3 former NY Mets players who went into the Hall of Fame wearing a rival’s cap

Only two plaques in Cooperstown for players include a New York Mets cap. Tom Seaver was the first in 1992. Mike Piazza became the second in 2016. We have hope of some future Hall of Fame candidates getting in with a Mets cap.

Choosing which team to represent on your Cooperstown cap is a big decision and a way to either show love for one fanbase, scorn another, or add a few bucks in your wallet. None of these three played for the Mets long enough for it to even be under consideration for them to represent Queens in Cooperstown. And in our first example, those Mets totals were far from Hall of Fame worthy.

1) Tom Glavine – Braves in 2014

Easily the biggest pain to put together a Hall of Fame career only to end up with the Mets in the latter stage of his career, Tom Glavine was a member of the Atlanta Braves for 16 seasons before joining the Mets. He’d actually end up back there for 13 starts in 2008 after five seasons in New York where he became best-known for blowing the 2007 season.

Despite the unhappy ending, Glavine was decent for the Mets in other years. He was an All-Star in 2004 and again in 2006. He was reliable in the postseason, too. He tossed 6 shutout innings in the NLDS. He was 1-1 in the NLCS with a 2.45 ERA in two starts.

A Braves player above all else, his 17 years in Atlanta accrued a 244-147 record and 3.41 ERA. He might’ve needed the half-decade with the Mets to push himself over as those 61 wins amassed in orange and blue helped push him to 305 total for his career. The ERA did go up a tad, but not significantly enough for voters to hold it against the two-time Cy Young winner.

The Braves of the 1990s were built on superb pitching. Glavine was front and center. The Hall of Fame was a must for him by the end. Because of all of the pain he caused against the Mets, his decline is remembered for more distaste than your average pitcher.