The best Mets who also played for the Yankees

There are well over 100 players who suited up and took the field for both the New York Mets and the crosstown rival New York Yankees. For quite some time it was taboo for the two teams to even think of trading with one another and, for the most part, the players who did play for both meandered their way across the city via a path that passed through other organizations.

There were some big names who played for both – Rickey Henderson and even Yogi Berry - as well as some pretty obscure ones – Tucker Ashford and Phil Lombardi. In the 2000 season alone, the season of the only Subway Series (World Series Subway Series) between the two teams, there were at least 10 players who were ex's and playing for a ring with the former crosstown rival. There were those who played well for one team, but not so well for the other. But there certainly weren’t too many who achieved success with both, at least not for an extended period of time.

I wanted to see if there were any players who were, in fact, productive for both the Mets and the Yankees, but played a minimum of three seasons for both teams. I found three position players who fit that description, as well as three pitchers. And all six of them, regardless of what they achieved with the Yankees, will always be more identified by fans as one-time New York Mets.

Carlos Beltran

Carlos Beltran had a long and productive tenure with the Mets - 2005-2011, one that justifies his eventual enshrinement in the Hall of Fame.

Over the course of his seven seasons with the Mets, Beltran was a five-time All Star and hit .280 with 149 homers – winning two Silver Slugger awards - and 100 stolen bases while playing a stellar centerfield that won him three Gold Glove awards.

After a couple of stops in San Francisco and St. Louis, he signed with the Yankees as a free agent during the winter of 2013. He was already 37 years of age when he signed, and not the Carlos Beltran that the Mets had the privilege of having in centerfield, but his time with the Yanks - 2014-2016 – was still productive.

As a Yankee, Beltran hit .270 with another 56 home runs and was again selected as an All Star.