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Juan Lagares is not exactly talked about in the same conversation with New York Mets centerfielders Tommie Agee, Lee Mazzilli, Mookie Wilson or Carlos Beltran. But if you saw him play centerfield, he looked like the second coming of Andruw Jones, the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame centerfielder. He was that good. Yet, things didn't turn out so well for Lagares with the Mets.
Lagares was signed as a young shortstop and was enjoying success while moving up through the Minor Leagues. At some point, when the Mets saw his speed and raw power, and need for outfielders they converted him. And he did not disappoint.
He was smooth, he made it look easy, and he was an absolute joy to watch patrolling centerfield. He actually captured a Gold Glove in 2014, in his first full season with the club.
Alan Karmin is an award-winning journalist and author. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and spent most of his life growing up in the New Jersey suburbs. Alan's family were avid Brooklyn Dodgers fans and when the Dodgers moved west, the Mets became the team to root for. The Mets have always been a true focal point, Alan even wrote a term paper in high school to analyze what was wrong with the Mets. While at the University of Miami, Alan honed his craft covering the, gulp, Yankees during spring trainings in Fort Lauderdale for a local NBC affiliate, as well as the Associated Press and UPI. He broadcasted baseball games for the University of Miami, and spring training games for the Baltimore Orioles and Montreal Expos. New York Mets Mania is a forum for Alan to write about his favorite team and for baseball fans to chime in and provide their thoughts and ideas about New York's Amazin' Mets.
