New York Mets best players at each position since the year 2000

The Infield

In 1999 the Mets were said to field one of if not the greatest defensive infield of all time. Unfortunately, this list begins in 2000 so it’s going to be tough to live up to some of those names of that 1999 infield. Let us take a look:

First baseman: Carlos Delgado

Carlos Delgado became a Met in November of 2005. Formerly a member of the then Florida Marlins, Delgado was traded to the Mets for Mike Jacobs and Yusmeiro Petit.

Delgado spent four years with the Mets from 2006-2009 where he was the everyday first baseman. His last season was cut short due to injury. During his time in Flushing Delgado hit .267 for the team and hit 104 home runs to go along with 339 RBIs.

In two of his three full seasons, Delgado finished top-12 in the MVP voting with one being ninth place in 2008. He was a huge piece to getting the Mets back to the playoffs and NLCS in 2006.

In his first season with the Mets, he hit thirty-eight home runs which capped off his tenth consecutive season with at least thirty home runs making him the fourth player to do so at the time.

Second baseman: Edgardo Alfonzo

Edgardo Alfonzo, or Fonzie as he was known, is the lone survivor from the 1999 infield. There have been many second basemen in the past twenty years for the Mets and it has not been very good.

Alfonzo was a great Met as he started for the team in 1995 but right here we are only looking at the three seasons he played in the 2000s. Yes, he only played three seasons in the 2000s but the Mets did not do a great job replacing the Amazin’ great after his tenure there.

Alfonzo is always be known as one of the best defensive players the Mets have had in their history. His fielding was never a question to fans. He also backed it up with his bat.

In 2000 Alfonzo made his only all-star appearance when he batted .324 with twenty-five home runs and ninety-four RBIs. 2001 his batting dropped a little but he finished strong in his last season getting his average over .300 once again.

Shortstop: Jose Reyes

Jose Reyes is arguably the greatest shortstop in franchise history. The Mets were always known to have great defensive shortstops which Reyes was also apart of. The difference with Reyes was his batting and base-stealing was on another level from the rest.

Reyes was a four-time all-star for the Mets and also won a batting title in 2011. Reyes was exactly what you wanted a lead-off hitter to be like. In his time with the team, Reyes had a .334 OBP and 408 stolen bases. If Reyes got on base there was a solid chance he was scoring.

He is the all-time Mets leader in stolen bases and triples. On top of that, he led the entire league in stolen bases in 2005, 2006, and 2007 as well as led the league in triples in 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2011. Reyes brought a spark to the team as well as a spark to all Mets fans in attendance.

Third baseman: David Wright

No question in doubt about this one. David Wright is the greatest third baseman in Mets history. Injuries came into play around 2011 to cut his career short which was definitely on pace to end as a hall-of-fame career. Now let’s get to the good parts.

Wright was a seven-time all-star, two-time gold glove, and two-time silver slugger winner. In 2013 Wright was named captain of the club.

Wright spent his entire career with the Amazin’s where he finished with a .296 career batting average which we all know would have been over a .300 if the injuries didn’t catch up.

Wright retired while being the franchise leader in hits, RBIs, total bases, runs scored, doubles, walks, sacrifice flies, extra-base hits, and times on base.

In a six-year stretch from 2005-2010, Wright finished with over 100 RBIs in five of those six seasons. The greatest third baseman in Mets history as well as one of the greatest all-around in team history.