When Anthony Rendon signed a seven-year, $245 million deal with the Angels this offseason, I breathed a sigh of relief.
With Rendon gone from the NL East, the Mets wouldn’t have to worry about facing him nineteen times a season. The third baseman had established himself as a true “Met killer” over the years, mainly because he was such a tough out with the game on the line.
Rendon may be out of the division, but there will always be players who give the Mets fits.
Test your knowledge of recent Met killers with the following trivia questions:
Which pitcher threw a one-hitter against the Mets on Father’s Day in 2016?
“Who’s your daddy?”
That’s what Julio Teheran was likely thinking when he allowed just one baserunner in a complete-game effort at Citi Field on June 19, 2016. On that Father’s Day afternoon, a third-inning Michael Conforto single was the only thing that stood between Teheran and a perfect game.
Teheran was filthy that day, so I can forgive him for making my beloved Metsies look so overmatched. But what bothers me is that because Teheran was so brilliant, Jacob deGrom was saddled with a loss on his 28th birthday.
Seriously, how could you do that to Jake?
Who was the first pitcher to hit a home run against Roger Clemens?
The bitter rivalry between Roger Clemens and Mike Piazza gave us some truly insane moments, like when Clemens threw the shard of a broken bat at Piazza in the 2000 World Series.
So, while the Rocket’s career numbers don’t scream “Met killer” (he was 3-6 with a 4.89 ERA in 11 regular season starts against the Amazin’s), he has long been persona non grata among the Flushing Faithful.
And, as my fellow Mets fans can attest, there’s nothing more satisfying than when the Mets get revenge on one of their greatest tormentors. Soft-tossing southpaw Shawn Estes enacted that revenge against Clemens in 2002, just not in the way most people expected.
Clemens and Estes faced off at Shea Stadium on June 15, 2002, marking Clemens’s first appearance against the Mets since his World Series confrontation with Piazza two years prior.
The pressure was on Estes to make a statement by drilling Clemens when he came to the plate. Estes indulged a bloodthirsty crowd with a purpose pitch, albeit one that went a foot behind Clemens and missed him entirely.
Despite failing to properly retaliate on the mound, Estes embarrassed Clemens by taking the pitcher deep for a two-run shot in the fifth. He was the first pitcher to homer off Clemens, a feat that would be matched by Montreal’s Jon Rauch in 2004.
Which player hit 7 of his 17 home runs against the Mets in 2019?
Sometimes, a player’s success against a team is completely inexplicable. That’s certainly the case with this player, whose OPS was twenty percent worse than league average in 2019. He hit seven home runs in 15 games against the Amazin’s, and just ten in his 108 games against all other opponents.
The player in question is Maikel Franco, the third baseman who spent his first six big league seasons with the Phillies before signing a one-year deal with the Royals this past winter. With all the struggles he’s endured at the big league level, one might forget that Franco was once considered a future cornerstone of the Phillies franchise.
Although Franco has mostly failed to live up to expectations, he’s performed well against several Mets hurlers, including Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz:
- Franco career vs. Noah Syndergaard: .320 AVG (8-25 AB), 2 HR
- Franco career vs. Steven Matz: .538 AVG (7-13 AB), 2 HR
Which player has the longest road hitting streak against the Mets?
Did you know that a player hit safely in 35 straight road games against the Mets from 2006 to 2017?
This player was so comfortable in the Big Apple that he collected hits in all ten of his career games at Shea Stadium, and then in each of his first 25 games at Citi Field.
If you’re having trouble remembering this particular individual, here’s a hint: he was once traded from the Expos to the Indians for Bartolo Colón.
No, not Grady Sizemore.
The person I’m talking about is Brandon Phillips, the second baseman who spent eleven of his seventeen big league seasons with the Cincinnati Reds. Phillips’s streak was the longest road hitting streak against the Mets, surpassing the 32-game streak that Luis Castillo (yes, that Luis Castillo) recorded at Shea Stadium from 2001 to 2005.
Phillips also had the distinction of owning the longest road hitting streak against a single opponent since Hall of Famer Joe “Ducky” Medwick hit safely in 46 straight games at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field from 1933 to 1937.
Which player homered in five straight games against the Mets from 2016 to 2017?
Only four players have ever enjoyed a five-game home run streak against the Mets. The first three to turn the trick–Hank Aaron, Ryan Howard, and Giancarlo Stanton–should come as no surprise.
But the most recent addition to that group, Yasmany Tomás of the Arizona Diamondbacks, is unlikely to be remembered by future generations. Tomás hit six home runs in a five-game stretch against the Mets from 2016 to 2017 to put himself in the elite company mentioned above.
However, aside from a solo shot off Noah Syndergaard, Tomás failed to do any damage against the best arms in the New York pitching staff. He connected for two dingers off Hansel Robles, and one apiece against lefties Jon Niese, Josh Edgin, and Tommy Milone.
Searle’s Final Say
The term “Met killer” usually brings names like Chipper Jones and Chase Utley to mind. But as recent years have proven, not everyone who performs well against the Amazin’s is at an All-Star level. There is a certain randomness to who takes on the Met killer mantle, which is why the topic is endlessly fascinating to research.
