Mets Reveal All-Time Team

The Mets revealed their all-time team Sunday night at the 92nd Street Y. Most of the picks were obvious:

Catcher: Mike Piazza
First Base: Keith Hernandez
Second Base: Edgardo Alfonzo
Shortstop: Jose Reyes
Third Base: David Wright
Right Field: Darryl Strawberry
Center Field: Carlos Beltran
Left Field: Cleon Jones
RHP: Tom Seaver
LHP: Jerry Koosman
RH Reliever: Roger McDowell
LH Reliever: Tug McGraw
Manager: Davey Johnson

Good for the panel of experts to include Cleon Jones, who was underrated and often forgotten, but he had a fine Mets career.

The bullpen was a bit of a surprise. As good as McGraw was, John Franco deserves this spot. Franco’s 276 saves compared to McGraw’s 86 should be the beginning and the end of the argument. Armando Benitez actually had far better numbers than McDowell, but Benitez failed repeatedly in the clutch and fans would have been outraged at his inclusion. McDowell was the right choice.

As far as manager, Davey Johnson won more games than Gil Hodges, but they each won a World Series, and Hodges had much less talent with which to work, especially on the offense. I would have gone with Hodges here, but Johnson is still a worthy choice.