According to a release by MLB on April 8, fans can visit MLB.com/FranchiseFour to select the four most impactful players for each franchise who best represent the history of each franchise out of eight choices from its lineage. There is also a space for a write-in selection. Voting is live now until May 8.
The Ballot:
Gary Carter (1985-1989)
John Franco (1990-2004)
Dwight Gooden (1984-1994)
Keith Hernandez (1983-1989)
Mike Piazza (1998-2005)
Tom Seaver (1967-1977, 1983)
Darryl Strawberry (1983-1990)
David Wright (2004-Present)
Shoestring Catches Recommendations for the New York Mets:
Dwight Gooden: The National League Rookie of the Year in 1984, Dwight Gooden won the Cy Young Award in 1985 as a 20-year old, after earning the Pitching Triple Crown with 24 wins, 268 strikeouts and a 1.53 ERA. He also had a club record eight shutouts that season. He was 17-6 for the 1986 world champions.
Tom Seaver: Inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992, Tom Seaver won three Cy Young Awards with the Mets and was the Rookie of the Year in 1967. Seaver’s best season was in 1969 when he was 25-7 and the Mets won the World Series. He holds the all-time records for the Mets in wins with 198, strikeouts with 2,541 and ERA at 2.57. Overall, he had 311 wins and was a nine-time all-star.
Darryl Strawberry: A seven-time all-star, Darryl Strawberry was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1983. A member of the 1986 world champions, Strawberry is the career leader for the Mets with 252 home runs.
David Wright: At the beginning of 2015, David Wright was second on New York’s all-time home runs list with 230. Wright is a seven-time all-star who had two Silver Sluggers and a pair of Gold Gloves. After 2014, he was the all-time leader for the Mets in hits with 1,702 and RBI with 939.
Editor’s Note: Another difficult decision with the four non-selections. Some of it was the fact they had significant accomplishments with other teams and just didn’t have enough time with the Mets. Strawberry vs. Piazza: Both were seven-time all-stars but Strawberry had more homers with the Mets and Piazza’s Rookie of the Year award was with the Dodgers in 1993.