
Last week we learned of the three new members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. As you may know, one member of this group, closer Billy Wagner, was a member of the Mets from 2006-2009 (well, 2 innings pitched in '09). This makes him the fifteenth member of the Hall (inducted as a player) to have played with the Mets.
Out of those fifteen players, only two, Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza, are wearing Mets caps on their respective plaques. For this week's edition of "The Five" we'll take a look at five other (that is, not Seaver or Piazza) Hall of Famers who had the biggest impact on the Mets during their time with the team.
Any list that ranks Hall of Famers means that some of baseball history's most celebrated players will be under-appreciated. In this case in particular, there are a few players who joined the Mets towards the end of their respective careers, somewhat after their best playing days were behind them. So Warren Spahn, Duke Snider, and Richie Ashburn, do not make the cut in this list, despite their near-iconic status within the sport itself. Additionally, two of the Mets most important managers, Gil Hodges and Yogi Berra, are in the Hall as players, although their playing days with the Mets were relatively uneventful.
So, without any further setup, here the 5 best Mets Hall of Famers not named Tom Seaver or Mike Piazza
5. Nolan Ryan (1966-1971)
The Ryan Express took off once he was no longer a Mets pitcher. Literally, in 1972, his first season no longer in blue and orange, Ryan was an all-star pitcher for the California Angels. It was the first of eight All-Star team honors for Ryan, and obviously none with the Mets. Still, in his five seasons with the Mets (he was not in the majors in 1967 due to illness, injury, and service time with the Army Reserve), Ryan had some memorable moments on the mound. In the 1969 NLCS against the Atlanta Braves, his seven relief innings earned him a playoff win in Game 3 of the Mets 3-game sweep. He followed that up eight days later with a 2.1 inning save in Game 3 of the World Series against the Baltimore Orioles.
4. Willie Mays (1972-1973)
On May 11, 1972, the Mets acquired Willie Mays from the Giants for a pitcher named Charlie Williams and an undisclosed amount of money. This was Mays' 22nd season in professional baseball, and to that point in the season, he had only played in 19 games for San Francisco, and he looked nothing like the incredible player he had always been. His return to New York baseball seemed to give him something of a lift, as he went on to hit 8 home runs and drove in 19 runs in 69 games in Queens. In 1973, Mays made the decision to retire at season's end, and his performance (6 HRs, 25 RBI, .647 OPS) supported that decision. However, the all-time great still had the ability to contribute to the team's success. His clubhouse presence provided a staunch backbone to the late-blooming team, which helped propel them to the postseason. And when an injury to Rusty Staub opened the door for Mays to play in Game 2 of the '73 World Series against the Oakland A's, he responded with an RBI single (off fellow Hall of Famer, Rollie Fingers) to snap a 7-7 tie in the top of the 12th inning. The Mets would go on to win the game, 10-7.
3. Rickey Henderson (1999-2000)
By time the Rickey Henderson signed with the Mets in December of 1998, his Hall of Fame credentials were well established. Since his rookie season two decades earlier in Oakland, the "Man of Steal" had already been a 10-time All-Star, an MVP, a Gold Glover, a multiple Silver Slugger award winner, and the all-time record holder in stolen bases. Safe to say, Henderson had nothing left to prove. Then again, as Henderson himself might have said, "that doesn't stop Rickey." In 121 games with the 1999 Mets, Henderson had a .315 batting average, an .889 OPS, and a 37 steals. He was voted the National League Comeback Player of the year, playing an integral role for the first Mets team to reach the postseason since 1988. In fact, the regular season came down to a single tie-breaker game between the Mets and the Cincinnati Reds at Cinergy Field. Henderson led off the game with a single, and soon scored on an Edgardo Alfonzo 2-run home run. In the 5th inning, Henderson led off with a home run of his own. The Mets went on to win 5-0, securing a spot in the postseason.
2. Pedro Martinez (2005-2008)
Fresh off the Boston Red Sox first World Series chanmpionship in 86 years, Pedro Martinez signed a four-year, $53 million contract to pitch for the Mets. While the righty pitcher's historical prowess was never in question, there were many who criticized the Mets for investing that much money and that many years in a 34 year-old pitcher coming off one of his least impressive campaign's since his 1992 debut. Of course, a "down" season for Martinez was a great season for just about any other starter in baseball, as Martinez still finished 4th in the 2004 AL Cy Young Award voting. For the 2005 Mets though, signing Martinez was not just about adding an ace to the pitching rotation, is was a way of telling the baseball world that the Mets were ready to invest top dollar in the hopes of building a perennial postseason squad. In fact, about month after inking Martinez, the Mets signed Carlos Beltran who may himself be a Hall of Famer one day. Pedro's first season with the Mets was easily his best, as he finished with a 15-8 record, a 2.82 ERA, 208 strikeouts , and a league-best 0.95 WHIP. The team finished the season 83-79, their best record since 2000 when they went to the World Series.
The following year, Martinez started out even stronger, with a 5-1 record and 2.50 ERA through the first two months of the season. Unfortunately, a freak injury to his hip in late May curtailed hit hot start, and then two additional injuries, a torn calf and a torn rotator cuff caused him to miss the much of the '06 season as well as most of the 2007 season. When he did return in September of that year he did pitch well, although late-career frailty was becoming obvious. Then, just 4 innings into his 2008 season, his final season in New York, Martinez suffered a strained hamstring and didn't pitch again until June.
The stats of Pedro's 4-year Mets stint do not tell the full story. His 32-23 record, with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP suggest relative success during that period. Beyond that though, simply by signing Martinez the Mets created a new aura for themselves. From 2005-2008, the team went 357-291, the best 4-year run they've had this century.
1. Gary Carter (1985-1989)
On December 10, 1984, the Mets traded a fan-favorite, Hubie Brooks, and three young players of varying degrees of promise to the Montreal Expos for one of the best catchers in the game, Gary Carter. The move was supposed to fortify an improved offense, while also providing guidance to the team's talented young pitching staff. Guess what...it worked! Carter came to the Mets and delivered immediately, with a game-winning home run against the eventual 1985 NL champs, the St. Louis Cardinals. That season, the man known as "The Kid" hit a career-best 32 home runs, drove in 100 runs for the second time in his career, won a Silver Slugger award, was named an All-Star starter, and finished 6th in the NL MVP voting. More importantly to the Mets, however, in 1986, he was the cleanup hitter on the 108-win World Champs, driving in 105 runs and finishing 3rd in NL MVP voting. Beyond the numbers though, Carter was the smiling face of the franchise, who took as many fist-pumping curtain calls as he did home-plate collisions. While injuries and age would soon take their toll on him, Gary Carter represents one of the few times the Mets made a significant move and got what they were hoping to get out of it. Carter played his last game for the Mets in 1989, and still, over 35 years later, many fans are still hoping the team retires his number 8.
Please share your thoughts/memories/suggestions in the comments below.
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