Top 5 Mets leadoff hitters in franchise history

Successful leadoff hitters come in many different forms and the New York Mets have seen a variety of them through the years. There have been some who passed through town rather quickly and were here and gone in a little more than a season. Others remained with the team and passed the test of time.  I’m sure you will recognize most of these names. There might be a few others who you have forgotten or don't remember that they were ever here. I always try to back up any of my rankings with some cold, hard facts, but this is one time when I’ll be relying on my feeble and fading memory, having seen these players performing at their best, and sometimes not so much.  

First, the Mets leadoff hitter Hall of Shame

These are players who were leadoff hitters for other teams during their careers. They were brought in to fill a need for a table setter at the top of the batting order. They didn’t perform as expected and were shown the door.

Luis Castillo: After a ten year career with the Marlins and two more with the Twins that saw Castillo produce three All-Star game appearances, two Silver Slugger Awards, and 315 stolen bases, he was brought in to provide a boost to the Mets sagging playoff hopes. He played well, batting .296 with a .371 on base percentage. He was rewarded by Mets GM Omar Minaya with a four year contract. That’s when the bottom fell out. He hit only .245 that year and later .235 in 2010.

Vince Coleman: The Mets signed Coleman before the 1991 season, perhaps in part for having lost free agent Darryl Strawberry. In six years with the Cardinals Coleman stole 549 bases, including four straight years of over one hundred. In three seasons in New York, Coleman stole a total of 99 bases. He was malcontent in the locker room and was always nursing some kind of injury. His time in New York is known for his throwing a firecracker at fans, injuring three. He was charged with a felony and was told by management to stay away from the team. He was traded after the season,

Lenny Randle: The Mets traded for Lenny Randle in April of 1977 for cash and a player to be named later. Why was this former first round draft pick available at such a bargain price? He had just punched out his manager Frank Lucchesi and breaking his jaw before a spring training game because Lucchesi he had given Randle’s starting position to someone else. Lenny Randle had a good first season with the Mets, hitting .304 with 33 stolen bases, but his batting average dropped to .233 the following season and he was released during Spring Training in 1979 (and without incident I might add).

The Mets Top 5 leadoff hitters of all time: Honorable mention

As previously stated, the Mets have had a few players who had one excellent season batting leadoff but for whatever reason, still were short timers in Flushing.

Richie Ashburn: The two-time batting champion, 1950s hits leader, and Mets representative at the 1962 All-Star game had an uncanny knack for working pitchers deep into counts. He hit .306 that year with a .424 on base percentage batting leadoff and then retired. The story goes that during the 1957 season, the future Hall of Famer struck a female fan with a foul ball. On the next pitch, he hit the same person with another one while she was being carted off on a stretcher. That's what's called bat control.

Ron Hunt: Hunt was the Mets first home grown star. He was elected to and started the 1963 All-Star game at Shea Stadium. In his four years hitting leadoff with the Mets, Hunt batted .282 on some very bad teams, each of which lost well over 100 games. Known for doing anything to get on base, Hunt led all of MLB for seven consecutive years in being Hit by Pitch.

Tommie Agee: Batted leadoff for the 1969 World Champions. During his five year career in New York, he set season records at that time for At Bats, Runs, Hits, Stolen Bases, and Total Bases. He also made some outstanding World Series fielding plays that you may have heard about.

Lance Johnson: The 1996 season was one for the record books for the player they called “One Dog.” He led the league with 724 plate appearances, 682 at bats, 227 hits, 21 triples, while hitting .333. The next season he was traded to the Cubs.

Rickey Henderson: What list of all time leadoff hitters would be complete without mentioning the greatest of all time. In his one full season with the Mets, Rickey hit .315 with 42 stolen bases at age 40. The following year, he did the other thing that made Rickey famous: he began to complain about wanting a new contract and was traded. Henderson's career 1406 stolen bases and 2295 runs scored are both MLB records.

The Mets Top 5 leadoff hitters of all time # 5: Bud Harrelson

This selection might have been affected by my heart on some level, but that is only because during his time here, Harrelson was the heart and soul of the team. He anchored the Mets defense for 13 seasons and spent the majority of his Mets career batting leadoff. His .236 lifetime batting average belies the fact that he brought emotion and intangibles to the top of the Mets lineup. He was the motor that made the team go. 

Derrel McKinley “Bud” Harrelson’s records claim that he was 5’ 11” tall and weighed 155 lbs. but anybody who ever saw him play would understand that those statistics are embellished by at least 10%. The slick fielding switch hitting shortstop was the leader of the team in an era before Mets were named official captains. Harrelson’s bio reads like a history of the franchise. He played for the 1969 World Champions and the 1973 National League pennant winners. He represented the Mets at the 1970 and 1971 All-Star games while also winning the 1971 Gold Glove Award. Later in his career, Harrelson was a coach for the 1986 World Champions, the 1988 National League East Division Champions, and even managed the team from 1990 to 1991.

Harrelson is perhaps best known in Mets history for his fight with Pete Rose in game 3 of the 1973 National League Championship Series. In the fifth inning, Joe Morgan hit a double play ball to Mets first baseman John Milner with Rose on first. Rose slid hard into Harrelson at second base attempting to break up the double play and a fight between the two erupted into a bench-clearing brawl. The game was nearly called off when the Shea Stadium crowd began throwing objects at Rose, causing Reds manager Sparky Anderson to pull his team off the field until order was restored. Mets manager Yogi Berra and players Willie Mays, Tom Seaver, Cleon Jones and Rusty Staub walked out to left field to calm the fans. Eventually the game resumed. The Mets won the game 9-2 and took the series 3-2.

