NY Mets Mount Rushmore of Puerto Rican position players

1) Outfielder Carlos Beltran

Carlos Beltran could be considered the greatest Puerto Rican player in Mets history, and certainly a top ten player overall after he wrapped up his six and a half seasons in Queens. When the Mets signed Beltran, a Mantí native, to a seven-year $119 million contract prior to the 2005 season, it became the largest contract in franchise history and he helped usher in the beginning of a new era in Mets baseball.

During Beltran’s time with the Mets, he was a three-time Gold Glove Award Winner, two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and a five-time All-Star. Beltran also produced a career .280/.369/.500 batting line over the course of his Mets career with a .869 OPS. The numbers simply speak for themself with how remarkable Beltran was at the plate.

When looking at the Mets all-time leaderboard Beltran ranks third in WAR among position players with a 31.1 WAR, only behind Darryl Strawberry and David Wright respectfully. Beltran also ranks sixth in Mets history with 149 career home runs as well as sixth in total RBI’s in a Mets uniform with 559. Offensively Beltran ranks among the top ten in nearly every offensive category in franchise history.

It can be argued that Beltran was the best defensive center fielder in franchise history. It was truly remarkable to watch how much ground he could cover in centerfield while effortlessly gliding and making tough plays look routine. Beltran also owns the seventh-best defensive WAR in franchise history with a 4.4 WAR.

During his time with the Mets Beltran also began the construction of the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in 2009, which was a high school built for young athletes in Puerto Rico. Beltran had donated over $4 million of his own salary to help construct this facility. Today that academy could be considered the best academy on the island of Puerto Rico in terms of developing baseball talent as well as young men.

While there were certainly highs and lows with Beltran over the course of his Mets career, I’m sure striking out looking in game seven of the NLCS in 2016 still resonates with most, he was a generational talent for the organization. The Mets have been unable to find a center fielder close to what Beltran was for the Mets from 2005-2011 which cements his spot on our Mount Rushmore.

2) First Baseman Carlos Delgado

When Carlos Delgado was traded to the Mets from the division rival Florida Marlins before the 2006 season, it seemed that the organization had acquired the legitimate middle of the order power threat to put them over the top. Hailing from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, Delgado burst on to the scene in a big way for the Mets in 2006 as he put up 38 home runs and 114 RBI’s in the middle of the Mets robust lineup which helped propel the organization to a division title and the best record in the National League.

Delgado spent four seasons with the Mets between 2006-2009 and put up monster numbers before injuries took their toll on the slugger in 2009. During his four-year career with the Mets, Delgado had a .267/.351/.506 batting line to pair with a .857 OPS. His all-time greatest moment in a Mets uniform I believe was the day he set the Mets record with nine RBI’s in a game against the New York Yankees back in 2008 as part of that quirky two-park day-night doubleheader.

Overall, Delgado slugged 104 home runs and 339 RBI’s during his time in Queens, and you almost could assuredly bet that he’d be included among the Mets’ top ten all-time leaderboards if it weren’t for his injury-shortened 2009 campaign. Impressively enough, however, Delgado holds the third-highest slugging percentage in franchise history at .506 only behind Darryl Strawberry and Mike Piazza.

Delgado was also well known for his charitable efforts while with the organization, as he was the 2006 Roberto Clemente Award recipient in Major League Baseball. Delgado was involved in numerous humanitarianism ventures that included improving Puerto Rico’s education system, Three Kings Day gift donations, as well economic and medicinal donations in Puerto Rico. He certainly made sure to leave his mark off the field and he is still heavily involved in many social activism efforts after he retired from the game of baseball.

Carlos Delgado was one of the best overall humans to put on a Mets uniform, and both his play on the field as well as his social activism off the field are certainly worthy of the second spot on our Mount Rushmore.

3) Outfielder Angel Pagan

Though Angel Pagan was a product of the Mets Minor League system, he did not make his MLB debut with the Mets, as he would make his debut as a member of the Chicago Cubs in 2006. Pagan was re-acquired by the Mets before the 2008 season for two minor league players, and he would become a member of the Mets through the 2011 season.

You may be wondering why I had included Pagan on this Mount Rushmore list, as he is not as widely known among casual fans as the previous two players, but there are numerous reasons. First and foremost, Pagan seemed to be one of the only rays of light during the extremely dark times of the Mets from 2009-2011.

When the organization was going through a transition from being one of the highest spending and exciting teams in baseball to predominantly a rebuilding stage, Pagan was one of the few players who brought his A-game to the ballpark day in and day out. Pagan also led the team in WAR during the 2010 season with a 5.3 WAR, which further solidified his value to the Mets at that time.

Pagan became an electric player for the Mets during his tenure both in the batter’s box and on the field defensively. For memories sake how could we forget Pagan making an extraordinary catch in foul territory during the 2008 season in Los Angeles that ended up costing him his entire season? Or how about the phenomenal unassisted triple play he started in center field in 2010?

During his time in Queens, Pagan hit .284/.337/.419 with a .756 OPS. Pagan’s batting average ranks 9th all-time in Mets history. The Rio Piedras native also had 24 home runs to go along with 170 RBI’s during his four seasons with the Mets. Pagan also was very smart on the basepaths and he is just outside the top ten of the franchise’s all-time stolen base leaders with 87 career stolen bases in a Mets uniform.

While it could be argued that trading Pagan to the San Francisco Giants was a mistake, as he became a star during his time in San Francisco while also winning a World Series Ring in 2012, it’s important to not forget his contributions while in New York as he did play a significant role on some not so good ballclubs.

4) Shortstop Francisco Lindor

Now before you start questioning my decision to include Francisco Lindor as a premature move, I think it’s important to outline why we are including Lindor at this point. First and foremost, Lindor is considered a top ten talent in all of Major League Baseball and the Mets have not acquired a star of Lindor’s stature in well over a decade. Lindor is hitting the prime of his career and has seemed to have established himself quite nicely as a member of the Mets clubhouse this spring.

Lindor also has recently opened a new $1 million building during Spring Training that is fittingly named, “The Lindor Building,” at his former middle school Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida. He also recently created the Francisco Lindor Scholarship Fund to help students in need of financial assistance to attend Montverde Academy. Lindor also has established himself as a face of the newly launched “Amazin’ Mets Foundation” by Alex Cohen.

Lindor is a generational talent whose best baseball is still ahead of him. Based on his merit alone from an on-field and philanthropic standpoint there is nobody else more deserving of this final spot. It’ll be exciting to watch Lindor take the field on Opening Day this season, as well as watch the best shortstop in baseball night in and night out anchor the middle of the Mets infield.

If anything Lindor represents a face of hope for Mets fans with new ownership in tow. After years of futility under the Wilpons, Lindor was new owner Steve Cohen’s first splash acquisition and signaled a changing of the guard in New York. Lindor’s arrival has created a buzz around the organization that we have not seen in years and he is the face of a new era of baseball in Queens starting in 2021.

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Arguably the Mets may have the best Puerto Rican position player Mount Rushmore in all of baseball, especially with the addition of Caguas native Francisco Lindor. All that is now missing is a long-term contract to Lindor to make this Mount Rushmore solidified for the next few decades.