New York Mets: Franchise Leaders by WAR and its Components

I took a little break from my franchise WAR leaders series, but I'm back today with the relatively uninspiring history of the New York Mets (I'm sorry, it just is). Previously, I covered the Red Sox, Twins, White Sox, and Rangers. As usual, all numbers are from Rally's WAR database. Let's just jump right in and kick things off with career WAR.

By total WAR:

New York Mets Career WAR Leaders, Position Players

Rank	Name	PlApp	WAR
1	Darryl Strawberry	4509	37.7
2	Edgardo Alfonso	4384	29.1
3	David Wright	3627	27.2
4	Carlos Beltran	2929	26.6
5	Keith Hernandez	3651	26.5
6	Howard Johnson	4537	24.7
7	Mike Piazza	3919	24.6
8	Jose Reyes	3617	21.1
9	Mookie Wilson	4283	19.4
10	John Olerud	1996	18.6
11	John Stearns	3027	18.5
12	Cleon Jones	4617	17.6
13	Kevin McReynolds	3182	17.0
14	Lenny Dykstra	1877	16.4
15	Dave Magadan	2442	15.2
16	Bud Harrelson	4984	14.8
17	Wayne Garrett	3310	13.2
18	Jerry Grote	4265	13.0
19	Lee Mazzilli	3464	12.9
20	Tommie Agee	2663	12.4
21	Gary Carter	2415	11.2
22	Bernard Gilkey	1542	11.1
23	Todd Hundley	2870	10.9
24	Robin Ventura	1756	10.7
25	John Milner	2735	10.1
26	Wally Backman	2632	9.6
27	Steve Henderson	2013	9.6
28	Cliff Floyd	1870	8.9
29	Lance Johnson	1014	8.9
30	Joel Youngblood	2075	8.8

Wait, that's it? 37.7 WAR? Even the Texas Rangers had a pair of guys above that. I also can't believe that Edgardo Alfonso is second in club history. I almost forgot he existed. Seriously, I'm not sure what to say, besides "Wow, the Expos really got the prime of Gary Carter's career". Oh, and boy do I have a ton of Lenny Dykstra cards somewhere.

New York Mets Career WAR Leaders, Pitchers

Rank	Name	Innings	WAR
1	Tom Seaver	3045.3	75.8
2	Jerry Koosman	2544.7	41.8
3	Dwight Gooden	2169.7	41.2
4	Jon Matlack	1448	27.0
5	Sid Fernandez	1584.6	26.9
6	Al Leiter	1360	26.3
7	David Cone	1209.4	19.0
8	Ron Darling	1620	16.5
9	Rick Reed	888.6	14.8
10	John Franco	702.7	12.8
11	Craig Swan	1230.5	12.6
12	Tug McGraw	792.7	12.4
13	Jesse Orosco	595.6	12.2
14	Bret Saberhagen	524.3	11.5
15	Tom Glavine	1005.2	11.3
16	Armando Benitez	346.9	10.6
17	Johan Santana	401	10.0
18	Bobby Jones	1215.7	9.7
19	Bobby Ojeda	763.9	9.6
20	Frank Viola	566.3	9.6
21	Steve Tracshel	956.5	9.1
22	Gary Gentry	789.3	7.7
23	Pat Zachry	741.8	7.6
24	Jim McAndrew	729.6	7.5
25	Skip Lockwood	379.6	7.4
26	Ray Sadecki	600.4	6.9
27	Jack Fisher	931.7	6.6
28	Roger Craig	469.3	6.0
29	Pedro Martinez	486.7	5.8
30	Pete Falcone	607.6	5.4
31	Ed Lynch	730.3	5.4

Okay, now we're seeing something. I'm guessing there won't be many franchises where three pitchers had more WAR with the team than the top hitter. Seaver stands out as the gem of the franchise's history—which makes the story of his trade to the Reds all the more facepalm-inducing. The 1988 season was the first where, as a kid, I could pretty much tell you the numbers of any player. That Mets rotation really stood out to me—and it does here, too. Gooden (#3), Fernandez (#5), Cone (#7), Darling (#8), and Ojeda (#19) are all in the Top 20. In case you were wondering (I know you weren't), Nolan Ryan was worth 3.7 WAR as a Met.

