So today I got this wild hair to dig up the 2012 Mets roster. Why? Honestly, just felt like it. Maybe ’cause I was watching some old highlights last night and thought, “Man, that team had some characters.” Fired up the laptop, rubbed my eyes ‘cause it was early, coffee hadn’t kicked in yet.
Starting the Hunt
First thing, obviously, gotta find a good starting point. Popped open my browser – didn’t even bother with the fancy baseball sites straight away, just went simple. Typed “2012 Mets roster” plain as day into the search bar. Figured Baseball Reference or something similar would pop right up, and bingo, it did. Clicked the top link that looked legit. Didn’t need anything fancy.
Scrolled past the ads, found the actual player list. Right there at the top? David Wright, the Captain. Just seeing his name brought back memories – that smooth swing. Scrolled down the infield names: Ike Davis at first base, huge dude but streaky. Daniel Murphy bouncing between second and first mostly. Ruben Tejada trying to fill Jose Reyes’ shoes at shortstop. Tough gig, man.
Outfield and Behind the Plate
Moved on down the list. Outfield was… well, kind of a mess that year, honestly. Remembered Jason Bay, big contract, lots of hope, not many hits. Heart sank a little seeing his name. Then guys like Andres Torres leading off sometimes, Lucas Duda getting time out there. And catching? Mostly Josh Thole with Mike Nickeas backing him up. Not exactly a powerhouse duo, but they handled the staff.
- Starting Pitching: Wow, looked it over. R.A. Dickey and his knuckleball magic. Had completely forgotten Johan Santana pitched that year! His no-hitter! Felt goosebumps. Then guys like Jon Niese and Dillon Gee. Young Matt Harvey got a few starts late? Checked the games log – yep, late July call-up. Didn’t do much then, little did we know…
- Bullpen Carnage: The pen… oh boy. Scanned the relief names. Frank Francisco closing? Yikes, remembering the blown saves now. Ramon Ramirez, Bobby Parnell trying to find his way before becoming the closer later. Tim Byrdak, the LOOGY. Not exactly the ’86 pen, let’s put it that way.
Spotting the Glue Guys
Kept scrolling through the bench guys. Remembered Justin Turner! Utility king before he blew up elsewhere. Ronny Cedeno filling in all over. Scott Hairston hitting bombs against lefties! Man, he was fun when he connected. Felt nostalgic seeing all these journeymen and role players. They gave it their all, even if the wins weren’t always there.
Checked the final standings afterwards, just out of curiosity. Finished… yep, fourth place. What was the record? 74-88? Sounds about right. Classic Mets of that era – flashes of greatness (Dickey’s Cy Young! Johan’s No-No!), surrounded by a lot of frustration and patchwork rosters.
Whole thing took maybe 20 minutes? Just clicked around, read names, let the memories flood back – the good, the bad, and the Jason Bay pop-ups. Simple little trip down memory lane. Satisfied that itch. Didn’t dig into advanced stats or anything deep, just wanted to see who was there. Mission accomplished!
