The best NY Mets player performance in an All-Star Game you probably forgot about

What’s the best All-Star performance by a New York Mets player? Only Lee Mazzilli in 1979 and David Wright have homered. Alongside Mazzilli’s 2 RBI in that game, Pete Alonso driving in a pair in 2019 is the only other player with more than a single RBI. In fact, only three other Mets players have any RBI at all.

It’s apparent from the history of the Mets how this is a franchise built on pitching. The All-Star Game results prove it.

In 2007, Jose Reyes had one of the better offensive showings by going 3 for 4 with a double, run scored, and stolen base. A little more than a decade earlier, another Mets player matched those exact numbers.

Remember Lance Johnson’s performance in the 1996 All-Star Game for the Mets?

Philadelphia hosted the 1996 All-Star Game in a year where the Mets sent two players, Lance Johnson and Todd Hundley. Hundley went hitless in his one plate appearance while Johnson would go 3 for 4 with a run scored, double, stolen base, and one caught stealing.

Unheard of in today’s world, Johnson played the full game in center field for the National League who’d win 6-0.  There were a couple of unusual items from the box score. The American League used three pitchers for two innings each and then asked for an inning each from Troy Percival and Roberto Hernandez.

Johnson led off with a double off of Charles Nagy. He’d score on a groundout by Barry Bonds. A groundout to end the second held Johnson at bay. He singled to lead off the fifth inning and steal second base with Barry Larkin at the plate. Johnson got greedy, attempting to steal third base with Bonds at the dish and one out. He failed and Bonds would ground out to end the inning.

Up once more in the bottom of the seventh, for the third time leading off an inning, Johnson singled. He’d end up stranded at second base with the next three hitters going down in order.

A relatively unexciting All-Star Game because of how easily the NL won it, the lack of Hall of Fame pitching for the AL makes it a much tamer exhibition event as well. Charles Nagy, Chuck Finley, and Roger Pavlik don’t hold water in comparison to John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, and Pedro Martinez who all pitched for the NL.

Secretly an event featuring multiple future Mets like Mike Piazza winning the MVP, Al Leiter getting the last out of the game, and even a 1-2-3 innings out of Steve Trachsel who retired Sandy Alomar, Cal Ripken Jr., and Alex Rodriguez on 8 pitches, Johnson’s performance over 9 innings is one of the better ones by a Mets position player yet easily forgotten. It shouldn't surprise anyone, though. Johnson's 1996 regular season is one of the best in franchise history. Etch his 227 hits as a permanent placeholder of the most eer by a Mets hitter.