I added four signed baseball cards to my All-Time Mets autograph collection this week, bringing my total to 918 of the 1,007 men who have appeared in at least one game for the New York Mets.
Erik Goeddel is the only one of the four who is an actual, current Mets player, so I’m going to feature his card first. This Topps-certified autograph from the 2011 Bowman set for $2.54 at COMC.com.
Goeddel was a 24th round selection out of UCLA in 2010 and only appeared in one game as a pro that season, so it’s something of a mystery how he landed on Bowman’s autograph checklist the following year. Nonetheless, Goeddel has contributed more than almost all of the players the Mets picked ahead of him in 2010.
That draft class will be remembered for Matt Harvey (1st round) and Jacob deGrom (9th round), but so far the only other players from it who’ve reached the majors are Matt den Dekker (5th round), Akeel Morris (10th round) and Josh Edgin (30th round).
Goeddel made his Major League debut as a September call-up in 2014, but didn’t leave a strong impression with me that year. Last season, he appeared in 35 regular season games with the Mets and averaged a strikeout per inning while posting a stellar 0.990 WHIP.
Goeddel also appeared in one playoff game, the Mets 13-7 victory over the Dodgers in NLDS Game 3. After a nine-day layoff, Goeddel was called on to pitch the ninth inning and give Jeurys Familia that night off. It didn’t work… Goeddel failed to retire a batter and Familia had to come in anyway.
Despite that rough outing in the playoffs, I believe Goeddel can contribute to the Mets’ bullpen in 2016 if he gets the chance.
PaulHadsall.com 