Who are the all time best New York Mets, by position?
By position, I mean the symbols shared by almost all baseball scorekeeping systems. Scorekeeping systems involve designating a player by the player’s position, regardless of his uniform number or actual name.
Some symbols and abbreviations are shared by nearly all scorekeeping systems. For example, the position of each player is indicated by a number. According to Wikipedia, here are the numbers for each baseball position
Pitcher Catcher First base Second base Third base Shortstop Left field Center field Right field
I have two rules when choosing the best all time players by position. 1) the player must be in his prime when playing for the team, and, 2) he played for the team at least five years. For example, I could put center fielder Willie Mays, who played for the Mets at the tail-end of his career, as the greatest Met center fielder. But Willie played for the Mets for only a short period, and was in his 40s and way past his prime when he was on the team.
With those rules in mind, here are the greatest Mets, by scorekeeping position.
Pitcher Tom Seaver. A no-brainer. Seaver was the face of the franchise (in fact his nickname was “The Franchise”) for 11 years (1967-1976, 1983). Seaver was an all-star nine of his 11 years with the team. Seaver was Rookie of the Year in 1967. His total record, which included stops at Cincinnati, Chicago, and Boston, was 311-205 (a .603 winning percentage), with a 2.86 earned run average. He won the Cy Young Award three times (1969,1973,1975). He pitched for the Mets in two World Series (1969, 1973). He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame (HofF) in 1992, and the Mets retired his number 41 in 1988. Need I saw more about “Tom Terrific (his other nickname).”
A tie here. Catchers Gary Carter and Mike Piazza. Known as “the Kid”, Carter played for the Mets five years (1985-1989). He was the catcher for the Mets’ 1986 World Championship team. He was an all-star 11 times, four times as a Met. His total baseball record, most of which was spent with the Montreal Expos, along with stops at San Francisco and Los Angeles, is a .262 batting average (Ave.), with 324 home runs (HR) and 1,225 runs batted in (RBI). Carter was elected to the HofF in 2003. The Montreal Expos retired his number eight in 1993.
Piazza played for the Mets seven years (1999-2005). He was an all star for 12 years, seven times with the Mets. His total record, which includes stops at Los Angeles, Florida, San Diego and Oakland, is an Ave. of .308, with 427 HRs, and 1.336 RBI. Piazza was Rookie of the Year with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1993. He appeared in the 2001 World Series (WS) against the Yankees. The Mets lost the WS four games to one. He is a sure fire first round HoF inductee.
First baseman Keith Hernandez spent six years (1984-1989) on the Mets club. He was the first baseman for the Mets’ 1986 World Champs, as well as the 1982 St. Louis Cardinals. He was an all-star five times, three times as a Met. Hernandez won 11 Gold Gloves for fielding excellence, six times as a Met. He was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the National League (NL) in 1979. Besides St. Louis, Hernandez also played for the Cleveland Indians for one year.
Second Baseman Edgardo Alfonzo spent eight years as a Met. (1995-2002). He was on the 2001 National League Champion Mets, who lost to the New York Yankees in the WS four games to one. He won the Silver Slugger Award in 1999.
Third Baseman David Wright has spent his entire career with the Mets (2004-present). He is a five-time all-star, and a two-time Gold Glove winner. He has a lifetime .300 Ave., with 183 HRs and 725 RBI, in addition to151 stolen bases (SB). Wright appeared in the 2006 NL Champion Series. Injuries curtailed Wright’s 2011 season.
Shortstop Jose Reyes is the all-time Mets’ stolen base leader, with 370 SBs. This year, though playing in only 126 games due to injuries, Reyes stole 39 bases and led the NL in hitting with a .337 Ave. He has spent his entire career with the Mets, playing from 2003 to the present. Reyes is a three-time all-star, and has led the league in steals three times and came in second once in the SB category. Reyes led the NL in hits in 2008 with 204. Another tie. Left fielders Cleon Jones and Kevin McReynolds. Jones spent 12 years with the team (1963, 1965-1975). He was a part of the 1969 “Miracle Mets” World Champion team. Jones also played on the 1973 NL pennant winning team, losing to the Oakland Athletics. He was also an all-star in 1969. Jones spent almost his entire career with the Mets, playing little in his last year with the Chicago White Sox. His overall statistics include: Ave: .281, HR: 93, RBI: 524. Left fielder Kevin McReynolds spent six years with the Mets, from 1987-1991, finishing his career with the team in 1994. He began his career with the San Diego Padres, and also played for the Kansas City Royals. While a Met, McReynolds was ninth in the NL in HRs in 1987, and fifth in the league in this category 1988. He was also fifth in the league in RBIs in 1988, and 10th in 1989. Overall, McReynolds career Ave. was .265, with 211 HRs and 807 RBI.
Center fielder Carlos Beltran spent six years (2005-2011) with the Mets, being traded to the San Francisco Giants during the in 2011 season. Injuries have slowed Beltran, making him now primarily a right fielder. He is a six-time all-star, five of which were with the Mets. He won a Gold Glove with the Mets from 2006-2008. He was Rookie of the Year in 1999 as a Kansas City Royal. At the end of the 2011 season, Beltran’s Ave. was .283, he’d hit 302 HRs, collected 1,146 RBI, and had 293 SBs. During his career, he has appeared, at one time or another, in the top 25 of virtually every offensive category.
Right fielder Darryl Strawberry, as a Met, was an offensive force during much of the 1980s. Strawberry spent eight years (1983-1990) with the team, and also made stops with the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, and the New York Yankees. He was on the 1986 WS winning team, and also played in WS in 1996 and 1999 with the Yanks. He was an all-star eight times, seven times with the Mets. “The Straw” was the 1983 RofY . He led the NL in HRs and slugging percentage in 1988. His career totals include a .259 Ave., with 335 HRs, 1,000 RBI, and 221 SBs.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_scorekeeping
Tom Seaver’s statistics:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_scorekeeping
Gary Carter’s statistics:
http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=112061
Mike Piazza’s statistics:
http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp
Keith Hernandez’s statistics:
http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=115826
Edgardo Alfonzo’s statistics:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/alfoned01.shtml
David Wright’s statistics:
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=431151
Jose Reyes’ statistics:
http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=408314
Cleon Jones’ statistics:
http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=116674
Kevin McReynolds statistics:
http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=118875#sectionType=career&statType=1&season=2011&gameType=’R’
Carlos Beltran’s statistics:
http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=136860
Darryl Strawberry’s statistics:
http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=122864