A recent NYDN article indicated that the Mets have “discussed” a reunion with OF Endy Chavez. FWIW, I am in favor of this deal and hope it gets done. One of my reasons for this is that if Endy dons the orange and blue again, he becomes an interesting part of Mets History—players who have had two tours of duty with the Mets.

Technically, this would be Endy’s third go round with the Mets. First he was in their farm system from 1997-2001. He returned and played for the big club from 2006 through the end of the 2008 season before departing to Seattle in the massive three-team, twelve player deal that December.

So how have other encore performances worked out for the Mets? We’re glad you asked!
1. Rusty Staub (1972-75, 1981-85): This is the best recycled player the franchise has had to date. After a four year stint with the Mets where he hit 62 homers and drove in 307 runs, the Mets shipped Le Grande Orange to Detroit for Mickey Lolich after the 1975 season, easily one of the worst deals in franchise history. Six years later, Frank Cashen undid that move and Staub returned to the Mets as a free agent. In 1983, he tied an NL record with eight straight pinch-hits and in that same season also tied the Major League record of 25 RBIs by a pinch hitter. He lasted until 1985, providing veteran leadership for a team on the rise. One of the more beloved Mets, he was later elected into the Mets Hall of Fame.
2. Lee Mazzilli (1976-82, 1986-89): Boy, I seem to blog about Maz often and for good reason: he has a fascinating history as a Met. His first stint from 1976 through 1981 coincided with one of the worst periods in team history. He was dealt to Texas before the 1982 season for Ron Darling and Walt Terrell, a deal largely credited (by me at least) in sparking the franchise’s resurgence. In 1986 the Mets picked him back up on waivers from the Pirates and he played an important part of their championship team. He hit .306 the next year and his career with the Mets continued until 1989.
3. Dave Kingman (1975-77, 1981-83): Dave clubbed 62 home runs for the Mets, some of them legendary, during his first two and a half seasons with the club. He also struck out 344 times in 1,208 ABs, couldn’t field a lick and was a surly clubhouse presence. He was shipped to San Diego as part of the June 15 1977 “Midnight Massacre.” The Mets re-acquired him before the 1981 season for Steve Henderson, another one of the trade principles from that fateful June evening. It was more of the same: Kong hit 52 homeruns and struck out 334 times in 1,136 at bats. His personality hadn’t changed and the Mets were glad to see him go after the 1983 season.
4. Tom Seaver (1966-76, 1983): The Worst Trade in Mets History (a.k.a the Midnight Massacre) sent their Franchise Player to Cincinnati in 1977. (Kingman went to San Diego in a separate deal that same night). Cashen undid that move by trading back for him in 1983. Tom lasted a season with the Mets, going 9 and 14 before being exposed a free agent compensation draft and getting claimed by the White Sox. I will always wonder why the Mets couldn’t have traded a prospect or two to the Sox instead and kept him. Seaver later moved to Boston and created a “what if” scenario, as an injury kept him off the Bosox active roster during the 1986 World Series.
5. Kevin McReynolds (1987-1991, 1994): Forgot this one? Kevin came to symbolize all that was wrong with the late 1980’s Mets and was run out of town in 1991. His replacement was Vince Coleman, who came to symbolize all that was wrong with the early 1990’s Mets until he was run out of town after the 1993 season—to Kansas City for McReynolds. K-Mac hit .256 during the strike-shortened 1994 season and then called it a career.
6. Jason Isringhausen (1995-99, 2011): Nice story last year, but is probably moving on again. His first go round with the Mets is worth a post in itself.
7. Tim Foli (1970-71, 78-79): Ah, Crazy Horse. Traded for Staub and then had his contract purchased by the Mets from the Giants in 1978. Later traded again, this time to Pittsburgh in early 1979 for Frank Taveras; a move that I loved at the time. He helped Pittsburgh win a World Series the next year.
8. Mike Jorgensen (1970-71, 1980-83): Traded with Foli and Ken Singleton for Staub prior to the 1972 season. Came back to the Mets in 1980 with Ed Lynch in a deal for Willie Montanez (not a bad trade!) The Mets sold his contract to Atlanta in 1983 on the same day they acquired Keith Hernandez from the Cardinals. Nice Upgrade.
9. Bill Pulsipher (1995-98, 2000): Can’t miss prospect that missed. Twice.
10. Bobby Bonilla (1992-95, 1999): Hard to believe, but his second stint with the Mets was worse than his first. The Mets are now paying him a million a year until around 2025.

Honorable Mentions: Kelly Stinnett, Alex Trevino, Ray Sadecki, Al Jackson, Bob L. Miller and David Cone.

Did I miss anyone?

There are 22 Days Until Pitchers And Catchers Report. Thus we honor former #22 Ray Knight.

Choosing Knight was fairly easy, since he is one of my favorite all-time Mets, for his grit, hustle, fire, and hard-nosed play. He got dirty, he was a gamer, he played with fierce passion, he hated to lose, he was unselfish, a team player, and he beat the crap out of Eric Davis. Oh, and he was a pretty decent player, too, able to play multiple positions more than adequately and providing some pop at the plate. His career numbers don’t look spectacular compared to the hitters of today, and he didn’t hit for enough power to justify being a corner infielder, but he had a few strong seasons where his average was around .300 and his OPS in the .750-.800 range. In short, he was “a ballplayer”, and enjoyable to watch — especially in 1986, when he came through with clutch hits time after time.

And the clutch thing isn’t just my romantic side remembering things the way I want to remember them. Sure, I vividly remember him scoring the winning run in Game 6 while Vin Scully screamed “gets by Buckner!”, and hitting the game-winning HR in Game 7. But that’s the way it went with Ray Knight all year. If you check the stats, you’ll see Knight hit .357 with a .827 OPS with runners in scoring position. With two outs and RISP, he hit .396 with a .899 OPS. Two outs and a man on third, he hit .381 with a .519 OBP and .899 OPS. With the bases loaded, he hit .400. With a man on second, he hit .375 with a .964 OPS. In “late and close” situations, he hit .325 with a .839 OPS. In tie ballgames, he hit .342 with .872 OPS. My eyes saw a clutch player, my memories echo what I saw, and the stats bear the proof: 1986 was a magical year for Ray Knight, as it was for all Mets fans.

Other #22s who were considered include Kevin McReynolds, Donn Clendenon, Michael “Mother” Tucker, Hank Webb, Al Leiter, Mike Jorgensen, Xavier Nady, and Dale Murray.

And by the way, the boys at AmazinAvenue have anointed Al Leiter as their #22 — not a bad choice, either.

The countdown thus far:

#22 Ray Knight
#23 Doug Flynn
#24 Kelvin Torve
#25 Willie Montanez (no link … sadly, didn’t have time to write a post)
#26 Dave Kingman
#27 Pete Harnisch
#28 John Milner
#29 Alex Trevino
#30 Jackson Todd

Not long after Mike Francesa announced that Jason Bay accepted the Mets’ contract offer, I received a phone call from good friend and occasional MetsToday contributing writer John Fitzgerald.

John: “Hey, we should invent the internet while there’s still time.”

Me: “Huh?”

John: “Well, it’s 1987 isn’t it? I mean, didn’t the Mets just sign Kevin McReynolds?”

Well played, Mr. Peanuts.

Indeed, Jason Bay today is not far from Kevin McReynolds circa ’87. There are some obvious differences — namely, that McReynolds was