I plan to make this a new series, in which I break down how each player on a given team was acquired. We'll start with last year's Gleeman World Champs, the New York Metropolitans:
(Age, position in parentheses next to name)
Starting Rotation:
Red Wainhouse (35, SP): Signed as a free agent (Season 3) for 5 years at a whopping $73 million. Converted from reliever to starter, with fantastic results, winning 3 Cy Youngs in the next 4 seasons.
Gerald Tomlinson (25, SP): Original Met, started his career in AA before sticking with the ML team for good in the middle of Season 3.
Gary Long (29, SP): Original Met, played every year with the ML club, winning ROY in Season 1.
Zeus Valentine (28, SP): Acquired in trade (Season 1), along with two minor league scrubs (since retired) from the San Antonio Sting for Keith Allen. Allen played 4 more seasons, with modest success, before retiring.
Gary Wood (33, SP): Claimed off of waivers in Season 1 (released by St. Louis).
Relievers:
J.D. Jackson (33, SuA): Acquired in trade (Season 1), along with Quad-A player (since retired) Donald Lee from the defunct Seattle Bigfeet (now the Cheyenne Tackleberries) for AAA 1B/DH Charlie Speaker, now-retired LF Don Martin, and a minor league scrub, since retired. Jackson has won 2 Fireman of the Year awards with the Mets.
Sherm Washington (33, SuA): Acquired via trade (Season 7) from the Pittsburgh Pug Dogs (along with $5 million) for prospects Von Thomson, Steven Buhner, and Donnie Mottola.
Stretch Creek (33, SuB): Signed as a free agent (Season 2) to a 5 year, $26.4 million deal. Recently given a 2 year extension worth $10 million.
Marshall Wathan (29, ClA): Acquired by trade (Season 3) from the Philadelphia Phenomenauts for 2B/LF Carl Barnes and reliever Dan Stechschulte.
Del Servet (29, (SuB)): Acquired via trade (Season 3) from the San Francisco Seals (now the Las Vegas Armijos) for relievers Clark Murphy and John Higginson, along with 2B Richie Fielder.
Preston Stinnett (39, SuB): Signed as a free agent (Season 4) for 2 years and $7 million.
Hamlet Helling (39, LHS): An original Met, but claimed by the Jayhawks off of waivers during Season 1. Came back via free agency, signing a 2 year deal worth $4.5 million.
Catchers/DH's:
Stan Lennon (34, C): Signed as a free agent (Season 3) for 2 years and $5.8 million. Given a 1 year extension each season since.
Andres Uribe (26, C): Acquired via trade (Season 1) from the Oklahoma City Twins for C A.J. Cora and a minor league scrub (since retired).
Ralph Jackson (28, DH): Original Met.
Infielders:
Richard Stocker (26, 1B): Drafted, 1st round (24th overall) during Season 2.
Trent Gordon (30, 2B/LF): Acquired in trade (Season 6) along with prospect Bip Reagan for starting pitcher Kelvin Sullivan.
Vance Phillips (33, 3B/LF): Signed as a free agent (Season 7) for 2 years and $9.5 million.
Toby Pulsipher (35, 3B/2B): Signed as a free agent (Season 6) for a one year, $3.4 million deal. Re-signed this season for $5.2 million.
Benito Ramirez (31, SS): Acquired in trade (Season 3) from Monterrey for CF Mendy Gonzales, closer Lance Acosta, and SS Russ Lawson.
Alfredo Mercedes (27, SS): Original Met. Spent 6 seasons with the AAA club, then called up in Season 7 to be the club's backup SS.
Outfielders:
Ramon Martin (28, LF): Acquired in trade (Season 2) from Albuquerque for ace Billy Ray Prince, reliever Esteban Castillo, and minor leaguer James Terrell.
Taylor Smith (30, CF): Acquired in trade (Season 1) from Iowa City for pitcher Willie Valentine.
Geoffery Bates (31, RF): Acquired in trade (Season 5) from Los Angeles for 2B Christopher Roth, RF Carlos Ortiz, and 3B Raul Rivera.
Mark McEnroe (28, LF): Acquired via trade (Season 1) from the Twins along with minor league C Karim Nunez for relievers Dustin Harvey and Andre Karros (since retired), along with a minor league scrub.
Acquisition Breakdown:
FA's: 7 (Wainhouse, Creek, Stinnett, Lennon, Phillips, Pulsipher, Helling (sort of))
Acquired via trade: 12 (Valentine, Jackson, Washington, Wathan, Servet, Uribe, Gordon, Ramirez, Martin, Smith, Bates, McEnroe)
Claimed off waivers: 1 (Wood)
Drafted: 1 (Stocker)
Originals: 4 (Tomlinson, Long, Jackson, Mercedes)
Age Breakdown:
> 27 years old: 3 (Tomlinson, Uribe, Stocker)
27-30 years old: 10 (Long, Valentine, Wathan, Servet, Jackson, Gordon, Mercedes, Martin, Smith, McEnroe)
31-34 years old: 8 (Wood, Jackson, Washington, Creek, Lennon, Phillips, Ramirez, Bates)
<35 years old: 4 (Wainhouse, Stinnett, Helling, Pulsipher)
Summary:
As you can see, the vast majority of the talent here came via trades or free agency. Two of the "Big Three" pitchers in the rotation were inherited by current management, as well as young DH Ralph Jackson. Star 1B Stocker was an outstanding pick in Season 2's amateur draft, and Wood turned out to be a dependable, if not spectacular, 5th starter. However, most of GM sickchangeup's success came from his shrewd trading; his acquisitions include his entire outfield,his double-play combo, his backup catcher, his closer, both of his primary setup men, and his 4th starter. He's also done a great job finding players in trade who were at or near their primes; the four players on the roster who are over the age of 35 are all free agent signings. Wainhouse's signing during the beginning of Season 3 turned out to be one of the best moves in Gleeman World history; Wainhouse has proven himself to be arguably the best pitcher in either league, winning 3 Cy Youngs and leading his team to two WS titles. The scary thing is that the team isn't really that old; Wainhouse is 35, but draws praise from the coaching staff for his work ethic, and should excel for at least a few more seasons. Meanwhile, Tomlinson, Long, and Valentine are all under 30, and 34 year old Stan Lennon is the oldest starting position player. In fact, the oldest guys on the team other than Wainhouse consist of a backup 3B, a SuB, and a lefty specialist. Unfortunately for the rest of the AL East, the Mets don't look like they're ready to relinquish their post as the top team in the division anytime soon.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment