Yoenis Cespedes
On July 20, 2018, Yoenis Cespedes had not faced Major League pitching in over two months. In fact, he had all of 12 plate appearances, all of which were below the Triple-A level.
More than that, Cespedes needed double heel surgery. Despite all that was wrong and how rusty he was, the Mets activated him for the sole purpose of being a DH in an Interleague Game against the New York Yankees. Watching him that day, you’d have no idea how badly injured he was, or that he had not played in nearly two months.
In that game, Cespedes was 2-for-4 with two runs, a walk, a homer, and an RBI. This should serve as a reminder of what Cespedes can do when he steps foot on the baseball field . . . . even when he’s not healthy.
We know he missed all of 2019 after double heel surgery and a broken ankle stemming from a wild boar attack. We know about that drama and the rust. There’s the ramp up to Spring Training and the COVID19 necessitated shut down of baseball. These are all factors why anyone could struggle.
However, this is Cespedes. We’ve seen him hit when no one else couldn’t physically stepped foot on the field. He’s a special player who can be a difference maker. No one can tell you whether he’s going to be in good enough shape, whether there’s too much rust, or just how much this shutdown has impacted him.
What we can say is we’ve seen Cespedes do this before, and he’s just about as exciting a player as there is in baseball. With reports he’s ready to play, it’s time to get excited to see Cespedes play baseball again.
Well for the second time in these rankings, there is going to be a player with a negative WAR with the Mets. The reason for that is Chris Schwinden, Gabriel Ynoa, and Tim Peterson are the only players to wear the number 63 with the Mets, and they all have a negative career WAR with the Mets.
Of that group, Peterson has had a bigger impact on the Mets, and as a result, he is the best Mets player to ever wear the number.
While Peterson has a negative WAR, he has had some fine stretches as a member of the Mets bullpen. When he first debuted in 2018, he would have a 1.59 ERA over his first eight appearances and a 2.93 over his first 12 appearances with the Mets. That would include his picking up his first Major League win against the Pittsburgh Pirates in an extra inning game.
#Mets TIM PETERSON MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF STRIKES OUT 2 TO END THE SIDE !!! LET’S GO METS !!! pic.twitter.com/2Yij7RvKkZ
— John Dillinger (@bklyns1jetfan) June 28, 2018
Peterson would impress in Spring Training the following season, and he would claim a spot in the Opening Day Major League bullpen. Peterson did more than enough to justify this decision starting the year off with three scoreless appearances. After one poor outing, he was sent down to the minors, and he would make just two more relief appearances in a Mets uniform. After that season, he opted for free agency after being designated for assignment, and he is looking for his next opportunity. Until that point, or until someone else comes along, he is going to be the best Mets player to ever wear the number 63.
Previous
1.Mookie Wilson
2.Mackey Sasser
3. Curtis Granderson
4. Lenny Dykstra
5. David Wright
6. Wally Backman
7. Jose Reyes
8. Gary Carter
9. Todd Hundley
10. Rey Ordonez
11. Wayne Garrett
12. John Stearns
13. Edgardo Alfonzo
14. Gil Hodges
15. Carlos Beltran
16. Dwight Gooden
17. Keith Hernandez
18. Darryl Strawberry
19. Bob Ojeda
20. Howard Johnson
21. Cleon Jones
22. Al Leiter
23. Bernard Gilkey
24. Art Shamsky
25. Pedro Feliciano
26. Terry Leach
27. Jeurys Familia
28. Daniel Murphy
29. Frank Viola
30. Michael Conforto
31. Mike Piazza
32. Jon Matlack
33. Matt Harvey
34. Noah Syndergaard
35. Rick Reed
36. Jerry Koosman
37. Casey Stengel
38. Skip Lockwood
39. Gary Gentry
40. Bartolo Colon
41. Tom Seaver
42. Ron Taylor
43. R.A. Dickey
44. David Cone
45. Tug McGraw
46. Oliver Perez
47. Jesse Orosco
48. Jacob deGrom
49. Armando Benitez
50. Sid Fernandez
51. Rick White
52. Yoenis Cespedes
53. Chad Bradford
54. T.J. Rivera
55. Orel Hershiser
56. Andres Torres
57. Johan Santana
58. Jenrry Mejia
59. Fernando Salas
60. Scott Schoeneweis
61. Dana Eveland
62. Drew Smith
When the Mets team which won the pennant had came to an earlier than expected end of their window, the first big move the organization made was obtaining Drew Smith from the Tamp Bay Rays for Lucas Duda. In Smith, the Mets obtained a coveted and well regarded minor league relief prospect. In the summer of obtaining right-handed relievers, Smith stood above the rest.
