We are in the home stretch of the countdown - only three more teams after today's reveal so let's get to it!
#4: New York Mets (2019 rank: #5)
I have to admit, the fact that the Mets made my top 5 in both 2019 and 2020 initially surprised me as I kind of pride myself on rooting for the small market clubs. That said, the Mets have positioned themselves almost as a "small market" club since they constantly play in the shadows of the Yankees in New York.
No matter the market size, you have to admit that the current Mets are an interesting team to watch. They've got legitimate young stars, great pitching, and even a stadium that looks pretty nice on TV (I've never been there but maybe someday). Also, the Mets play the Nationals all the time and I really dislike Washington so that works in New York's favor as well.
All that said, the unspoken truth here is that if the Mets actually win a World Series in the next year or two then they'll probably slide down my rankings. I like rooting for them right now but if they become the next National League powerhouse then that's bad for my Reds (and thus I will no longer root for them...see the Dodgers and Giants for more proof of this).
With only three three remaining (and really only two options to choose between for team #3), coming up with a clue isn't easy! I'm going to repeat an earlier clue... The next team featured a player such that that player was my last in person autograph that I've received. This is the same player that I alluded to in an earlier post and the next team is one of this player's earlier teams in his career.
2020 Rankings:
#30: New York Yankees
#29: Boston Red Sox
#28: St. Louis Cardinals
#27: San Francisco Giants
#26: Washington Nationals
#25: Miami Marlins
#24: Chicago Cubs
#23: Milwaukee Brewers
#22: Houston Astros
#21: Pittsburgh Pirates
#20: Atlanta Braves
#19: Los Angeles Angels
#18: Los Angeles Dodgers
#17: Texas Rangers
#16: San Diego Padres
#15: Baltimore Orioles
#14: Colorado Rockies
#13: Kansas City Royals
#12: Toronto Blue Jays
#11: Oakland Athletics
#10: Chicago White Sox
#9: Minnesota Twins
#8: Philadelphia Phillies
#7: Arizona Diamondbacks
#6: Tampa Bay Rays
#5: Detroit Tigers
#4: New York Mets
#3: ??
Contest entries to date (see here for details):
28 John Sharp
29 P-Town Tom
24 bbcardz
19 hockey kazi
33 Brett Alan
27 Fuji
1 acrackedbat
1 Wilson
29 Matt
2 Trevor P.
1 friend11
1 Adam Kaningher
1 CrazieJoe
1 Brian
4 OhioTim
#4: New York Mets (2019 rank: #5)
I have to admit, the fact that the Mets made my top 5 in both 2019 and 2020 initially surprised me as I kind of pride myself on rooting for the small market clubs. That said, the Mets have positioned themselves almost as a "small market" club since they constantly play in the shadows of the Yankees in New York.
No matter the market size, you have to admit that the current Mets are an interesting team to watch. They've got legitimate young stars, great pitching, and even a stadium that looks pretty nice on TV (I've never been there but maybe someday). Also, the Mets play the Nationals all the time and I really dislike Washington so that works in New York's favor as well.
All that said, the unspoken truth here is that if the Mets actually win a World Series in the next year or two then they'll probably slide down my rankings. I like rooting for them right now but if they become the next National League powerhouse then that's bad for my Reds (and thus I will no longer root for them...see the Dodgers and Giants for more proof of this).
With only three three remaining (and really only two options to choose between for team #3), coming up with a clue isn't easy! I'm going to repeat an earlier clue... The next team featured a player such that that player was my last in person autograph that I've received. This is the same player that I alluded to in an earlier post and the next team is one of this player's earlier teams in his career.
2020 Rankings:
#30: New York Yankees
#29: Boston Red Sox
#28: St. Louis Cardinals
#27: San Francisco Giants
#26: Washington Nationals
#25: Miami Marlins
#24: Chicago Cubs
#23: Milwaukee Brewers
#22: Houston Astros
#21: Pittsburgh Pirates
#20: Atlanta Braves
#19: Los Angeles Angels
#18: Los Angeles Dodgers
#17: Texas Rangers
#16: San Diego Padres
#15: Baltimore Orioles
#14: Colorado Rockies
#13: Kansas City Royals
#12: Toronto Blue Jays
#11: Oakland Athletics
#10: Chicago White Sox
#9: Minnesota Twins
#8: Philadelphia Phillies
#7: Arizona Diamondbacks
#6: Tampa Bay Rays
#5: Detroit Tigers
#4: New York Mets
#3: ??
Contest entries to date (see here for details):
28 John Sharp
29 P-Town Tom
24 bbcardz
19 hockey kazi
33 Brett Alan
27 Fuji
1 acrackedbat
1 Wilson
29 Matt
2 Trevor P.
1 friend11
1 Adam Kaningher
1 CrazieJoe
1 Brian
4 OhioTim
Well, the Mets are my team, as you know...very nice to see them so high, but based on what you said, I guess I hope they move down soon! I don't really see this team as going all the way, but I'd love to be wrong. Certainly the way Alonso broke out last season was a thrill. As for the park, I've only been there a couple of times, but I like it. Make sure you eat at one of the Asian restaurants in Flushing before or after the game--there's really good stuff there.
ReplyDeleteIs it me, or was that Scott Hairston card, like, triple-printed or something?
I'm thinking it's the Mariners next.
The Mets are a fun team right now and I'm glad they are working their way out of the shadow cast by the Ponzi scheme. As for that Hairston card, yeah, I somehow ended up with a few of them and I didn't even collect that particular year of Topps base cards!
DeleteSeattle's next? Right? Are they ranked this because of The Vogelmonster? Curious minds would like to know.
ReplyDeleteThe New York Mets franchise will always hold a soft spot in my heart as the 1986 team is the first World Series champion I remember. Plus I remember when my family first got cable in the mid 1980s and watching Mets games on WOR. But anyway, for your third ranked team I am sticking with my beloved Cleveland Indians.
ReplyDeleteI've like a few Mets players over the years, with Rusty Staub being my favorite ( because of the 1973 World Series), but have never really rooted for them...and with the whole Time Tebow nonsense, I certainly won't be cheering for thm as long as it continues.
ReplyDeleteNot sure what teams, other than the Reds, are left.
Good Job!
Indians
ReplyDeleteMy allergies are kicking my butt... so my head hurts too much to figure out your riddle. I'll flip a coin. Heads it's the Indians. Tails it's the Mariners.
ReplyDeleteTails. Guess I'm going with the Mariners.
As for the Mets... they'll always be my favorite NY baseball team.
What a coincidence. My earliest memory of any World Series was the Mets winning it. But it wasn't the 1986 team.
ReplyDeleteI'll go with Seattle next.
A part of me still hasn't forgiven the Mets for 1986...Seattle is up next!
ReplyDelete