Mets History: Ten lowest team-leading WARs in franchise history

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NEW YORK – JULY 31: Former player Dwight Gooden speaks during a press conference for his induction into the New York Mets Hall of Fame prior to the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 31, 2010 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Wins Above Replacement (WAR) is one of baseball’s modern ways to measure how much a player contributes. In the history of the New York Mets, we look at the lowest totals to lead the team.

WAR may be a new statistic, but it’s not something we’re unable to measure from years past. Thanks to this, for those New York Mets players of yesteryear, we can better understand how they measured up against the competition.

Despite what some people may suggest, WAR is not the end-all, be-all of numbers. Meant to measure how valuable a player is when compared to the average guy around the league, it does have its faults.

After checking in on the highest WAR totals in Mets history to lead the ball club, I decided it was worth looking at the lowest ones that still managed to finish above everyone else. These ten Mets seasons included some of the worst teams in franchise and baseball history. Even their best player had a year he would like to do over again, or completely forget.

10) Dwight Gooden – 4.1 in 1993

Dwight Gooden has had his share of fantastic WAR seasons. His 1985 campaign included one of the best in MLB history. In 1993, his team-leading 4.1 WAR wasn’t nearly as fantastic.

The last-place Mets lost 103 games this season. Gooden, who went 12-15 with a 3.45 ERA, pitched his final full season with the team. With a better team around him, Gooden’s season could have looked a lot different. Alas, it cracks the top 10 of the lowest WAR numbers to lead the team.

9) Angel Pagan – 4.0 in 2009

Only a decade ago, outfielder Angel Pagan had a year where he led the Mets in WAR. Thanks to a .306 batting average, .350 OBP, and Gold Glove-caliber defense, he finished the season as the top WAR guy on the club.

Amazingly, Pagan had an even better one in 2010. We can credit his defense for this and the fact that he played a full season. In 2009, Pagan played in only 88 games for the Mets yet somehow still compiled enough wins above replacement to top the rest of his teammates.

29 Apr 1993: Second baseman Jeff Kent of the New York Mets fields a hit and makes the toss to first against a San Francisco Giant runner at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California. Mandatory Credit: Otto Greule/Allsport /

8) John Stearns – 3.8 in 1982

John Stearns held down the catcher position for the Mets during some of the franchise’s leanest years. Nearly a lifelong Met at the major league level, he was the 1982 WAR leader with a total of 3.8. To show how poor the team around him was, Stearns played in only 98 games.

In what became essentially his last big league season if you exclude the 12 combined games in 1983 and 1984, Stearns was an All-Star who hit .293. Although his offensive production added to his WAR total, his stellar defense played the biggest part in leading the team.

7) Dennis Ribant – 3.5 in 1966

Unlike the previous three names mentioned on this list already, pitcher Dennis Ribant has been forgotten in time. Many of the members of the 1966 Mets are. Another bad year for the organization was led by Ribant and his rather low 3.5 WAR.

How did Ribant do it? An 11-9 record and 3.20 ERA in 26 starts and 13 relief appearances did the trick. RIbant did a little bit of everything for the Mets this year. He tossed 10 complete games and even earned 3 saves. It was his last season with the Mets and by far the best of his professional career.

6) Lee Mazzilli – 3.3 in 1980

A year after representing the Mets in the 1979 All-Star Game, Lee Mazzilli posted a team-high 3.3 WAR in the 1980 season. It’s the sixth-lowest total to lead the team in any season of the franchise’s existence.

Rather undervalued because of the state of the franchise at the time, Mazzilli batted .280/.370/.431 in 1980. He tied his career-high with 16 home runs and set a new personal best with 41 stolen bases. It was the final exceptional season of his career although he did find his way back to Flushing in the late 1980s as a vital role-player for some much better teams.

5) Jeff Kent – 3.2 in 1995

Jeff Kent’s spot on this list deserves an asterisk as does one other name we’ll get to later on. Because the 1995 season included only 144 games, Kent was unable to lift his WAR above 3.2. Nevertheless, it probably would have remained one of the lowest totals to lead the franchise in any single season.

Kent smashed 20 home runs for the Mets this year while hitting .278/.327/.464. Far from being his most exceptional season when considering what he did later in his career, at least in terms of WAR, it was the best the Mets had to offer. I’m going to give him the number five spot on this list instead of four because he had fewer games to make it work—although he’s still technically tied with the next man up.

MIAMI, FL – APRIL 03: A general view of the batting helmets for the New York Mets before the game against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park on April 3, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

4) Ron Hunt – 3.2 in 1964

It has been said that Ron Hunt was the first star player in Mets history. Whether you agree or not, he led the 1964 Mets with a 3.2 WAR. The sophomore All-Star had one of the best seasons of his career and it didn’t even include a ton of hit by pitches.

Hunt hit .303/.357/.406 for the 1964 squad while knocking 6 home runs and 19 doubles. Rated as an average defender according to WAR with a 0.0 total, it was all about his bat this season.

3) Hubie Brooks – 2.6 in 1981

The last of our asterisks go to Hubie Brooks and his 1981 performance. With only 105 games on the schedule due to the player’s strike, Brooks had a mountain to climb when it came to adding to statistics which require time and opportunity.

In his first full season, Brooks batted .307/.345/.411. Although he hit only 4 home runs, Brooks did manage to leg out 21 doubles. His 2.6 WAR was quite low. However, considering how poorly his teammates performed, it’s no surprise.

2) Frank Thomas – 2.5 in 1962

The original Mets slugger of 1962, Frank Thomas, led the inaugural Mets with a 2.5 WAR. Narrowly avoiding the first or last place spot on this list thanks almost exclusively to home runs, Thomas powered his way into franchise history.

Thomas hit 34 home runs for the 1962 Mets with a rather average slash line of .266/.329/.496. Because defense matters a lot with WAR, his total got dragged down a bit despite some impressive power numbers. Thomas was an aging veteran whose fielding skills didn’t match his thick bat.

1) Johnny Lewis – 2.4 in 1965

Who doesn’t remember Johnny Lewis? In what became the only full big league season of his life, Lewis led the 1965 Mets with a 2.4 WAR.

Lewis accomplished this with 15 home runs and a .245/.331/.384 batting line. It is no shock to see yet another team from the 1960s have a representative on this list. Years before WAR was a thing, players on those teams were posting some of the lowest team-leading totals in franchise history. Lewis did it better than anyone else.

Next. Greatest Mets teams to never win a World Series

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