The best season by a Mets player at each age

Everyone knows the best seasons in New York Mets history. Dwight Gooden in 1985. Jacob deGrom in 2018. Tom Seaver in 1971. Or 1973. Or 1975. However, not everyone knows who had the best season at each age. Some of the seasons above will be featured in this article, surprisingly, not all of them make the cut.

Obviously, some players have their birthday mid-season, so technically they will play that year at two different ages. However, for these purposes, we will go off of what age Baseball-Reference says the season was played at. 

For example, Max Scherzer’s birthday is July 27 — mid-season. That means he will play the 2022 season as both a 37- and 38-year-old. To solve this issue, we turn to Baseball-Reference, which has 2022 as Scherzer’s age-37 season, so that’s what it will be. To go by anything else would be arbitrary.

There are 27 ages on this list, and only nine of them belong to hitters.

It is the Mets we’re talking about after all. This is a pitching franchise, through and through.

Technically, Ed Kranepool had six plate appearances at age-17 and 294 plate appearances at age-18, but in that time he had a combined .545 OPS, so we’re skipping right through and starting at age-19.

19: Dwight Gooden, 1984

Kicking it off is none other than Dr. K, and there really was no contest with this one. Pitching 218 innings over 31 starts, Gooden put up a 2.60 ERA while also leading baseball in FIP (1.69), WHIP (1.073) and strikeouts (276).

He put up a 5.5 bWAR for pitchers, the second-highest for any teenager since in the 20th century. Only Gary Nolan’s 6.3 in 1967 for the Cincinnati Reds beats it out. Not only was Gooden an All-Star, but he finished No. 15 in the NL MVP race, No. 2 in the NL Cy Young race and took home the NL Rookie of the Year award in a landslide. Not only is it clearly the best season by a 19-year-old for the Mets, but it’s one of the greatest seasons by a teenager in all of MLB history.

Honorable Mention: Ed Kranepool, 1964

20: Dwight Gooden, 1985

Surprise, look who’s back! Spoiler alert, he’s the one after this as well. Gooden was amazing his rookie season, but his sophomore campaign is arguably one of the greatest seasons a pitcher has ever had. Let’s start with the base stats. Over 276.2 innings pitched, he led the league with 268 strikeouts, a 1.53 ERA, 2.13 FIP and 229 ERA+. He also went 24-4, if you care about that. People really cared about it then, so it’s worth mentioning.

Now onto what makes this may be the most impressive season by a pitcher in the last 100 years. In MLB history, there have been 23 individual seasons of 13.0 or more bWAR. Twenty-two of those seasons came in 1923 or earlier — then there’s Gooden’s 1985, with his 13.3 (12.2 pitching and 1.1 hitting) sitting at No. 20 all-time. Even of those other 22 seasons, only three of them came in the 20th century, two belonging to Walter Johnson and one to Babe Ruth. 

Every other season was in the 1800s. Gooden stands alone at the top of the mountain, owning what might be the best season of modern baseball the game has ever seen.

Honorable Mention: Jose Reyes, 2003

21: Dwight Gooden, 1986

Gooden completes the hat trick to start the list, and while his third season wasn’t quite as amazing as his first two, it was still very good. He threw 250 innings to the tune of a 2.84 ERA, 1.108 FIP and 126 ERA+ with an even 200 punchouts. He made the All-Star team for the third straight year and finished No. 2 in the NL Cy Young voting. 

Most importantly though, he helped lead the Mets to the NL Pennant, and eventually the franchise’s second championship. While the Mets only won one of the four games Gooden started in the playoffs, he still was very solid, putting up a 3.46 ERA in 26 innings. His shining moment was throwing 10 innings of one-run ball in Game 5 of the NLCS, keeping the Mets alive until they eventually won it in the 12th. Gooden was great in ‘86. Sure, it wasn’t ‘85 or ‘84, but it was still a great season in its own right.

