The best WAR season for a Mets second baseman in franchise history

There is little debate over who the best second baseman in New York Mets history is. When it comes to a single-season achievement, however, sometimes an unlikely hero stepped up.

The attempt at creating an all-encompassing number to represent a player’s abilities gave us WAR. And the best WAR of any Mets second baseman in one year conveniently belongs to their best ever at the position, Edgardo Alfonzo. It came at an appropriate time when the club was ready to win it all.

The best NY Mets WAR season for a second baseman belongs to Edgardo Alfonzo in 2000

The 2000 Mets would come up short in the World Series, but probably never get there if not for Alfonzo. His 6.4 WAR ranks 13th all-time in franchise history. Alfonzo would have years of 6.2 and 6.0 in the past but it’s this season when second base also happened to be his primary spot when Fonzie was at his best.

The lone All-Star year of Alfonzo’s career included 40 doubles, 25 home runs, and 94 RBI. When it comes to WAR, the heavier weight comes from the slash line numbers. Alfonzo was at his best there. He slashed .324/.425/.542. The .967 OPS is the sixth highest for any Mets hitter and that’s if you include Dominic Smith’s shortened 2020 effort.

Alfonzo’s peak was short, beginning in 1997 when he hit .315 for the Mets but with limited power. It was only in 1999 when he exploded offensively. Backed by some other monster years at the plate, including Robin Ventura who officially moved Alfonzo into the full-time second base role, he scored 123 runs and drove in 108.

The WAR difference between these two years would come down to the 20 points higher in batting average and 40 point increase in OBP. Both years were stellar. However, it was the encore that made its way to becoming the best in this one statistic for a second baseman.