Top 5 New York Mets pitchers of all time

The New York Mets Hall of Fame is decked with portraits of pitching legends that very few teams, if any, have the privilege to reminisce upon. This article unveils a crop of hurlers that would be enough to make up an All-Star team for the ages. Digging into the numbers, circumstances, and talents of New York Mets pitchers past and present, made narrowing this list to five even harder. What's even more mind-numbing is the names on this list that have yet to achieve a Hall of Fame induction.

Top 5 New York Mets Pitchers of all time

#5 Jerry Koosman

The young Amazin' Mets rotation of 1969 featured Jerry Koosman and Tom Seaver as a one-two punch. Koosman was very effective that season. En route to their 1969 World Series championship, Koosman posted a 2.28 ERA while tossing 16 complete games. His deceptive fastball-slider combo was hard to pick up with his consistent delivery and arm speed through his step. Koosman flirted with Hall of Fame-worthy numbers, amassing 2,556 strikeouts to coincide with a 3.36 lifetime ERA.

#4 Jon Matlack

The three-time All-Star and 1972 Rookie of the Year Award winner gets fourth on our list of greatest pitchers in New York Mets history. John Matlack threw pitches they didn't have names for yet. For example, his curveball had an otherworldly drop before there was even such a thing as a 12-6 break. Not to mention, the natural cut to his fastball was something baseball had yet to witness before he broke into the league. Baseball didn't quite have a name for the cutter yet. It almost felt as if Jon Matlack helped reinvent the wheel when he pitched. With a lights-out 3.18 lifetime ERA in his short 13-year career, Jon Matlack goes down as the fourth greatest pitcher in New York Mets history.

#3 Dwight Gooden

Florida Marlins v New York Mets

Dwight Gooden was the saddest and most difficult one to place on this list, because he may very well have ranked higher if not for a drug addiction that derailed his career. This placement factors in what his career would have been had he been able to remain clean. Gooden's on-and-off relationship with cocaine made it difficult for him to finish a season without testing positive for some drug or another.

The fact that he finished his career with 2,293 strikeouts and a 3.51 lifetime ERA is just a testament to how good he was despite his struggles. In just his second full season, "Doc" won the Triple Crown by leading the league in ERA (1.53), wins (24), and strikeouts with 268 in 276.2 innings. Two seasons later, at just 22 years of age, came his first positive cocaine test. Much of his mid-20s and early 30s were riddled with suspensions, including being suspended for the entire 1995 campaign. This eventually led to him being traded multiple times, doing stints with the Yankees, Cleveland Indians (now Guardians), and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (now Rays) before his eventual retirement. Many of the numbers he posted in that timeframe were also hindered by drug use. Gooden's numbers tell a sad tale of what could have been for a Hall of Fame player.

#2 Jacob deGrom

St. Louis Cardinals v New York Mets

As elite as Jacob deGrom has been in his eight seasons with New York, he still has to prove he can remain as healthy and consistent as number one on this list. That doesn't take away from the fact that he currently owns the lowest career ERA in New York Mets history at a staggering 2.50. In those eight seasons, he's also accrued an equally stunning 1,505 strikeouts, also good for a franchise-best 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings average. What makes his stuff so lethal? Take the combination of his high-90s fastball and low- to mid-90s slider and you'll understand why.

The break on deGrom's slider is not only late, but it's also a drastic drop. Even if you're expecting it, there's no way for a hitter to anticipate such a late break at the speeds he throws. It's like having to catch up to a fastball, except it's near a mid-90s slider that just bottoms out. What looks like a hitter swinging at a bad pitch is just a hitter trying to catch up to what he thinks is a fastball before the bottom drops out of it. Couple this with an occasional change up and you have hitters swinging as if their shoelaces are tied together.

As great as deGrom is, he's going to have to show more of the same to catch the top New York Mets hurler. One day, perhaps, he will find himself atop this list ,but for now, he will have to settle for second.

#1 Tom Seaver

The Tom Seaver statue

Tom Seaver is still arguably the greatest pitcher ever to don the orange and blue and one of the greatest pitchers ever to take the mound. As a member of the New York Mets, he posted a 2.57 ERA over 12 seasons. Despite playing only half his career in a Mets uniform, he remains the franchise leader in strikeouts with 2,571, wins with 198, and 76 WAR. His work ethic was unparalleled, setting the standard with his intense workout regime. Seaver reinvented how pitchers threw the ball, being one of the first pitchers with a full arsenal consisting of a fastball, changeup, curveball, and slider. It wasn't just the fact that he had a full arsenal, but that even by his own admission, he had numerous variants to each pitch. With Seaver, no pitch came at you the same way. Every break was different. Every changeup came at you with different speeds. All you have to do is observe the video to notice every pitch has a different tweak to it.

"Tom Seaver's pitches (Home Plate View)" - @ Rob Friedman

Even to this day, no pitcher switches it up in the revolutionary way Seaver did. He broke into the league in 1967 and won Rookie of the Year honors with a 2.76 ERA. He posted even more otherworldly numbers in his 1968 sophomore campaign with a 2.20 ERA and 205 strikeouts. With a lifetime ERA of 2.86 to accompany an elite 3,640 strikeouts, Tom Seaver's mark in New York Mets history is a ripple effect that will continue to be felt throughout baseball for generations to come.