Over the years, a few players for the New York Mets have gone by some fairly well-known names. In baseball, nicknames are fairly common—almost customary.
The Duke of Flatbush, Hot Rod Kanehl, Choo Choo Coleman, and Marvelous Marv Throneberry were all part of the early Mets baseball team.Snider, Duke. And Casey Stengel, the Old Professor, was in charge of them.
When Dave Kingman arrived, he was called Sky King or Kong after he launched some moon shots from Shea Stadium. There was Mex, Kid, Straw, Doc, and Nails on the 1986 Mets.Lenny Dykstra, Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Gary Carter, and Keith Hernandez.
Finally, The Dark Knight and Thor, two superheroes, even took the mound at Citifield before Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard seemingly lost their abilities.
All of them are familiar and recognizable to fans. However, these are the five New York Mets nicknames that the public naturally associates with them, and with good reason:
Ed Charles – The Glider
Among the most adored players in New York Mets history is Charles. 1968 and 1969 were the only years he played for the team, but even after his playing career ended in the wake of the 1969 World Series celebration, he remained a part of the organization.
Charles joined a young Mets team near the end of his playing days. Having entered the Major Leagues at the age of 29, he had a delayed start to his career. It is regrettable since he was a gifted athlete who possessed both speed and power, frequently setting double-digit records for home runs and stolen bases. He was also extremely clutch and smooth, even though his numbers with the Mets were not as good as they had been earlier in his career.
Smooth. In 1968, Jerry Koosman said that he appeared to be “gliding” after observing how fluid he was in the field. That’s all that is required. He started to be referred to as “The Glider” after that. And his teammates started saying, “Never hang a slider to The Glider,” due to his clutch hitting and ability to crush a slider that didn’t break.
John Milner – The Hammer
One of the first homegrown power hitters selected and brought up to the New York Mets, John Milner is better known for the numerous gifted young arms that the organization has produced. Hank Aaron was an idol to Milner—Hammerin’ Hank Aaron. Early on, Milner’s teammates called him “The Hammer” because they knew how powerful he was and because of their love for Aaron.
Looking at Milner’s stats, fans today would probably scratch their heads. Milner hit 60 home runs in his first three complete seasons with the Mets (1973, 1974, and 1973, respectively) with 17 and 20 home runs each. It’s not so absurd to be dubbed “The Hammer” when you consider that the Mets had very few players with any kind of power (Tommie Agee hit 26 in 1969 and Frank Thomas hit 34 in 1962).
A vital component of the 1973 squad was Milner. And he was a valuable asset until 1975, when Dave Kingman entered the picture after suffering an injury that limited him to 91 games. After a season, while still in his twenties, the Mets sent him to Pittsburgh without any fanfare, and he was never able to duplicate the high level of home run production he had with the Mets.
Pete Alonso – The Polar Bear
Since his arrival, Pete Alonso has set out to rewrite the history of the New York Mets. A few pure home run hitters for the Mets are Mike Piazza, Darryl Strawberry, and Dave Kingman. However, none of them have the level of power that Alonso has shown.
Everywhere he goes, including the clubhouse and the field, Alonso leaves his mark. From the beginning, he has been known for hammering home runs; in 2019, he hit 53 round-trippers, which set a Major League rookie record. During their initial spring training, teammate Todd Frazier made the comment that he resembled a “big stinking polar bear.” Naturally, teammates seized upon it, followed by the media, and the fans, once Alonso started hitting home runs, ran with it.
Polar Bear—quite an odd tag for a young Gator from the University of Florida. But despite the short 2020 season, Alonso has hit 192 home runs in his four plus seasons with the Mets and doesn’t appear to be slowing down.
David Wright – Captain America
David Wright embodied the perfect combination of a player and a teammate. They drafted him into the group. He ascended via the agricultural hierarchy. His success began as soon as he made it to the Big Leagues. An All Star, he was. He was very slick. He gave his game his all. He was modest. Is there anything not to love?
When Wright was participating in the World Baseball Classic and doing so admirably, he had earned the right to be named the New York Mets’ next captain. In honor of his accomplishments, his teammates and peers from throughout the Major Leagues hung a super hero cap in the dugout, knowing that there had been rumors that the Mets would name him captain. Wright was dubbed “Captain America” for the first time at that point.
Wright had an outstanding Mets career. Sadly, his back ended up ending his career. That does not, however, take away from anything he accomplished while donning the Mets uniform. Having finished with a batting average of.296 and 242 home runs, he holds the majority of the offensive records for the Mets. He was an All Star seven times, and he received two Silver Slugger Awards and two Gold Gloves.
Wright deserved all the respect that he received from his fans, colleagues, and the media.
Tom Seaver – The Franchise
Many athletes go by nicknames. However, name another player who is referred to as “The Franchise” besides George Thomas Seaver. It is not possible. No other athlete has contributed as much to a team so much that they can claim the title of being the franchise.
Respect for David Wright was well-deserved, no doubt, but Seaver? He was unique. It has been stated by his fellow Hall of Famers. All of his former teammates have stated…Whether they were White Sox, Red Sox, Mets, or Reds. It’s also difficult to mention Tom Seaver in the same sentence with the terms Reds, White Sox, and Red Sox. However, it did occur.
198 of Seaver’s 311 career victories came with the Mets; he still owns the record and most likely always will. He holds yet another record, which I bet will never be surpassed? What about 171 full games? Consider that.
The media also referred to Tom Seaver as “Tom Terrific.” Additionally, the US Patent and Trademark Office rejected the attempt made a few years ago by another “Tom” (Tom Brady) to trademark “Tom Terrific.” You understand why. Since it “may falsely suggest a connection with Tom Seaver,” they stated.
This is due to the fact that there could only be one Tom Terrific, just as there can only be one athlete or player who has ever been lovingly referred to as “The Franchise.” Go try to get THAT one trademarked!