THE List: 10 Best Mets Careers
Cleon Jones (1963-1975)
2nd all time in hits, 4th in triples, 7th in doubles & RBIs. Batted .340 in 1969. An underrated Mets career.
Tom Seaver (1967-1977, 1983)
Leads team in every pitching category. Won Rookie of the Year & 3 Cy Young Awards, and even had a save.
Jerry Koosman (1967-1978)
A career of almosts — almost won Rookie of the Year, almost won Cy Young. 3rd in wins & strikeouts.
Darryl Strawberry (1983-1990)
1st in homers, RBIs, runs, walks & strikeouts, 2nd in slugging. Won Rookie of the Year. Team’s best power hitter.
Dwight Gooden (1984-1994)
2nd in wins & strikeouts. Won Rookie of the Year & Cy Young. His 1985 season (24-4, 1.53, 268) best in Mets history.
Howard Johnson (1985-1993)
2nd in runs, 3rd in homers, RBIs, doubles & stolen bases. Nice moustache.
Edgardo Alfonzo (1995-2002)
3rd in hits & runs, 4th in doubles, 5th in batting average, 6th in RBIs. Hit .300 four times.
Mike Piazza (1998-2005)
1st in slugging, 2nd in homers & RBIs, 4th in batting average, 5th in doubles. Just the best Mets hitter ever.
Jose Reyes (2003-present)
Already the team leader in triples & stolen bases, with (hopefully) many more years ahead.
David Wright (2004-present)
3 doubles away from number one. 2nd in batting average, 5th in RBIs. Should be atop all categories when he’s done.
Mug Shots Courtesy Ultimate Mets Database, http://ultimatemets.com/mugshots.php
Substitute Mookie for Reyes. Honorable mention for Kingman; he was a selfish jerk, but he had a strong impact. And, not unlike Kingman, remember that Wright and Reyes represent a difficult era in Mets history; they are the faces of the Mets teams that choked two straight years. Hopefully, better things lay ahead for these two.