Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives.  As such, it is news to us that the New York Mets will be retiring the #36 of Jerry Koosman this season.

Koosman made his major league debut with the Mets in 1967, and in the following season, he was an All-Star with a 19-12 record and a 2.08 ERA.  He followed that with a 17-9 campaign with a 2.28 ERA, and a second straight trip to the All-Star Game, but this was 1969, and a very special season.  This year, along with fellow Pitchers, Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan, would take the “Miracle Mets” to a shocking World Series Championship.  The Mets, who began their existence in 1962, had never had a winning season until ’69, and despite their Pennant win, they were expected to falter against the favored Baltimore Orioles.  The Mets would win in five with Koosman winning two Games, including the clinching Game 5.

Koosman played with the Mets until he was traded in 1978 to the Minnesota Twins.  His best regular season with New York was in 1976, where he had a career-best 21 Wins with a 2.69 ERA and 1.096 WHIIP.  He was the runner-up for the Cy Young Award that year.  Overall, as a New York Met, Koosman would have a record of 140-137 and 1,799 Strikeouts.

The retirement ceremony will take place on June 13, during the Mets’ home game against the Washington Nationals.

The other retired numbers by the Mets are Gil Hodges (#14), Mike Piazza (#31), Casey Stengel (#37), Tom Seaver (#41), and the league-mandated #42 of Jackie Robinson.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Jerry Koosman for earning this honor.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives.  As such, it is news to us that the New York Mets will be inducting will be inducting Jon Matlack, Ron Darling, Edgardo Alfonzo and Al Jackson into their franchise Hall of Fame.

Appearing for a handful of games in 1971, Matlack was named the 1972 Rookie of the Year and he would go to three consecutive All-Star Games (1974 to 1976).  With the Mets, he appeared in 203 Games with a record of 82-81 with 1,023 Strikeouts.

From Hawaii, Darling was an All-Star in 1985, and was a member of the Mets 1986 World Series Championship Team.  He would have six straight 12 Win seasons, all of which would not see him lose in double digit figures.  Darling would have a 99-70 record with 1,148 Strikeouts for the Mets.

Alfonso played for New York from 1995 to 2002, and he was an All-Star in 2000.  The Infielder would have 1,136 Hits for the team with 120 Home Runs.  

Jackson was an original Met who would have a 43-80 record as a Pitcher. He enters as a contributor who served the club for decades as a coach, minor league coach, minor league pitching coordinator and front office advisor.   

This quartet brings the Mets Hall of Fame membership to 30. 

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the soon to be new members of the Mets Hall of Fame for earning this honor.

Yes we know how slow a process this is!

It has been awhile since we uploaded our last Top 50 players of a major franchise, but we are ready to do so again with a look at the greatest players in New York Mets history.

For one of the most popular franchises of Major League Baseball, the actual success of the organization is not that strong with only two World Series wins to their credit. 

The entire list of our Top 50 New York Mets can be found here, but in the meantime (as we always do) the top five are listed below.

1. Tom Seaver

2. Dwight Gooden

3. David Wright

4. Darryl Strawberry

5. Jerry Koosman

Please note that this list is based on accomplishments up to the end of the 2016 Season. 

Up next will be a very young franchise from the NBA, the Toronto Raptors.

While the third season as the Mets closer has not yet gone according to plan for Jeurys Familia, his first two seasons in that role were excellent.  Familia led the NL in Saves in 2016, which saw him also go to the All Star Game and receive a smattering of MVP votes.  2017 was a horrible year for the Dominican hurler as he was suspended for 15 Games for domestic violence and his play on the field also plummeted.  He was traded during the 2018 season to Oakland.  He returned in 2019 as a Free Agent, where he played for two years before departing again.  As a Met, Familia, had 124 Saves and finished 233 Games.

With the flowing blonde hair and tall frame, Noah Syndergaard, has the nickname of "Thor".  Many days, he pitched just like it.

A member of the 1969 Miracle Mets as a rookie, Wayne Garratt would compete professionally for the team for seven and a half seasons.  Garrett would spend time predominantly at Third Base and his best season was in 1973 where he had 129 Hits with 16 Home Runs.  He would blast two more Homers in the 1973 World Series.

Mets fans may not have a great memory for Armando Benitez as he is more known for the Saves he blew (especially in the playoffs) than the ones he made, but there is no question that he closed a lot of games for New York.

Daniel Murphy had a good run with the New York Mets where he averaged .288 over seven seasons.  The Second Basemen was named an All Star in 2014, and while 2015 saw him put up decreased numbers he exploded by batting .529 in the NLCS where he was named the MVP.   After collecting 967 Hits for New York, Murphy would sign as a Free Agent with the Washington Nationals where he won the Slugging and OPS Title and finished second in MVP voting.

A bench player for the Mets in their 1986 World Series Championship win, Dave Magadan seemed to constantly fight for a starting job in the lineup.  Magadan would eventually become one (only to always have to look over his shoulder) and would produce some decent hitting for New York, the best of which was the 1990 season where he batted .328, which was good enough for third in the NL.

With New York, Magadan batted .292 with 610 Hits.

The best season of Bob Ojeda’s career was in 1986, the season after he was traded from the Boston Red Sox, the team he would help his new team beat in the World Series.  Ojeda would finish fourth in Cy Young voting that year and would go 51 and 40 as a Met.

