Top five Mets not in Hall of Fame

The National Baseball Hall of Fame welcomed six in its class of 2022, including the legendary former New York Mets manager Gil Hodges who led the team to victory as underdogs in the 1969 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles. In light of this, I thought it would be fitting to do a piece ranking the top five Mets careers not currently inducted into Cooperstown. Some of these players had all of their success with the Mets, while some had great careers with multiple teams, the Mets being one of them. They will all be considered. 

5. NY Mets SP Dwight "Doc" Gooden

If only Doc could have sustained his level of play but that wasn’t how the story went. He entered the league and was absolutely the best, helping lead the Mets to the 1986 World Series title. Honestly, if you only considered Doc’s career with the Mets he WOULD be a Hall of Famer, but the infamous story of his downfall came into play, unfortunately. At his peak, early in his career Doc was unhittable, topping season statistics of a 1.53 ERA, 276 strikeouts, and 24 wins. Later in his career, he sort of pulled an Anakin Skywalker and went from the Mets to the Yankees, but to focus on Doc’s high highs, yes, he should be a Hall of Famer. 

4. NY Mets SP Jacob deGrom

He’s still active but not many will have a better HOF case than deGrom, still playing or not. What he’s been able to accomplish in his only eight-year career so far is spectacular. Rookie of the year and two Cy Young awards, if the Mets can win a World Series in the next five years or so of deGrom’s career, he surely will be inducted into the HOF. Frankly, it’s only a matter of time. He’s had six of eight seasons where he’s thrown an ERA of under 3.00 and led the National League in strikeouts with 255 in 2019. Not to mention he’s an astounding hitter for his position and a great guy.

3. NY Mets CF Carlos Beltran

Looking past his involvement in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal, Beltran enjoyed a prestigious 20 season career, seven with the New York Mets. Beltran was elected to five of his twelve all-star games while as a Met and was occasionally in the MVP considerations, once finishing fourth in 2006 with the Mets when he hit 41 home runs. He also won a handful of gold glove awards in center field, silver sluggers, and a rookie of the year. 2,725 hits (nearly the milestone 3,000), 312 home runs, and over 1,500 runs and RBIs. The involvement in the sign-stealing scandal hinders his chances as he was a fringe HOF case before but the evidence is still strong for the 70.1 career WAR player. 

2. NY Mets 3B David Wright

Potentially considered to be the all-time poster boy for the Mets, the “Captain” was forced to retire earlier than he should have because of spinal injury. If he had perhaps five more seasons of health and had played more than his strongest 12 seasons surely there would be no question about his candidacy. Wright never won an MVP, despite being considered several times. He did rack up several Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards, however. Retiring with a career .296 batting average and 242 home runs, all with his childhood favorite team the Mets leaves fans to wonder what if? David Wright will go onto the HOF ballot in 2024. 

1. NY Mets 1B Keith Hernandez

The National Baseball Hall of Fame welcomed six in its class of 2022, including the legendary former Mets manager Gil Hodges who led the team to victory as underdogs in the 1969 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles. In light of this, I thought it would be fitting to do a piece ranking the top five Mets careers not currently inducted into Cooperstown. Some of these players had all of their success with the Mets, while some had great careers with multiple teams, the Mets being one of them. They will all be considered. 

Honorable mentions: Jerry Koosman, Johan Santana