#MLB Network’s Cliff Floyd talks all things New York baseball

MLB Network analyst Cliff Floyd — who played 17 seasons in the majors, including four with the Mets — takes a swing at some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.

Q: Can a healthy Aaron Judge be a threat to break the home run record in a normal season?

A: 100 percent … 100 percent. This right now is when you wish you had 162 games. He was going back to inside-outting the baseball and trying to drive it. Now he’s realizing that he’s getting results by pulling the baseball as it sees it off the pitcher’s hands. He’s recognizing the pitch out of the pitcher’s hand, he knows what they’re trying to do. I assume he’s watching film on what pitchers are trying to do in certain situations, and he’s just feeding off of it.

Q: Do you think we’ll see a .400 hitter this season?

A: All odds against him, but if anybody’s gonna do it, I’m telling you in a short season like this, I think Charlie Blackmon can do it. How he’s swinging the bat right now, and with a little bit of luck involved, yeah he can do it.

Q: What about DJ LeMahieu?

A: I’m a big fan of LeMahieu. … I wouldn’t put nothing past him, but I would do Blackmon over LeMahieu by a little bit, but I think LeMahieu’s gonna hit .370, .380.

Q: Tell me why Pete Alonso’s 2019 season was not a fluke.

A: The biggest thing you watch for is, are they a one-dimensional player, can they just pull the ball? Pete understands what he has to do. He won’t be just a pure pull homer-happy dude.

Q: Describe Gerrit Cole.

A: I think we’ll be talking about him at some point in Cooperstown when it’s all said and done. It could be power if he wants power, it can be finesse when he wants finesse. And that gives hitters headaches.

Q: Who would you rather hit against, Cole or Jacob deGrom?

A: Neither. But if I had to pick one, I would say Gerrit, because I think Gerrit’s gonna say, “Here. I think I can overpower you.” Jake is gonna be like, “I got everything in the kitchen sink just in case you think you could hit me.” Gerrit Cole’s gonna challenge you, and not to say Jake is not, ’cause Jake will too. But I think Jake is like, “I can make you look bad if I want or I could just throw this 99 mile an hour fastball on the black and you’re gonna sit down anyway.”

Q: David Peterson.

A: I love his stuff, I love his demeanor, he’s keeping good hitters off balance. You can see as he gets more confidence, he’ll be a better pitcher. Some people say, “Duh, well that makes sense.” No. Certain pitchers get more opportunities and then they showcase what they’re really about. I think he’s gonna get more opportunities and show he belongs where he’s at right now.

Q: If you could test your skills against any pitcher in MLB history, who would it be?

A: Bob Gibson. I sat next to him at an awards presentation in New York City, and he kept asking me before I got my award, “Hey, what award are you getting?” And I refused to tell him, ’cause I knew, when I told him what award I was getting, he was gonna make fun of me or throw a jab. I wasn’t getting MVP, I wasn’t getting Comeback Player of the Year. I was getting the Good Guy award. So when I finally told, he went, “The Good Guy award? What the …?” When he was playing, it was like, “Look, you hit a ball, you better run, you hit a ball out of the ballpark, you better run faster.” There wasn’t nothing about good guy that played in Bob Gibson’s eyes. I just felt like his energy and everything he presented on the field, I would have just loved to just go against him and hopefully hit a bomb so I could see the reaction in the next at-bat, I guess.

Q: Describe your on-field mentality.

A: I tried to be as laid back as possible. I never was a dude that bat-flipped, my swing took me into like a dropped bat if I got you, but I never was that dude that was on the field trying to show up anybody. While I was in Florida, we had three beat writers and 8,000 fans. It was a different mentality. When I played in New York, we had 35,000 in a fan base that would crucify you if you can’t run to first base hard. I knew my lane.

Q: Describe the young Jose Reyes.

A: Fun-loving, loved the game, loved to smile, fast-twitch. I wish some of the little nagging things that bothered him didn’t bother him because you’d be talking about one of the best Mets to play.