Honorable Mention: Darryl Strawberry 1983

22: Jon Matlack, 1972

At age-22, there are finally a couple of really good seasons to choose from. That said, Matlack’s 1972 is pretty clearly the best of the bunch. In his first full season, Matlack threw 244 innings with a 2.32 ERA, 1.172 WHIP 145 ERA+ and 169 strikeouts. He won the NL Rookie of the Year award with ease, becoming the second Met ever to get the honor. The first? A 22-year-old Tom Seaver in 1967. 

Seaver is the greatest pitcher to ever put on a Mets uniform, but he’s the runner up for age-22 on this list. It was close, but Matlack has him beat by about a third of a run in ERA and about 20 points in ERA+. However, while this will be the last time Matlack appears, Seaver wins three coming up, including the very next one.

Honorable Mentions: Tom Seaver 1967, David Wright 2005

23: Tom Seaver, 1968

The Franchise makes his first appearance on this list, and while this is far from one of Seaver’s more memorable seasons, it was undoubtedly still a great one. Pitching 278 innings, he put up a 2.20 ERA, 0.978 WHIP, 137 ERA+ and 205 strikeouts.

He made his second of what would be 12 All-Star games, but unlike most years from the first half of Seaver’s career, that was the end of the accolades — it was the Year of the Pitcher after all. Bob Gibson won the NL Cy Young award with ease in his famous 1.12 ERA season, but there were also six other pitchers who had an ERA under two. Seaver was great, but he actually didn’t even have the best ERA on the Mets that year, Jerry Koosman did (we’ll get to him in a bit). Still, for a 22-year-old in Mets history, Seaver and his 2.20 ERA is the clear choice for the top spot. 

Honorable Mentions: Edgardo Alfonzo 1997, Jose Reyes 2006, Noah Syndergaard 2016

24: David Wright, 2007

A hitter! Finally! Wright had already had a couple of really good seasons before 2007, but this is pretty clearly the best one of his career. He hit .325/.416/.546 over 160 games, but most notably he joined the 30-30 club, hitting 30 long balls and stealing 34 bases. He became just the third Met in history to do it, joining Daryll Strawberry and Howard Johnson (who did it three times).

Wright finished No. 4 in NL MVP voting, though he arguably should have finished higher. His 8.3 bWAR is not only the most by any position player in Mets history, but it was higher than all three of the players who finished ahead of him. He beat Jimmy Rollins, who won the award, by a full 2.1 bWAR. Wright made the All-Star game and won both the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove for third base, something he would do again in 2008. This is the only time Wright will appear as a winner, but as already seen, he’ll pop up some more in the honorable mentions.

Honorable Mentions: Jon Matlack 1974, Tom Seaver 1969, Pete Alonso 2019

25: Jerry Koosman, 1968

The second appearance on this list from the Year of the Pitcher, Koosman was actually objectively better than Seaver in ‘68. Pitching to a 2.08 ERA, 1.1 WHIP and 145 ERA+ with 178 strikeouts in 263.2 innings pitched, he put up a season that would have been worthy of the Cy Young Award in most other years. Just like Seaver though, he had Gibson to contend with.

This was also Koosman’s first full season in the league. He finished No. 2 in the NL Rookie of the Year race, losing to a little-known catcher from Cincinnati by the name of Johnny Bench. It was an incredibly tight race, with Bench bringing home 10.5 vote points to Koosman’s 9.5. There’s a legitimate argument to be made that Koosman should have won, as his 2.08 ERA is definitely more impressive than Bench’s .743 OPS. Koosman also finished tied for No. 13 in the NL MVP race, while Bench finished No. 16. Regardless, there are worse people to lose to than Bench. Koosman is a Mets legend, and his rookie season was one for the record books.

Honorable Mentions: Tom Seaver 1970, Darryl Strawberry 1987, David Cone 1988, David Wright 2008

26: Tom Seaver, 1971

Seaver’s second appearance on this list just might be the best season of his career. In his fifth full season, he threw 286.1 innings, struck out 289 batters and put up an MLB leading 1.76 ERA, 0.946 WHIP, 1.93 FIP and 194 ERA+. His 289 strikeouts remain a Mets single-season record, as do his 21 complete games.

