The New York Mets came into the league in 1962. They were the worst team in history that season going 40-120. However, just seven years later, they took home their first championship. They made it back to the World Series in 1973, 1986, 2000, and 2015. They won in 1986 in one of the most exciting postseasons I can remember. Let’s take a look at the New York Mets All-Time team.
Make sure to check out all of our other All-Time Rosters.
Starting Nine
Gary Carter, C
There is so much to say about “The Kid”. So much, in fact, that I wrote a Flashback Friday article about him a few years ago. He was simply one of the best catchers ever and was gone way too soon, passing away from a brain tumor in 2012 at just 57 years old.
Keith Hernandez, 1B
The first Flashback Friday article of this season was about Hernandez. Mex was simply the best defensive first baseman ever. That actually meant something in the 70s and 80s. He was also an underrated hitter during his career. Hernandez was very important to the success of the 1986 Mets and will have his number 17 retired by the organization in July.
Edgardo Alfonzo, 2B
Alfonzo was better than some may think. During his peak with the Mets from 1997-2002, the second baseman slashed .297/.380/.464 while averaging 19 home runs and 92 runs per year. He also averaged 4.6 WAR/600 PA. Alfonzo was an underrated fielder and was part of the historic Mets infield in 2000.
David Wright, 3B
Wright is one of only four third basemen in baseball history to log a 30-30 season. He did it in 2007 while winning his second Gold Glove. From 2005-2013, he averaged 23 home runs and 20 stolen bases while slashing .302/.384/.505. An elite player, back issues derailed his career, and he was basically done when he was 32. Nevertheless, Wright is a Mets legend.
Jose Reyes, SS
Despite his off-the-field issues, Reyes was a dynamic player and gave the Mets one of the best left sides of the infield in MLB for a stretch in the 2000s. He led the league in triples four times and stolen bases three times. He is New York’s franchise leader in both of those categories. Reyes led the NL in batting in 2011 with a .337 mark.
Kevin McReynolds, LF
McReynolds was an underrated player with the Mets. He played for six seasons total with New York. He averaged 3.0 WAR and slashed .272/.331/.460 and hit 122 HRs while stealing 67 bases. In 1988, McReynolds finished third in NL MVP voting.
Carlos Beltran, CF
Beltran is likely going to be a Hall of Famer. His best seasons were in New York. He played six and a half years with the Mets. He slashed .280/.369/.500 with 149 homers and 100 steals. The switch-hitting outfielder had a career-high of 41 home runs in 2006 and finished fourth in NL MVP voting. He also won all three of his Gold Gloves during his time with the Mets.
Darryl Strawberry, RF
Strawberry looked like he was going to be one of the greats. Although drugs derailed his career at just 30 years old, the big right fielder enjoyed success right from the beginning, winning the NL Rookie of the Year award in 1983. He was an All-Star for the next six seasons and finished in the top 3 in MVP voting twice. He is also the franchise leader in home runs with 252 and led the league with 39 in 1988. The tall lefty was also a 20-20 player five times during his time with the Mets.
Mike Piazza, DH
One of the best offensive catchers to ever grace a baseball field, Piazza slashed .296/.373/.542 with 220 home runs for the Mets. He was a six-time All-Star with New York and set the Mets record for RBIs in a season with 124 in 1999 (since tied by Wright). Piazza is also the only Met to ever have a season OPS above 1.000 (1.012 in 2000). The big catcher was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016.
Starting Rotation
Tom Seaver, RHP
There isn’t much to say here. Tom Terrific was simply one of the best pitchers in history. During his time with the Mets, he had a ridiculous 2.57 ERA in 10+ years, and that went along with leading the league in strikeouts five times and ERA three times. He also won three Cy Youngs in a seven-year span and was the NL ROY in 1967. He was inducted into Cooperstown in 1992 with only five writers failing to put Seaver on their ballot.
Dwight Gooden, RHP
Gooden was the next Seaver when he came up in 1984. He was absolutely insane for his first two years striking out 544 batters in 494.1 innings with a 41-13 record and a 2.00 ERA. While he wasn’t quite as dominant over the next eight years, Doc still won 113 games, averaged 204 innings, and had a 3.35 ERA from 1986-1993. His career took a sharp downturn after that, but Gooden is still one of the greatest Mets pitchers ever.
Jacob deGrom, RHP
Unfortunately, deGrom hasn’t pitched this season. That doesn’t take away from his absolute dominance, especially over the last four years. In that time, he has made 91 starts and pitched to a 1.94 ERA while striking out six and a half batters to each walk allowed. Famously, the Mets don’t score runs for the soon-to-be 34-year-old as he has won just 32 of those games.
