Ranking the 15 greatest Mets infielders in franchise history

5. Howard Johnson

Howard Johnson is one of the best switch hitters in franchise history. In his 9 seasons as a Met he slashed .251/.341/.459 with 192 home runs and 629 RBI. He's tenth in franchise history in hits, fourth in home runs, fourth in RBI, and fourth in runs scored.

Johnson had three seasons of 30+ home runs, including in 1991 when he led the National League with his 38 home runs and 117 RBI. Johnson was an all-star and finished fifth in the National League MVP race that year. He had similar results in the 1989 season, where he slashed .287/.369/.559 with 36 home runs and 101 RBI. He was an all-star and finished fifth in the MVP race that year as well.

While his ability to hit for power was known, Johnson was sneakily well-rounded. Usually third basemen lack speed but Johnson was an outstanding base stealer. He's third on the franchise's stolen base list behind Jose Reyes and Mookie Wilson. He had six straight seasons of at least 20 stolen bases, a number no Met has reached since 2018.

While he was limited to just pinch-hitting at-bats, Johnson was a part of the 1986 World Champion Mets. The longevity and consistency for a majority of Ho-Jo's time in Flushing make him a top-five infielder in franchise history.