played in the AL that year as a DH.   He hit .296 as a Met, let's say he hits .296 for someone else and gets 300 ABs.   That would create another 54 hits.

On to 1984.  .264 but only 72 at bats.   Should we give him 300 ABs again?   There's another 60 hits for Rusty.

Now he'd be 41 years old with 2830 hits.

3000 probably wasn't meant to be for Rusty but it's fun to think about.


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About a week and a half ago we published who are the real and the fake owners of numbers 1 - 4 for the Mets http://themetspolice.blogspot.com/2008/04/whos-1.html

As this is an angoing series, here are numbers 5 through 10 (once again thanks to Mets By The Numbers):

5
Rightful Owner(s): Davey Johnson & David Wright
Rent-A-Met: John Olerud

Comment: Wright will never be the only owner of tha number regardless of what he does. As for Olerud, most of that 1999-2000 team was rented.

6
Rightful Owner(s): Al Weiss & Wally Backman
Rent-A-Met: Daryl Boston

Comment: Sadly Wally is still persona non grata in most MLB circles. As for Boston......nop, got nothing

7

Rightful Owner(s): Ed Kranepool & Jose Reyes
Rent-A-Met: Juan Samuel

Comment: I still cringe when I think about all we gave up for....ugh...Juan Samuel. Hell I still remember where I was when I heard the news (on a train between Limerick and Galwayin Ireland. I think I screamed.)

8

Rightful Owner(s): Nobody
Rent-A-Mets: Yogi Berra & Gary Carter

Comment: Yogi was and always will be a Yankee. Gary - as much as he may have loved NY and was the final piece of the 86 puzzle - was an Expo.

9

Rightful Owner(s): Todd Hundley
Rent-A-Met(s): Joe Torre & Todd Zeile

Comment: Torre the player was a Brave - Torre the manager was a Yankee. The fact that he transitioned as a Met doesn't make him a Met.

10

Rightful Owner(s): Rusty Staub
Rent-A-Met: Nobody

Comment: Rusty wore 4 with his first stint, but was in 10 much longer. And yeah, he was an All-Star 6 times elsewhere and never with the Mets - but he played more years here than anywhere else.

11 through 15 next week.