---

By WAR used as a rate stat

New York Mets Career WAR per 700 Plate Appearances Leaders, Minimum 2000 PA

Rank	Name	PlApp	WAR/700 PA
1	Carlos Beltran	2929	6.36
2	Darryl Strawberry	4509	5.85
3	David Wright	3627	5.25
4	Keith Hernandez	3651	5.08
5	Edgardo Alfonso	4384	4.65
6	Mike Piazza	3919	4.39
7	Dave Magadan	2442	4.36
8	John Stearns	3027	4.28
9	Jose Reyes	3617	4.08
10	Howard Johnson	4537	3.81
11	Kevin McReynolds	3182	3.74
12	Steve Henderson	2013	3.34
13	Tommie Agee	2663	3.26
14	Gary Carter	2415	3.25
15	Mookie Wilson	4283	3.17
16	Bobby Bonilla	2025	3.01
17	Joel Youngblood	2075	2.97
18	Wayne Garrett	3310	2.79
19	Cleon Jones	4617	2.67
20	Todd Hundley	2870	2.66

The Red Sox had seven players above 6.0 WAR/700 (aka Wins Above MVP Level). The Senators/Twins and White Sox had three apeice while the Senators/Rangers had two. The Mets only have Carlos Beltran. Darryl Strawberry, David Wright, and Keith Hernandez also stand out above the rest. Then we get Alfonso again—still impressive once normalized over 700 PAs. Anyone else surprised to see Dave Magadan rank that highly? This list goes all the way down to Todd Hundley and his 2.66 WAR/700. Luckily, the pitchers are better.

New York Mets Career WAR per 200 Innings Pitched Leaders, Minimum 200 IP

Rank	Name	Innings	WAR/200
1	Armando Benitez	346.9	6.11
2	Johan Santana	401	4.99
3	Tom Seaver	3045.3	4.98
4	Bret Saberhagen	524.3	4.39
5	Mike Hampton	217.7	4.23
6	Jesse Orosco	595.6	4.10
7	Randy Myers	240	4.00
8	Skip Lockwood	379.6	3.90
9	Al Leiter	1360	3.87
10	Dwight Gooden	2169.7	3.80
11	Jon Matlack	1448	3.73
12	John Franco	702.7	3.64
13	Carl Willey	241	3.40
14	Sid Fernandez	1584.6	3.40
15	Frank Viola	566.3	3.39
16	Rick Reed	888.6	3.33
17	Kevin Appier	206.7	3.29
18	Jerry Koosman	2544.7	3.29
19	David Cone	1209.4	3.14
20	Tug McGraw	792.7	3.13

Pitchers are supposed to have a tougher time compiling career WAR. Not if you're a Met! After the token closer at the top of the list (Benitez), we get a quartet of impressive starters in Santana, Seaver, Saberhagen, and Hampton. Hampton was only a Met for one year, but he pitched enough to make the list. Among starters with a significant number of innings, Al Leiter, Dwight Gooden, Jon Matlack, and Sid Fernandez stand out. Considering his career WAR is on the high end for relievers, I'm surprised to see John Franco's WAR/200 doesn't look that good.

---

By WAR components (for position players)

New York Mets Career Batting Runs Above Average

Rank	Name	PlApp	Bat
1	Darryl Strawberry	4509	239
2	David Wright	3627	183
3	Mike Piazza	3919	171
4	Keith Hernandez	3651	150
5	Howard Johnson	4537	135
6	John Olerud	1996	130
7	Carlos Beltran	2929	107
8	Edgardo Alfonso	4384	93
9	Dave Magadan	2442	89
10	Kevin McReynolds	3182	87

Strawberry stands atop this list but figures to be challenged by Wright at some point. If Wright keeps at his current pace this season, he should hover around 210 Batting Runs through his age 27 season. This is not the only component that Keith Hernandez ranks well in.

New York Mets Career Baserunning Runs Above Average

Rank	Name	BSrun
1	Mookie Wilson	33
2	Jose Reyes	31
3	Lenny Dykstra	24
4	David Wright	17
5	Carlos Beltran	16
6	Howard Johnson	15
7	Lance Johnson	12
8	Keith Miller	11
9	Edgardo Alfonso	10
10	Roger Cedeno	10

These numbers are from the start of the 2010 season and Baseball-Reference's updated data has Reyes now tied with Mookie.

New York Mets Career Total Zone (Range) Runs Above Average

Rank	Name	TZ
1	Keith Hernandez	50
2	Rey Ordonez	47
3	Edgardo Alfonso	46
4	Bud Harrelson	42
5	Carlos Beltran	37
6	Robin Ventura	36
7	Jose Reyes	31
8	Endy Chavez	29
9	Bernard Gilkey	29
10	John Olerud	28

Not sure how many clubs are going to have a first baseman ranked first all-time in Total Zone. But Hernandez did it. In fact, he ranks among the all time greats in Total Zone regardless of position. We begin to see why Alfonso ranks so highly in career WAR—he brought an excellent glove along with an impressive bat (for a second baseman). Great to see glovemen like Ventura and Olerud, who were Mets somewhat later in their careers, still flash that leather that made them so underrated.

