Ranking the 10 best individual pitching seasons in Mets history

The New York Mets are known as an organization that's built through pitching. They've had seven Cy Young Award winners but not a single MVP winner. Some of baseball's best arms all-time passed through Queens.

This past season, it felt like the best season by a pitcher not only in Mets history, but baseball history was taking place. Jacob deGrom has won two Cy Young Awards and is one of the best pitchers in Mets history. But he's done nothing close to what he was doing to begin this season.

In the first half, Mets ace Jacob deGrom made 15 of the best starts I've ever seen.

In those starts, he went 7-2 with a 1.08 ERA. He struck out 146 batters in just 92 innings pitched (14.3 K/9.) The record for lowest ERA in a full season is 1.12 set by Bob Gibson in 1968. deGrom was on pace to break that record after the first half.

deGrom was either dotting 100 mph fastballs on the corners or throwing wipeout sliders to make hitters look silly. He looked in complete command every single time out and was going to win the Cy Young and MVP Awards unanimously.

While the Mets don't have any seasons that impressive, they do have some very impressive single-season pitching performances. Here're the ten best.

10. R.A. Dickey - 2012

In the 2009 offseason, the Mets signed journeyman starting pitcher R.A. Dickey to a minor league deal. He was expected to be not much more than just a depth piece, but he turned out to be much more than that.

In 2010, Dickey posted a 2.84 ERA in 26 starts, followed by a 3.28 ERA in 2011. He was already outdoing what the Mets expected from him. However, the 2012 season was better than anyone could've possibly imagined.

R.A. Dickey became the first knuckleballer and the third Met pitcher to win the Cy Young Award. Dickey took home 27 of the 32 first-place votes to win the award, and he also finished 14th in the MVP race. He went 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA in 33 starts. He struck out 230 batters in 233.2 innings pitched, both marks led the National League.

He was dominant from start to finish. He had a streak of 32 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings which included three shutouts, two of which were one-hitters. In one of those one-hit shutouts at Tampa Bay, an argument can be made that he should've had a no-hitter.

B.J. Upton hit a grounder to third base which David Wright couldn't field cleanly bare-handed, but it was ruled a hit. The Mets tried to get that changed to an error but couldn't. He struck out 12 Rays and didn't walk a batter. He followed that up with a one-hitter at home against the Orioles. He struck out 13 in that start.

Those starts were as dominant as I personally had ever seen. He was dominant pretty much all season long, going at least seven innings in 22 of his 33 starts. His 20th win came on his final home start of the season against the Pirates in a game which he got off to a slow start but allowed three runs in 7.2 innings pitched, striking out 13.

While the Mets weren't particularly good in 2012, Dickey was the big bright spot and an amazing story for someone who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro the offseason prior, and went through a lot detailed in his book just to get to that point.

9. Tom Seaver - 1969

In an article discussing the ten greatest pitching seasons in Mets history, it's to be expected that the greatest pitcher to ever wear a Met uniform would make his way on this list a couple of times at least.

Tom Seaver's first appearance on this list comes in his 1969 season. In his 35 starts, he went 25-7 with a 2.21 ERA in 273.1 innings pitched. 273.1 innings is such an absurd number, and it resulted in Seaver throwing seven or more innings in 32 of his 35 starts.

To finish out the regular season he threw eight straight complete games. He had 19 complete games total and two shutouts.

Thanks to his dominance Seaver won the first Cy Young Award in Mets history, getting 23 of the 24 first place votes. He also came very close to winning an MVP award, as he had the same amount of first place votes as the winner Willie McCovey but didn't get as many higher votes after that.

Seaver of course was an all-star and helped lead the Mets to their first playoff berth which resulted in their first World Series title.

8. David Cone - 1988

The Mets acquired David Cone after winning the World Series. He was solid in his first year with the team, posting a 3.71 ERA in 21 appearances and 13 starts. The following year was when Cone had his real coming-out party.

In the 1988 season, Cone went 20-3 with a 2.22 ERA in his 35 appearances (28 starts). He struck out 213 batters in 231.1 innings pitched. For some reason, Cone finished third in the Cy Young race. I understand him not winning as Orel Hershiser had an unbelievable season including throwing 59 consecutive scoreless innings, but Cone definitely had a better season than Danny Jackson who finished in second.

Cone made his first all-star team in 1988 and finished in the top ten in the MVP race. He allowed just 0.4 HR/9 and 6.9 H/9. Considering the fact that he threw seven or more innings in 22 of his 28 starts, that's awfully impressive.

