New York Mets: Five best center fielders of all-time in franchise history

The New York Mets have had some spectacular center fielders in their history. These are the five best Mets to play the position.

Despite the New York Mets having trouble finding their lockdown center fielder in recent years, it was not always like that. The Mets have some great center fielders hold down the outfield in their history, many of them winning various awards and/or finishing right at the top.

The Mets were so loaded with center fielders at one point that three of them on this list were all on the same team at once. While one of them did not really play center field at that point with the other two, it still shows that the depth was there.

With the Mets currently in the market for a center fielder, they can possibly acquire someone who can crack this list in a few years after manning the outfield for the next couple of seasons. That would be great news for the Mets considering the current five best center fielders were all great for the Mets and it would be a challenge to crack the list.

With that being said, I think most Met fans would be more than happy to see one of these center fielders pushed off the list for a current day one to take.

Let’s take a look at the five best center fielders in franchise history.

5) Lee Mazzilli

Up first on the top five center fielders in franchise history list we have Lee Mazzilli. Mazzilli’s time with the Mets is a little bit hard to dissect as he had two stints with the team which included time in center field and first base.

Mazzilli’s first stint with the Mets included six seasons where he was the primary center fielder for four of them. This first stint with the Mets was from 1976 to 1981. His second stint with the Amazins was from part of the 1986 season to part of the 1989 season. Between his two different times with the Mets, he played in a total of 572 games in center field. He slashed .264/.357/.396/.753 with 68 home runs, 353 RBI, and 152 stolen bases in 979 total games.

Mazzilli’s best season with the Mets came in 1979 where he hit .303/.395/.449/.844 with 15 home runs, a career-high 79 RBI, 34 stolen bases, and a 4.9 WAR in 158 games while being elected to his first and only All-Star game.

Although his second time around with the Mets was not as great as his first, it was still good. He split time between first base and all three outfield positions and helped the Mets win the 1986 World Series.

Mazzilli was a great piece to various Mets teams and will be remembered as one of the best to lock down center field for them. As of right now, he is sixth in stolen bases and tenth in walks in franchise history, and as a result, he finds himself as the fifth-best center fielder in franchise history.