Top 10 Mets teams of all time

Throughout the next few weeks, I will be doing some fun “look back’s” at various points of New York history. One of the first things I wanted to do is rank the best Mets teams of all time. I threw out where they finished, but rather the strength of the squad using both statistical, as well as some intangible factors.

1. 1988 - Cream of the crop in Mets history. Best pitching staff in team history as only the 1968 team gave up less runs in a 162 games season, and that was the year of the pitcher. David Cone won 20 games, Ron Darling had his best season, and how many teams could say Sid Fernandez was their fifth starter? Doc Gooden was beginning to decline, but still won 18 games. Unlike the ’86 title team they had a dominant closer as Randy Myers had 26 saves and a 1.72 ERA. Offensively they had two MVP candidates (Strawberry/McReynolds), and their bench was so deep that injuries to Keith Hernandez, and the steep decline by Gary Carter was offset by Dave Magadan, and the occasional Mackey Sasser start. Gregg Jefferies infused some life into the offense late that year (.321, 6, 17 in 118 PA). If this team performed offensively as they did in ’87 it would be the ’88 Mets, not ’98 Yankees, that won the most games in baseball history. They still won 100 games despite going 44-39 throughout the summer. How they lost to the Dodgers should be part of an A&E mystery series.

2. 1986- Do I need to wax poetic about this team? 108 wins, four starters with 15+ victories, and a lineup that scored over 700 runs for the first time in team history. This was Lenny Dykstra‘s best “non steroid” season (.822 OPS, more walks than strikeouts), Ray Knight had a bounce back year, and there was the ultimate super sub, Kevin Mitchell, off the bench. The 1989 National League MVP couldn’t crack this starting lineup. It wasn’t the best of seasons for Darryl Strawberry, but it didn’t matter. The reason why I put this team a notch below ’88 is because their overall staff wasn’t as strong. The difference between the ’88 team, and the next best, was a wide margin. Houston was the equal of the ’86 Mets, and the NLCS proved as much. If the ’88 team won a championship, especially over Oakland, this wouldn’t even be a debate.

3. 1987- If the pitching staff stayed healthy this might have been the best Mets team of all time. 823 runs scored was a team record held until 1999. Strawberry and Howard Johnson were 30/30 members, while Kevin McReynolds (29 homers, 95 RBI) wasn’t’ too shabby on both sides of the ball. This was the year of the juiced ball (precursor of the steroid era), as they hit 192 homers. Tim Teufel was an underrated member of this squad posting a .944 OPS with 14 homers and 61 RBI in just 350 plate appearances. The downfall was that every starting pitcher was injured at some point. Both Roger McDowell and Jesse Orosco struggled out of the bullpen as well. If not for journeyman Terry Leach winning 7 games in the rotation they may not have sniffed a pennant race with the Cardinals. Still, this is a very strong edition in team history. In my opinion, a baseball version of a Greek Tragedy.

4. 1969- I was tempted to drop this team down behind the ’99 club (a personal favorite), but the pitching is too good. Hall of Fame ace in Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman‘s career year (17-9, 2.28), and a bullpen that included Ron Taylor, Tug McGraw, and Nolan Ryan. The issue is the offense, which averaged less than four runs a game. Cleon Jones was the only player to have a standout season, although midseason acquisition Donn Clendenon certainly did his part (11 homers, 37 RBI). This team won on its pitching staff, and the managing of Gil Hodges, who used the platoon masterfully.

5. 1999- One of my favorite all time teams. I will never forget what a fun summer it was as they went on a 55-27 run from June 4th to September 4th. Sure, the late September losing streak was painful, but it made that last weekend against the Pirates, and the one game playoff with Cincinnati, a worthwhile experience. Everyone remembers “the best infield ever,” but offensively this team was loaded with players that got on base. John Olerud and Rickey Henderson both had OBP over 42%, Mike Piazza hit 40 homers, Robin Ventura had a MVP season (32 homers, 117 RBI), and Edgardo Alfonzo hit 27 homers with 108 RBI. The key was the supporting cast as Roger Cedeno hit .313 with 66 stolen bases, Darryl Hamilton hit .339 after a July 31st trade from Colorado, Benny Agbayani had an .888 OPS, and Rey Ordonez drove in 60 runs from the eight hole. The pitching was spotty, but Al Leiter and Rick Reed were big game pitchers, and Kenny Rogers won five big games down the stretch. It was the work of the bullpen, anchored by Armando Benitez, who had arguably his best season in New York (14.8 strikeouts per nine innings) with 22 saves after John Franco went down with an injury. They were a hair away from forcing Game 7 against Atlanta, and would have had a better shot of beating the Yankees than the 2000 edition.