Less than year after the trade, he would make his Major League debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He’d pitch a scoreless inning and record his first Major League strikeout.
Well boys he made it. First career out @DrewBU3 many more to come pic.twitter.com/cryvhHq2gI
— Mike Evans (@thecoach777) June 24, 2018
A little over two months later, Smith would pick up his first Major League win against the Dodgers. Overall, in that season, Smith would make 27 appearances going 1-1 with a 3.54 ERA and a 3.00 K/BB while accumulating a 0.5 WAR. It may seem like much but with Erik Goeddel having more than three times the appearances of Smith and having a 0.7 WAR, it would seem Smith is the better player of the two and the four players in Mets history to wear the number 62.
As an aside, Smith suffered a torn UCL and needed Tommy John surgery during Spring Training in 2019. Whenever baseball is able to come back in 2020 (or 2021), Smith is going to get his chance to claim a spot in the bullpen, step on the mound again, and further cement his case he is the best Mets player to ever wear the number 62.
Previous
1.Mookie Wilson
2.Mackey Sasser
3. Curtis Granderson
4. Lenny Dykstra
5. David Wright
6. Wally Backman
7. Jose Reyes
8. Gary Carter
9. Todd Hundley
10. Rey Ordonez
11. Wayne Garrett
12. John Stearns
13. Edgardo Alfonzo
14. Gil Hodges
15. Carlos Beltran
16. Dwight Gooden
17. Keith Hernandez
18. Darryl Strawberry
19. Bob Ojeda
20. Howard Johnson
21. Cleon Jones
22. Al Leiter
23. Bernard Gilkey
24. Art Shamsky
25. Pedro Feliciano
26. Terry Leach
27. Jeurys Familia
28. Daniel Murphy
29. Frank Viola
30. Michael Conforto
31. Mike Piazza
32. Jon Matlack
33. Matt Harvey
34. Noah Syndergaard
35. Rick Reed
36. Jerry Koosman
37. Casey Stengel
38. Skip Lockwood
39. Gary Gentry
40. Bartolo Colon
41. Tom Seaver
42. Ron Taylor
43. R.A. Dickey
44. David Cone
45. Tug McGraw
46. Oliver Perez
47. Jesse Orosco
48. Jacob deGrom
49. Armando Benitez
50. Sid Fernandez
51. Rick White
52. Yoenis Cespedes
53. Chad Bradford
54. T.J. Rivera
55. Orel Hershiser
56. Andres Torres
57. Johan Santana
58. Jenrry Mejia
59. Fernando Salas
60. Scott Schoeneweis
61. Dana Eveland
Look, Jesse Orosco is clearly the best Met to ever wear the number 61. However, he only wore that number for one season in 1979, and he would not do much of anything in 18 appearances. Everything great he did in a Mets uniform came when he wore the number 47, which you can read more about by clicking on the link below.
In terms of how a Mets player performed while wearing the number 60, it should seem out of the 10 Mets players to wear the number, Dana Eveland performed best while wearing the number.
After pitching overseas for the 2013 season, Eveland returned stateside on a minor league deal with the Mets. Eveland would spend the first two months of the season with Triple-A Las Vegas before the Mets needed him for the bullpen. He was immediately thrown into the fire.