Cone had eight complete games and four shutouts. He also had two starts in which he went ten innings allowing just one run. Cone helped lead the Mets to a 100 win season and an NLCS appearance. They'd lose to the eventual World Series champion Dodgers but that doesn't take away everything Cone did to help get them there.

7. Johan Santana - 2008

The final season at Shea Stadium was filled with ups and downs. The Mets had an amazing chance to get back to the postseason but a late-season collapse took that away. However, a bright spot was the play of Johan Santana.

Following the 2007 season the Mets acquired Santana from the Twins in a blockbuster deal that sent prospects Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber, Deolis Guerra, and Kevin Mulvey to Minnesota in exchange for the southpaw.

Santana's first year as a Met was his best. He went 16-7 with a 2.53 ERA, striking out 206 batters in a league-leading 234.1 innings pitched. Santana lived up to the hype. He took the ball every fifth day and absolutely shoved.

In one instance, he even took the ball before the fifth day. Pitching on three-days rest with the Mets season on the line, Santana threw a memorable three-hit shutout against the Marlins. He struck out nine batters in the 2-0 victory. Of course we know how the season ended, but the ace coming through in that spot was absolutely massive at the time.

Not only was he lights out in that start, but Santana was outstanding the entire second half. As the season went on, he kept improving. In the second half, he went 8-0 with a 2.17 ERA in 15 starts. He posted an ERA under 2.00 in August and September, going at least six innings and allowing three runs or less in all twelve of those starts, including two shutouts.

Santana for some reason was not an all-star but he did finish in third place in the Cy Young race and 14th in the MVP balloting.

6. Dwight Gooden - 1984

Dwight Gooden delivered one of, if not the most electric rookie season in baseball history. The 19-year old came to the big city and took it over.

Growing up in the 2000's, I never saw Gooden pitch. I know how big of a deal it is whenever Jacob deGrom takes the mound. I know how fun it was to celebrate "Harvey Day." From everything I've read and heard, whenever Dwight Gooden took the mound it was an even bigger deal.

In his rookie season, Gooden was unhittable. he went 17-9 with a 2.60 ERA in 31 starts. He struck out an absurd 276 batters in 218 innings pitched. He struck out 31.4% of the batters he faced. In an era where strikeouts were not as easy to accumulate as it is today, that's awfully impressive. He allowed just seven home runs all season and 6.6 H/9.

Gooden was dominant for most of the season but he was at his best when the Mets needed him most, in September. He went at least eight innings in all five of his starts that month. He threw back to back shutouts, striking out 11 and 16 batters in those starts respectively. He followed those shutouts by allowing one run in eight innings, striking out 16 batters.

The Mets missed the playoffs but came close because of how dominant Gooden was down the stretch especially.

5. Jacob deGrom - 2019

The second of Jacob deGrom's back to back Cy Young Awards was deGrominant. Despite pitching with virtually no run support, deGrom was able to go out there every fifth day and give the Mets a chance to win.

deGrom went 11-8 with a 2.43 ERA in his 32 starts. He struck out a league leading 255 batters in 204 innings pitched. deGrom has always been a specialist in getting out of jams, but he was so good at it, he was only taken out mid-inning twice all season. The Mets trusted him and only him to get out of jams.

deGrom went at least seven innings in 19 of his 32 starts which nowadays is impressive. He went on a streak from June through the end of the season in which he went at least seven innings in all but two starts. He made 15 starts in that span.

In the entire second half deGrom was unhittable. He went 7-1 with a 1.44 ERA in his 14 second half starts. His 94 innings pitched in the second half means he averaged 6.7 innings per start which is impressive. The Mets went on a run in the second half when others played well but deGrom of course led the way.

deGrom took home 29 of the 30 first place votes for the Cy Young Award, was an all-star, and finished tenth in the MVP balloting. It might not have been quite as dominant as his 2018 season, but it was still pretty, pretty good for the Mets ace.

4. Tom Seaver - 1973

The best pitcher in franchise history makes his second appearance on this list with his outstanding 1973 season. Seaver would be very close to winning the pitching triple crown. He led the league with his 2.08 ERA, led the league with his 251 strikeouts, but was second in the league with 19 wins.

It's unfortunate that for a team that ended up winning the Pennant, Seaver couldn't accumulate the most wins. There was a start in April against the Cubs where he went the distance allowing just one run but the Mets lost that game 1-0. There were two other starts where he took losses allowing just two runs in seven innings.

In Seaver's 36 starts, he went 19-10 with the 2.08 ERA. His 7.8 K/9 led the National League and his 6.8 H/9 also led the league. He went at least nine innings in 22 of his starts, going more than nine twice.

