The Greatest Starting Pitchers in New York Mets History

Great Pitching in Queens

Since their first season in 1962, the New York Mets have been blessed with some great pitching. Here is a look at the 5 greatest starting pitchers in team history. Hopefully one day newly acquired Johan Santana will be added to this list or maybe up and coming stars Oliver Perez and John Maine.

Tom Seaver (1967-1977,1983) Without a doubt Tom Seaver is the best pitcher if not the beat player in the history of the New York Mets. He broke onto the scene in 1967 and won the National League Rookie of the Year Award, when he won 16 games with a 2.76 ERA. He is the Mets all-time leader in wins with 198, ERA with 2.57 and strikeouts with 2541. He won three National League Cy young Awards with the Mets -1969,1973 and 1975. He holds the Mets single season record with 25 wins in 1969 and 21 complete games in 1971 and 289 strikeouts in 1971. In 1970 he struck out 10 consecutive batters in a game. Tom Seaver was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992 and is the only Mets player to have his number retired by the team.

Dwight Gooden (1984-1994) Dwight Gooden like Tom Seaver burst onto the scene and won the 1984 Rookie of the Year award at the age of 19 when he went 17 and 9 with a 2.60 ERA and 276 strikeouts. He followed up his rookie campaign with an unbelievable 1985 when he went 24 and 4 with a 1.53 ERA and won the National League Cy Young award. He ranks second in team history with 157 wins and 1875 strikeouts. He also holds the Mets single season record with 8 shutouts in 1985.

Jerry Koosman (1967-1978) Often overshadowed by Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman was a highly effective left hander for the Mets. He won the clinching game of the 1969 World Series. Jerry Koosman ranks third in team history with 140 wins and 1799 strikeouts. In his 11 seasons with the Mets he won over 10 games 8 times including 21 in 1976. In his rookie season of 1968 he won 19 games which is the most ever by a Mets rookie pitcher. In 1968 he finished 2^nd in Rookie of the Year voting to Johnny Bench of the Cincinnati Reds.