With two on and nobody out, he got Chase Utley to fly out before striking out Ryan Howard before handing the ball to Jeurys Familia to end that jam. For the performance, he earned a hold. Through the first two months of his getting called-up, he would have a 2.00 ERA.
Over the course of that 2014 season, Eveland would go 1-1 with a 2.63 ERA and a 1.098 WHIP while recording his second ever Major League save. Eveland would post a career best 133 ERA+. His 3.21 FIP was the second best mark in his career. Overall, he had a 0.4 WAR which was the third best mark of his career and the best mark out of any Mets player who has ever worn the number 61.
As a result, while Orosco is the best Mets player to ever wear the number 61, it is Eveland who has performed the best while wearing the number making him the best 61 in team history.
Previous
1.Mookie Wilson
2.Mackey Sasser
3. Curtis Granderson
4. Lenny Dykstra
5. David Wright
6. Wally Backman
7. Jose Reyes
8. Gary Carter
9. Todd Hundley
10. Rey Ordonez
11. Wayne Garrett
12. John Stearns
13. Edgardo Alfonzo
14. Gil Hodges
15. Carlos Beltran
16. Dwight Gooden
17. Keith Hernandez
18. Darryl Strawberry
19. Bob Ojeda
20. Howard Johnson
21. Cleon Jones
22. Al Leiter
23. Bernard Gilkey
24. Art Shamsky
25. Pedro Feliciano
26. Terry Leach
27. Jeurys Familia
28. Daniel Murphy
29. Frank Viola
30. Michael Conforto
31. Mike Piazza
32. Jon Matlack
33. Matt Harvey
34. Noah Syndergaard
35. Rick Reed
36. Jerry Koosman
37. Casey Stengel
38. Skip Lockwood
39. Gary Gentry
40. Bartolo Colon
41. Tom Seaver
42. Ron Taylor
43. R.A. Dickey
44. David Cone
45. Tug McGraw
46. Oliver Perez
47. Jesse Orosco
48. Jacob deGrom
49. Armando Benitez
50. Sid Fernandez
51. Rick White
52. Yoenis Cespedes
53. Chad Bradford
54. T.J. Rivera
55. Orel Hershiser
56. Andres Torres
57. Johan Santana
58. Jenrry Mejia
59. Fernando Salas
60. Scott Schoeneweis
Another day, another pitcher’s duel, another extra inning game. This time it was Michael Wacha and Johnny Cueto.
This game went into extras tied 1-1 with the Mets run coming when Wilson Ramos scored in the sixth. Yoenis Cespedes was not credited with an RBI as he grounded into a double play.
The Mets took the lead for the first time in the 11th on an Amed Rosario homer off Reyes Moronta. Later in the inning, Michael Conforto hit a bases loaded two RBI single expanding the Mets lead to 4-1.
The Giants scored one in the bottom of the inning off Edwin Diaz, but that was it as Diaz picked up the save. After pitching a scoreless ninth and 10th, Justin Wilson picked up the win.
As we have seen through this list of the Best Mets of All-Time, we see the choices for some uniform numbers are quite limited, and that is certainly the case with the number 60. The last to wear is was P.J. Conlon who made team history by being the first Irish born player to play for the team, and really the first in the Majors in nearly a century.
There was also Jon Rauch, who had two claims to fame. The first was surpassing Eric Hillman by an inch to become the tallest player in Mets history. The next was his dousing Matt Harvey in ice water as a way to haze the rookie. Other than that, his Mets career was productive (o.4 WAR) but relatively unremarkable.
Then, there is Scott Schoeneweis who had a very complicated two years with his hometown team.
His first season with the Mets was simply a struggle, which was due in large part to a severed tendon in his knee. To his credit, he gutted it out and continued pitching in what was an increasingly depleted Mets bullpen. It should also be noted he did exactly what he was signed to do.
