So now, after five weeks of taking glances at every player that Baseball-Reference.com identified as having been the primary starting third baseman for a season of the Mets' history, we are tasked with naming the Mets' all-time greatest third sacker. (Frankly, the reason I started with third base instead of some other position is that the answer is so obvious; nothing that could conceivably happen in 2009 can affect the outcome.)
First off, let's recap the five decade winners. The numbers following their names represent total games played with the Mets (not just at third base), home runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, batting average, and OPS+, in that order. For OPS+, I used a weighted average based on at-bats with the Mets. I don't know if that's absolutely precise, but for purposes of this discussion, it suffices.
1960s: Felix Mantilla: ..141- 11-.330-.399-.275- 95
1970s: Wayne Garrett: ...883- 55-.348-.343-.237- 95
1980s: Howard Johnson: .1154-192-.341-.459-.251-124
1990s: Edgardo Alfonzo: 1086-120-.367-.445-.292-112
2000s: David Wright: ....703-130-.389-.533-.309-139
No question. The All-Time Third Baseman for the first five decades of the history of the New York Mets is (insert drumroll) ... David Wright.
Also worth mentioning is the fact that--even though third base was once legendarily known as the Mets' weakest position--in the last three decades it has been manned by some very, very good players.
But David Wright is the star that outshines them all. And, barring injury, he stands to be the third baseman of the next decade too ... and is on a pace that may well net him the honor of being the best position player the Mets have ever produced--any position, any decade, by any measure.
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