The best Mets player to wear number 22

Number 22 is one of the most stacked numbers in terms of talent in New York Mets history. Ray Knight wore number 22 when he scored the winning run in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. He also wore number 22 when he hit the go-ahead home run in Game 7 of that series, winning World Series MVP as the Mets won their second World Series championship.

Dom Smith wore number 22 when he was first called up in 2017 but switched to number 2 when the Mets signed Rick Porcello back in 2020. Porcello is the most recent Met to wear number 22.

Kevin McReynolds is one of the best outfielders the Mets have ever had. He hit 122 home runs in six seasons as a Met wearing number 22. He's a close second to Al Leiter.

Al Leiter is the best Mets player to wear number 22

While he might have been a broadcaster for the YES network, Al Leiter had the most success playing in Queens, not the Bronx. The southpaw was a Met for seven years and had a great deal of success.

Leiter's most memorable moment as a Met came in 1999. The Mets and Reds tied for the National League Wild Card spot. Instead of the one game playoff between two Wild Card teams, only one Wild Card team made the postseason at that time.

The Mets and Reds had to play a game 163 and Al Leiter was the Mets' choice to start that game. Leiter went on the road in Cincinnati and delivered a masterpiece.

The left-hander threw a complete game two-hit shutout in a 2-0 victory over the Reds to send the Mets into the postseason. He walked four and struck out seven in the win. Leiter wasn't the best pitcher in baseball at any point, but he was always a pitcher the Mets could rely on to win them a big game. He won the biggest one of that season.

Leiter went 95-67 in his Mets career in 213 starts. He's fifth in bWAR for pitchers, sixth in wins, seventh in innings pitched, and eighth in strikeouts in Mets history. He's not normally recognized as such but a very good argument could be made that he is a top 10 pitcher in Mets history.