In 2007, Schoeneweis limited left-handed batters to a .204/.208/.247 batting line notably not allowing a single homer and just four extra base hits. It needs to be noted even in a season where he really struggled and dealt with injuries his .262 wOBA against left-handed hitters was the best in the National League.
In fact, from 2007 – 2008, Schoenweis’ .249 wOBA was the second best in the Majors among those who had more than 50 IP against left-handed batters. Simply put, Schoeneweis was signed to be a left-handed pitcher in the bullpen to get left-handed batters out. If he had been limited to just doing that, perhaps his Mets career would have gone better.
For what it is worth, he was much better in 2008 with a healthy knee. In that season, he was 2-6 with a 3.34 ERA. Again, it should be noted he did the job he was supposed to do in getting left-handed batters out. In a memorable scene, he and Billy Wagner would also help the grounds crew get the tarp on the field.
In terms of Schoeneweis, while injured he was durable making 70+ appearances in consecutive seasons en route to becoming just one of four MLB pitchers to accomplish that feat from 2005 – 2008.
Unfortunately for Schoeneweis, he is not going to be primarily known for getting left-handed batters out, his durability, or for his helping get the tarp on the field. No, his lasting image as a Mets pitcher is his surrendering a home run to the right-handed hittin Wes Helms, who had pinch hit for the left-handed hitting Mike Jacobs on the final game of the 2008 season. That made him the losing pitcher in the final game ever played in Shea Stadium.
Despite that, Schoeneweis posted a respectable 0.8 WAR for a LOOGY in 2008. That’s the highest WAR out of any of the three players who has worn 60 with the Mets, and that is why he is the best Mets player to ever wear that number.
Previous
1.Mookie Wilson
2.Mackey Sasser
3. Curtis Granderson
4. Lenny Dykstra
5. David Wright
6. Wally Backman
7. Jose Reyes
8. Gary Carter
9. Todd Hundley
10. Rey Ordonez
11. Wayne Garrett
12. John Stearns
13. Edgardo Alfonzo
14. Gil Hodges
15. Carlos Beltran
16. Dwight Gooden
17. Keith Hernandez
18. Darryl Strawberry
19. Bob Ojeda
20. Howard Johnson
21. Cleon Jones
22. Al Leiter
23. Bernard Gilkey
24. Art Shamsky
25. Pedro Feliciano
26. Terry Leach
27. Jeurys Familia
28. Daniel Murphy
29. Frank Viola
30. Michael Conforto
31. Mike Piazza
32. Jon Matlack
33. Matt Harvey
34. Noah Syndergaard
35. Rick Reed
36. Jerry Koosman
37. Casey Stengel
38. Skip Lockwood
39. Gary Gentry
40. Bartolo Colon
41. Tom Seaver
42. Ron Taylor
43. R.A. Dickey
44. David Cone
45. Tug McGraw
46. Oliver Perez
47. Jesse Orosco
48. Jacob deGrom
49. Armando Benitez
50. Sid Fernandez
51. Rick White
52. Yoenis Cespedes
53. Chad Bradford
54. T.J. Rivera
55. Orel Hershiser
56. Andres Torres
57. Johan Santana
58. Jenrry Mejia
59. Fernando Salas
When it comes to the number 59 in Mets history, there are a lot of bad memories. That started with the first to wear it, Guillermo Mota, shaking off Paul Lo Duca and throwing a pitch which would change the entire course of the 2006 NLCS.
After Mota, there was Josh Smoker who had durability issues, and Antonio Bastardo. Bastrardo struggled so much the Mets actually welcomed back Jon Niese. That brings us to Fernando Salas, who was one of the few players to do something positive in a Mets uniform.
The Mets had obtained Salas from the Los Angeles Angels at the end of the waiver trade deadline. At that point, the Mets were 1.5 games of the Wild Card, and they were in desperate need of bullpen help. Like Addison Reed the year before, Salas was great over the final month of the season.
