Ultimate Mets Database - Memories of Vince Coleman

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Vince Coleman
vs. the Mets

Vince Coleman
vs. Other Teams

Memories of
Vince Coleman

Vince Coleman
Ultimate Mets Database popularity ranking: 47 of 1233 players

Vincent Maurice Coleman
Born: September 22, 1961 at Jacksonville, Fla.
Throws: Right Bats: Both
Height: 6.00 Weight: 170

Vince Coleman has been the most popular Ultimate Mets Database daily lookup 16 times, most recently on May 2, 2022.

First Mets game: April 8, 1991
Last Mets game: July 31, 1993

Winner of National League Rookie of the Year award, 1985. (St. Louis Cardinals)

Share your memories of Vince Coleman

HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY:

Blade
The ONLY reason he excelled in stolen bases and runs for the Cards was that they played on artificial turf. On grass he was an extraordinarily average player with a lousy glove, and NO arm. This was Al Harazin's biggest mistake as a GM (Bonilla is a close second) - signing Coleman to megabucks minutes after Strawberry bolted for LA.

Mr. Sparkle
I'm probably the only Mets fan that didn't hate this guy. If it weren't for all his injuries he would have had a pretty good time in NY. Sure he was a jerk, but he had the talent to help them win if he wasn't hurt so much.

Grits
I remember when they got him I thought "What the hell did they sign this knuckle dragging nit wit for ?" Then I remember when he blamed the Shea grounds crew and said they were going to keep him out of the Hall of Fame. What a moron this guy was !! I used to be embarassed to carry my cooler with me cause it had his name on it (Coleman). Before the Mets got him he had gotten run over by the tarp in St. Louis. It's too bad it only ran over one leg and not this whole waste case.

Jamie
Mets got him after Strawberry bolted for LA. Replace power with speed? I was so pissed they got this jerk. He was one dimensional player whose only asset was negated by grass. And then that incident with the golf club in the lockeroom. Damn I get so mad. What the F***ck were they thinking?

Haywood
February 28, 2001
I remember seeing him get interviewed on CBS Saturday game of the week once. This guy came across as so stupid, I'll bet he couldn't count his balls twice and come up with the same number.

Coach HoJo 20
March 23, 2001
What a piece of Garbage Coleman is. One of the Members of the early 90's Mutts. This piece of garbage had the nerve to say that the Mets used him as a scape goat. Yes, Vinny Cole the Mets were the ones who threw the fire cracker and we set you up. How did you figure it out? Cant get one passed him can ya?
About a couple of months ago Vinny Cole participated in the Michael Jordan Celebrity Golf tournament. IM not sure if he was there to play or too be Jordan's Butt clown.

Me
April 4, 2001
Let's see: trading Nails, letting Straw go, letting Ray Knight go, trying to build around that ass Greg Jefferies...and...ah yes...the brilliant Mets brass strikes again: signing Vince Coleman. What a miserable excuse for a human being. If only he had just melted into the astro turf and disappeared forever...

Logan Swanson
April 16, 2001
When once a reporter brought up the famous Brooklyn Dodger's name, Coleman uttered, "Who's Jackie Robinson?"
What a dope.
Coleman was an astroturf player. He needed the fake weeds to chop the ball out of the infield. He was actually a very limited hitter, and largely ineffective on natural grass. It was very suspicious that the Mets went after a "speedster" when they had just traded the ultimate rabbit/gamer Len Dykstra the year before.

William
August 5, 2001
Personally, I have to say that absolutely loved the guy. Vince has been my favourite player ever. Forget the firecrackers and golf clubs. If it hadn't been for timing of the hamstring problems, no one would have really cared about the other stuff, because he would have been able to contribute to the Mets.
I had the wonderful opportunity of talking with Vince as he attempted a comeback with the Cardinals in 1998. I found him to be extremely polite and willing to talk to a fan.

John
September 29, 2001
OK, so maybe he wasn't the brightest kid on the block, and maybe the tarp affected more than his legs in St. Louis, but "Vincent Van Go" was quite simply the most exciting player in baseball -- unfortunately not for the Mets. I remember in the 80's when he would get on 1st base via a cheap hit or a borderline walk, you expected him to steal not ONE base, but TWO -- at will! Given his poor OBP, you gotta admit it was pretty astounding to swipe 100+ for three straight years with that performance at the plate. Pity his ego was the size of Henderson, but no stats to back it up . . .

