Best Mets who have had two tours with the orange and blue

Mets Shortstops

When you think of shortstop for the Mets, depending on your age and the era you grew up, you think of Bud Harrelson or Jose Reyes. Seems like they each manned the position for a long time. Oh, there were some decent players sprinkled in there along the way, like Tony Fernandez, Larry Bowa, Garry Templeton…but their time was short-lived. Reyes was the one who, after leaving in the era of free agency and wild spending, would return for what turned out to be a swan song.

Jose Reyes (7) is probably the most exciting player in Mets history. He left in the prime of his career but fizzled after leaving New York, bouncing from the Marlins to the Rockies, to the Blue Jays, before landing back with the Mets to help fill the void of David Wright not being able to man third base. Reyes’ athleticism had greatly diminished by the time he came back to the Mets in 2016 and the highlight of his return was to play side-by-side on the left side of the infield for David Wright’s farewell game at the end of the 2018 season. Reyes still holds a number of records with the Mets.

He spent 12 years total in a Mets uniform accumulating more than 1,500 hits, 200 doubles, 100 triples, and 100 home runs, as well as more than 400 stolen bases. Watching him leg out those triples was truly something. But by the end, it was almost painful as even the media and the fans were calling for his release.

Tim Foli (19) was one of the three players included in the Rusty Staub trade with Montreal prior to the 1972 season. Foli was never going to replace someone named Bud Harrelson in the Mets lineup. Although he would fill in every so often when Harrelson had to fulfill his military obligations. He came back for second tour, briefly, in 1978 and was not at all productive. He left for Pittsburgh where he solidified the SS position for the “We Are Family” 1979 World Champion Pirates.