Seaver arguably should have won the NL Cy Young award that year, especially considering all the categories he led the league in. Instead, the award went to Fergie Jenkins of the Chicago Cubs. Jenkins had a really good year, putting up a 2.77 ERA over 325 innings — but frankly, it just didn’t compare to Seaver’s. However, Jenkins did have a league-leading 24 wins, while Seaver had a mere 20. In 1971, that mattered a lot more than it does now, 50 years later. At the end of the day though, that doesn’t take away from the terrific season Tom had. Two years later, he’d once again lead baseball in ERA, WHIP and ERA+, and this time, he’d get the recognition he deserved. That’s coming up, but we’re not there yet.

Honorable Mentions: Cleon Jones 1969, Jerry Koosman 1969, Darryl Strawberry 1988, Edgardo Alfonzo 2000

27: Todd Hundley, 1996

Age-27 was one of the more difficult ones to pick, seeing as there wasn’t a no-brainer, standout season of the bunch like there was for many of the previous ages. Seaver and Jacob deGrom were both very good, but it was far from their best seasons (which is really saying something). Wright had a solid year but nothing special, Strawberry had probably his worst season as a Met and players like Mike Piazza, Keith Hernandez and Carlos Beltran had yet to don the orange and blue.

So, we land on Hundley. In 153 games — the only time in his career he played more than 85% of the games in a season — Hundley hit .259/.356/.550. His .906 OPS was solid, especially for a catcher, but what really puts his 1996 season on the map is that he hit 41 home runs. There have only been three seasons in MLB history where a catcher has hit more home runs: Javy Lopez in 2003 (43), Johnny Bench in 1970 (45) and Salvador Perez in 2021 (48). Even of those three, only Lopez has more strictly from the catcher position. Bench hit seven of his spread across various other positions, and Perez hit 15 as a DH. Hundley’s season is impressive on its own, but it’s even more impressive for a catcher. For that, it takes home the crown for age-27.

Honorable Mentions: Tommie Agee 1970, Craig Swan 1978, Jeff McNeil 2019

28: Tom Seaver, 1973

Time to complete the hat trick. While the Seaver’s best season may have come two years earlier, it was far from his only dominant one. In 290 innings, he once again led MLB in ERA (2.08), WHIP (0.976) and ERA+ (175), while also leading the National League in strikeouts (251), complete games (18) and FIP (251). Seaver took home the NL Cy Young award and finished No. 8 in NL MVP voting. It was the second of three Cy Youngs that he won in his career, but due to a certain Met who wears No. 48, it’ll be the last time Seaver appears on this list.

Seaver headlined a three-headed monster of a pitching staff, that along with Koosman and Matlack, helped power the Mets to the best record in the National League East. Behind Seaver and the pitching, the Mets then knocked off the Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez and the Big Red Machine in the NLCS, a team that won a whopping 17 more games than the Mets did in the regular season to win the National League West. Ultimately the ‘73 Mets would fall to the Oakland A’s in the World Series, but it was still an incredible campaign from Seaver.

Honorable Mentions: Howard Johnson 1989, Darryl Strawberry 1990, Jose Reyes 2011

29: Carlos Beltran, 2006

While age-27 was hard to choose because of a lack of any clear standout seasons, age-29 is equally hard for the exact opposite reason. There are almost too many truly great seasons to choose from. They’ll get listed in the honorable mentions as usual, but one season deserves a special shoutout because it’s truly a shame to leave it off the list. John Olerud in 1998 was amazing. He hit .354 (!!) and had an on-base percentage of .447, both of which remain Mets single-season records to this day.

