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3 of the biggest NY Mets All-Star snubs in the last 20 seasons

Deserving players have gotten left out of the All-Star game every year. But in the last 20 years, the NY Mets should have sent these players to the Midsummer Classic.
ByNoah Wright|
Apr 11, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) celebrates with outfielder Brandon Nimmo (9) after the Mets scored against the Oakland Athletics during the sixth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images
Apr 11, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) celebrates with outfielder Brandon Nimmo (9) after the Mets scored against the Oakland Athletics during the sixth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images
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3) 2008 Johan Santana

The Mets acquired former two-time Cy Young winner Johan Santana in a blockbuster deal during the 2007-2008 offseason. His first season in New York was one of the best of his career, as he set a career-best in ERA at 2.53, pitched a career-high 234.1 innings, and his 166 ERA+ ranking was the second-best he ever had in a single season.

However, despite a dominant year, Santana didn’t make the All-Star game. It’s not like he didn’t have the numbers to earn a roster spot. Santana entered the All-Star break with a 2.84 ERA, 3.65 FIP, and 1.19 WHIP across 126.2 innings pitched. He struck out 21.7% of opponents with a 6.7% walk rate. His +2.5 fWAR was one of the highest marks in baseball.

Santana was in the top ten of multiple stats heading into the break. His ERA was the fourth-lowest among all NL-qualified pitchers. The lefty ranked 8th in FIP. Santana’s K:BB ratio was the 7th highest. He also came in with the 9th-lowest WHIP. He was tied with Carlos Zambrano in fWAR, where Zambrano made the All-Star game. The only rate stats Santana wasn’t top ten in was his walk rate, which ranked 18th in, and HR/9 (0.99), clocking in at 27th.

Brewers’ Ben Sheets ended up getting the nod for the All-Star game for the National League team, and while he was having a strong season, he had very similar numbers to Santana. Sheets owned a 2.85 ERA, 3.43 FIP, with a 21.7% K%, 5.6% BB%, and 0.95 HR/9 ratio in 123 innings. If those sorts of numbers earned Sheets the opportunity to take the mound to open the 2008 All-Star game, then Santana’s should have been good enough to at least make the mid-summer classic in the first place.

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