New York Mets Career Outfield Arm Runs Above Average

Rank	Name	OFarm
1	Joel Youngblood	13
2	Bernard Gilkey	9
3	Timo Perez	9
4	Johnny Lewis	7
5	Jay Payton	6
6	Don Hahn	6
7	Mike Cameron	5
8	Tsuyoshi Shinjo	4
9	Del Unser	4
10	Richard Hidalgo	4
11	Ellis Valentine	4

Joel Youngblood, of course, played for two teams in the same day. That is the most interesting thing about this list.

New York Mets Career Catching Runs Above Average, Minimum 4 runs

Rank	Name	catcher
1	John Stearns	36
2	Jerry Grote	29
3	Chris Cannizzaro	19
4	Charlie O'Brien	18
5	Vance Wilson	13
6	Alex Trevino	10
7	Alberto Castillo	8
8	Duffy Dyer	7
9	Jason Phillips	6
10	Rick Cerone	4
11	Todd Pratt	4
12	Ramon Castro	4

Again with the Gary Carter! Turns out, he was worth a run below average with the Mets while he was worth 106 runs with Montreal. Yikes. The #1 catcher on this list, John Stearns, actually started as the backup for (and eventually replaced) the #2 catcher, Jerry Grote. Grote, of course, backstopped the 1969 Amazin's while Stearns was a four-time All Star and actually held the NL stole basen record for catchers (with 25) until Jason Kendall passed him. Stearns also got in a fight with Gary Carter after a collision at the plate in 1979 (Carter was with the Mets). Turns out Carter was no match for him on this list.

---

By WAR in a single season

New York Mets Single Season WAR Leaders, Position Players

Rank	Name	Year	WAR
1	Bernard Gilkey	1996	8.1
2	John Olerud	1998	8.1
3	Carlos Beltran	2006	8.0
4	David Wright	2007	7.8
5	Howard Johnson	1989	7.7
6	Cleon Jones	1969	7.6
7	Edgardo Alfonso	1997	7.0
8	Carlos Beltran	2008	6.8
9	Lance Johnson	1996	6.8
10	Edgardo Alfonso	2000	6.7
11	Gary Carter	1985	6.7
12	Darryl Strawberry	1987	6.7
13	Robin Ventura	1999	6.7
14	Keith Hernandez	1984	6.5
15	Darryl Strawberry	1990	6.5
16	David Wright	2008	6.1
17	Jose Reyes	2006	5.9
18	Darryl Strawberry	1988	5.9
19	Edgardo Alfonso	1999	5.7
20	Tommie Agee	1969	5.6
21	Keith Hernandez	1986	5.6

Well hey, Bernard Gilkey. I'll admit I didn't see that one coming. Surprisingly few seasons from the 2000s here. Many other teams had certain players appear on this list multiple times. This one... not so much. I count three appearances by Darryl Strawberry and Edgar Alfonso and two apiece by David Wright, Carlos Beltran, and Keith Hernandez. Beyond that, a bunch of one-timers. It seems that in the somewhat rare event a player is a star for the Mets, it doesn't last all that long. Hence the lack of repeat single-season WAR leaders and low overall total of the career leaders.

New York Mets WORST Single Season WAR Leaders, Position Players

Rank	Name	Year	WAR
1	Brian McRae	1999	-2.7
2	Doug Flynn	1979	-2.5
3	Willie Montanez	1979	-2.5
4	Doug Flynn	1977	-2.3
5	Frank Taveras	1981	-2.1

For the first time so far, we see a guy appear on this list twice. Generally speaking, if you get on this list your chances should have run out. Not Doug Flynn. Flynn was a horrible, horrible hitting second baseman (-236 batting runs) who won a Gold Glove award in 1980. The thing is, he was good in the field in 1980 (8 runs according to Total Zone), but he wasn't really ever good any other year. He rated as -22 for his career. In 1979, he was -31 runs at bat and -8 in the field. In 1977, he was worth -30 and -6. He rarely crossed over into positive WAR, finishing his career with a jaw-dropping -12.1 WAR. That right there is the second worst mark of all time, behind Bill Bergen.