Seaver was dominant for most of the season. He actually had an ERA under 2.00 for most of the season but posted a 6.75 ERA in his final four starts of the season.

Seaver of course had many outstanding starts but the one that stuck out to me the most was his first start in September against the Phillies. He pitched a complete game allowing just one run and striking out 13 batters. Just two starts later in Philadelphia he went 11 innings and struck out 12 in a 4-2 Mets win.

He also had a 12 inning game against the Reds when he allowed just two runs in a game the Mets would somehow lose. Seaver would win his second Cy Young Award this season and finish eighth in the MVP balloting.

2. Jacob deGrom - 2018

Tom Seaver's 1971 and 1973 seasons saw a lot of bad luck. He won a lot of games, but would've won more with more run support. However, nothing compares to what Jacob deGrom went through in 2018. He proved once and for all that wins for a pitcher do not matter one bit and show nothing in terms of how good they actually are.

In deGrom's historic season he went 10-9 with a 1.70 ERA in 32 starts. He struck out 269 hitters in 217 innings pitched. He walked just 1.9/9 and allowed an absurd 0.4 HR/9. deGrom allowed just 10 home runs all season and didn't allow more than one in any of his starts.

In a start in April at Miami, deGrom allowed four runs in six innings. It was his worst start of the season and the only one he allowed more than three runs. From that moment on, deGrom went 29 straight starts allowing three runs or fewer. Each of his last 24 starts were quality starts.

The lack of run support is what sticks out in his ridiculous 2018 season. He made 13 starts allowing one run or fewer and going at least seven innings. He was not credited with a win in eight of those starts.

Noah Syndergaard had a really solid year, posting a 3.07 ERA. He won 13 games. deGrom's ERA was almost a run and a half lower. Zack Wheeler posted a 3.31 ERA and won 12 games. deGrom's bad luck makes absolutely no sense.

To make things worse, Lucas Giolito of the White Sox had the highest ERA amongst qualifying starting pitchers in baseball at 6.13. The White Sox went 62-100 in 2018, the Mets went 77-85. Giolito somehow won the same amount of games as deGrom.

deGrom was dominant from start to finish. His worst ERA in a month was June with a 2.36 ERA. He finished the season with three straight months posting ERAs under 2.00.

It felt like every time out deGrom would give the Mets at least seven innings allowing maybe one run and striking out double-digit batters and somehow the Mets would find a way to lose whether it was with the bullpen, team defense, or the team not scoring.

deGrom fittingly closed out his season pitching eight shutout innings against the 90-win Braves who won the division, striking out 10 batters and allowing just two hits.

deGrom won the Cy Young Award, accumulating 29 of the 30 first place votes. He made his second career all-star team and finished in fifth place in the MVP race.

deGrom was on an even better pace this season before getting injured, but the 2018 season was the best I had ever seen a pitcher pitch consistently in a full season.

1. Dwight Gooden - 1985

Tom Seaver is the best pitcher in franchise history. Jacob deGrom is probably right behind him. Neither of them had a better year than Dwight Gooden in 1985. Doc followed up his ridiculous rookie year with an even better season.

Gooden won the pitching Triple Crown, going 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA in 35 starts. He struck out 268 batters in a league leading 276.2 innings pitched.

In his first start of the season, Gooden allowed three earned runs in six innings in a win against the Cardinals. His ERA was at 4.50 after that game. He followed that start with a four hit shutout against the Reds, walking two batters and striking out 10. His ERA after that game was 1.80. His ERA never went above 2.00 the rest of the season. He was that dominant.

The Mets did not make the playoffs but Gooden did everything he could to try and get them there. Down the stretch in his final six starts Gooden went 4-0 with a 0.34 ERA. He allowed just two earned runs in his six starts, throwing three complete games and two shutouts. He struck out 49 batters in his 53 innings pitched.

He averaged 8.8 innings pitched per start in that span. He was also pulled twice in scoreless ties after he had thrown nine innings in that span. He really should've been 6-0.

That's about as unhittable as a pitcher can get, and as unhittable as a Mets pitcher has ever and probably will ever be. Gooden posted an ERA under 2.00 in four of the six months he pitched in, his worst month had him posting a 2.45 ERA in August.

Gooden made his second straight all-star team, finished fourth in the MVP balloting, and became the first, and so far only, unanimous Cy Young Award winner in Mets franchise history.

All season long Doc was just pumping fastballs by hitters followed up by devastating curveballs. He was on track to be the greatest pitcher ever after his first two dominant seasons in the bigs. Unfortunately, that did not happen but he was just so dominant to begin his career.