Center field is next up in the wins above replacement (WAR) series. Here are the top 10 seasons in Mets history according to Sean Smith's WAR database:
| Rank | Year | Player | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2006 | Carlos Beltran | 7.6 |
| 2 | 1996 | Lance Johnson | 7.3 |
| 3 | 2008 | Carlos Beltran | 7.0 |
| 4 | 1969 | Tommie Agee | 5.7 |
| 5 | 2007 | Carlos Beltran | 5.5 |
| 6 | 1979 | Lee Mazzilli | 5.0 |
| 7 | 1986 | Lenny Dykstra | 5.0 |
| 8 | 1970 | Tommie Agee | 4.7 |
| 9 | 1987 | Lenny Dykstra | 3.8 |
| 10 | 1978 | Lee Mazzilli | 3.7 |
And the bottom 10:
| Rank | Year | Player | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | 1972 | Tommie Agee | 0.0 |
| 39 | 1976 | Del Unser | -0.1 |
| 40 | 2001 | Jay Payton | -0.1 |
| 41 | 1967 | Cleon Jones | -0.4 |
| 42 | 1980 | Jerry Morales | -0.4 |
| 43 | 1968 | Tommie Agee | -0.5 |
| 44 | 1974 | Don Hahn | -0.6 |
| 45 | 1992 | Howard Johnson | -1.1 |
| 46 | 1973 | Don Hahn | -1.3 |
| 47 | 1999 | Brian McRae | -2.7 |
Some quick notes:
- Barring something bad happening, superstar baseball player Carlos Voltron should add a ~6.5 WAR season to this list. UZR, TotalZone and +/- loved his glove each of the last 3 seasons, but he has been below average this season. His offense has been incredible though, so his overall value hasn't suffered much.
- The 1969 Mets and 1996 Mets both featured an outstanding CF/LF tandem. Tommie Agee and Cleon Jones combined for 13.2 WAR in 1969, and Lance Johnson and Bernard Gilkey were worth 15.3 WAR in 1996. Agee has the biggest gap between best and worst seasons on these lists, at 6.2 WAR.
- I have vague memories of Hojo in center field, and apparently that's for the best. TotalZone has him at -25 runs defensively in 1992, including throwing arm runs. It's no wonder that the Mets team FIP outperformed its ERA that season by 0.36.
- Was Brian McRae really that bad? His 1999 season ranks as the worst by a Mets position player in team history. Note that he only played about a half season's worth of innings in 1999.
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