For a lot of New York Mets fans, Lucas Duda will be remembered for one throw.
A throw that did not go as planned.
It was November 2nd, there just so happened to be a World Series on the line, and in that moment he didn’t come through.
To remember him for such a moment would be unfair as the rest of his career should be defined as a thriving success.
Were there ups and downs? Sure. Duda was as streaky as they come. But, if you look back at his career averages, his OPS each month from 2014-2016 never dropped below .759.
In spite of the near all-star level production, Mets fans always seemed to find a way to hate him.
“Maybe they just don’t like my face,” Lucas Duda self-deprecatingly proposed. “Maybe I’ve got a weird face.”
“Maybe I need to be more flashy,” the Mets’ first baseman offered at Tradition Field. “Maybe I need to flash it up a bit.”
But it never affected Duda.
Despite playing in the media circus that is New York City and all the criticisms that come with it, Duda handled everything with grace regardless of how he performed on the field. And he just so happened to perform very well.
