3 seasons where a NY Mets player led the league in WAR

The New York Mets have yet to have an MVP, but it wasn't for lack of trying on behalf of certain players. Several runner-ups, including Francisco Lindor in 2024 as the most recent, made valiant attempts at capturing the award. Because of the power of WAR, sometimes the lazy voter’s way of casting a ballot or a more informed way than in years past when less deserving players would get the award, we can get a closer glimpse into a few seasons where a Mets player might’ve actually been the best choice.

There have been three instances where a Mets player led the league in WAR. They do share something else in common.

1973 – Tom Seaver

A WAR of 11 in 1973 courtesy of Tom Seaver gives us the first ever Mets player to lead the league in this statistic. It’s the only time Seaver ever did and the second of his three Cy Young seasons. Seaver would lead all of Major League Baseball in this statistic with Bert Blyleven’s 9.8 in charge of everybody in the American League. His effort only landed him 8th in the MVP race despite his team also winning a pennant.

The thing to note about Seaver here and in two other seasons is was a three-time leader in WAR exclusively for pitchers. In 1971 at 10.2 and again in 1975 at 7.8 he had the best WAR for any pitcher. However, with offense playing a factor, he was beat in those two seasons. Not in 1973. Contributing positively enough at the plate, he was worth enough. For a pitcher to lead the league in WAR at any point is quite impressive, especially with hitters getting the benefit of defense to tack on some additional points.

1985 – Dwight Gooden

One could argue the 1985 performance by Dwight Gooden was the best season by a player in the modern era. His 13.3 WAR blows out the competition. It was a throwback. It ranks 20th all-time for a single season achievement. In the last 100 years, it’s the highest of any player for a single season. It’s fun to look at the rankings and see a bunch of 1800s players’ pictures and then Gooden come up.

Gooden deservedly won the Cy Young in his historic season and finished fourth in the MVP race. Achieved in a time when pitchers were even less so considered MVP candidates, his outstanding number here might’ve been enough to help him break a still ongoing Mets drought.

2018 – Jacob deGrom

The beauty of this is how three generations of Mets stars all come together. Jacob deGrom was a whole new pitcher in 2018. He’d finish the year with a 9.9 WAR, ranked best in the league for all National Leaguers. Aaron Nola had a better WAR on the mound but deGrom’s hitting acumen put him over.

A fifth-place finish in the MVP vote is where deGrom landed. It was a bit understandable with the Mets playing as poorly as they did as a team. It was the first of two Cy Young awards deGrom won with the Mets.