You can make the case that Bud Harrelson’s statistics shouldn’t earn him a rating this high. All I can say is that statistics don’t always tell the whole story. If you disagree, please ask someone who saw him play.

The Mets Top 5 leadoff hitters of all time # 3: Brandon Nimmo

Brandon Nimmo was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on March 27, 1993. Wyoming is a beautiful western state. It's the kind of place where they could probably give you a home where the buffalo roam and the deer and the antelope play, but nobody plays baseball. As Wyoming is one of only three states that do not offer high school baseball, Nimmo played American Legion Baseball. The Mets scouted all of Nimmo’s Legion games and tournaments. He graduated from Cheyenne East High School and was selected by the Mets in the first round of the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft as the 13th overall pick. Now it was time to play some baseball.

Nimmo moved up through the minor leagues, reaching the MLB Mets in 2016. At first, scouts thought that Nimmo would only develop to be a fourth outfielder. Later, it was thought that he could be a corner outfielder. Nimmo’s goal was to be the Mets centerfielder but a stiff neck, a bruised hand, and other nagging injuries over his first few years held him back. This is when Brandon Nimmo decided that he would do whatever it takes to become the best centerfielder he could be. He took it upon himself to improve his speed, his fielding, and even pitch selection. He became the centerfielder and leadoff hitter that the team needed and was rewarded with a new eight year, $162 million contract after the 2022 season, all but guaranteeing that he would remain a Met for life.

Brandon Nimmo has some power and can usually be counted on for 15 HRs, 60 RBIs, and 90 Runs from the top of the batting order. However, his real talent lies in his ability to get on base. Nimmo is a lifetime .271 hitter but his on base percentage is .384. He has even had three seasons when his OBP was over .400. His youthful enthusiasm is real and spreads throughout the team. Nimmo may sprint to first base after a walk, pausing at the end to look to the heavens and give thanks, but no other players ever accused him of being a hot dog or trying to show them up. That’s just who he is. He is loved by the fans and players alike. I expect to see his leadoff hitter ranking improve here in the not too distant future.

The Mets Top 5 leadoff hitters of all time # 2: Mookie Wilson

William Hayward “Mookie” Wilson was born in Bamberg, South Carolina. A switcher hitter with excellent speed, his positive attitude and hustle endeared him to a fan base with precious few stars to root for when he first came up. He became one of the most popular Mets of the early 1980’s. While a bit of a free swinger, Wilson put up numbers that were as consistent as any leadoff hitter in the game. Wilson had a lifetime batting average of .276 with the Mets, hitting more or less the same from either side of the plate. You always knew what Mookie was going to bring to the game. and he delivered. He scored a total of 592 runs and stole 281 bases in his ten seasons in New York, twice eclipsing the 50 mark in a season.

Mookie Wilson was an important contributor to the Mets 1986 World Championship as well as their 1988 National League East Division title. He lost his starting centerfield position to Lenny Dykstra in 1986 and moved over to left field. Then he lost his starting left field job to Kevin McReynolds in 1987. Through it all, Mookie Wilson continued to contribute to the team whatever was asked of him. His 681 games batting leadoff is the second most in Mets history. After his playing days were over, Mookie returned to the Mets as a coach in 1997-2002 and 2011.

No mention of Mookie Wilson would be complete without mentioning game six of the 1986 World Series. The Red Sox were up 5–3 in the tenth inning of a series they led three games to two. After retiring Wally Backman and Keith Hernandez, Boston pitcher Calvin Schiraldi gave up hits to the next three batters to make the score to 5–4 with runners on first and third. Bob Stanley came in to replace Schiraldi on the mound as Wilson stepped to the plate. During his ten pitch at bat, Wilson avoided being hit by a wild pitch that scored Kevin Mitchell from third to tie the game. Three pitches later, Mookie hit a slow roller to Bill Buckner at first base. Buckner tried to rush the play, being aware of Wilson’s speed. As a result, the ball rolled through his legs and Ray Knight was able to score the winning run from second base. While Buckner took the blame for the loss, Wilson's smart at-bat and speed also affected the outcome of the game.

The Mets Top 5 leadoff hitters of all time # 1: Jose Reyes

Whenever Mets fans talk about the best leadoff hitter in the history of the team, the answer is usually Jose Reyes. Reyes led off a total of 1,041 games for the Mets, nearly 350 more than the second place Mookie Wilson, and produced several of the best seasons by any leadoff hitter in club history. The switch-hitter only drew as many as 50 walks in three seasons, but his ability to hit for a high batting average and steal bases offset a lack of patience at the plate.

Jose Reyes was a four time All-Star, a four time league leader in triples, and a three time leader in stolen bases. He led the league in hits, won a Silver Slugger Award, and was the 2011 National League batting champion. He was also a League leader in several other categories, such as plate appearances, at-bats, caught stealing, and more. Reyes is the Mets all time leader in triples with 113, stolen bases with 517,  

Jose Reyes was born on June 11, 1983, in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Reyes was spotted by a Mets scout at a tryout camp there in 1999. Although he was young and slightly built, he was signed to a contract and sent to the Kingsport Mets of the Rookie level Appalachian League. He moved steadily through the team’s minor leagues and made his Mets debut on June 10, 2003. After the team’s misguided attempt to move him to second base in an effort to make room at shortstop for Japanese star Kaz Matsui, Reyes would go on to establish himself as one of the premier leadoff hitters in the National League during his time in New York.

Reyes reached free agency in 2011 and signed a lucrative contract with the Marlins. He was traded to the Blue Jays where he would finish his contract, but his numbers began to slip. Attaining free agency again in 2016, Reyes returned to the Mets in a part time role. He officially retired from MLB at the end of the 2018 season.