Kuzul

Tonight, nobody cares that Josh Hamilton hasn’t played more than 135 games but once in his career. Nobody cares that his past alcohol and drug abuse may shorten the career of one of the most talented players of his generation.

Tonight, May 8, 2012, Josh Hamilton is just the 16th player in major league history to hit four home runs in a single game—and just the fifth since 1986.

Fun fact about the accomplishment: Three of the last four occurrences have been in the month of May, but before that, it hadn’t been done in May since Bobby Lowe became the first player ever to hit four jacks in a game on May 30, 1894. 

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Perhaps it’s just coincidence and happenstance, but it seems like the New York Mets have had the worst luck and/or timing when it comes to collecting talent on their roster.

Whenever they would obtain a perennial All-Star-type player or former MVP, that player would prove to be a huge bust and completely tank with the Mets.

On the flip side, the Mets seem to always trade away or let go of players who would go on to lead All-Star, MVP and even Hall of Fame careers.

The talent that has come and gone through the Mets is quite extraordinary. So, let’s take a look at some of the top players, past and present, the Mets either gave up on too soon, or brought in too late in their respective careers.

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Right Field is usually the place where the guy with the strongest arm is put so that he can throw players out going to third.

The ball is also not hit too often to right field, and in general this player is better in the batter’s box than out in the field.

So with this in mind I thought I would pick the best right fielder in each teams franchise history. In this ranking I took into account both hitting and fielding, with a slight emphasis on the first.

If you don’t agree with my opinion feel free to comment what you think.

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There are 25 players who have hit 50 or more home runs in a single season, and they have combined to accomplish the feat on 41 different occasions.

While hitting 50 home runs in a season is certainly more common now than it traditionally has been throughout baseball history, it is still a rare feat nonetheless.

But imagine for a moment being one of the 17 players who have hit 49 home runs in a season, like Andre Dawson, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame next month.

If these guys had played 155 games instead of 154, or played one more game in a hitter-friendly park, or perhaps even batted one spot higher in the batting order that day they watched the game end from the on-deck circle, they would have joined the 50 Home Run Club.

Instead, they are forever linked to one another by the one swing of the bat that kept them from immortality.

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