The best Mets player to wear number 11

Number 11 is one of the more popular jersey numbers New York Mets players have worn, but there haven't been many excellent players to don the number. This past season Kevin Pillar wore it and was pretty underwhelming as the fourth outfielder. Vince Coleman wore it during his disastrous Mets career. Tim Teufel also wore it as a member of the 1986 World Champion Mets.

The best Met to have worn number 11 is Wayne Garrett.

The lack of talent to wear number 11 surprised me, especially considering how much it's been worn. Wayne Garrett played some third base and some second base during his eight-year career with the Mets.

Wayne Garrett is the best Mets player to wear number 11

Wayne Garrett made his Major League debut in 1969, quite the time to do it. He played in 124 games, 74 of them at third base. He did not have a good bat at all that season as he had a 56 OPS+, but he did play a solid infield defensively which is what kept him in the lineup. Garrett actually did come through clutch in the NLCS when he had five hits in 13 at-bats including a home run. He had just one home run in 400 at-bats that regular season.

Garrett's best season as a member of the Mets came in 1973. He slashed .256/.348/.403 with 16 home runs and 58 RBI. He also tacked on 20 doubles and had his best defensive season with 1.2 dWAR. His 4.3 bWAR was the best in his career by far, he did not eclipse 2.9 bWAR in any other season.

Garrett's numbers are not great by any stretch, but he was a starter on the 1969 World Series winning Mets, and also on the 1973 Mets who lost in the World Series. He had a 7.5 year career with the Mets which makes him one of the longest tenured Mets who wore number 11, and he wasn't horrible. Garrett being the pick highlights the fact that the Mets just haven't had many great players wear that number.