Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game is usually a night of celebration as the game’s best aggregate in one location for a memorable exhibition game.
Not for the New York Mets, though.
Instead, they will be reminded of just how far they’ve fallen in the past year and which talented players they’ve let go to stardom.
For starters, right in their backyard, the New York Yankees accrued five All-Stars this season. Not bad for a team that was supposed to be in rebuilding mode.
As for the Mets, the team that was supposed to challenge for the National League pennant, they have just one lone representative, outfielder Michael Conforto. And he wasn’t even supposed to make the Opening Day roster.
Then comes the All-Stars that once wore Mets uniforms.
Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner was nothing more than a contributing utility infielder with the Mets. During his four seasons with the Mets, he accrued a .265 average with eight home runs and 86 RBI over 301 games.
After being granted free agency in 2013, he signed on with the Dodgers and transformed into a star. In 451 games, Turner is batting .309 with 60 home runs and 230 RBI. Through 65 games this year, he is leading the majors with an astronomical .377 batting average and .473 on-base percentage.
Then there’s Daniel Murphy, who continues to terrorize his former team as a member of the Washington Nationals. The 32-year-old played seven seasons with the Mets, compiling a career .288 batting average while providing a composed eye at the plate. In seasons in which he played in more than 109 games with the Mets, he never hit over .291 or 14 home runs.
His monumental postseason in 2015 in which he helped lead the Mets to a NL pennant wasn’t enough for the Mets to re-sign and he’s made the Mets pay ever since signing with Washington.
Last season, Murphy finished second in the NL MVP voting, hitting .347 with 25 home runs and 104 RBI, all career highs. He hasn’t slowed down this year either, sporting a .342 mark with 14 dingers and 64 runs batted in.
If that wasn’t enough, the man the Mets traded for Yoenis Cespedes two years ago, pitcher Michael Fulmer, is on the American League All-Star team after going 9-6 with a 3.19 ERA in the first half. The All-Star honors will go nicely with his American League Rookie of the Year award that he won last season.
