New York Mets best all-time left-handed hitting starting lineup

The New York Mets have had some great left-handed hitters throughout the years. Let’s take a look at the best left-handed hitters to put on a Mets uniform.

The New York Mets have had some of the greatest play the game put on the orange and blue. Today we are going to take a look at the best left-handed hitters to play for the Amazins. Unfortunately, switch hitters will not qualify since they did hit from the right side, so no Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Mookie Wilson, or Howard Johnson here.

For this left-handed hitting team, we are going to try and keep the theme going with the glove work as long as the position allows, so excluding catcher, second base, shortstop, and third base the person at the position will be left-handed in the field as well.

Starting Pitcher – Sid Fernandez

The Mets have always been known for their pitching, but on the mound and not necessarily at the plate. Sid Fernandez takes the crown for the best left-handed hitting pitcher though. Fernandez spent 10 years with the Mets and put up some pretty solid numbers pitching-wise, and some decent numbers at the plate for a pitcher.

In those 10 seasons, Fernandez hit .190 with 1 home run and drove in 31 runs in 577 plate appearances. His best season with the Mets came in 1988 when he hit .250, drove in 9 runs, and drew 5 walks while only striking out 14 times in 72 plate appearances.

For a pitcher, Fernandez was not bad by any means.

Honorable Mention: Ray Sadecki

Catcher – Mackey Sasser

A position that is typically pretty hard to find a solid offensive player, to find one that hits left-handed makes it even harder. Funny enough, the best left-handed hitter catcher for the Mets was a backup to Gary Carter, Mackey Sasser. Since Sasser was a backup to one of the best hitting catchers in the game, it was hard for him to get some playing time, but when he did he made the most of it.

In somewhat limited playing time Sasser put up some pretty good numbers in the orange and blue. In five seasons with the Mets, he hit .283, had a .308 OBP, hit 15 home runs, and drove in 133 runs.

Sassers best season came in 1990 when he became a regular in the lineup. He hit .307, had a .344 OBP, hit 6 home runs and drove in 41 runs in just 288 plate appearances. Overall pretty decent numbers for a catcher who did not have many plate appearances for the year.

Honorable Mention: Jesse Gonder, Brian Schneider

Left Fielder – John Milner

Left field has had its fair share of solid players for the Mets over the years. The best left-handed hitter that played the position though was John Milner. Milner split time between left field and first base while with the Mets, but we are going to slot him in left field. Milner spent the first seven years of his career with the Amazins.

In the seven years with the Mets, Milner hit a combined .245, with a .339 OBP, hit 94 home runs, and drove in 338 runs. Milner’s best year with the Mets came in 1976 when he hit .271, had a solid .362 OBP, hit 15 home runs, drove in 78 runs, while only striking out 53 times in 511 plate appearances.

In addition to these accomplishments, Milner also finished third in Rookie of the Year voting in his first full season in 1972. Milner was quietly a pretty solid player for the Mets during his tenure.

Honorable Mention: Ed Kranepool

Center Fielder – Lenny Dykstra

The Mets have has some great center fielders throughout the years, the best two being switch hitters in Mookie Wilson and Carlos Beltran. The best left-handed hitting center fielder they had, though, was Lenny Dykstra.

Dykstra spent parts of five years with the Mets and the most notable year coming in 1986 when they won the World Series. In just his second season and his first full season, Dykstra put up some solid numbers, he hit .295, with a .377 OBP, stole 31 bases and only struck out 55 times in 498 plate appearances.

In his five seasons with the Mets, he averaged .278, had a .350 OBP, and stole 116 bags. Dykstra was a solid player with the Mets while bringing some nice speed to the lineup.

Right Fielder – Darryl Strawberry

Just like first base, the best left-handed hitting right fielder should be a surprise to nobody, in Darryl Strawberry. The best years of his career came with the Mets. He was there for the first eight years of his career and he made the most of them.

Strawberry’s best year came in 1988 when he finished second in the MVP race. He hit .266, had a .366 OBP, led the league in slugging with a .545 and OPS with a .911. He also led the league in home runs that year with 39 and drove in 101 runs while also stealing 29 bases.

In Strawberry’s eight seasons with the Mets, he hit a combined .263, with a .359 OBP, slugged .520, hit 252 home runs which are number one overall in Mets history, drove in 733 runs, and stole 191 bases. He was also named an All-Star in seven out of the eight years, won two silver slugger awards, finished in the top 10 for MVP voting four times, two of them being in the top three, and he won the Rookie of the Year award. Not to mention he was on the 1986 World Series Championship team.

Starting Lineup

There are multiple different lineups that can be created with these players, but the following one is what I feel is the best

1. Dykstra, CF
2. Murphy, 2B
3. Hernandez, 1B
4. Strawberry, RF
5. Ventura, 3B
6. Milner, LF
7. Sasser, C
8. Phillips, SS
9. Fernandez, P

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Is there anybody that should have been in this lineup?