Best Mets starting position player on every World Series team we don’t talk about enough

The New York Mets have been to five World Series. Each time, certain everyday position players shined throughout the regular season.

However, lost in the glory, are performances by some Mets players that seem to have been forgotten.

You probably already know the names of the big stars from the World Series years. Cleon Jones. Darryl Strawberry. Mike Piazza. What about those men who put together productive years that seem to have been lost? Let’s tip our cap to them.

Best 1969 Mets position player we don’t talk about enough – Ken Boswell

Ken Boswell was my inspiration to put this list together. I’ll often go back to the Baseball-Reference pages for many past Mets teams to see if I can find anything interesting. While searching around on the 1969 Mets, I couldn’t help but notice how well Boswell performed for them.

The team’s starting second baseman slashed .279/.347/.381 in 405 plate appearances. A light-hitting middle infielder, he did manage to leg out 7 triples on the season.

An outlier campaign on the back of his baseball card, he was a big part of the team’s regular season success.

In the postseason, Boswell played in all three NLCS games. Somehow, he found his power stroke. The man hit just three home runs in the regular season. Against the Atlanta Braves in his first postseason, he went deep twice and drove in five.

Boswell played in only one game of the World Series because of his left-handed bat and the southpaws starting for the Baltimore Orioles. Regardless, Boswell was a hugely underrated contributor to the first Mets team to win it all.

Best 1973 Mets position player we don’t talk about enough – Felix Millan

After Boswell’s days at the Mets starting second baseman were over, Felix Millan became the guy at the position. Acquired via trade with the Atlanta Braves, Millan is one of the most underrated Mets of all time. He hit consistently in his time with the organization. For a long time, he held the franchise record for most hits in a single season.

Millan was a part of the 1973 Mets team that made it to the Game 7 of the World Series. That may not have been possible if not for Millan’s regular season performance.

Ravaged by injuries, Millan was one of the few position players who managed to play the bulk of the season. He completed the year with 153 games played and 699 plate appearances. He ended up with 185 hits and a .290/.332/.353 batting line.

In addition to the offensive production the Mets desperately needed, Millan was a defensive stud. He had already won the Gold Glove twice. This year, he wouldn’t but still put together a 1.3 WAR on defense.

Millan was rewarded for his efforts with a 16th place finish in the MVP vote. Baseball writers recognized what he did for the team. While loyal Mets fans still recognize him as one of the best second basemen in club history, I’m not sure he gets enough credit.

Best 1986 Mets position player we don’t talk about enough – Ray Knight

Ray Knight?!?! That’s the choice here? I could have gone with Wally Backman, yet another second baseman. He was awesome for the Mets in the 1986 regular season.

Instead, I decided to go with third baseman Ray Knight. Best known as the World Series MVP, I’m not so sure people realize how well he played before October rolled around.

Coming off a season in which he hit just .218 in 290 plate appearances for the Mets, Knight turned his career around with one final awesome campaign in 1986. He slashed .298/.351/.424 in the regular season and added 11 home runs and 76 RBI.

There was nothing truly brilliant about Knight’s year especially when we compare it to other offensive numbers by 1986 Mets players. Still, there’s no denying how overlooked his regular season is.

You wouldn’t believe it today with how many great third basemen the team has had since but there was a team when the position seemed cursed. From everyone who played the position in the 1960s through Jim Fregosi and many others, third base was never a reliable source of production for the Amazins.

Knight helped change this in the 1986 regular season. Of course, he eventually etched his name into history with his World Series performance.

Best 2000 Mets position player we don’t talk about enough – Derek Bell

I’m a big Derek Bell fan. The third of the “Three Bees” from the Houston Astros in the 1990s, he spent just one season with the Mets in the year 2000. Just as the Astros seemed to write him off following a bad year in 1999, Bell proved he had a little something left.

Bell slashed .266/.348/.425 for the Mets in the regular season. He finished the year with 31 doubles, 18 home runs, and 69 RBI. Overlooked, he also scored 87 runs.

The team’s primary starting right fielder in 2000 helped the Mets complete a very good outfield trio. I could have easily selected Jay Payton or Benny Agbayani for this list. I think people remember them a lot more because of the time they spent in New York. Bell had only one season to give.

Unfortunately, Bell suffered an injury after one postseason at-bat. He wasn’t able to get back on the field for the run to the World Series—yet another reason as to why I think his performance has been lost.

Bell never did manage to recapture what he did for years in Houston or what he was able to accomplish in his lone season in orange and blue. The 2001 season was his final one where he hit just .173 for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

If there’s one more thing I would have liked to see from Bell, it’s a postseason moment of glory. Sadly, we never got it.