3 former Mets who would have been perfect candidates to DH

With the anticipated arrival of the designated hitter in the National League in 2022, the New York Mets will have plenty of DH options to choose from on the current roster. The first time the Mets used a designated hitter was in Game 3 of the 1986 World Series; Danny Heep got that honor. Eleven years later, Butch Huskey became the first Mets DH in a regular-season game when he batted fifth against the New York Yankees on June 16, 1997 -- the same day that Dave Mlicki tossed a shutout at Yankee Stadium.

But what if the Mets had a DH years before Heep or Huskey took the field? 

Say that the DH came to both leagues, instead of just the American League, starting in 1973. Who might the Amazins have slotted into that role? It likely would have been a player who possessed a strong bat but was weaker defensively, so those characteristics provide a useful starting point to come up with theoretical historical DHs.

Let’s take a look at three past Mets players who, if there had been a universal DH back when they played, could have filled that role in Flushing.

Dave Kingman

The man known as “Kong” was the definition of “feast or famine” at the plate. When he connected, the ball generally went very far -- Kingman hit just .236 with a .302 on-base percentage over his 16-year career, but he slugged 442 home runs along the way and had seven seasons with 30-plus home runs. Back in the day, purists likely didn’t think much of Kingman’s “all or nothing” approach at the plate, but put his numbers in today’s game, and he would have been a star.

Nearly all of his home runs were no-doubters, like these two he blasted against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sept. 10, 1975.

Unfortunately, Kingman’s awe-inspiring baseball prowess did not extend to his defense. He twice led the league in errors, as a first baseman in 1974 and as a left fielder in 1981. Kingman also posted a career defensive WAR (per Baseball Reference) of -16.7 and had a positive dWAR in only one of his 16 total seasons, which came in 1973 with the San Francisco Giants.

FanGraphs’ defense statistic is no kinder to Kingman. The full name of the stat is “defense – fielding and positional adjustment combined (above average),” and over his career, the Sky King registered at -162.2 in that department. By comparison, Kingman was at 107.5 on FanGraphs’ “offense – batting and base running combined (above average)” statistic.

We often hear of “defensive specialists” in today’s game, but Kingman was clearly an “offensive specialist.” It would have greatly benefited the Mets in the mid 1970s and early 1980s if he could have been used solely as a designated hitter.

Rusty Staub

The man known as “Le Grand Orange” for his flaming red locks had two productive stints with the Mets, from 1972-75 and 1981-85. During his first turn in Queens, he was generally an everyday player, but his playing time diminished to a bench role in his second go-around. Nonetheless, Staub was solid at the plate while with the Mets. Over his nine years with the Amazins, Staub hit .276 with 75 home runs, 399 RBIs, and a 119 OPS+. 

His defense, however, left something to be desired in both of his Flushing tenures. Staub notched a defensive WAR of -8.0 as a Met while playing mostly right field, with some left field and first base sprinkled in. His career total zone was -51, and two of his overall worst defensive seasons in that department came in 1972 and 1974 with the Mets, when he posted a TZ of -10 and -18 in the outfield, respectively.

Staub did have a shining moment for the Mets on defense in Game 4 of the 1973 National League Championship Series. In the 11th inning, when the opposing Cincinnati Reds had two men on in a tie game, Staub made an impressive running grab in the outfield that saved at least one, if not two, runs, though he then crashed into the wall. The Mets lost that game, 2-1, but they won the deciding Game 5 and took the Oakland A’s to Game 7 of the World Series. Staub’s bat was strong in the Fall Classic, as he batted .423 with a home run and six RBIs over the seven games, but his arm strength was heavily diminished after crashing into the wall in the NLCS.

Even with that NLCS web gem, when all was said and done, Staub’s bat mostly outshined his glove while with the Mets. Had the Amazins been afforded a DH back in his playing days, he would have been a very worthy contender to fill that slot.