Nino's hat was held on by the gravitational pull of his afro.
It’s been a while since we got to Better Know a Metstache, so I decided that we needed to come back in style. It couldn’t just be any stache. It had to pop. It had to stand out. It had to have flair and style. In other words, it had to be Nino Espinosa. Who? Let’s answer that question and salute a Metstache, shall we?
Nino was signed in 1970 at the tender age of 17. He joined the big club when he was a September call-up in 1974. Though he totaled only four appearances in 1974 and 1975, by 1976 he established himself as a starter and long reliever.
While his Mets tenure was far from illustrious (he was 25-33 in five seasons with a 4.15 ERA), he had a few key highlights for some pretty dismal teams. He led the team in wins in 1977 (10) and 1978 (11) and was the team leader in complete games those years with seven and six, respectively.
After the 1978 season, Nino was shipped to the Phillies in exchange for Rich Hebner and José Moreno. By 1983, he was out of baseball and, sadly, he passed away in 1987 from a heart attack.
Nino shared a mound and some success with a pitching staff that included Jerry Koosman and Tom Seaver. He may not be The Franchine, but we’re glad to have known Nino.
And now you Better Know a Metstache.
Kevin McReynolds was actually a 12-year-old boy trapped in a man's body.
We’re pleased to feature one of the unsung heroes of the 1988 National League East Champion New York Mets today. While all eyes were on Doc, Straw, Keith and the rest of the big names, us real fans in the upper deck of Shea knew that our secret weapon was waiting patiently in left field. Waiting for a chance to shine. Waiting…for his mustache to get wispier. Today, we profile Kevin McReynolds.
After the 1986 championship season, the Mets traded Kevin Mitchell (along with Stan Jefferson and Shawn Abner) to the San Diego Padres in exchange for McReynolds and some dead weight. McReynolds was viewed as significantly less batshit crazy than Mitchell, who many considered to be a bad influence on Doc and Straw. McReynolds was a country boy from Arkansas who was never accused of killing his girlfriend’s cat. So, in that respect, he was an upgrade in left field. Read more »
Eventually, he'd just hold the bat upside down.
Today we travel a little further back in Mets history to profile one of the finest staches in the team’s illustrious history. We look at a man with a stache as thick and luxurious as any we have seen. A man with a nickname, El Gatito (the Kitten) that is just plain awesome. Today we focus on Félix Millán.
Félix joined the Mets before the 1973 season as part of a trade with the Braves. He came to the blue and orange as a three-time All Star and two-time Gold Glove winner at second base.
He’d go on to spend five seasons with the Mets. While he didn’t match the accolades that he had received in Atlanta, he proved himself as a slick fielder and solid contributor at the plate. He batted .278 as a Met with a .326 OBP. He led the league in sacrifice hits in 1974 with 24, which stands today as the Mets single-season record and led the league in hit by pitch in 1975. The man knew how to contribute. Read more »
John enjoyed the fact that his mustache and eyebrows were interchangeable.
What is a save? You may think that it’s when a pitcher finishes the game for the winning team and enters the game with a lead of no more than three runs and pitches at least one inning, enters the game with the potential tying run on base, at bat or on deck or pitches for at least three innings. Here at The Wright Stache, we view a save as someone who joins a team and brings with him hometown pride, respectability and a sweet stache. As such, there was no one better at the save in Mets history than one John Franco.
John joined the Mets for the 1990 season after being acquired from the Cincinnati Reds. John brought a Brooklyn attitude to the Mets (he’s from Bensonhurst) and had no problems pitching in Queens (he threw two no-hitters while playing for St. John’s). The son of a Department of Sanitation worker, John was a hard-working, no-nonsense workhouse out of the bullpen.
