Free agent Jason Bay agreed to terms with the New York Mets Tuesday on a four year contract worth $66 million. This latest signing marks the latest in a history of Mets' acquisitions that ushered in a new era of lameness in a once exciting player's career.Below is a recent history of what I am dubbing Met-amorphosis; New York Mets acquisitions and the resulting hype windfall of each player concerned.
2008: Fresh off of setting the single season saves record the previous season, free agent closer Francisco Rodriguez signed a three year/$37 million contract with the Mets, and began the part of his career where no one wants to talk about him.
2008: Two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana was acquired through a trade, and then signed to six year/$137.5 million contract with the Mets. At the time of the signing, fans everywhere were thrilled that a large market team was able to come to terms with one of the premier players in the game.
2005: After a postseason in which he tied the record for most postseason home runs, Carlos Beltran sold his soul to the Mets for 7 years and $119 million. The signing brought him riches and fame beyond his wildest dreams, but at the cost of a debilitating injury every 2-3 months for the life of the contract.
2005: After pitching for the first World Champion Red Sox team since that was the correct spelling of "socks", Pedro Martinez signed a 4 year/$53 million contract with the Mets. The former phenom had a strong first season with New York, but sat out large portions of each subsequent season, hampered with constant injuries. This is also when Pedro got fat, and this fact cannot be overlooked.
Some other notable candidates for this designation: Tom Glavine, Carlos Delgado, and Luis Castillo (never that exciting to begin with, but still).