Q: David Wright.

A: We had the best laughs going through the airport when I made him carry my bags and the TSA would see what was in my bag, and know that he didn’t use sporting wave grease for his hair (laugh). Just a true, true genuine … not only amazing dude but amazing ballplayer. He was the best until injuries derailed his career, but what a great dude to be around.

Q: No surprise to you that he became the captain.

A: No surprise. He was born to be that guy. You earn being the captain, and everybody knew who’s clubhouse it was.

Q: What was it like witnessing Carlos Beltran watch strike three against Adam Wainwright in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS.

A: Well, I was first. I had a shot at the title. But you know what we didn’t know? We knew, but we didn’t have the information we have today. And that’s what makes Tony La Russa, in my opinion, the Hall of Fame manager he is. We thought, “Who the hell is Adam Wainwright?” Well, now we know today. We were searching over there in the dugout to find an out pitch and so on and so forth on the fly. I had a couple of pitches, [Beltran] had a couple of pitches … we just didn’t get it done.

Q: What did you think of Beltran losing the Mets’ managerial job?

A: I always knew Los to be a fighter, a grinder … never thought in a million years I would have my man associated with something as a leader of cheating [with the Astros], or one of the main guys. There’s always that saying. “You ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t trying,” but there’s a line that’s also crossed, and when you cross that, you have to swallow your pride and take that responsibility, and it stinks. … I knew he had all of the skill in the world to be able to see when a pitcher was tipping his pitches. I mean, he taught me, I knew. Him and Shawn Green and [Carlos] Delgado, they were great at it. If you’re gonna tip your pitches, we’re gonna blast you, that’s part of the game. You get your dream job and it’s taken away just like that, that sucks,

Q: Do you think there might be more repercussions for the Astros?

A: Fans were gonna destroy them everywhere they went. Unfortunate for everybody in the freakin’ world with this corona stuff, the freakin’ Astros got lucky. And then you see the situation that happened in Oakland with their hitting coach [Alex Cintron, suspended 20 games for his role in an Aug. 9 fight between the teams]. Why are you bringing attention to yourself when you need zero on you? That ticks me off. I just thought that was just stupidity.

Q: If you could pick the brain of any slugger in MLB history, who would it be?

A: I had the opportunity, and it wasn’t enough, near enough, to talk to Hammerin’ Hank [Aaron]. … Pedro Martinez used to always give me tips from a pitcher’s standpoint on what guys are trying to do to you on the mound. That’s what I think you would get from Hammerin’ Hank is just a different mindset on what you’re doing when you go from the on-deck circle to the box.

Q: What do you think of Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez bidding for the Mets?

A: In our world today, how we’re driven by celebrity status, I think it’d be pretty sick. … He made that bed for himself, he sued Major League Baseball — he had a lot going against him. He married the right girl. I think the one thing our world does and does consistently, if you accept responsibility, they’ll forgive your butt. You hear him now, and people like him, you hear good things about what A-Rod is doing. Good luck to them, hopefully it all works out. You can say A-Rod and J. Lo, but if you don’t have the money, you ain’t getting nothing.

Q: You think Mets fans would be thumbs-up to a power couple like that?

A: Yeah I do. I really think that where they are today and the situation that’s going on with going back to the [Bernie] Madoff and their association and all that crap, I think they’re just interested in ***** somebody ***** owning them. If you mention those two, I think it just adds to it.

Q: What do you think of Andres Gimenez?

A: I love everything about him. He has soft hands. The one thing I always say about youngsters who you see with soft hands and good feet is you can’t teach that, you can’t teach instincts. You either have it or you don’t. I want them to be chill a little bit on the fact that you’re comparing him ***** early ***** to Omar Vizquel.

Q: Any worry about Gleyber Torres at shortstop?

A: No. I’m not worried about him playing anywhere. Certain dudes you don’t worry about ’em, they’ll figure it out.

Q: Gary Sanchez?