In 17 appearances, Salas was 0-1 with a 2.08 ERA, 0.635 WHIP, and a 9.9 K/9. Remarkably, he did not walk one batter while striking out 19 batters. Over that stretch, no one in the league made more appearances than he did, and he would have the seventh best WHIP. Overall, he proved to be the missing key to that bullpen which helped the Mets go from the outside looking in for the 2016 postseason.
Salas would return to the Mets after signing a deal in the offseason. He got off to a hot start with seven scoreless appearances and a 2.89 ERA over his first nine. However, he would eventually wilt after Terry Collins kept going to the whip with him. After his struggles, he was released a few weeks prior to the anniversary of the day the Mets obtained him.
While things did not end well, and Salas was not up to the rigors of pitching in the bullpen for Collins, he was everything the Mets needed him to be in 2016. It is very likely without Salas’ performance in 2016, the Mets might’ve missed a Wild Card they claimed by just one game over the St. Louis Cardinals. For that 2016 performance, he is the best Mets player to ever wear the number 59.
Previous
1.Mookie Wilson
2.Mackey Sasser
3. Curtis Granderson
4. Lenny Dykstra
5. David Wright
6. Wally Backman
7. Jose Reyes
8. Gary Carter
9. Todd Hundley
10. Rey Ordonez
11. Wayne Garrett
12. John Stearns
13. Edgardo Alfonzo
14. Gil Hodges
15. Carlos Beltran
16. Dwight Gooden
17. Keith Hernandez
18. Darryl Strawberry
19. Bob Ojeda
20. Howard Johnson
21. Cleon Jones
22. Al Leiter
23. Bernard Gilkey
24. Art Shamsky
25. Pedro Feliciano
26. Terry Leach
27. Jeurys Familia
28. Daniel Murphy
29. Frank Viola
30. Michael Conforto
31. Mike Piazza
32. Jon Matlack
33. Matt Harvey
34. Noah Syndergaard
35. Rick Reed
36. Jerry Koosman
37. Casey Stengel
38. Skip Lockwood
39. Gary Gentry
40. Bartolo Colon
41. Tom Seaver
42. Ron Taylor
43. R.A. Dickey
44. David Cone
45. Tug McGraw
46. Oliver Perez
47. Jesse Orosco
48. Jacob deGrom
49. Armando Benitez
50. Sid Fernandez
51. Rick White
52. Yoenis Cespedes
53. Chad Bradford
54. T.J. Rivera
55. Orel Hershiser
56. Andres Torres
57. Johan Santana
58. Jenrry Mejia
If you want to talk about one of the most truly bizarre Mets careers, you need not look much further than Jenrry Mejia. Really, it started that way, and it ended that way.
Mejia was shockingly a member of the Opening Day roster for the 2010 Mets at the behest of Jerry Manuel. Seeing his power arm, Manuel wanted the Mets to eschew his development as a potential front line starter and make him the bullpen arm the team needed. The Mets would acquiesce and give Manuel some conditions, ones Manuel would ultimately by and large ignore.
That started a strange four year odyssey where the Mets could not figure out if they wanted Mejia to be a starter or reliever. Initially after sending him down in 2010, they wanted to stretch him out to be a starter, but time and again, they would move him back to the bullpen. That may have been a factor in his needing Tommy John surgery in 2011.
You could somewhat understand the Mets thinking. Mejia was one of the best pitchers in the organization, and for a team in perpetual need of bullpen help, you could see why they wanted him on the Major League roster. However, when he did get the rare chance to start, he would show flashes of being great.
Mejia had a good stretch in the Major League rotation in 2013, and before he was shut down for innings limits in 2013, he appeared to have locked down a spot in the Major League rotation. In fact, he would be a part of the 2014 Opening Day rotation, and he would actually start the season quite well including another terrific start against the Nationals.
Mejia would weaken over the first month of the season, and he would again be moved to the bullpen. This time, he would stick there, and after the retread arms of Kyle Farnsworth and Jose Valverde were released, Mejia was named as the teams’ closer. He proved up the to task.