The American League Rookie of the Year in 1966 for the Chicago White Sox, Tommie Agee became a major fan favorite in his second year with the Mets, which not coincidentally was the season of the “Miracle Mets”.

Jacob deGrom was a late-blooming converted shortstop with flowing hair and a "simple" 94 mph fastball. While he wasn't the most hyped prospect in a rotation that featured Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard, he immediately provided a brand of surgical precision that made the rest of the league look like they were swinging underwater.

Debuting in 2014, deGrom's first MLB season was an "out of nowhere" ascent that culminated in the 2014 National League Rookie of the Year Award. He famously tied a major-league record by striking out the first eight batters he faced in a September start. In 2015, he earned his first All-Star nod and finished seventh in the Cy Young voting, posting 14 wins and a 0.98 WHIP that left opposing hitters wondering if he was throwing a wiffle ball. He showcased a high-caliber cool in the postseason, winning two games in the NLDS against the Dodgers and proving he could handle the bright lights of October.  While a nerve issue in his elbow hampered his 2016 campaign, he showed the organization a specialized resilience by returning in 2017 to toss over 200 innings and record 15 wins, signaling that he was ready for a historic leap.

deGrom was already a known commodity going into the 2018 season, but arguably, he was about to have a monster season, and do so while changing what the “win” meant for pitchers.  He captured his first National League Cy Young Award, leading the league with a sparkling 1.70 ERA while earning only 10 wins. Despite the Mets' offense providing him with about as much support as a screen door on a submarine, his efficiency was undeniable; he set a record by allowing three runs or fewer in 29 consecutive starts.

2019 was pure absurdity, where he became one of the few pitchers in history to go back-to-back, capturing his second consecutive Cy Young Award. He showcased a high-caliber durability that year, leading the National League with 255 strikeouts and proving that his previous season wasn't a fluke. During this stretch, he became a perennial superstar, finishing in the top ten of MVP voting in both seasons… and again, he did so with a low number of wins (11).

The 2021 season provided what might be the most "Jacob deGrom" statistical anomaly in the history of the sport. Before injuries shortened his campaign to just 15 starts, he was pitching to a 1.08 ERA with 146 strikeouts in just 92 innings. At one point, he actually had more RBIs as a hitter than earned runs allowed as a pitcher, a feat of high-quality versatility that made him the most "must-watch" player in New York. While he constantly battled physical setbacks, he remained a professional mainstay when healthy, providing a foundation that made every deGrom start feel like a holiday in Queens.

After the 2022 season, deGrom shocked the Big Apple by opting out and signing a massive deal with the Texas Rangers. With New York, he had an 82-57 record with a 2.52 ERA and 0.998 WHIP.

A New York Met for all but two games of his professional career, Craig Swan may have had a losing record over his career, but he was a good player overall who was certainly capable of flashes of brilliance.  Swan’s best year was 1978 when he surprisingly won the ERA title.  Of note, he also was the National League leader in ERA+.

Lenny “Nails” Dykstra would have more success in Philadelphia (and would become infamously known for other things later) but it was in New York where he first cut his teeth as a star in Baseball.  Dykstra was a fan favorite showcasing his grit and was a big part of the Mets 1986 World Series Championship team, where he was considered the team’s “spark plug”.

Like Johan Santana, Frank Viola is far better known for his accomplishments in Minnesota, but still brought skills when he was traded to the New York Mets.  In both of his full seasons with the Mets, Viola was an All-Star and would finish 3rd in Cy Young Voting in 1990, a year where he was a 20 Game winner and finished 2nd in WAR for Pitchers.

In 1988, Kevin McReynolds finished 3rd in MVP voting.  The Outfielder had four straight seasons where he had over 20 Home Runs.  McReynolds was a popular player who was an efficient stealer in regards to Stolen Bases.  He would have 791 Hits as a Met.

While Tom Glavine will always be best remembered for his tenure as an Atlanta Brave, the Hall of Famer still had plenty left in the tank when he arrived in New York.  Going to two All-Star Games as a Met, Glavine would win 61 Games and was a solid presence in the rotation and remained one of the better hitting Pitchers in baseball.

While Jerry Grote was never going dazzle anyone with his offense, he was highly regarded for his ability to handle a pitching staff and was a vital component to the “Miracle Mets” World Series Championship Team in 1969.  Grote was a good defensive player and clubhouse leader and still was a two-time All-Star who managed to collect 994 Hits for New York.

The Mets inducted Grote into their Hall of Fame in 1992.

There is nobody who can question that Gary Carter was at his best when he was a Montreal Expo, but “The Kid” was still a solid player when he signed as the Mets Catcher.  Carter went to four All-Star Games as a Met (though realistically he shouldn’t have made the last two) but finished 6th and 3rd respectively in MVP voting for his first two seasons as a Met.  Carter would help the Mets win the 1986 World Series Championship and will always be remembered in the Big Apple.

The Mets honored Carter with a franchise Hall of Fame induction in 2001, and he was enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.

A two-time Cy Young Award winner with the Kansas City Royals, Bret Saberhagen still was a good Pitcher when he was traded to the Mets.  In the strike-shortened season of 1994, Saberhagen would finish third in Cy Young voting and led the NL in BB/9 and SO/BB with numbers that were far better than his Cy Young-winning seasons in KC.  

As a Met, Saberhagen posted a record of 29-21 with a 3.16 ERA.