New York Mets Single Season WAR Leaders, Pitchers

Rank	Name	Year	WAR
1	Dwight Gooden	1985	11.7
2	Tom Seaver	1973	9.5
3	Tom Seaver	1971	9.2
4	Jon Matlack	1974	8.6
5	Tom Seaver	1975	7.7
6	Tom Seaver	1969	7.6
7	Tom Seaver	1968	7.5
8	Jerry Koosman	1968	6.8
9	Jerry Koosman	1969	6.7
10	Jon Matlack	1972	6.7
11	Al Leiter	1998	6.5
12	Johan Santana	2008	6.4
13	Tom Seaver	1967	6.4
14	Frank Viola	1990	6.3
15	Tom Seaver	1970	6.0
16	David Cone	1988	5.8
17	Tom Seaver	1972	5.8
18	Jerry Koosman	1973	5.7
19	Tom Seaver	1974	5.7
20	Tom Seaver	1976	5.7
21	Craig Swan	1978	5.7

Okay, now we're starting to see some repeats. Seaver is on here ten times, taking five of the first seven spots. Koosman places three times while Matlack appears twice. Dwight Gooden takes the #1 spot outright by a lot, but surprisingly doesn't appear on the list again.

New York Mets WORST Single Season WAR Leaders, Pitchers

Rank	Name	Year	WAR
1	Paul Wilson	1996	-2.8
2	Craig Anderson	1962	-2.0
3	Randy Jones	1981	-1.8
4	Jim McAndrew	1973	-1.7
5	Doug Sisk	1985	-1.7

Ouch. Paul Wilson. Not only was he taken first overall in 1994, but he flopped miserably in his rookie year (to the tune of the worst pitching performance in club history). He wasn't much better in Tampa or Cincinnati, either. His 2.5 WAR year with the Reds in 2004 saved him from a career below replacement level. He finished with 1.1 WAR. With Anderson, you'd expect a lot of the '62 Mets (40-120) pitchers to be south of replacement level. But they really weren't. Roger Craig was worth 3.4 WAR that year (while losing 24 games) while Al Jackson was worth 3.1 (he lost 20). Anderson and Ray Daviault (-1.2 WAR) were the only pitchers with over 40 innings to be below replacement level. And yes—that's the same Randy Jones who was starring for the Padres only a couple years earlier.

---

All Time Team

• Catcher: Mike Piazza (24.6 WAR, 4.4 WAR/700)
• First Base: Keith Hernandez (26.5 WAR, 5.1 WAR/700)
• Second Base: Edgardo Alfonso (29.1 WAR, 4.7 WAR/700)
• Third Base: David Wright (27.2 WAR, 5.3 WAR/700)
• Shortstop: Jose Reyes (21.1 WAR, 4.1 WAR/700)
• Outfield: Darryl Strawberry (37.7 WAR, 5.9 WAR/700)
• Outfield: Carlos Beltran (26.6 WAR, 6.4 WAR/700)
• Outfield: Kevin McReynolds (17.0 WAR, 3.7 WAR/700)
• Starting Pitcher: Tom Seaver (75.8 WAR, 5.0 WAR/700)
• Starting Pitcher: Jerry Koosman (41.8 WAR, 3.3 WAR/700)
• Starting Pitcher: Dwight Gooden (41.2 WAR, 3.8 WAR/700)
• Starting Pitcher: Al Leiter (26.3 WAR, 3.9 WAR/700)
• Relief Pitcher: John Franco (12.8 WAR, 3.6 WAR/700)
• Relief Pitcher: Armando Benitez (10.6 WAR, 6.1 WAR/700)

I'll be honest. It's not a club you're going to fear. It was really hard picking a third outfielder after Strawberry and Beltran. But McReynolds had the right mix of total and rate WAR (sad as that is). It's funny that I would have rather stuck John Stearns in the outfield than McReynolds. The starting ptichers were pretty easy while it was a bit tough to leave Tug McGraw off the reliever list. But Franco had the longevity and Benitez had the dominance.

The total for this all-time Mets team is 65.3 WAR. As medoicre as the Rangers were, I'm kind of surprised they finished behind this pretty rough group. Seaver, Beltran, Strawberry, Wright, and Benitez carried this group. Here are the totals so far:

1. Red Sox (88.9 WAR)
2. Twins (71.6 WAR)
3. White Sox (68.5 WAR)
4. Mets (65.3 WAR)
5. Rangers (63.7 WAR)

So, who's next? In the queue we have:

1. Chicago Cubs
2. Detroit Tigers
3. Atlanta Braves
4. New York Yankees

I'm looking forward to seeing the results of each of these. I'm guessing each will be among the top teams in the series. They've all been around a long time and had some huge stars.