CURVEBALL: A NEW YORK METS BLOG: 2023 New York Mets Hall of Fame Inductees are Announced: Issue 10: 1/19/23
CADEN PHILIP
The Mets Hall of Fame inductees have been announced! Gary Cohen, Howie Rose, Howard Johnson, and Al Leiter will be inducted as members of the prestigious club on June 3rd prior to the 4:10 game between the Mets and the Toronto Blue Jays. Tommy Pham has also signed a deal with the Mets. We talk about what this means for the team on CURVEBALL.
Hello everyone. Caden Philip here. A quick announcement. Spring training is coming up soon. Pitchers and Catchers report to camp in 24 days. I will be doing a weekly analysis during the starting stages of spring training. Once the games start, I will do 2 blogs a week. I have not determined what the Regular Season blog schedule will look like.
Tommy Pham is a Met. The 34-year old has agreed to a 1-year, $6 million deal. Pham is not a massive signing for the Mets however he will fill that fourth outfielder hole. The veteran’s peak was from 2017-2019 when he posted a .284 AVG. He has had off the field issues, from getting stabbed in the back at a strip club, to slapping Joc Pederson over fantasy football. 2021 and 2022 were two down years for Pham. He saw his numbers drastically drop in those two years to a .233 AVG, 32 HR, 112 RBI in 1,029 AB. Pham will get the job done as the fourth outfielder and he will be a good option to hit against a lefty pitcher in a pinch-hit situation.
The big news of the day however is the announcement of the 2023 Mets Hall of Fame class. Here is the run down of each inductee and their accomplishments with the Mets.
Mets TV Play by Play Broadcaster, GARY COHEN:
Gary Cohen has been the main guy in the arguably best booth in baseball since 2006. Before he spent the past 16 years calling games on TV, he spent 15 years on WFAN calling play by play for the Mets. He also calls Seton Hall basketball games, and called games for the New Jersey Devils from 1993-2006. I had the pleasure of meeting Gary in 2019 when I was on SNY as the Kid-caster. He had notes about the smallest things all over his desk when calling the game. The amount of prep he does before the games is remarkable and hopefully we can see him in Cooperstown in the near future.
Mets Radio Play by Play Broadcaster, HOWIE ROSE:
Howie Rose is more than the guy you hear on the radio, he also is the host of Mets pregame ceremonies, and helps do SNY documentaries such as Kid: A Gary Carter Story (2018). He has called Mets games on the radio since 1996 and called New York Rangers games from 1985-2016. While it is uncertain who will be joining Howie Rose in the Bob Murphy Broadcast Booth in 2023, Rose will continue his legacy with the Mets.
Mets Starting Pitcher, AL LEITER:
Al Leiter pitched for the Mets for the Mets from 1998-2004. During that time he had a 3.42 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, and 1,106 strikeouts. He also had a 95-67 record during his time with the Mets. He was an All-Star in 2000 and pitched in the 2000 World Series against the Yankees.
Mets Third Baseman: HOWARD JOHNSON:
HO JO! Howard Johnson played for the Mets from 1985-1993. While he might not have been a massive contributing factor towards the Mets World Series win in 1986, Ho Jo was pretty good as a Met. He best known for his 30 HR- 30 SB seasons in 1987 and 1989. He also hit 30 HRs in a season 3 times. His best season as Met came 1991 when he hit a league leading 38 HR and 117 RBI. He finished 5th in the MVP voting, won a Silver Slugger, and made the All-Star team. After his career was over, he was on the Mets big league coaching staff from 2007-2011.
Issue 10 is IN THE BOOKS! I hope you enjoyed and LET’S GO METS!
Another Great Job Caden!
I always learn something new.
Keep up the great work!
Nana K.
Great read!