From May 17, when he recorded his first save, until the end of the year, he recorded 28 saves, which was tied for 11th most in the Majors. It is also the 17th highest single-season save total in Mets history. Again, this needs the added context of this being named the closer after a month-and-a-half of the season had passed and while pitching for a sub .500 team.
During that time, Mets fans thought they had the closer of the future, and he would electrify the crowd with what had become known as the “Mejia Stomp” after he converted a save. What should have been the launching point of his career turned into his being a flash in the pan.
On Opening Day of 2015, Mejia injured his elbow warming up to earn a save. He’d land on the DL with elbow inflammation, and he would receive the first of his PED suspensions. In total, he’d only make seven scoreless appearances for the 2015 Mets before being levied with PED suspensions leading to what was then a permanent suspension from baseball. He would be the first such player to serve such a suspension in MLB history.
Despite that, Mejia has performed better than any of the four players who has worn the number 58, and as a result, him and his stomp are the best to ever wear that number in Mets history.
Previous
1.Mookie Wilson
2.Mackey Sasser
3. Curtis Granderson
4. Lenny Dykstra
5. David Wright
6. Wally Backman
7. Jose Reyes
8. Gary Carter
9. Todd Hundley
10. Rey Ordonez
11. Wayne Garrett
12. John Stearns
13. Edgardo Alfonzo
14. Gil Hodges
15. Carlos Beltran
16. Dwight Gooden
17. Keith Hernandez
18. Darryl Strawberry
19. Bob Ojeda
20. Howard Johnson
21. Cleon Jones
22. Al Leiter
23. Bernard Gilkey
24. Art Shamsky
25. Pedro Feliciano
26. Terry Leach
27. Jeurys Familia
28. Daniel Murphy
29. Frank Viola
30. Michael Conforto
31. Mike Piazza
32. Jon Matlack
33. Matt Harvey
34. Noah Syndergaard
35. Rick Reed
36. Jerry Koosman
37. Casey Stengel
38. Skip Lockwood
39. Gary Gentry
40. Bartolo Colon
41. Tom Seaver
42. Ron Taylor
43. R.A. Dickey
44. David Cone
45. Tug McGraw
46. Oliver Perez
47. Jesse Orosco
48. Jacob deGrom
49. Armando Benitez
50. Sid Fernandez
51. Rick White
52. Yoenis Cespedes
53. Chad Bradford
54. T.J. Rivera
55. Orel Hershiser
56. Andres Torres
57. Johan Santana
Mostly due to Nolan Ryan, there have been 12 no-hitters thrown by pitchers after they left the Mets. There have been 10 pitchers to throw no-hitters before coming to the Mets. Hideo Nomo is the one pitcher who threw a no-hitter before and after pitching for the Mets. Through it all, the swinging bunts, the bloop singles, the defensive misplays, everything, there has been just one man who has thrown a no-hitter in a Mets uniform.
If he did nothing else in his Mets career, this would have been enough to make Santana the best ever Mets pitcher to wear the number 57. However, his career would prove to be much more than this moment.
Santana originally came to the Mets after the collapse of the 2007 season. Omar Minaya waited out the field, and he eventually got the Twins to accept the trade, and then, he got the Mets to make Santana the highest paid pitcher in the game. It was all designed to prevent another 2007, and really handle the unfinished business from 2006.
It was actually a slow start for Santana in his first season with the Mets, which shouldn’t have been all the surprising as that is what he typically did with the Twins. However, in June, Santana turned it on, and he was phenomenal in a Cy Young worthy season. Somehow, he only finished third in Cy Young voting despite leading the league in ERA, GS, and IP.
However, as we know, with aces it is not just about the win-loss record. It is about stepping up when your team needs it most. That’s exactly what Santana did. Really, he was simply brilliant down the stretch. In the second half, he was 8-0 with a 2.17 ERA and a 1.096 WHIP. People may have wanted to give credit to the managerial switch or something else, but fact, is the biggest driver of the Mets turning it around was Santana being Santana.