Aaron Root
October 9, 2001
I remember watching Vince steal homeplate in one ballgame, I was quite a bit younger then, but I still remember screaming for joy. That boy could run like the wind. I never saw him play for the Mets (I'm a Cards fan what can I say). I even met him in person while at Busch Stadium, and he was nicest guy you could meet.

Danny Erickson
November 24, 2001
It always amazed me how nobody had the balls to cut this guy loose. If they looked into the future, the Mets should have realized that they were looking at a loss. He exploded along with that firecracker.

Scrappy
December 25, 2001
Throw a firecracker at a kid? Take this guy off the website - that way we can all forget he ever existed.

NJTank99
January 22, 2002
Always seemed to kill the Mets as a Cardinal then continued to kill the team as a clubhouse cancer.

Charles
January 31, 2002
How ironic that he--a loser--was traded from the Mets in 1994 for Kevin McLoser--OOOPS! I mean, McReynolds--the ULTIMATE Met loser. (OK, so that's two negative things I've said on this magnificent site; but this one shouldn't count: the other one was on Kevin McLoser's-- OOOPS!--I mean, McReynolds' page.)

rich edwards
March 14, 2002
I think when asked about Jackie Robinson his response was "I don't know no Jackie Robinson." Real classy guy.

junk
August 18, 2002
This guy symbolizes everything wrong with the Mets post 1986- a sneaky,selfish creep.

Jonathan Stern
November 10, 2002
What do you say about a professional athlete who injures a little girl with a fire-cracker, then, at a press conference, issues a rambling apology without ever saying the words, "I'm sorry"?
As little as possible.

John
May 19, 2003
There are so many bad things to say about this guy I don't know where to start. Firecracker? Poor attitude? The fight with Mike Cubbage? Breaking Gooden's toe with a golf club? Saying that Shea would keep him out of the HOF? Ugh. Signing this guy was the first mistake in a long line of mistakes by Al Harazin.

AJ
July 16, 2003
Well I have to say that Vince Coleman is a pretty nice guy. I see him often where I work in Scottsdale, Arizona amd it's a pleasure talking to him. It looks as though he's done a good job in providing for himself so all of you can stop hating the player and start hating the game.

Big Vin
July 25, 2003
This guy sucked - at least when he was with the Mets. But what makes him unforgivable is his attitude. I often questioned if he was really trying or just living off his name. He, Bobby Bo, George Foster, Eddie Murray, Mike Hampton - these guys all thought they were too good to be where they were.

Vito
August 29, 2003
Wow. I thought I hated this guy. Seems to be the overwhelming winner of the most hated Met of all time. He was a total dick who was a below average player to begin with and should NEVER have been brought into the clubhouse. I remember being strangely happy when he was with the Cardinals and the tarp rolled over his leg taking him out of the playoffs. The groundskeeper must have hated him as much as I did. Still seeing his name on the Mets page makes me cringe. It's unfortunate that guys like this get the opportunity to play in the major leagues and end up making tons of cash. I guess that gives Vince the last laugh on me.

Mark
January 16, 2004
The greatest hamstring puller in history! What was this guy's problem? Between tossing firecrackers and hitting teamates with a golf club this guy was either stupid or just plan reckless - take your pick.

Hoose
February 27, 2004
My Dad and I met Vince Coleman in the parking lot outside Shea circa 1986, and Dad pushed me over to get his autograph. I was decked out entirely in orange and blue and asked him to sign my Mets logo baseball, despite the fact that he had just beaten the Mets minutes earlier. He was very cool and became one of my favorites from that point on. Unfortunately, he signed with the Mets and almost single handedly turned them into a Letterman punch line for an entire year. Maybe I was wrong about that guy. Perhaps he was such a class act on that day because he was with his Mother, and thus nixed his plans to hurl fireworks at a seven-year old.

