Oh Captain- My Captain: The Mets Search for a New Captain

Is it really necessary to have a captain in baseball? No, good god, no it isn’t. There are certain players who are so influential to a team that they are named captain. One is Jeter (My stomach actually hurts now), and it took him 5 years to be named captain. He is the quintessential Yankee, and that is why he was named captain.

Willie Randolph has decided that he will look to name a captain for his “new” Mets. But who on this team can you immediately say is captain worthy? Who is the quintessential Met? Well, the quintessential Met would be a player like Eddie Murray, Roberto Alomar, or Bobby Bonilla. These were the type guys that were great on other teams before coming to the Mets. I swear to god, the Mets are where good players go to die. So who should be the new Mets captain? I actually think that because there is such a strong Latino influence on the Mets that the captain should actually be called “El Capitan.”

So here are my top 3 choices for “El Capitan.”

3.) Mike Piazza — I know, something just doesn’t seem right about him for the El Capitan job. But he is exactly who you think of when you think of the Mets. That’s partly because the Mets have gone through players like Anna Nicole Smith goes through an open bar. Quick and with as little thought as possible.

He is a leader in his own right, it comes with the territory of being a catcher. Although he has some on the field leadership, he is not a team player. I like Piazza, I do, but he just isn’t a team player. He fought with the Mets kicking and screaming about his move to first. Did Piazza realize that the move was to get him to play in more games? It just seemed like he wanted to catch and that’s it. Yogi Berra played several positions and excelled at most of them. Berra moved because he knew how vital it was that he was in the lineup everyday — Piazza knew this too, but being humiliated at first base wasn’t worth playing every day.

Piazza is a great player, a great person, just not El Capitan material. Don’t worry Mike, you married a Playboy model.

2.) Pedro Martinez — Let me start by saying, I think Pedro has the best personality of any player ever to play baseball. He is tough when he needs to be (Like against the Yankees) and has fun while he is playing the game. Jerry curls and midget side kicks, the man is a walking episode of “The Surreal Life.”

Why do I think he should be the El Capitan of the “new” Mets? Well, he reported to camp early, he’s a winner, and he is the conerstone of the pitching staff. So far his personality, which is said to cause problems in the clubhouse, has caused no problems in the Mets clubhouse. Oh yeah, and that tear in his shoulder, doesn’t appear to be hurting his pitching. It was said in the “New York Post” that during a batting practice session Pedro was actually telling the batters what he was going to throw and they still couldn’t hit him. Then again, “Who is Jason Phillips, Who is he?”

The most important thing is that young players look up to him. And to be a captain players have to look up to you and willing to follow you. Also, as captain you must be willing to do anything for your teammates. According to Pedro he will “Blow heads off” for his teammates–so hey, how can you argue with that?

1.) Carlos Beltran — Welcome to New York Carlos. When you sign a 116 million dollar contract, you’re it, you’re the guy. Beltran said in his press conference that these were the “new” Mets. Well, he is going to have to be the guy to lead these Mets to the promise land. That’s the deal, the Mets give you 116 million and you win a World Series, thats not so hard is it?

Beltran has already started to lead. According to the “New York Post” he has invited Jose Reyes and David Wright to join his workout sessions. It’s comforting to know that Beltran is taking his new role in stride and doing all the right things. He knows Wright and Reyes are the future of the organization and the keys to future success. This is almost the equivalent of Rocky training Tommy Gunn, lets just hope Tommy (Wright or Reyes) doesn’t go crazy and try to beat up Rocky (Beltran).

I would choose Pedro for my El Capitan, but he isn’t getting any younger and he will always be a Red Sawk. Also, he is the most quote worthy player ever to play the game. How many people would threaten Babe Ruth? Granted, he is dead, but I really believe that Pedro would drill him if by some miracle Ruth came back to life. I would pay any amount of money to see that showdown.

The captain in baseball is useless. If your team must have one then you need somebody who can turn around a game on the field or get the team to rally in the dugout for a late inning comeback. Right now I just don’t see that player on the Mets…Not yet at least. I honestly think in a couple years David Wright will be that guy, but right now I just don’t see a player on the Mets worthy of being called captain. So in the mean time what should the Mets do? Well, the Jets send 5 players out as captains for the coin toss, so 9 captains isn’t too bad.