Ranking the NY Mets careers of each person with a retired jersey number

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The New York Mets have retired eight numbers in their illustrious history. Each number represents a player who brought something unique to the team, was usually from a different era, and probably played a different position – or no position at all. These men represent the all-time greats. There are no good or bad selections. Ranking them is almost impossible. However, we here at Rising Apple don’t know the meaning of the word impossible, or most any other word with four syllables or more, but rank we must. This list is opinion and basically only considers their contributions as a member of the New York Mets.

8) New York Mets retired numbers: Jackie Robinson #42.

So naturally we start off with a player who never played for the Mets. In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. His number was retired throughout all of baseball in 1997. Robinson was honored in this way out of respect for his contributions to civil rights as well as to baseball. Every year on April 15, the anniversary of his big league debut, all baseball players wear #42 in his honor.

7) New York Mets retired numbers: Casey Stengel #37.

The Old Professor as he was known, was the Mets manager from 1962 to 1965. His wit and wisdom were important to a young team and helped to distract observers from the less than quality product on the field. He is the only person to have his number retired by both the Mets and the Yankees. Stengel urged the fans to come out and see his Amazin’ Mets, a name that is still widely used today. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966.

6) New York Mets retired numbers: Gil Hodges #14.

Hodges was a member of the original 1962 Mets and even hit the club’s first home run. He is more known as the manager of the Mets from 1968 to 1971. Hodges took the team from being lovable losers to the 1969 World Champions. He brought respect to an organization who had been sorely lacking in that department. Hodges time at the helm of the Mets was short but was significant. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.

5) New York Mets retired numbers: Willie Mays #24.

Mays was traded to the Mets in 1972. He had been a favorite of Mets owner Joan Payson from his days with the New York Giants and she wanted him to finish his career in the town where it began in 1951. Although somewhat past his prime, Mays brought his leadership to an 82 win team that went on to win the National League pennant in 1973 and take Oakland to a World Series game seven. Mays was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979. He was chosen to be part of the MLB All-Century and All-Time Teams. A twenty four time All-Star, Willie Mays might be the greatest five tool player in the history of Major League Baseball.

4) New York Mets retired numbers: Jerry Koosman #36.

Koosman was a member of the Mets from 1967 to 1978. He is often overlooked in the annals of Mets history because he shared in the same spotlight at the same time with Tom Seaver. Koosman finished second to Johnny Bench in the voting for the 1968 Rookie of the Year award. He was a member of both the 1969 World Champion and the 1973 National League pennant winning teams. Koosman won 140 games in his twelve years in New York, eclipsing the 20 win mark twice.

3) New York Mets retired numbers: Keith Hernandez #17.

Hernandez was a member of the Mets from 1983 to 1989. A natural born leader, he was the captain of the 1986 World Champion team. He held a team together that was known for bragging, brawling, and curtain calls on their way to 108 regular season wins in 1986 and 100 wins and a National League East title in1988. Hernandez was a six time gold glove winner and three time all-star with the Mets. He is fourth in both batting average (.297) and on-base percentage (.387) in club history. Keith Hernandez is one of only four players to have served as Mets team captain.

2) New York Mets retired numbers: Mike Piazza #31.

Piazza’s Mets career spanned from 1998 to 2005. He led his team to the playoffs in 1999 and to the National League pennant the following year with an appearance in the 2000 World Series. A seven time All-Star, Piazza hit 220 homeruns and added 655 RBI’s with the Mets. His .542 slugging percentage is the highest in team history. Mike Piazza is considered by many to be the greatest hitting catcher of all time. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016.

1) New York Mets retired numbers: Tom Seaver #41.

Known as The Franchise, Seaver was the Mets’ first home grown star. He was the 1967 Rookie of the Year, a three time Cy Young Award winner, and a nine time All-Star while in New York. Seaver won 198 games with the Mets on his way to a career total of 311. He struck out 200 or more batters for nine consecutive seasons. Tom Seaver was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992 and is considered to be one of the greatest right handed pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball. He is our #1 New York Met of all time.

Who's next? You gotta believe.

What number will be the next one to be retired and lifted up to the rafters at Citi field? Could it be Gary Carter’s #8? Maybe it'll be David Wright’s #5? It might even be The Polar Bear Pete Alonzo’s #20 or The Flying Squirrel Jeff McNeil's #1 someday. But, you’ll have to keep following Casey’s Amazin’ Mets to find out. Let's go Mets.

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