I have never understood why this is not more clear to my fellow Mets fans or even to baseball fans in general. I do not know why there is even debate, not only about the greatest Met of all time but also about the second greatest. Ironically, my Mets, who have gotten very little right in the last few years, hit this one right on the screws. During the closing ceremonies of Shea Stadium and the opening ceremonies of the unfortunately named Citifield, they trotted out the men who are easily, without question, and undeniably the two greatest Mets of all time.
There is a gap twenty miles wide between Tom Seaver, the greatest Met ever, and Mike Piazza, the second greatest. The gap between Michael and whoever is third is about thirty-seven miles .
Willie Mays might be the greatest all-around player of all time. Nolan Ryan is certainly the all-time strikeout king and, frankly a freak of nature... but in a good way - to be able to throw that hard for all twenty-five of his big league seasons. Rickey Henderson is the greatest leadoff hitter in history. But they all earned their legend before or after wearing the blue and orange.
Gary Carter rubs people the wrong way (an aside: that has usually struck me as more their problem than his), but his all-around play at the most demanding position on the field earned him a rightful place in the Hall of Fame. However, not enough of his greatness happened in Queens to merit his inclusion in the neighborhood of the top two.
Keith Hernandez was the Mets first captain and he should still hold the distinction of being their only captain (Carter and John Franco were poor choices for this office) until Mr. Wright is ready. Keith was the veteran who taught Ron Darling, Doc Gooden, Lenny Dykstra and the rest of the young World Champion '86 Mets how to be major league baseball players. He is also the greatest defensive First Baseman of all time, according to a bunch of guys who have seen a few first basemen in their time, men like Ralph Kiner and Whitey Herzog. He also was a National League MVP and one of the great clutch hitters of his era. Oh, and when he was done with all of that, he made a memorable appearance on the most popular television show in history, kissed Julia Louis Dreyfuss, and is now teamed with Darling and Gary Cohen as the most entertaining announcing team in Major League Baseball. Why he is not enshrined in Cooperstown is beyond me, but even with all of that, Tom and Mike are out of reach.
Darryl Strawberry and Doc Gooden... well, we all know the story: They could have joined Tom and Mike to form an impressive top four. They could have even surpassed them. What talent! What a waste. The flesh is weak and all that. Still, they are among the contenders for the distant "Third Greatest Met" distinction. But there are others: Rusty Staub, Howard Johnson, Jerry Koosman, Tug McGraw, Mookie Wilson, Tommie Agee, not to mention "Mex" and "The Kid", detailed in the two preceding paragraphs.
But when you are asked "Who is the greatest Met of all time?" or "Who are the two greatest Mets of all time?" and you take more than three seconds to answer... oh come on!
Mike Piazza is the greatest hitter of all time at the most demanding physical position. He hit for average. He hit for power. He hit in the clutch. He had no discernible speed, which makes his average all the more impressive. He had no "leg" hits. They were almost all screaming line drives. When he came to the Mets, they were a joke. Granted, they are again, but during the time between then and now, Piazza almost single-handedly made them relevant again and led them to contention for a few years. Short sighted people like to call him a bad defensive catcher. This is not true. He WAS a bad thrower. He had about the worst arm I've ever seen in a Major League catcher trying to throw out base runners. But his catching the ball, his calling the game, his work on popups, and his blocking the plate on plays at home (which I assume he learned from the greatest blocker of home in history, Mike Scioscia) were all outstanding. When talking about the greatest of all time WHILE WEARING A METS UNIFORM, there is nobody close to him. He is far above and beyond our other heroes... except for the one who is far above him.
I have always considered it one of the great ironies in baseball history that the greatest players in the history of both the Mets and the Yankees both had the first name of George and neither of them used it. George Herman "Babe" Ruth might be the best player ever as he was one of the top 2-3 hitters in history and since he was well on his way to that same level as a pitcher before changing specialties. And when it comes to the greatest Met of all time, there was only one "Franchise" - George Thomas Seaver.
Piazza saved the Mets franchise, but Seaver created it, sustained it, and honored it with everything he did on the field and off. There is a reason he still holds the record for the highest percentage of votes for entrance into baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. He was a great pitcher. He was a great leader. He had the discipline of a Marine (which he is) to be an innovator in the area of physical fitness for baseball players and to keep clear of controversy so that he would continue to be a valuable contributor to his team's success.
He led them to the improbable World Championship of 1969 (Miracle Mets, Indeed!) and to the National League championship of 1973 He won three Cy Young awards He was the 1967 Rookie of the Year He was a 12 time All-Star He led the league in wins three times He led the league in ERA three times He led the league in strikeouts five times He pitched over 250 innings in eleven seasons (In a remarkable contrast with the modern game, he never ranked even second in innings pitched in any of those years) He is the only Mets player to have his number retired in their entire history (The other three numbers retired by the Mets are for managers Casey Stengel and Gil Hodges and the number 42 retired by all teams for Jackie Robinson. Piazza should join him soon and, if I were making the decision, Hernandez as well).I have been frustrated by the drought of truly historically great Mets compared to other teams, especially the one across town, but I do love and appreciate the heroes we HAVE had. They will always hold a cherished place in my heart. Hey, I'm a Mets fan and I will always be grateful for Tug and Mookie and Nails and Wally and Kooz and Krane and Buddy and Hojo and Kid and Mex and Maz and Rusty and the rest. But if we are honest, there IS no debate about who the greatest of them is... or the second greatest.
The All-Time Best Players in Mets History By Position:
C - Mike Piazza
1b - Keith Hernandez
2b - Edgardo Alfonzo
ss - Jose Reyes
3b - Howard Johnson / David Wright
lf - Cleon Jones
cf - Carlos Beltran
rf - Rusty Staub / Darryl Strawberry
sp - Tom Seaver
rp - Tug McGraw