R.A. Dickey Climbs Mets’ All Time List With Seventeenth Win Of Season

In fifty-plus seasons of Mets Baseball, five pitchers have combined to post eight, twenty-win seasons.  I’m not debating which pitcher had the best season.   I am simply going through the top single season winners in Mets history.  So here we go.

Between 1969 and 1975, Tom Seaver compiled four twenty-win seasons.  No other pitcher before or since, posted multiple twenty-win seasons in club history.  In 1969, The Franchise set the club mark for wins by recording a 25-7 record.  In 1985, Doc Gooden completed what many thought would be the first of many twenty-win seasons.  Sadly, all we ever got was that one 24-4 campaign, which none the less, still ranks second in Mets history.  Tom Seaver’s 22-9 mark in 1975 comes next, followed by his 21-12 record during the ’72 campaign.   With a 21-10 record in 1976, Jerry Koosman became the second Mets pitcher ever to win twenty games in a season.  Then on three other occasions, a Mets pitcher finished with twenty wins on the nose.  In 1971, Tom Seaver compiled a 20-10 record.  David Cone accomplished the feat in 1988 with a 20-3 mark.  And Frank Viola rounds out the list of Mets pitchers who have won twenty games, when Sweet Music orchestrated a 20-12 record during the 1990 season.

A Mets hurler won nineteen games in a season three times.  Tom Seaver put together a 19-11 season in 1973; Jerry Koosman was 19-12 during his 1968 rookie season, and in 1990 Dwight Gooden recorded a 19-7 mark.

Then there are the eighteen game winners in Mets history.  Would you believe there are only two?  Bob Ojeda went 18-5 for the 1986 champs.  In 1970, Tom Seaver won eighteen and lost twelve.

This list brings us to the season R.A. Dickey is currently having.  Friday evening against the Miami Marlins, he made his twenty-seventh start of the season. With the Mets season being what it is, the new end goal for R.A Dickey is to achieve twenty victories, and maybe even win a Cy Young award.

Last night was his first opportunity to gain win number seventeen, and he nailed it.  R.A. Dickey tossed his fifth complete game, and his third shutout of the season.  He struck out the final batter to end the game, and totalled six for the night.  His 190 K’s rank second in the circuit.  He lowered his ERA to 2.63, which ranks third in the N.L.  With this win, Robert Dickey re-established a tie with Cincinnati’s Johnny Cueto and Washington’s Geo Gonzalez for the league lead in wins.  He limited Miami to five hits and issued three walks.  As such, Dickey’s league leading WHiP dropped to a 1.01 mark.

With win number seventeen, R.A. Dickey joins a New York Mets group of pitchers which now consists of five.  Al Leiter went 17-6 for the 1998 Mets.  Dwight Gooden won seventeen games on two different occasions.  He posted a 17-9 record in his rookie season.  And in 1986, Doc recorded a 17-6 mark.  In 1988, Ron Darling won a career high seventeen.  And back in 1976, Jon Matlack had his career season with a 17-10 mark.

With sixteen wins, R.A. Dickey was on par with the following seasons.  Tom Seaver won sixteen games in each of his first two seasons with the Mets.  Then in 1975, Jon Matlack posted a 16-12 record.  In 1986, Sid Fernandez recorded a 16-6 record.  His team mate,  Ron Darling posted a 16-6 record the season prior.  Fast-forward a bit, and in 2000, Al Leiter finished with a 16-8 record.  Steve Trachsel won sixteen games for the 2003 Mets.  Rick Reed impressed in 1998 with sixteen wins.  And the last Met to win this many was Johan Santana in his first season as a Met.

Let’s wrap this up with Mets pitchers who finished with fifteen win seasons.  Already mentioned here are Dwight Gooden; Jerry Koosman; Steve Trachsel; Jon Matlack; and Ron Darling.  Rounding out the rest of the fifteen game winners are Bobby Jones; Pedro Martinez; Tom Glavine; John Maine; Oliver Perez; Mike Hampton; and of course, Mike Pelfrey.

If there is anyone I missed, please let me know.  And Let’s Go Mets!