New York Mets: Are They the Slowest Team in Baseball Without Jose Reyes?

The New York Mets stole 130 bases last season. They've stole just six bases through 22 games this season, putting them in a last-place tie with the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles.

Since losing "He Who Shall Not Be Named" to the Miami Marlins in the offseason, the Mets have lost most of their speed.

To say that they are the slowest team in baseball wouldn't be too much of a stretch, but they probably aren't.

We can't include the Red Sox in the slowest-team conversation simply because their stolen base total will start climbing once Jacoby Ellsbury returns from his shoulder injury.

The Orioles can be counted out of the running because they have Adam Jones and Nick Markakis—both guys have stolen 10-plus bases over the course of one season at some point in their career.

That leaves the Tigers and the Mets still in the running for the title of slowest baseball club in the MLB.

Let's go through a position by position comparison of the speed, or lack thereof, at each position on both squads.

First Base: Ike Davis vs. Prince Fielder

Talk about a clash of the titans. The 275-pound Fielder actually has 17 stolen bases over the course of his career—14 more than Davis has mustered.

While both guys make it seem as though they are running in sand, it's almost impossible to peg Fielder as a faster player than anyone on any roster.

Just by default, this one has to go to Davis.

Second Base: Daniel Murphy vs. Ramon Santiago

Daniel Murphy just might be one of the slowest players the Mets have. I can imagine molasses in January moving faster than Murphy does at times.

Santiago has stolen 27 bases over the course of his career but only nine in the last seven years.

Murphy stole nine in 2010 and 2011 combined.

"Murph" is dreadfully slow and helped his case for slowest player on the team when he was thrown out at the plate on April 24 against the Miami Marlins, after a wild pitch that anybody with a pulse could have scored on.

Santiago helps the Tigers tie it up at one.

Third Base: David Wright vs. Miguel Cabrera

This one is no contest. 

Wright has stolen 152 bases in his career, including 10-plus in each of his full seasons in the majors.

He became one of only three Mets to enter the 30-30 club in 2007 (Howard Johnson and Darryl Strawberry are the other two).

Cabrera gets constant jabs about being out of shape. The offseason acquisition of Fielder may very well have established the Tigers' infield as the most portly in the league.

The only player who could beat Cabrera in a "slow contest" is Fielder.

The Mets take the lead again.

Shortstop: Ruben Tejada vs. Jhonny Peralta

This one is interesting, as Peralta is one of the more in-shape Tigers infielders. He's no match for Tejada though, as the sheer size discrepancy—Tejada is 5'11", 187 pounds, Peralta is 6'2", 215 pounds—gives Tejada an advantage.

Another advantage: Tejada has stolen just one less base (eight) in 194 games than Peralta has in 1,146.

The Mets put a stranglehold on the race for the second-slowest team in the league, giving themselves a 3-to-1 advantage.

Catcher: Josh Thole vs. Alex Avila

Josh Thole runs like he has cinder blocks attached to his feet. Avila runs like he's got five-pound ankle weights on.

The Tigers' catcher has swiped six career bags, while Thole has stolen just two. Even if Thole had twice as many stolen bases as Avila, he wouldn't win this one.

I've seen plenty of Thole, and I know that it's almost painful to watch him fun.

Right Field: Lucas Duda vs. Brennan Boesch

Duda and Boesch are both absolutely huge physical specimens. Both are 6'4". Duda has about 20 pounds on Boesch, with a healthy playing weight of 254 pounds.

Duda's country strong. I don't know if there's a similar expression for guys from the country who are fast, but Duda certainly isn't billed as such.

He's lumbering, he's doofy, he's Lucas Duda.

My how the tables have turned. The race to the bottom is now tied at three.

Center Field: Kirk Nieuwenhuis vs. Austin Jackson

Our second no-contest of the competition. Jackson stole 27 bases in 2010 and 22 in 2011. He has just three this year, but Nieuwenhuis has stolen just one. 

Maybe somebody like "The Flying Dutchman" will be able to overtake Jackson, but that doesn't seem likely.

We go into our final position with the Tigers leading the battle for second-slowest team in the league by a score of four-to-three.

Left Field: Jason Bay vs. Delmon Young

Young was fast in his younger years but has since packed on some pounds and is no longer a threat to swipe a bag.

Jason Bay, on the other hand, hasn't done much right since signing with the Mets but has stolen 21 bases over the last two seasons combined.

Both players haven't played the last few games—Bay on the disabled list and Young feeling the repercussions of his anti-Semetic comments in New York.

Bay helps the Mets (for once) tie this one up at four.

Where do we go now? We move on to the infamous tiebreaker of who has the faster No. 1 pitcher.

Ace vs. Ace: Johan Santana vs. Justin Verlander

Neither one of these guys has a stolen base. Verlander doesn't because he's an American League pitcher. Santana also spent the majority of his career in the American League.

How does speed measure when neither competitor has registered a stolen base? You take it to the triples.

Santana wins the triple contest by a score of one-to-zilch. Even though it's not very fair, seeing as Verlander never gets any at-bats except for interleague play, Santana's only triple came as a member of the Minnesota Twins (against the Mets, mind you).

Final Results

The Mets win the ever-coveted, second-slowest team in the league award by a score of five-to-four, eking out a narrow victory against the marginally slower Tigers.