A: He has that big leg kick and it’s a perfectionist type of swing, and when it’s off, it’s off. I’ve always said if you learn how to hit, you can always go in your back pocket and get that. He knows how to hit. It’s just he thinks he has to go deep. No you don’t. He can square up a ball and drive it to the right-center gap better than left-handed hitters. He should get back to that.

Q: Describe Robinson Cano.

A: The thing that’s always stood out with Robinson Cano to me is he can play till he’s 60, he seems to never put a lot of pressure on his body. His swing is not heavy, he’s smooth around second base, he does things that give him longevity.

Q: What is your best Mets moment?

A: Two outs, bottom of the 10th, I hit a foul-ball homer … and [three pitches later] Brendan Donnelly throws me a hanging split and I knocked the crap out of it for a walk-off [two-out, three-run home run, June 11, 2005, against the Angels].

Q: Describe Bobby Valentine.

A: (Laugh) Very witty. Beloved by Met fans, but I didn’t see eye-to-eye with Bobby and never played for him — but actually I did play for him in the All-Star Game, which he didn’t want me there but I end up eventually getting there. We had our run-ins, but at the same time, he’s gonna fight for his boys and I’m gonna fight for my pride.

Q: Joe Maddon.

A: I played for him one year. I needed to play for him 25. He brings something to the table that every player needs to understand and hear, and he keeps it simple. He goes, “Look, I got one message: run hard, play hard.” And that was it.

Q: Why does your idol Harold Baines a deserving Hall of Famer?

A: He was a superstar, he just didn’t say much.

Q: Describe your 1997 World Series championship with the Marlins.

A: We had one heartbeat. Jimmy Leyland was pushing all the right buttons.

Q: Which teams are the biggest threats to a Yankees-Dodgers World Series?

A: Obviously Tampa has a ton of pitching. Minnesota’s really good. Oakland to me, is a team that has the most depth.

Q: If you played today, what message would you give your teammates re: pandemic protocols?

A: Look, we got 60 games, and there are 2 ¹/₂ months, obviously we’re not gonna be around our family as much as we want to, but I think the biggest thing is, know what we’re fighting for together. Let’s build something, let’s build some camaraderie, where you’re feeling like everybody’s in the foxhole together. We’re going for one thing and that’s the “chip,” and if we’re not fighting for the chip, please speak up so we can get you up out of here. … Let’s be respectful of one another knowing that maybe some guys may got underlying conditions, maybe they don’t, but at the end of the day, we have to stand up together, we have to fight together and be accountable together. And if you can’t do that, I understand it and I’ll respect you for saying that you can’t do it, and we’ll figure out how to get you up out of here, the right way and in-house.

Q: What drives you?

A: I have three kids [Bria, 16, Tobias, 15 and Layla, 12] that motivate me to be better each day. They really make me understand my purpose. I don’t hold onto that negativity like I used to, I let everything go by the wayside. I just want to be able to smile one day and say I’ve done my job.

Q: Did you have the career you imagined?

A: It’s tough to answer that because I never thought I would play as long as I did. I know I could have been a helluva lot better if my body held up for sure.

Q: But you’re proud of the career you had?

A: Yeah. I can speak on adversity. I can speak on a lot of things that’s happened in my career because I dealt with them, I dealt with injuries, so I’m very easy on dudes when I talk about Byron Buxton per se and say, “Well, I need to see more of Byron.” I think that’s what people said about me. If there’s one thing you hear people say about me is, “I wish he didn’t get hurt as much.” I hope we’re not having that same conversation about Byron Buxton later on because that’s a talent I love to watch play.

Q: Three dinner guests?

A: Walter Payton, MJ [Michael Jordan], President Barack Obama.

Q: Favorite movie?

A: Every “Friday” movie.

Q: Favorite actor?

A: Denzel. [Washington]

Q: Favorite actress?

A: Halle Berry.

Q: Favorite singer/entertainer?

A: Michael Jackson.

Q: Favorite meal?

A: Steak, mashed potatoes, I might go green bean or salad, and I like water but I love wine better.