14 years after joining the Mets, he left us having compiled an amazing resumé: team captain, a team record 276 saves and a mustache that served as a beacon of hope during even the dreariest mid-90s Mets seasons. After one partial season with the Houston Astros that we refuse to acknlowledge, John retired from baseball with 424 saves, the fourth most in MLB history, the most by any left-handed pitcher and the second-most by a pitcher with a mustache (trailing only Lee Smith).
John Franco was a leader, an inspiration and a hairy, hairy man. He would often sport an 11am shadow. But he knew how to rock a stache. And you don’t need to shave when you know how to save.
Now you better know a Metstache.
"I will kidnap your daughters and do dirty things to them." Creepy.
Ah, good old Bobby Valentine, possibly the biggest lightning rod the Mets ever had as manager, this side of Art Howe. OK, so I’m kidding about Art Howe.
But seriously, Bobby V. was a helluva dude. For all his foibles and follies — and for the love of god, there were many dispicable traits and questionable decisions made by the man — he was quite possibly the biggest character the Mets had as manager since the days of Casey Stengel. I mean, I hated the guy, but he was entertaining to say the least; he got in the face of umpires, kicked dirt, argued, handled the press in the worst way possible, pissed off his players… you know, a true New York manager of a bygone era.
Any New York Mets fan over the age of 10 will remember the day in June 1999 where he did pretty much all of the above. Ejected in the 12th inning for arguing with the home plate umpire, Bobby V went down to the clubhouse and re-emerged minutes later donning a clubouse t-shirt, cap, and fake mustache and glasses. Umpires quickly caught on to his sham act, and he was summarily booted (again), fined $5,000 and suspended for 2 games. “I did it to lighten up the team,” he said.
Lighten it up you did, Bobby V. Davey W., won’t you do the same? Though fake, that’s a great lookin’ stache, and we know Mr. Wright’s — if only he’d grow one — would lead the team to the championship that eluded Bobby V. for so many years.
And now you better know a Metstache.
We mean no disrespect, but from here on out, you're just Jose to us.
Nowadays, it’s not uncommon for a gang of Mets fans to sit around a fire with a cold case of beer and talk mustache-lore of past and present. The usual suspects often come to mind… Hernandez, HoJo, Franco, Piazza and the like. But often, a very prominent stache is over looked. A stache that should be a lot more fresh on people’s minds. And that’s the stache of the man himself, The Stache. Of course I’m referring to Jose Valetin, the veteran infielder who made an amazing resurgence as the star second basemen of the 2006 Mets. The angular slant of his dark brown stache was commonly viewed as being porno-esque, and earned him the nickname, “The Stache”. Read more »
Tags: Better Know a Metstache, brewers, dodgers, franco, gold glove, HoJo, jose valentin, robin yount, the stache, white sox
Better Know a Metstache | Hairy Backman | 
March 23, 2009 10:00 am | 
Comments (2)
Nobody beats John's stache!
I was fortunate enough to exchange emails with Greg Prince of Faith and Fear in Flushing yesterday and Greg had some thoughts on classic Metstaches. He noted that we had focused thus far on Metstaches of the 1980s and had neglected those scrappy 70s staches. Well, I had no response. He was right. So, today we profile John Pacella and his Metstache.
John who? Yeah, he’s not exactly having his number retired anytime soon (he wore #20, btw). John and his whiskers played for the Mets in 1977 and 1979-1980. He was a RHP who was a part-time starter. And he had one hell of a stache.
In his three seasons with the Mets, John went 3-6 with a 4.83 ERA in 39 appearances. His career, unlike his stache, was not particularly prolific. So why profile him at all? Because John’s contributions weren’t about on-field performance. He was there to bring the whimsy.
You see, John’s throwing motion was so awkward that his cap would often fall off after his delivery. Imagine the joy on the faces of teammates and fans as John and his whiskers retrieved his hat after allowing yet another batter to reach base (he had a 1.64 WHIP in his three seasons with the Mets). Every team needs a John Pacella to lighten the mood on a hot August Day.
Thanks for the smiles, John. And thanks, Greg, for inspiring this post.