Kiwiwriter
June 20, 2004
Vince Coleman was a walking advertisement for everything that was wrong with baseball. Gigantic ego, no respect for his management, no understanding of the game, contempt for the fans, the brain of a gerbil.
A pal of mine told me that when Coleman threw the firecracker, he thought the chainlink fence would prevent it from hurting anybody.
I still can't believe his remarks about Jackie Robinson, but this was the guy who blamed the Shea Stadium turf from keeping him out of Cooperstown. When he said that, a baseball executive heard it on the rebound and noting that the Hall of Fame has a five- year wait for eligibility, and said, "Well, Vince has been injured for the past two years, so he has three years to go."
Vince Coleman makes my "all idiots" team, but I'm told that when he went from the Mets to the Seattle Mariners, he cleaned up his act and behaved like a gentleman with fans and press.

jason
May 22, 2005
Vince Coleman was my favorite player. I remember the first time I saw him play was his rookie year and he had 4 stolen bases in one game and he made it look easy. I was so pissed when they lost the World Series. I was disappointed when he went to the Mets but I followed him anyways. And then when he was in Seattle he layed down that bunt in game six with 2 outs man on third and slid into first to get the go ahead. He always laid himself on the line. I dont care what you guys say he was one of the best underated players of all time. GO VINCE!

Lifelong Fan
July 21, 2005
This guy had no clue what to do in the outfield. Upon catching the ball when there were runners on base, he used to rare back and just throw the ball as hard as he could in any direction.

Lynette {not his wife}
December 1, 2005
As a resident of St Louis, I loved Vince Coleman. He ranks among my few most "Favorite" players of all time! I miss seeing him in the game. I am not a Met's fan per se but when Vince joined I was a lot more interested! Sad to see this great base stealer gone from our spotlights. Vince Coleman along with Willie McGee made a huge impression on me when at the end of a fan autograph session A Big Named Player walked past a 5- or 6-year-old boy who begged for his autograph. The "Big Named Player" {who might I add is still in headlines though no longer playing}, told the little boy, this was from this time to that time and now it is over you should have been here on time! It would have taken this player a minute to sign something as he was leaving but he would not. Rude man I might add! Vince Coleman and Willie McGee saw what had transpired and not only signed things for the small boy but gave him extras to boot. If my memory serves me right, he even ended up with a jersey signed! Vince and Willie have a hero's spot in my book!

LenDog
December 21, 2005
If I exclude profanity, I have few memories of Vince Coleman.
What a low point - we sign one of the detested St. Louis Cardinals "hack and hope" artificial turf punch and judy artists from the 1980s and he craps out. Would be like signing that thug Clemens and watching him go 6 - 15.
The Mets have have many low periods, but only one nadir, and it was the Coleman/Bonilla era. What horrible memories. Makes the 1977 - 1983 dark period of Youngblood/Mazzilli look like Murderers' Row.

Melodie
March 17, 2006
I remember Vince "mailboxx" Coleman playing here in Miami, Florida. He invited his entire Miami family to the game at Joe Robbie Stadium. Vince had an outstanding game once again and the Mets won. Vince wrote another chapter of how the game of baseball is to be played. Hats off to you our HERO Vince Coleman.

Feat Fan
March 31, 2006
Did I just read a post calling Vince Coleman a hero?
If this is the stuff that heros are made of, then we are in big trouble.
Overated, ignorant, arrogant and misguided, a total waste of time.

KMT
April 28, 2006
Hated him as a Cardinal! He made the Mets' catchers look silly! Another bad move that was made during bad times! What I hated most about him was his annoying habit of talking about himself in 3rd person narrative! I remember one of his first press conferences. Every sentence out of his mouth started with Vince Coleman! As in Vince Coleman won't drive in 100 runs! Vince Coleman won't hit 30 HR's. Vince Coleman will steal bases! Should have been, Vince Coleman, I'm here only for the money! Waste of 3 seasons!

5280MetsFan
May 10, 2006
Ranks right up there with Bonilla as the biggest joke ever to wear a Mets uniform.