Jerry Koosman, LHP
Koosman was a fixture in the Mets rotation behind Seaver from 1968 to 1976. During that time, the lefty had a 2.94 ERA and threw over 200 innings six times. Those years were bookended by a second-place finish in ROY voting in 1968 and a second-place finish in CYA voting in 1976. Koosman was also brilliant in the 1969 World Series going 2-0 with a 2.04 ERA and holding the big bats of Baltimore to just seven hits over 17.2 innings.
David Cone, RHP
Cone’s first full season with the Mets was 1988 where he finished 20-3 with a 2.22 ERA and a third-place finish in CYA voting. He led the NL in strikeouts in 1990 and 1991 with 233 and 241 respectively. While he only threw just over 1,200 innings for the Mets, he had a 3.13 ERA and was 81-51. Cone is also sixth on the franchise list for strikeouts with 1,172 and only deGrom and Noah Syndergaard have a better K/9 rate.
Bullpen
John Franco, LHP
Not only is Franco the all-time leader in saves by a left-hander (424), but he is also the Mets franchise leader as well (276). The native New Yorker pitched for 14 seasons in Queens and had 30+ saves five times including leading the league in 1990 and 1994. He was also a solid playoff performer with a 1.88 ERA in 15 appearances without allowing a home run.
Armando Benitez, RHP
The big Dominican was a force especially in 1999 and 2000 as part of the Mets’ resurgence. Despite playing just four and a half years with New York, he had 160 saves. While he walked his share of hitters, Benitez had an exceptional 11.8 K/9 rate as well. He is one of only two Mets to have multiple 40-save seasons with 41 in 2000 and 43 in 2001. The other guy is…
Jeurys Familia, RHP
Familia actually holds the franchise record for saves in a season when he had 51 in 2016. For a three-year stretch from 2014-2016, Familia was a workhorse. He appeared in 230 games and struck out 243 in 233 innings while sporting a 2.20 ERA.
Jesse Orosco, LHP
Orosco holds the all-time record for appearances by a pitcher with 1,252. He made 372 of them with Mets, more than any other team. The crux of his tenure in New York was from 1982-1986 when he threw 466.1 innings and saved 90 games with a 2.34 ERA. He is also one of only three lefties in history to have at least 10 wins and 30 saves in a season (John Hiller, 1973, Mitch Williams, 1991).
Billy Wagner, LHP
Although he was in a Mets uniform for a touch over three years, Wagner dominated. He saved 101 games and had a 2.37 ERA. He also struck out nearly 30 percent of the batters he faced while walking a hair above seven percent. Wagner was twice an All-Star and finished sixth in CYA voting in 2006.
Tug McGraw, LHP
McGraw was an old school reliever who averaged nearly two innings per relief appearance in his time with the Mets. He was particularly great from 1969-1972. During that stretch, the lefty had a 2.18 ERA, won 32 games, and saved 57.
Roger McDowell, RHP
Teams normally don’t have two pitchers in their bullpen with 20 saves each. However, that’s exactly what McDowell (22) and Orosco (21) accomplished in 1986. The right-hander tossed 128 innings and allowed just four home runs. He averaged 108 innings in his four full seasons with the Mets and had a 3.12 ERA with 80 saves.
Bench
Mookie Wilson
Mookie is probably best remembered for hitting the slow grounder that got through Bill Buckner to send the 1986 World Series to Game 7. Wilson was a solid player for the Mets. From 1982-1988, he averaged 10 homers and 43 stolen bases per 162 while slashing .283/.324/.405.
Cleon Jones
For a six-year stretch from 1966-1971, Jones slashed .293/.352/.424 while averaging 12 home runs and 17 steals per 162. He batted an impressive .340 in 1969 and garnered his only All-Star nod while finishing seventh in MVP voting.
Lenny Dykstra
Dykstra’s best years were with the Philadelphia Phillies, but his short time with Mets will also be remembered. He stole 88 bases in his three full seasons while batting .284. His big moment came in Game 3 of the 1986 NLCS. With the series tied at one and the Astros up by one in the bottom of the ninth, Dykstra hit a two-run walk-off home run.
Rusty Staub
Many fans remember Rusty as a pinch-hitter extraordinaire in the 80s with the Mets. However, Le Grande Orange was their right fielder for four years from 1972-1975. He had a .790 OPS over that time and would’ve likely been World Series MVP had the Mets beaten the Oakland A’s. Staub batted .423 for the series with six RBIs in seven games.
Howard Johnson
It isn’t often that a player averages 30-30 for a five-year stretch. That was HoJo from 1987-1991. He finished in the top 5 twice in MVP voting and led the NL in HRs (38) and RBIs (117) in 1991. Although he faded out quickly, he had a rare combo of speed and power as one of only two Mets to have a 35-35 season.
Honorable Mentions
Al Leiter
Sid Fernandez
Noah Syndergaard
John Stearns
Todd Hundley
John Olerud
Tommie Agee
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