The Mets' All-Time Shit-Talking Team
Hello all. Steamin' Mikey Lehman here.
I’m pretty excited to be making my debut here at Y2K. As president of marketing operations with the company, I decided it was time for me to roll the sleeves up and get to writing.
While I love talking hot-stove, I thought this list might be a nice way to help you get through your Thursday morning. It’s the Mets’ all time shit-talking team, and I hope you enjoy:
Left Field: Rickey Henderson
The high-stepping homerun trot. The crouch. The snatch-catch. The third person dialogue. Nobody was better at irritating opposing players than Rick.
Remember him sliding into home (on a homerun) when setting the record for career runs scored? How about completely disregarding Lou Brock when setting the record for stolen bases?
Even his pre-game ritual involved standing naked in front of the mirror chanting ‘Rickey’s the best!’ His final game as a Met, when he led off trotting to first on a ball hit off the wall, he told reporters after the game: ‘Rickey would do it again.’
The guy meshed cocky and class in a way I never thought possible. Hats off, Rickey Time.
Right Field: Derek Bell
So what if the guy hit .115 after the break in 2000, Manny got his whole schtick from D-Bell. The guy invented the baggy pants look. Not to mention he couldn’t get through a sentence without saying ‘yo’ fourteen times. Only one year. What a shame.
Center Field: Jay Payton
Tough call here, but I gotta give it to Jay for that time he charged the mound against Mike Timlin in the 2000 playoffs. The Mets are up, it’s the bottom of the eighth, the Mets are cruising in the final game of the NLCS, and Jay can’t help but charge on a pitch that was clearly an accident. Mad respect.
Third Base: Robin Ventura
Speaking of charging the mound, nothing could possibility be more humiliating than the Robin vs. Nolan square off in 1993. The fact that Robin has never said a mean word about anyone in his life might discount him from the list, but Sip loves the guy and I’m trying to stay in good standing with the execs here at Y2K.
First Base: Keith Hernandez (apologies Molicious)
To be fair, I’m a little young to really remember Keith from his playing days, but listening to this guy sound off in the booth makes me think he must have gotten under a lot of peoples’ skin.
Even when not preaching women’s rights, Gary Cohen constantly has to correct him. It’s entertaining, but really, Keith, nobody’s interested in what you hit in June, 1987.
Second Base: Joe McEwing
What a lot of people don’t know about Joey Mac is that during his stint in NY, kid was a staple of the uptown prep-school gangster scene. No need for specifics, but while the uniform was always dirty at Shea, kid was clean on the streets.
Shortstop: Jose Reyes
The Mets have had a history of soft-spoken shortstops until Jose put himself on the scene. Too bad we have no idea what this guy is saying because he never shuts up. All that chirping, hopping around, and dancing sure means the kid’s loving life, but he’s certainly pissing a lot of people (not wearing the blue and orange) off. Look for our boy to catch one in the dome-piece this year.
Catcher: Todd Hundley
Is it me, or did this guy always look like he was just coming off a 72 hour, Jack Daniels-laced bender in the AC? Five o’clock shadow, blood shot eyes, always cranky – can anybody remember one time when this guy smiled? Nobody messed with grumpy. How easily we forget…
SP: Pedro Martinez
While his best years were certainly with Boston, Pedro’s legacy as a shit talker is well documented. I had no choice but to put him on this list.
LHP: Dennis Cook
What a scary dude. Nobody has heard from Dennis since he left baseball to rejoin the Klan in 2002, but he had to be the most intimidating 5’6 athlete of all time. Always jawing at everybody, D actually showed up with a pitchfork in Steve Phillips’ office upon the news that he’d been traded to Philadelphia.
RHP: Turk Wendell
He didn’t seem to talk a lot, but Turk definitely pushed some buttons while on the mound. More baller than the bear tooth necklace was his freak-out session behind the hill before every at-bat. Dude was high-strung, and batters must’ve hated it.
That’s all for now, guys. Enjoy the weekend.
- Steamin’ Mikey Lehman
(Note: All pictures in the article above appear courtesy of MLB.com)
posted by A Friend of Mr. Glass' at 9:31 AM
11 Comments:
Great work Steammin'. Remember when Derek Bell hit .400 thru June with the sounds of 'Big Pimpin' buzzing thru Shea. Those were great days!
To this day whenever I hear "Big Pimpin" I think of Derek Bell.
"Nobody has heard from Dennis since he left baseball to rejoin the Klan in 2002, but he had to be the most intimidating 5’6 athlete of all time."
this shit actually made me LOL on the job
great debut
Derek Bell - remember how he worked the crowd like a movie star up and down the first base line before every game? And whenever I think of "Operation Shutdown" -- when he refused to compete for his job in year 2 of his Pirates contract (after batting under .200 and being out with injuries most of year 1)-- and still walked off with $4.5 million in guaranteed salary -- it makes me smile somehow. There's a guy who didn't just talk shit; by the end of his career he was the living embodiment of bullshit. I would like to think of him sailing off into the sunset on his boat but the last time I heard about him I'm pretty sure it was in connection with a drug charge. Unfortunate.
Ricky speaks in the third person you ignorant twat.
How old are you, 12? Jay Payton?! Payton was a speck of corn in the shit that came out of Lenny Dykstra's mouth. Ever heard of Wally Backman? I bet he talked a little shit...in jail. Ray Knight beat the shit out of Dave Parker. If you don't know who Dave Parker is, think big, angry and not married to a golfer. Strawberry was doing blow off an interns tits when he should've been on deck.
I got no beef with Ricky though. That dude's the greatest.
So sad that you can't just root for your own team and not be obsessed with the Yankees. Good luck finding a Yankee fan wasting his time with a "Mets1986" blog. Loser.
"Ricky speaks in the third person you ignorant twat."
An excellent point, Ricky. Amended. Doesn't Rickey know his name has an E in it though?
Hilarious. I'd like to know more about Joe Mac, though. Those of us in STL lost track of him but always rooted for him since we're all suckers for the over-achieving little guy. Insert obligatory Midwest and/or David Eckstein joke here. Hendu was probably the most entertaining big-leaguer of all time. Jose Reyes works for me but he doesn't really bother anybody, he just looks so dang happy, not offensive or brash.
Another anonymous poster said:
"How old are you, 12? Jay Payton?! Payton was a speck of corn in the shit that came out of Lenny Dykstra's mouth. Ever heard of Wally Backman? I bet he talked a little shit...in jail. Ray Knight beat the shit out of Dave Parker."
Agreed. The all-time shit talking Mets team IS the 86 Mets. Dykstra, Strawberry, Backman, Tuefel (a quite guy, but the Tuefel shuffle was just like sticking your tongue out at the other team), Doc, Mex, even Kevin Mitchell.
And don't forget Bobby Bonilla (who officially goes back on the Met's payroll from 2011 through 2035). He will "Show you the Bronx" and then play card with you in the locker room afterwards.
that klan thing was funny.
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