The best Mets player to wear number 0

Only a small number of New York Mets players have ever decided to get weird and wear number 0. Tony Clark even doubled the fun by wearing 00 in 2003.

The best player to wear either version of the only number lonelier than 1 is an easy choice. It’s the one and only Rey Ordonez.

Regarded as one of the best shortstops in franchise history almost exclusively because of what he did as a fielder, Ordonez is also possibly the best defender the club has ever had at any position.

Rey Ordonez is the best Mets player to wear number 0

The number 0 wasn’t the only one Ordonez wore while with New York. It was just his first number before moving on to wear number 10 later on during his tenure in Queens.

Although his best seasons with the Mets may not have had the number 0 on his jersey, he did manage to win his first Gold Glove in 1997 while dawning such a peculiar digit. For the sake of qualifying, he’s our winner.

Ordonez’s time in the big leagues was far more well-known for what he did with his glove than even his best day at the plate. He was only a .245/.290/.304 hitter for the Mets. Power was scarce. It took him until 2001 before he finally had a season with more than one home run.

It’s the three straight Gold Gloves he won from 1997 to 1999 which makes him such a memorable player. Plus, who can’t forget some of the highlights he had at shortstop during those years? In the days of Web Gems on ESPN, Ordonez was a regular.

The best year of all for Ordonez on defense came in 1999. He had a 33 Rtot and 4 WAR on defense—the greatest in franchise history. He made just 4 errors all year long in 640 chances. It was the kind of season that holds up over time and will probably remain the best statistical year any player will have in a Mets uniform on that side of the ball.