That included him demanding the ball on the penultimate game of the season. With the Mets in a position where they could not afford to lose another game, Santana took the mound on three days rest and threw the last great game a Mets pitcher would have at Shea. He shut out the Marlins allowing just three hits while striking out nine. The fact he did this on an injured knee made this start all the more incredible.
That would prove to be the last time the Mets won at Shea, and it would be the last start Santana would make with the Mets being contenders.
Partially due to the injuries setting in, people tend to forget Santana was still a very good pitcher over the ensuing two years, which included his being named an All-Star in 2009. Over the first two years in Citi Field, Santana had a 131 ERA+. As noted, the injuries would mount with him needing surgery on his knee, elbow, and shoulder in successive seasons.
The last surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule in his pitching shoulder cost him all of the 2011 season. Simply put, pitchers really don’t recover from that surgery. Santana somehow did even if it was for a short duration. In his first 11 starts, which includes the famed 134 pitch no-hitter, Santana was 3-2 with a 2.38 ERA and 1.029 WHIP. Essentially, Santana was back, but unfortunately, the wear and tear of pitching every fifth day proved to be too much. His entire career would last just 10 more starts.
Through all of it, Santana had established himself as one of the best starters in Mets history. He has the sixth best ERA+ with the 10th best K/BB. If you take out his 2012 season, he would rank higher in those and other categories, but then again, if you take out that season, you miss the only no-hitter in Mets history. For that no-hitter and all the great things he did in a Mets uniform, Santana is the best Mets player to ever wear the number 57.
Previous
1.Mookie Wilson
2.Mackey Sasser
3. Curtis Granderson
4. Lenny Dykstra
5. David Wright
6. Wally Backman
7. Jose Reyes
8. Gary Carter
9. Todd Hundley
10. Rey Ordonez
11. Wayne Garrett
12. John Stearns
13. Edgardo Alfonzo
14. Gil Hodges
15. Carlos Beltran
16. Dwight Gooden
17. Keith Hernandez
18. Darryl Strawberry
19. Bob Ojeda
20. Howard Johnson
21. Cleon Jones
22. Al Leiter
23. Bernard Gilkey
24. Art Shamsky
25. Pedro Feliciano
26. Terry Leach
27. Jeurys Familia
28. Daniel Murphy
29. Frank Viola
30. Michael Conforto
31. Mike Piazza
32. Jon Matlack
33. Matt Harvey
34. Noah Syndergaard
35. Rick Reed
36. Jerry Koosman
37. Casey Stengel
38. Skip Lockwood
39. Gary Gentry
40. Bartolo Colon
41. Tom Seaver
42. Ron Taylor
43. R.A. Dickey
44. David Cone
45. Tug McGraw
46. Oliver Perez
47. Jesse Orosco
48. Jacob deGrom
49. Armando Benitez
50. Sid Fernandez
51. Rick White
52. Yoenis Cespedes
53. Chad Bradford
54. T.J. Rivera
55. Orel Hershiser
56. Andres Torres
Pete Alonso hit a first inning opposite field two run homer off Jon Lester, but Rick Porcello was unable to hold onto that lead.
The big blow was a Willson Contreras three run homer in the fourth which gave the Cubs a 4-2 lead. That lead wouldn’t last long as the Mets tied it in the sixth.
The Mets had the bases loaded with no outs. Yoenis Cespedes drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly. Wilson Ramos tied the score with an RBI single putting runners at the corners with one out. Dominic Smith hit what could’ve been a go-ahead sacrifice fly, but the Cubs nailed Alonso at the plate.
Jeurys Familia wound up taking the loss with his allowing a three run homer to Jason Heyward in the seventh.
The Mets came close with Michael Conforto hitting a two run homer in the ninth off Craig Kimbrel. The Mets couldn’t push another run across, and they would lose 7-6.