Ranking each of the 7 New York Mets Cy Young seasons

The New York Mets have always been known for their pitching. Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Jerry Koosman, Doc Gooden, Ron Darling, David Cone, Tom Glavine, Pedro Martinez, Johan Santana, and Jacob deGrom are just some of the studs that have pitched for this team. 

The Mets have had seven Cy Young seasons, so let’s rank them.

I decided to lean heavily on ERA+ for this ranking. ERA+ takes a wide range of factors into account, such as ballparks and leagues, and is adjusted to the factor of 100. That means that 100 is the average. If somebody were to have an ERA+ of 150, it means they performed 50% better than the average pitcher. Because of this, it is a normalized stat, which means it can be applied to any time period and have the same meaning. This makes it very useful for comparing players from different eras, like say, Tom Seaver and Jacob deGrom.

While doing my research, I noticed a couple of insane pitching seasons that did not win Cy Youngs that I just want to briefly touch on. 

Jacob deGrom had an insane 2021 before being shut down due to injury. In 92 innings, deGrom allowed just 40 hits, 11 earned runs, 11 walks, and he struck out 146 batters. All of that led to an ERA of 1.08, a FIP of 1.24, a WHIP of 0.55, and an outrageous ERA+ of 373. He still finished 9th in Cy Young voting, but, had he reached the innings minimum to qualify for the award, he would’ve captured his third Cy Young in four years.

Tom Seaver was absolutely robbed of the 1971 Cy Young. The righty tossed 286.1 innings, gave up just 210 hits, 56 earned runs, 18 homers, 61 walks, and struck out 289 batters. His ERA was 1.76, his FIP was 1.93, his WHIP was 0.95, and his ERA+ was 194. Fergie Jenkins won the Cy Young that year because he had more wins (24), innings pitched (325), and complete games (30), but his ERA was a full run higher (2.77) and his ERA+ was just 141. 

Dwight Gooden burst onto the scene in 1984 with a remarkable rookie season. In 218 innings, he gave up just 161 hits, 63 earned runs, seven homers, 73 walks, and struck out 276 batters. His ERA was 2.60, his FIP was 1.69, his WHIP was 1.07, and his ERA+ was 137. He won the Rookie of the Year, but came in second in the Cy Young voting to Rick Sutcliffe, even though Sutcliffe pitched 78 less innings, made 11 less starts, and struck out 121 less batters. Makes sense, right?

With that out of the way, let’s rank the Cy Young seasons in Mets history.

7. R.A Dickey 2012

R.A Dickey’s comeback story came to fruition in an epic season on the Mets in 2012.

The Mets brought in a crafty knuckleballer in 2010 with the hopes of plugging a hole in the rotation, and they wound up with an ace. His 2010 and 2011 seasons don’t get talked about much, but he very quietly had good years. In 2010, he pitched 174 innings with an ERA of 2.84 and an ERA+ of 138. In 2011, he pitched 208.2 innings with an ERA of 3.28 and an ERA+ of 112.

Then, some magic happened. In 2012, he pitched 223.2 innings, allowing just 192 hits, 71 earned runs,  24 homers, 54 walks, and striking out 230 batters. His ERA was 2.73, his FIP was 3.27, his WHIP was 1.05, his ERA+ was 139, and his WAR was 5.7. He led the league in games started (34), complete games (5), shutouts (3), innings pitched, and strikeouts.

R.A. was at his peak during a two game stretch starting on June 13th, 2012 at Tampa. The only hit of the game was on a chopper to David Wright where he went for the barehanded play and missed. He went all nine innings, didn’t allow a walk, and struck out 12. His next start came at home against the Orioles, and he threw another one-hitter, this time striking out 13. He is one of just 10 pitchers ever to throw back-to-back one-hitters.

What made Dickey an anomaly was his ability to control the knuckleball. Over his three years with the Mets, he averaged just 50 walks per season. His K-to-BB ratio was 3-1, and during his Cy Young season, it was greater than 4-1. This led to him being the only knuckleballer to ever win a Cy Young, and it was so much fun to watch.

6. Tom Seaver 1975

This was Tom Seaver’s third Cy Young as a member of the Mets.

The 30-year-old pitched 280.1 innings, allowed 217 hits, 74 earned runs, 11 homers, 88 walks, and struck out 243 batters. His ERA was 2.38, his FIP was 2.35, his WHIP was 1.09, his ERA+ was 146, and his WAR was 7.8. He tossed 15 complete games, five of which were shutouts. Seaver led the league in strikeouts, FIP, and wins (22). He made most of his starts on just four day’s rest.