Beltran just happened to be a little bit better overall in a season that mattered more. In his second full season in Queens, Beltran broke out in a way he failed to do in his first year. In 140 games, he hit .275/.388/.594 with 41 home runs and 116 RBI. Beltran was an All-Star, finished No. 4 in the NL MVP race and took home both the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove for center field. While Olerud’s ‘98 Mets finished 88-74 and out of the playoffs, Beltran’s ‘06 Mets won the NL East at 97-65. Beltran was really good in the playoffs too, especially in the NLCS … it’s just unfortunate how it ended for him. 

Still, getting locked up by an Adam Wainwright curveball doesn’t erase the great season he had, and his great season doesn’t take away from Olerud’s in ‘98. They were both phenomenal, and either one of them could have gotten the nod here.

Honorable Mentions: Bernard Gilkey 1996, John Olerud 1998, Johan Santana 2008, David Wright 2012

30: Jacob deGrom, 2018

We’ve made it to deGrom. Everyone knew it was coming, and there really is no other season that can make a legitimate case here. deGrom’s 2018 was one for the record books. While the Mets as a whole were a bad team that usually was not much fun to watch, that was not the case every fifth day. That was deGrom day, and deGrom day was (and still is) must-see tv. Over 217 innings, deGrom put up an MLB best 1.70 ERA and 218 ERA+, both of which are second only to Gooden’s ‘85 when it comes to single-season marks in Mets history.

He ran away with the NL Cy Young award, picking up 29 of the 30 first-place votes. The one voter who didn’t vote for him, and instead voted for future Met Max Scherzer, did so on the basis of pitching wins. deGrom set history in ‘18 by winning the Cy Young with just 10 wins, the fewest of any starting pitcher to win the award in a full season. He also probably should have won the NL MVP, or at the very least there’s no way he should have finished fifth as he did.

deGrom had a bWAR of 10.4, which was a full 3.1 more than Christian Yelich, who won. Yes, Yelich had a great season (7.3 bWAR and 1.000 OPS), but deGrom had a historic one. A 1.000 OPS is very impressive, but there have been 116 individual qualified seasons with an OPS of 1.000 or more since 2000. In that same timeframe, there have been just 11 individual qualified seasons with an ERA below 2.00. deGrom’s 2018 was one of them.

Honorable Mentions: Tom Seaver 1975, Frank Viola 1990, Howard Johnson 1991, Mike Piazza 1999

31: Jacob deGrom, 2019

deGrom’s follow-up season wasn’t quite as historic, but it was still plenty dominant. Over 204 innings pitched, he put up a 2.43 ERA, 169 ERA+ and an NL leading 255 strikeouts. Once again, he took home the NL Cy Young award with 29 of the 30 possible first-place votes, but at least this time it was more understandable. Hyun-Jin Ryu actually had the slight edge over deGrom in both ERA and ERA+, but deGrom had a massive lead in bWAR.

deGrom’s second Cy Young put him in an elite club, joining Seaver as the only Mets pitcher to win the award twice. He also became the only Met to do so in back-to-back years, making himself one of just 11 players to win consecutive Cy Young Awards in MLB history. deGrom is on the Hall-of-Fame track, and to be perfectly honest, he’s probably already done enough to earn a plaque in Cooperstown. Since 2014, when deGrom entered the league, there is only one starting pitcher who has had a better ERA and ERA+ than him, and that is Clayton Kershaw, a no-doubt first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. That’s deGrom’s company, an all-time great — because he’s one as well.

Honorable Mentions: Tom Seaver 1976, Gary Carter 1985, Mike Piazza 2000

32: Keith Hernandez, 1986

This was a tricky age to pick. While Hernandez maybe didn’t quite have the statistically best season of the candidates, the accolades he picked up in the ‘86 season, both personal and team, gave him the edge. That said he was still really good, hitting .310/.413/.446 with 13 home runs, 34 doubles and an NL leading 94 walks. He was an All-Star, finished No. 4 in the NL MVP race and picked up Gold Glove No. 9 for his career. 