And now you better know a Metstache.
Be sure to check out Greg’s book, Faith and Fear in Flushing: An Intense Personal History of the New York Mets when it comes out on Monday, March 23.
Nothing compliments a stache like satin.
The late 80s were a marvelous time in Mets history. They won the 1986 World Championship. They won the NL East pennant in 1988. They played hard, partied harder and had some fantastic staches. And one man led them to both victory and mustachery: Davey Johnson.
Johnson started his managerial career in the Mets minor league system and won pennants in each of his first three seasons. His players may have been too young to grow facial hair, but his was more than enough for the lot of them.
After the big league squad finished in last place in the NL East in 1983 with only 68 wins, Davey took over the reins for the 1984 season. He proceeded to lead the Amazins to 90 wins and a second place finish in the division. In 1985, he led them to an impressive 98 wins and another second place finish behind the 101-win Cardinals. In 1986, it all came together and Davey etched his name into Mets lore as the man who brought a championship back to Queens.
Davey’s Mets teams finished in first place once and second place two more times in the years following that title. After a slow start in 1990, the Mets fired Davey. Fun fact: By that time, Davey had shaved off his mustache. Coincidence? Absolutely not.
Davey went on to manage the Reds, Orioles and Dodgers with moderate success. Today, he’s managing the United States World Baseball Classic Team.
He’s clean-shaven these days, which is a shame. We’ll always remember him as the mustachioed leader of the best Mets team ever. He remains the winningest manager in Mets history. Thanks, Davey. And thanks, Davey’s stache.
And now you better know a Metstache.
Even a young HoJo knew the benefits of proper grooming.
What better way to kick off The Wright Stache’s Better Know a Metstache series than with D-Wright’s mentor, Howard Johnson? Perhaps the finest mustache to grace the hot corner in Mets history, HoJo’s stache was a part of both the 1986 World Championship team and the 1988 NL East Champions.
HoJo was a 30/30 man back when 30/30 (and mustaches) meant something. In fact, he accomplished that feat three times (1987, 1989 and 1991). He led the NL in home runs in 1991. He’s a two-time All Star and Silver Slugger. And he is the only Met to ever lead the league in RBI.
HoJo provided pop and speed in a lineup that was scintillating and explosive. While he may have been overshadowed at times by Straw and Doc, his stache played second fiddle to no one.
When Ray Knight left as a free agent after the 1986 season, there was no need to panic. Sure, Knight was a cornerstone of the 1986 championship, but third base was in good, strong hands with HoJo. He took over the position full-time in 1987, went 30/30 and came in 10th in the MVP voting. Not too shabby. He’d man third base at Shea for six more seasons, finish in the top-5 in MVP voting two times in that span and cement himself as one of the finest sluggers of the late 1980s.
Now, HoJo is the hitting coach for the Mets, teaching today’s stars how to slap the ball to the opposite field, advance runners, and, of course, hit for power without the assistance of performance enhancing drugs. Because who needs steroids when you’re already a virile man with the stache to prove it?
With HoJo’s whisker tutelage, the sky’s the limit for a David Wright mustache.
And now you better know a Metstache.
Keith's stache can dress for any occasion.
Here at the Wright Stache, we obviously have a keen focus on the future (grow that mustache, David!). But we also have tremendous reverence for the past and look to history for guidance and inspiration. And when it comes to Mets mustaches, one stands taller (and bushier) than all others. I am referring, of course, to the whiskers of the first basemen of the 1986 World Champions – Mr. Keith Hernandez.
At The Wright Stache headquarters, most conversations about who would write the Keith Hernandez post devolved into screaming matches with highball glasses being heaved against the wall, rocks glasses being slammed to the ground and steins tossed at each other’s heads. Who would have the privilege of writing about the Hernandez stache? It was finally settled when I went on a three week holiday to New Zealand and Australia. Since no one could throw a glass far enough to hit me, I made a power play.
Read more »
