The New York Mets and The Walking Dead are synonymous is so many ways. The jokes could go on and on for days, but that’s not what this post is about.
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It’s no secret that The Walking Dead is TSB’s favorite TV show. Hook and I have done numerous recaps, “Dead Yourself” articles, and talked about it on TSB Radio. But now that the Mets season is over and some of us still have the team on our mind, I got thinking. Who are the Mets counterparts on The Walking Dead?
Rick Grimes/David Wright
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You have to start with the leader of the squad. David Wright and Rick Grimes have had almost identical career paths. Wright started out his career like gangbusters and became the face of the franchise. He then got hurt, came back with a fantastic season, then got hurt again. Rick woke up out of his coma and was a bad ass zombie killing machine. He took the reigns of this group of survivors, and became the man. Then Rick went a bit soft/crazy. Much like when Wright got hurt. Now we see Rick has come out of that fog and is one of the baddest men on the planet. It’s Wright’s turn to now lead the Mets to the playoffs.
Daryl Dixon/Matt Harvey
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While David Wright has been the unquestionable face of the New York Mets franchise for the past 10 years, Matt Harvey is the obvious successor. Harvey is a cold-blooded killer on the mound and has no problem getting blood on his hands (or as you can see in the picture above, his face). Daryl started out just as the brother of a racist redneck, and quickly became many people’s favorite character. Armed with his trusty crossbow, Daryl leads the league in punch-outs and has now become a fangirl’s dream. Both men have a chance to overtake the current “leader”, but seem content to ride shotgun for now.
Shane Walsh/Ike Davis
After a nice rookie season, Ike Davis was poised to make a huge impact on the New York Mets in his second season. After a freak ankle injury that was clearly mistreated/diagnosed, his lateral movement was never the same and his batting average plummeted. While Davis had a monstrous power surge in the second half of his third season, reports of late night partying and an attitude problems lead to his ultimate demise and trade to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Davis had the chance to become a huge part of this organization. But after the injury, he turned into a bad seed and was on his way out the door. Shane and Ike remind me of each other so much. There was a time where Rick and Shane were best friends and were a fantastic one-two punch. Much like Ike and David Wright seemed to become. But Shane’s lust for Lori (and the possibility of being Judith’s father), along with the power struggle of “what’s best for the group/who can protect them better”, separated Shane from much of the crew. Eventually Shane was stabbed in the heart by Rick and “traded” to the Zombies for a corpse to be named later.
Tyreese/Lucas Duda
Tyreese has become a fan favorite among Walking Dead fans due to his “sleeping giant” type persona. Tyreese has shown more compassion and emotion than physical strength so far. Tyreese’s imposing size and strength makes his the prototypical zombie slayer in the new word that they live in, but he prefers to walk softly and only use his strength when needed. First baseman Lucas Duda and Tyreese seem like brothers from another mother. At 6’4″ and 255 lbs, Duda is one imposing specimen. For a few years now, Mets fans have been waiting for him to break out and show us what kind of power in is that massive frame. After the Mets sent Ike Davis packing, Duda finally got the at bats that he needed to show everyone what kind of power he had. 30 home runs later, Duda is now the power the Mets need to start to give these pitchers some run support.
Michonne/Juan Lagares
At the end of season 2, we got a short preview of Michonne. After Hershel’s farm was overrun by walkers, Andrea runs into the woods and gets pinned down by a walker. With her fate almost sealed, she is suddenly rescued by a katana-wielding hooded figure, who decapitates the walker. The hooded figure has two walkers shackled to her, with both of their arms and lower jaws cut off. Welcome to the show Michonne. Michonne cuts down walkers and Mets center fielder Juan Lagares, cuts down runners. Lagares has quickly become the best defensive center fielder in the game. I’m not a big fan of defensive metrics because they seem too arbitrary. But, Lagares’ metrics are just above and beyond anyone else’s. Cutting down zombies = cutting down runners. Pretty simple to me.
Glenn Rhee/Daniel Murphy
Glenn and Murph have shared an incredibly similar path over the last five seasons. Both started out as guys who weren’t really good at anything specific, but have carved out an incredible niche inside the group. Glenn isn’t the best fighter, the smartest, or the most physically gifted. But neither is Murph. He was actually the worst defender on the Mets (still may be), but he worked hard and has now become a serviceable second baseman. Murphy won’t hit you 20 home runs, but he’ll get you 35 doubles and hit around .300. The same with Glenn. He won’t go out there and slay 50 walkers, but he’ll be there when you need him the most.
The Governor/Fred Wilpon
The Governor had been the single biggest threat to the group until they came upon Terminus. He was charismatic, had a plan, and had his minions doing much of the dirty work. To be a leader of an organization, or in this case, a whole town, you need to have a little crazy inside you. As we found out, the Governor had plenty of crazy going on. He had zombie heads in fish tanks for god’s sake. And this is why he and Fred Wilpon are so much alike. At first, all was hunky dory with him. Free spending Freedie was well liked and had a team of minions that did all of the dirty work. Most notably, Omar Minaya. But once it was revealed that Fred was involved in the largest ponzi scheme in history, it all came crashing down and he became public enemy number one. Granted, Fred Wilpon hasn’t been killed or ousted, but he still remains the number one enemy to Mets fans.
Obviously there are many female characters on the show, but that makes it pretty tough to incorporate into this. I’d love to find an equal to Carol and Maggie, but I’m not exactly sure who could fill those roles. I was tempted to make Jacob DeGrom as Dr. Eugene Porter, but I need something other than hair to make a comparison. Maybe as season five goes on, Travis d’Arnaud could be compared to Carl?
If there’s a character who you think has an equal on the Mets, please drop it in the box below.
