3 former MLB MVPs who were flops as NY Mets players

3) Mo Vaughn won the MVP in 1995 when he led the American League with 139 RBI, hitting 39 HR and batting .300 in 140 games (the season was shortened due to the strike)

Vaughn was 27 years old when he won the MVP as a member of the Boston Red Sox. He was a monster hitter, averaging .304 and a .388 OBP, 33 HR and 107 RBI during his seven full seasons.

Coming off a season in which he hit .337 with 40 HR and 115 RBI in 1999, Vaughn signed a long-term free agent contract with the California Angels. What went somewhat unnoticed was that in his very first game for the Angels in 1999, he would slip and fall into the dugout chasing a fly ball, injuring his ankle and knee. It was a foreshadowing of things to come. He had two good years in 1999 and 2000, not great by his standards, but still very productive.

Then came 2001. He ruptured his bicep tendon and needed reconstructive surgery, and he was forced to sit out the entire season.

For some reason, the Mets decided to take a flyer on Vaughn, prior to the 2002 season. The Angels took an ineffective Kevin Appier off the Mets hands and, apparently, the Mets exchanged the favor.

Vaughn managed to play 139 games for the Mets in 2002, hitting a paltry .259 with 26 HR and 72 RBI. Not even close to his career numbers. He only got into 27 games in 2003, and after hitting .190 with 3 HR and 15 RBI, the Mets finally had enough and released him.

Vaughn suffered from nagging knee problems as a result of that fall back in 1999, and the surgery on his arm didn’t help his power numbers. The monster seasons he had with the BoSox, including that MVP year, would never materialize with the Mets. Given the history, it shouldn’t have been a big surprise.