Who has the worst WAR for a single season in Mets history?

Which player had the worst WAR in New York Mets history? It’s not easily accessible information. And who really had the time to go through each season and come to a conclusion? Thanks to the power of the internet and an unexpected free 20 minutes to scroll and click, an answer was found.

It’s not fair to call any major league player “the worst” in team history because just making it to the majors is an accomplishment itself. It’s the WAR from a single-season this is being measured on. In the case of this statistic, it’s accumulative so you need to stick around in order to get worse.

The infamous 1962 Mets had three players worth -1 WAR or worse. Ray Daviault was at -1.2. Gus Bell took a -1.5 WAR on the chin. Then there was Craig Anderson who blew both of them away at -2.7. Was this the worst individual season in team history? Through 2023, it is.

Craig Anderson still has the worst WAR in Mets history dating back to 1962

Anderson made 14 starts for the inaugural Mets and another 36 relief appearances. Not uncommon in those days and in particular with the 1962 club, he ended up compiling a total of 131.1 innings in each role.

Anderson’s 3-17 record was abysmal and yet not even the worst on the roster by either measure. Jay Hook, Al Jackson, and Roger Craig all had more losses. Bob Miller at 1-12 had a worse winning percentage, too. Even his 5.35 ERA didn’t measure down to what players like Daviault had. In his 81 innings of work, Daviault had a 6.22 ERA. Again, this wasn’t the worst on the roster.

Time seemed to be against Anderson in this instance. While other pitchers had worse seasons, pitching the fifth-most innings caused his WAR to sink lower. His 63 walks vs. 62 strikeouts didn’t do any favors. It’s one of the biggest factors in lowering his WAR and other numbers. Pitchers are always expected to strike out more batters than they walk.

This was a pitching staff where only Galen Cisco had an ERA+ of 100 or better. A team ERA of 5.04, Anderson is closer to the middle than the bottom. He wasn’t the worst pitcher to take the mound. He just happened to be the one Casey Stengel stuck with the longest to take those beatings.

Other players have had worse seasons than Anderson. Batters have hit below .200. Pitchers have had ERAs above 6.00. But when it comes to measuring this single statistic, Anderson’s 1962 season was the worst.