The best NY Mets defensive season at each position in the StatCast era

Run prevention is a main topic for the New York Mets this offseason and if you haven’t already, you’re going to end up learning a little more about some of the metrics they’ll look into. The StatCast era began around a decade ago and one of the more commonly cited statistics is Outs Above Average. Defense has always been difficult to measure. OAA is easier to comprehend than some others as it measures players against their peers and the chances they received.

This is how Baseball Savant calculates:

Outs Above Average (OAA) is the cumulative effect of all individual plays a fielder has been credited or debited with, making it a range-based metric of fielding skill that accounts for the number of plays made and the difficulty of them. For example, a fielder who catches a 25% Out Probability play gets +.75; one who fails to make the play gets -.25.

Dating back to 2016 when the calculations were made, this is the best season at each position for the Mets. Pitchers and catchers are not included.

The best OAA season for Mets players at every position that uses it

1B - Pete Alonso in 2021 with 3 OAA

With as many chances as he got, Pete Alonso was bound to make the list in what was his best defensive season, 2021. At 3 OAA, it was better than anything the small number of other first basemen posted at first base.

2B - Jeff McNeil in 2022 with 7 OAA

Versatility has always been what made Jeff McNeil unique. Although it was his 2022 batting title that headlined the season, he also posted the best OAA of any Mets second baseman in the StatCast era.

3B - Todd Frazier in 2018 with 5 OAA

This one is probably one of the more surprising ones. Todd Frazier’s 5 OAA at third base isn’t exceptional, but it’s a reminder of what a quality player he was on a forgettably poor Mets roster in 2018.

SS - Francisco Lindor in 2021 with 21 OAA

Several of the best defensive seasons came courtesy of Francisco Lindor. Oddly, it was year one with the Mets in 2021 when he had his worst offensive season that he put together his best defensive campaign.

LF - Michael Conforto in 2018 with 5 OAA

The Mets couldn’t quite settle on where they should play Michael Conforto. In 2018, he saw a lot of time in left field where he accumulated 5 OAA. It’s the best of any Mets player at the position in the StatCast era.

CF - Harrison Bader in 2024 with 9 OAA

This is actually impressive considering Harrison Bader lost playing time late in 2024. He didn’t win a Gold Glove, but probably could have challenged for the honor if his bat didn’t fold.

RF - Michael Conforto in 2019 with 5 OAA

Kudos to Michael Conforto for making this list a second time. Although not known for his defensive prowess, he clearly was a pretty good glove man at more than one position when compared to other Mets players.

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