Countdown to Opening Day: 3
March 29th, 2011 by slangon
Three more days. The torture.
The starting first baseman for the 1986 Mets, position #3 on your scorecard, my favorite all-time baseball player, Keith Hernandez.
Not surprisingly, Mex had a lot to do with the Mets winning it all in 1986. Obviously, he had yet another stellar year defensively, winning his 8th consecutive Gold Glove. He was so good that other teams would not bunt even if the situation clearly called for it, just on Keith’s reputation alone. He also tore it up at the plate, batting .310 with 13 homers and 83 RBI. He also led the league in walks with 94, which put his on-base percentage at .413. He also sported an awesome mustache.
He had 13 GWRBI (Game Winning RBI) in 1986, which probably doesn’t mean much. I guess that’s why they basically threw that stat in the trash. By the way, did you know that Hernandez is the career GWRBI leader with 129? Since they threw that stat in the garbage, he always will be, too.
Occupying first base for the 2011 squad, is one of my favorite current Mets, Ike Davis.
Ike had a really good rookie campaign and I don’t see any reason for him to slow down. Although he doesn’t have the average of Hernandez, he certainly has more power. I also think that aside from whatever numbers he puts up himself, he’s going to help the Mets lineup just by his presence. I’m sure that whoever is hitting in front of him will be seeing considerably better pitches to hit just because Ike is hitting behind them. Also, although he doesn’t have the awards to prove it, judging by some of the circus catches he made last year, he gives the Mets a really solid defensive first baseman. Maybe Wright can relax on some of his throws knowing that if he is off a bit, Davis is capable of saving him an error. I see Ike hitting about .270 with 23 or so homers and 85 or so runs batted in. I don’t know how many GWRBI’s he’ll have though.
This is a tough call, but just because Hernandez was so much more established than Ike is, and because Keith is my favorite all-time player, I’m forced to give the advantage to 1986.
RF – 1986
CF – 2011
LF – 2011
SS – 2011
3B – 2011
2B – 1986
1B – 1986
C – ????
P – ????
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