Jamey Bumbalo
October 25, 2006
Sure, he was great with the Cardinals; although some people have credited his success to the artificial turf in St. Louis, I haven't seen his stats regarding artificial turf versus natural grass, so I don't know. I do know that he was a bust with the Mets and seems to have been a total jerk. I have nothing but contempt for him; what a loser. He belongs on the all- time Mets a--holes list.

Dave N.
December 14, 2007
I just looked up Vince's splits, and as luck would have it, he played exactly 162 career games at Shea Stadium.
94 runs, 74 stolen bases. not great, not terrible.
I do think Vince has grown up a lot in the last few years. I think he really missed being around Ozzie and Willie when he went to the Mets. They were kind of like big brothers to him and he ended up making some huge mistakes. He was just very immature.
I actually heard that he's joining the PGA tour, he's that good of a golfer.

DailySkew
December 14, 2008
He was a Mets killer when he was with the Cards, and Mets killer when he was with the Mets.

Vanilla Child
August 14, 2009
I grew up in Tallahassee and met Vincent after he left Jacksonville and attended FAMU in Tallahassee. Vince played on both the football (punter)and baseball teams; worked hard academically and carried himself in an honorable, humble and determined way. (He stayed away from alcohol and other drugs when folks were throwing the stuff at him.)
He always demonstrated compassion and humility towards those close to him. He was such a talented and motivated athlete and had the unique opportunity to choose between a career in baseball or football. (I believe the Washington Redskins were scouting him out as a kicker.) While he paid his dues in the Minors in St. Pete, he always seemed gracious for what he had then and looked forward to whatever his future might bring. He never bragged, never boasted. Never forgot from whence he came, and his mother was one of the kindest, most spiritual women with whom I've ever had the fortune of speaking and she was sooooo proud of her son. The blogs that assert that Vince lacked intelligence or was filled with ego are absurd. I'll always be proud to have known Vince. Great athlete, but mostly, a man of character.
All you bastards that may be talkin' smack about my buddy, Mr. Coleman on your blogs or whatever: back off, he's a good man. Sorry for any of you that met Vince on a bad day but he was a man of stellar character when he was 20 years old and, at that age, you can't just make that stuff up. Oh yeah, and whether it's green grass, turf, pavement or just flat out dirt, the man is a great athlete. And I believe he did the best he could in his circumstances and I'm pretty damn sure he could beat any of you critical bloggers in the sport of your choice.
I was fortunate as a cheerleader and musician (in high school) to grow up in a Southern town where I could watch The Marching 100 FAMU band, the kick-ass FSU Seminole Football Team, (and yeah,Bobby Bowden was STILL there!) and VINCENT MAURICE COLEMAN at FAM. If you're reading this Vince, you've got my mailbox now. I'm in Montana. How You doin"?

tony masters
February 6, 2010
He once gave me and my friend two box seat tickets as he was going into Shea one afternoon. We then turned around and gave our upper reserved seats to a woman and her daughter.
As for his "ok" Shea stats, 162 games is the same amount as in a season, so if he stole 74 bases that's a great season on the basepaths. 94 runs? Not bad either.

Gets by Buckner
June 13, 2011
The first 4 batters in the Mets 1991 lineup were Coleman, Jeffries, Magadan and Brooks. A far cry from 1986 when the Mets had Mookie, Knight, Hernandez and Strawberry. I was actually excited the Mets signed Coleman before the 1991 season but knew he was a clown when the firecracker incident happened as well as Gooden's toe being smashed by Vince's golf club!

Jonah Falcon
March 6, 2020
Then the Mets traded him for Kevin McReynolds.
Who says God doesn't have a sense of humor?

Dave VW
August 28, 2022
I just recently watched the Mets play their final spring training game for the 1991 season, in which they hosted the Blue Jays at Shea. The game was tied 2-2 in the bottom of the 10th with 2 outs when Coleman, who had gone 0-for-4 in his previous at-bats, hit a bouncer to third. Jays' 3B Kelly Gruber rushed the throw because of Coleman's speed and wound up throwing wide of first, allowing Daryl Boston to score from second with the winning run. A wild way to end the preseason in what would be quite the tumultuous season. This was the first time Coleman played at Shea in a Mets uniform and, knowing what we know now, preferably would have been his last.