Of course, Hernandez was also instrumental in the Mets’ World Series run, one that has since been turned into an ESPN 30-for-30. He didn’t hit overly well in those games, but he played every single inning for the Mets at first base. He picked up at least one hit in 10 out of the 13 games and drove in three runs in Game 7 of the World Series, a game they would go on to win 8-5. While Al Leiter’s 1998 season got some serious consideration, Hernandez’s strong play and importance to the World Series-winning ‘86 team earned him the nod.

Honorable Mentions: Lance Johnson 1996, Al Leiter 1998, Mike Piazza 2001

33: Pedro Martinez, 2005

Pedro’s career with the Mets was relatively short-lived and inconsistent, but he started it with a bang. After stealing him away from the Boston Red Sox by giving him a 4-year, $53 million deal, the Hall-of-Fame bound pitcher had a really nice first year in Queens. In 217 innings pitched, he put up a 2.82 ERA, 2.95 FIP and 146 ERA+. He also had a 0.949 WHIP, which was the best in baseball.

He made the first of two All-Star games as a Met and formed a nice veteran duo with Tom Glavine at the top of the rotation. After that, his career with the Mets took a noticeable downward turn. Over the next three seasons, Martinez threw just 269.2 innings to the tune of a 4.74 ERA and 91 ERA+. Nevertheless, for that one season, he was as advertised — an ace that the Mets could rely on every fifth day to give them an outing worthy of a No. 1 starter.

Honorable Mentions: Jerry Koosman 1976, Mike Piazza 2002, Jacob deGrom 2021 (yes he was that good in just half of a season)

34: Carlos Delgado 2006

Before the 2005 season, Delgado signed a 4-year, $52 million contract with the Marlins after reportedly turning down a similar deal from the Mets. However, thanks to one of Florida’s infamous fire sales (yes, it was still the Florida Marlins then), he found himself in Flushing less than a calendar year later. He made an immediate impact, hitting .265/.361/.548 with 38 home runs which was second-most on the Mets, only trailing the other Carlos — Beltran. He drove in 114 runs, just two fewer than both Beltran and Wright, and put up a 131 OPS, also only behind those two.

Delgado was a massive upgrade at first base that the Mets desperately needed after getting a combined .693 OPS out of the position in 2005. He provided a thump in the middle of the order and helped power the Mets nearly all the way to the World Series. He was on fire in the postseason too, the first and last time he made it. In 10 games, Delgado went 13-37 at the plate with four homers, three doubles and 11 RBI, good for a 1.199 OPS. Unfortunately, the Mets came up short — but it wasn’t for Delgado’s lack of trying.

Honorable Mentions: Al Leiter 2000, Todd Zeile 2000, Curtis Granderson 2015

35: R.A. Dickey 2010

We’re getting into the older end of the ages here, but there are still some really quality seasons to come. Leading it off is Dickey, and while he’s most famous for his Cy Young season (which is coming up later), his first season with the Mets was nearly just as good. In fact, all three seasons he spent in Queens were really great, just the bookends make this list. To start his Mets career, Dickey threw 174.1 innings over 26 starts (and 1 relief appearance), pitching to a 2.84 ERA and 138 ERA+.

Dickey formed a really solid duo at the top of the rotation for the Mets, joined by Johan Santana in what would be his last true full(ish) season in the big leagues. Mike Pelfrey and Jon Niese turned in two good enough years behind them to form a really solid rotation, despite lacking a consistent fifth starter. For someone who signed with the Mets on a minor league deal and whose arrival was rather uncelebrated, he turned into one of the biggest steals the Mets have ever had. 

Honorable Mentions: Ed Charles 1968, Al Leiter 2001, Marlon Byrd 2013

36: Carlos Delgado, 2008

The only hitter to win two separate ages on this list, Delgado might just be the player who aged the best in franchise history, remaining productive well into his mid-30s. This season wasn’t nearly as iconic as his 2006 campaign due to the Mets missing the playoffs, but Delgado still had a really nice year. Hitting .271/.353/.518, it was a nice bounce-back season after dropping to just about league-average at the plate in 2007.

