OPS has become a popular statistic even though it has been around since Mastodons roamed the earth. Combining a player’s ability to reach base with their power, there has only ever been one New York Mets player in the team’s history to lead the league in OPS.
In 1988, Darryl Strawberry slugged .911. It was the best in the National League and his one and only time leading the league. It was a strange year for sluggers. The AL was led by Wade Boggs with 5 home runs and a .964 OPS.
Strawberry’s .911 OPS managed to lead the NL this time. In MLB history, it was the lowest in the NL since 1919.
The one and only Mets OPS leader was the lowest in the modern era of the sport
Hal McRae in 1976 with an amazingly low league-leading .868 was well below Strawberry. That was a true outlier. We have to go back to 1963 with Bob Allison who matched Strawberry’s .911 OPS for our next example of someone who tried to lead the league with something lower.
Strawberry’s .911 OPS was largely due to a league-best .545. His .366 OBP was good, but not the driving force behind standing atop the leaderboards this season.
Statistically, Strawberry’s 1987 season was better. In an equal 640 plate appearances, he had the same total of home runs (39) and only 5 fewer hits with all of them being doubles, dropping from 32 to 27. His walk total dropped by 12 from 97 to a still outstanding 85. His .981 OPS in 1987 wasn’t close to leading the league. Jack Clark at 1.055, thanks to a .459 OBP plus a .597 slugging percentage, gave him top honors. It was still only good enough for third in the MVP vote despite leading the league in those stats appreciated more in today’s MLB world.
Only one Mets player in history has ever topped 1.000 in a single season, Mike Piazza in 2000 at 1.012. In the year 2000, that wasn’t even close to leading the way. Until someone like Juan Soto tops the NL, the Strawberry is alone on the island.
