3 Mets franchise records that will be nearly impossible to break

Pedro Feliciano appearing in 92 games in a single season (2010)

When “Perpetual Pedro” suddenly passed away in November 2021, there was an outpouring from the entire baseball community, Mets fans and otherwise, about the incredible workloads he took on during his Mets tenure. Feliciano was the Mets’ most durable and reliable reliever for several years during the mid-2000s and early 2010s, spending his entire MLB career with the Mets across parts of nine seasons.

In 2010, Feliciano set what still stands as the Mets’ all-time record for single-season pitching appearances by entering 92 out of the Mets’ 162 games. He led all of MLB that year in appearances, surpassing the second-place finisher, Tampa Bay Rays hurler Randy Choate, by seven games. Being a workhorse was nothing new to Feliciano by this time -- he also led the Majors in appearances with 86 in 2008 and 88 in 2009, which are second and third all-time in the Mets’ single-season history. Combined across those three seasons, Feliciano pitched to a 3.44 ERA over 266 appearances and 175 1/3 innings.

Those three seasons represent the three highest single-season appearances totals by a pitcher in Mets history. On this franchise top 10 list, Feliciano holds four of the 10 spots; his 78 appearances in 2007 are tied for 10th in club history. His 92-appearance season in 2010 is historically significant in yet another context -- it is tied with Mike Marshall’s 92 appearances in 1973 for the fourth-highest number of single-season appearances in MLB history. (Marshall’s 106 appearances the following year in 1974 occupy the all-time top spot.)

For all of his heroic efforts, Feliciano rocketed up to second on the Mets’ all-time appearances list with 484 games played during his Queens tenure, second only to John Franco’s 695.

In 2021, the MLB leader in appearances was the Cleveland Guardians’ Bryan Shaw with 81. Given how both starters’ and relievers’ workloads are managed in today’s game, I would be surprised if any future Mets pitcher appears in more than 81 games, let alone 92 different contests, in a single year.