6. 2006- This team holds a special place in the hearts of Mets fans as I have never seen a fan/team love affair like 2006. Offensively right there with the ’99 team as David Wright/Jose Reyes had their coming out party, while Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran produced at a high level. Even complementary players like Paul Lo Duca, Jose Valentin, and Endy Chavez had incredible offensive seasons. The real key was solid up the middle defense, and a bullpen that was “lights out” from the sixth inning on. How else could you explain winning 97 games, and coming one win away from the World Series, with a rotation headed by two 40 year olds in El Duque and Tom Glavine? The real MVP’s of this team were Wagner, Heilman, Feliciano, Bradford, Sanchez, and yes, Guillermo Mota. That is, until the NLCS against St. Louis.

7. 2000: Amazing how the last pennant winning Mets team is towards the bottom of this list. This team was just a year removed from the offensive minded ’99 team, but this group was more centered on pitching. The starting rotation had two aces (Hampton/Leiter), and solid seasons from Rick Reed, Bobby Jones, and surprise fifth starter Glendon Rusch. Losing John Olerud hurt, but Piazza and Alfonzo led the team offensively, and they got just enough from the rest of the supporting cast. Like the ’06 team the bullpen featured four top notch relievers in Wendell, Cook, Franco, and Benitez. This is the prototypical team where the sum is greater than its parts. Most everyone agrees this was one of the grittiest teams in Mets history. Put this team’s grit with the ’06 versions talent and you have a World Champion.

8. 1990- A forgotten team because it came at the tail end of the eighties run. It featured two Cy Young Award winners (Gooden Viola), David Cone as a three starter, and so much starting pitching that neither Bob Ojeda or Ron Darling, big parts of other teams rotations in the coming years, couldn’t get consistent starts. The offense was good, but inconsistent, as Strawberry turned a difficult start into a solid campaign (37 homers, 108 RBI). A key was when Bud Harrelson inserted Dave Magadan into the lineup that June. He started hitting, and never stopped, nearly winning the NL batting title. I also think Davey Johnson got a raw deal as he was fired 42 games into the season. The team would go on a huge winning streak that June, something that I believe was inevitable due to their talent. Their Pythagorean Record was 98-64, which would have given them the NL East title. Could make a point they are better than the 2000 team, but had to knock them down because they underachieved.

9. 1985: I believe this team was the Mets version of the eighties Chicago Bulls before Pippen and Grant came into their own. Doc Gooden played Jordan (24-4, 1.52), while Keith Hernandez, Darryl Strawberry, and Gary Carter provided enough offense to win 98 games. Offensively there were holes at second, short, third, and when Strawberry was injured, the outfield. Davey Johnson started to incorporate the young pitchers like Aguilera and Fernandez into the rotation, and Ron Darling had a decent year. The bullpen was a disaster as Jesse Orosco and Doug Sisk had lousy seasons, although Roger McDowell picked up the slack when he was called up from Tidewater. Good team, but their offense is one of the weakest of the group.

10. 2008: How many teams get elite offensive seasons from four of their starting eight? This team did as Reyes, Wright, Beltran, and Delgado keyed an offense that scored more runs than the ’86 championship team. The starting rotation was decent, with Johan Santana playing a modern day ‘85 Gooden in the second half. Its Achilles heel was the bullpen, as well as managers (Randolph/Manuel) that didn’t understand the importance of lefty/righty matchups, or bullpen roles. Once Billy Wagner was lost in August the 2008 season went down in flames. Give me almost any other bullpen in team history, and this group probably wins 95 games and makes the playoffs.