Survey Says Mets Have a Bad Reputation

The New York Mets ranked fifth in the “What organizations have bad reputations among players?” question in the annual player poll by The Athletic released Monday. Pete Alonso (overrated) and Francisco Lindor (good vibes) showed up on the survey conducted over ten weeks this spring that involved anonymous interviews with more than 100 players across 18 teams. The Oakland Athletics […]

The post Survey Says Mets Have a Bad Reputation appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The New York Mets ranked fifth in the “What organizations have bad reputations among players?” question in the annual player poll by The Athletic released Monday. Pete Alonso (overrated) and Francisco Lindor (good vibes) showed up on the survey conducted over ten weeks this spring that involved anonymous interviews with more than 100 players across 18 teams.

The Oakland Athletics (40 percent) were ranked as the franchise with the worst reputation, followed by the Chicago White Sox (19 percent), Los Angeles Angels (14 percent), Colorado Rockies (10 percent) and then the Mets (8 percent). These five clubs enter Monday with a combined record of 119-208.

Alonso tied sixth on the list for “Who is the most overrated player in baseball?” with 3.3 percent of the vote. The top five were Jazz Chisholm Jr. (20.3 percent), Anthony Rendon (10.2 percent), Carlos Correa (6.7 percent), Tim Anderson (5 percent) and Jack Flaherty (5 percent).

The Athletic asked the players a dozen questions.

“Putting aside their stats and going solely on vibes, who do you most want on your team?”

Lindor tied for 11th with six others. The top answer was Mookie Betts (12.6 percent), followed by Shohei Ohtani, and then a four-way tie for third between Ronald Acuna Jr., Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber at 4.2 percent.

“Which team would you sign with if contracts, state taxes and rosters were not a factor?”

The Mets came in 17th, with many players telling The Athletic that they would want to play for the team closest to where they live in the offseason or where they grew up. The top choices were the Atlanta Braves (12.7 percent), Boston Red Sox (9.3 percent), Los Angeles Dodgers (8.1 percent) and Texas Rangers (8.1 percent).

The Athletic said one of its questions stemmed from former Mets general manager Billy Eppler’s suspension. Eppler is banned through the 2024 World Series for improperly manipulating the injured list.

“Have you ever seen or heard of a player being put on the injured list when they weren’t injured enough to merit it?” Yes (64.2 percent) No (35.7 percent). One player told The Athletic: “All the time … ‘We’re either going to option you to Triple-A because we need a fresh arm or we’ll put you on the IL and get you big-league time.’ That’s real.”

Some other highlights:

“Who is the best player in baseball?” Ohtani (46 percent), Acuña (26.5 percent), Betts (8.8 percent) and Judge (8.8 percent).

“Evaluate this statement: Anthony Rendon was right – the season is too long.” Yes (31.6 percent), No (68.3 percent).

“Should MLB shut down midseason so players can participate in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles?” Yes (46.6 percent), No (53.3 percent).

“Have analytics helped your career, hurt your career, or made no difference to your career?” Helped (76 percent), No difference (10.6 percent), Both helped and hurt (8.6 percent) and Hurt (3.2 percent).

“Was the Dodgers’ offseason spending good for the game?” Yes (91.8 percent), No (4.65 percent), I don’t know (3.4 percent).

“Are you in favor of or opposed to MLB adopting the salary cap and floor system used in other major sports leagues?” Opposed (71.8 percent), Floor, no cap (14.8 percent), In favor (13.5 percent).

The post Survey Says Mets Have a Bad Reputation appeared first on Metsmerized Online.