Seaver had back-to-back great starts on June 10th and 15th. He threw back-to-back shutouts against the Giants and Padres, respectively, both on the road. In the first one against San Francisco, he gave up six hits, two walks, and struck out nine. He followed that by limiting San Diego to three hits, no walks, and four strikeouts.

He was at his most dominant on August 27th and September 1st. On 8/27, he pitched a shutout at San Diego once again, allowing six hits, one walk, and striking out 10. He followed that up at home against the Pirates with another shutout, this time allowing just four hits, one walk, and striking out 10 again.

5. Tom Seaver 1969

Tom Seaver is one of the reasons the Mets had a magical year in 1969.

The righty tossed 273.1 innings, allowing 202 hits, 67 earned runs, 24 homerse, 82 walks, and striking out 208 batters. His ERA was 2.21, his FIP was 3.11, his WHIP was 1.04, his ERA+ was 143, and his WAR was 7.2. He threw 18 complete games, including five shutouts. He led the league in wins with 25 and in H/9 with 6.7. 

Seaver had one of the most insane pitching months ever in September. In six starts, he threw six complete games! He totaled 54 innings, allowing just 28 hits, five runs, and 12 walks while striking out 33. His ERA was 0.83, his FIP was 2.01, and opponents hit just .153 with a .400 OPS against him. He also threw complete games in his last two starts in August, bringing his total streak to eight consecutive complete games. Throughout the course of those eight starts, his season ERA dropped from 2.65 to 2.21.

2. Jacob deGrom 2018

deGrom’s 2019 was special, but his 2018 was historic.

In 217 innings, deGrom allowed just 152 hits, 41 earned runs, 10 homers, 46 walks, and struck out 269 batters. His ERA was a minute 1.70, his FIP was an equally impressive 1.98, his WHIP was 0.91, his ERA+ was 218, and his WAR was 9.9. He led the league in ERA, FIP, ERA+, and HR/9 with0.4. His strikeout-to-walk ratio was an incredible 5.85. deGrom was almost the unaminous winner, with just one first place vote going to then-National Max Scherzer, who struck out 300 batters and just edged out deGrom in innings pitched (220.2) and WHIP (0.91). He also finished 5th in the MVP voting.

deGrom had a stretch from mid-April to early June where he was truly dominant. In eight starts, he pitched 47.1 innings while allowing just 33 hits, three earned runs, and he struck out 68 batters. His ERA was 0.57, his FIP was 1.64, and opponents hit just .195 against him. He went seven innings or more in six of those starts. Perhaps his most impressive start of the season was on August 18th at Philly. He threw a complete game with nine strikeouts and only one unearned run allowed.

deGrom is the poster child for why pitcher wins and losses don’t matter. If you combine his two Cy Young seasons, his record is 21-17. It’s laughable that the Mets have never been able to give him the run support to win his games.

1. Doc Gooden 1985

The Doctor will see you now.

Doc followed up his impressive rookie season with an even better one. In 276.2 innings, he gave up just 198 hits, 47 earned runs, 13 homers, 69 walks, and struck out 268 batters. His ERA was just 1.53, his FIP was 2.13, his WHIP was 0.97, his ERA+ was 229, and his WAR was 12.2. He threw 16 complete games, eight of which were shutouts. He led the league in wins (24), complete games, innings pitched, strikeouts, ERA, FIP, and ERA+. He was also fourth in the MVP voting.

Gooden had two incredible stretches in 1985. From late May through the month of June, he made seven starts, four of which were complete games and one was a shutout. In 60 innings, he allowed just 46 hits, nine earned runs, 16 walks, and struck out 59 batters. His ERA was 1.35 and his FIP was 2.44.

His even better stretch lasted the whole month of September and into October. In six starts, he threw three complete games, two of which were shutouts. In 53 innings, he allowed just 33 hits, two earned runs, 13 walks, and struck out 49 batters. His ERA was a ridiculous 0.34, his FIP was 1.57, and opponents hit just .175 with a .439 OPS against him. 

His most impressive starts came on August 20th vs. the San Francisco Giants. Doc tossed a shutout, allowing just seven hits, three walks, and striking out 16 batters. 10 of Doc’s 11 double-digit strikeout games came in complete games or shutouts.

All of these seasons were incredible, but Doc takes the cake here. Based on ERA+ he was 129% better than the average pitcher! That's an insane performance, and the best in Mets history.