Delgado slugged 38 homers, drove in 115 runs, and finished the season with a 128 OPS+. He joined Strawberry and Piazza as the only Mets players to ever have two seasons with at least 38 home runs — and the most impressive part is he only spent three seasons and change in Queens. Perhaps overshadowed by playing most of his career in the steroid era, Delgado didn't get the recognition he deserved when his time came to appear on the Hall of Fame ballot, falling off in his first year. With a .929 OPS and .138 OPS+ for his career, he certainly deserved more consideration. His 2008 season, hitting 38 home runs at age-36 should have been case enough.

Honorable Mentions: John Franco 1997, Jose Valentin 2006, R.A. Dickey 2011, 

37: R.A. Dickey, 2012

The knuckleballer returns! Of course, you knew it was coming, but it’s not any less exciting. The 2010 season was Dickey’s first as a Met, and the 2012 season was his last — but it was without a doubt his best. In a National League-best 233.2 innings pitched (a total no Mets pitcher has reached since), Dickey put up a 2.73 ERA, 1.053 WHIP, 3.27 FIP, 139 ERA+ and 230 strikeouts, all of which were career highs.

While the 2012 Mets, aside from a few bright spots like Wright and Niese, were largely a trainwreck, Dickey was a shining star. He made his first and only All-Star game, throwing a scoreless bottom of the sixth and only giving up one hit to a little-known rookie by the name of Mike Trout. He also picked up the NL Cy Young Award, joining an elite club of Mets pitchers to win it, which at the time was just Seaver and Gooden.

And then, all of a sudden, Dickey was gone. The Mets traded him in the offseason to the Toronto Blue Jays for a package that included Travis d’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard. While d’Arnaud and Syndergaard never quite lived fully up to their potential, both had their own levels of success in a Mets uniform. Ultimately, the trade would go down as one of the best in recent memory for the Mets. The ramifications are also still being felt, as the Mets received a compensatory pick when Syndergaard left for the Angels this offseason — so who knows, this trade has the potential to get even better.

Honorable Mentions: Eddie Murray 1993, Al Leiter 2003

38: Al Leiter, 2004

It was actually pretty surprising to have this much competition in the age-38 season, but both Leiter and Glavine put up really solid years. However, in the end, Leiter ended up having the edge in most of the categories. Throwing 173.2 innings with a 3.21 ERA and 133 ERA+, Leiter put up an impressive year for any pitcher, but even more so for one close to 40-years old.

It was Leiter’s last year in a Mets uniform, ending his seven-year run that started in 1998. In those seven years, he threw over 1,300 innings and put up 3.42 ERA and 124 ERA+. His inning totals currently stand at No. 7 in Mets history, though he’ll soon be passed by deGrom. Still, Leiter’s career is one of the more underappreciated in Mets history. He has the third-highest ERA+ of any Mets pitcher with a minimum of 750 innings pitched. He also managed to do something not many pitchers could — stay productive well into his late-30s.

Honorable Mentions: Tom Seaver 1983, Brett Butler 1995, Tom Glavine 2004

39: Tom Glavine, 2005

Glavine didn’t win the last age, but he wins this one very easily. There are only a handful of age-39 seasons in Mets history with an even semi-significant amount of playing time, and Glavine’s is the only one that really had any notable impact. Over 211.1 innings, he pitched to a 3.53 ERA and 116 ERA+. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but it was certainly quality innings.

Glavine spent five years with the Mets and his 2005 season was smack in the middle. While both his first and last season in Queens was underwhelming, he had a three-year stretch where he was legitimately good from 2004-06. He made two All-Star games in the span, only missing it in ‘05, the highlighted season. Interestingly, 2005 also featured his lowest single-season ERA as a Met, and his 3.67 FIP was the only time it was below four. While he’ll always be remembered as a Brave, and rightfully so, he did have a handful of good years with a team that was usually his division rival.

Honorable Mentions: John Franco, 2000