Sean Smith's wins above replacement (WAR) database provides the WAR of every position player from 1955-2008. Since the Mets have been in existence since 1962, we are able to determine just how valuable every Met player's performance has been, according to this statistic. With some help from Microsoft Excel, I compiled the WAR of every Mets starter ever based on Smith's stats. I only considered players who logged the most innings at each position in a given year. Here are the top 10 seasons by Mets starting catchers:
| Rank | Year | Player | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1985 | Gary Carter | 6.7 |
| 2 | 1998 | Mike Piazza | 5.6 |
| 3 | 1978 | John Stearns | 5.5 |
| 4 | 2000 | Mike Piazza | 5.3 |
| 5 | 1997 | Todd Hundley | 5.1 |
| 6 | 1996 | Todd Hundley | 4.9 |
| 7 | 1999 | Mike Piazza | 4.1 |
| 8 | 2001 | Mike Piazza | 3.9 |
| 9 | 1986 | Gary Carter | 3.8 |
| 10 | 1977 | John Stearns | 3.6 |
And the bottom 10:
| Rank | Year | Player | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | 1962 | Chris Cannizzaro | 0.3 |
| 39 | 1973 | Jerry Grote | 0.3 |
| 40 | 1988 | Gary Carter | 0.2 |
| 41 | 1989 | Barry Lyons | 0.0 |
| 42 | 1984 | Mike Fitzgerald | -0.3 |
| 43 | 1992 | Todd Hundley | -0.4 |
| 44 | 1993 | Todd Hundley | -0.4 |
| 45 | 1963 | Choo Choo Coleman | -0.5 |
| 46 | 2004 | Jason Phillips | -0.5 |
| 47 | 1967 | Jerry Grote | -1.1 |
Some notes, bullet-style:
- Mike Piazza, Gary Carter, and Todd Hundley - the Mets have had some solid catchers over the years. Smith's WAR is not kind to Piazza's defense. Carter has the biggest gap between best and worst seasons (6.5 WAR).
- I wasn't around to witness John Stearns's career, but until I did this I had no idea he was a decently productive player for a few years.
- Jerry Grote stunk in 1967, but he was a steady contributor for the Mets from 1968-1976.
- Brian Schneider was worth 1.1 WAR in 2008. Fangraphs WAR, which doesn't yet account for catcher defense, had him at 1.6.
For a more in-depth look at Mets catchers over the years, check out Alex Nelson's retrospective at Mets Geek: Part 1 and Part 2. I'll make a quick post like this one for other positions on Mets off days.
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