10 best relief pitchers in New York Mets history

2) Best relief pitcher in Mets franchise history - Jesse Orosco           

Who doesn’t remember Jesse Orosco, throwing his glove to the sky as Gary Carter jumped into his arms as the last out was recorded, securing the Mets 1986 World Series Championship? Orosco was a mainstay of the Mets bullpen throughout most of the 1980’s. In parts of 8 seasons, he saved 107 games and while contributing an additional 45 wins pitching in relief.

Jesse Orosco celebrated the Mets Banner day on July 31, 1983, by winning both games of a double-header against the Pirates in extra-inning walk-off style, becoming only the third Mets pitcher to win two games in one day..

If the game was on the line, Jesse Orosco was usually in the game. He on the mound for the last out as the Mets defeated Houston in the 1986 NLCS and then when they defeated Boston in the World Series. He and Roger McDowell shared the closer duties that year as a righty/lefty duo with each one saving over 20 games.

1) Best relief pitcher in Mets franchise history - John Franco                     

John Franco’s career reads like the history of the New York Mets. A local boy, he graduated from Lafayette High School in Brooklyn, St. John’s University in Queens, and he lived in Staten Island. Franco was traded to the Mets in 1989. He would spend the better part of his next 15 years there. Franco served as the Mets closer throughout most of the 1990’s before becoming the set up man later in his career.

Franco won the 1990 NL Rolaids Relief Man Award and twice led the league in saves. He saved 276 games for the Mets on his way to a career total of 424, putting him fifth on the all time MLB list. His 1119 appearances is a National League record that still stands..

I can quote numbers about John Franco all day. The important thing to know is what he meant to his teammates and to the team in general. The players always knew that John Franco had their backs. Franco is one of only four men to serve as captain of the New York Mets, making him forever in the company of David Wright, Keith Hernandez, and Gary Carter.

Today John Franco serves as a community ambassador for the Mets. While he may not have garnered the notoriety of other closers of his era, he is considered to be one of the best closers in the history of baseball and the greatest Mets closer of all time.