It's been over two weeks since the last off day, and the Mets really need one. The fans need one too. Hopefully the off day WAR series will provide a nice diversion. Next up is the shortstop position. Here are the top 10 seasons, per Sean Smith's WAR database:
| Rank | Year | Player | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2006 | Jose Reyes | 6.2 |
| 2 | 2007 | Jose Reyes | 5.6 |
| 3 | 2008 | Jose Reyes | 5.6 |
| 4 | 1971 | Bud Harrelson | 3.3 |
| 5 | 1969 | Bud Harrelson | 2.6 |
| 6 | 1999 | Rey Ordonez | 2.6 |
| 7 | 1970 | Bud Harrelson | 2.5 |
| 8 | 1973 | Bud Harrelson | 2.3 |
| 9 | 1976 | Bud Harrelson | 2.1 |
| 10 | 1989 | Kevin Elster | 2.1 |
And the bottom 10:
| Rank | Year | Player | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | 1985 | Rafael Santana | -0.5 |
| 39 | 1984 | Jose Oquendo | -0.6 |
| 40 | 2001 | Rey Ordonez | -0.6 |
| 41 | 2002 | Rey Ordonez | -0.7 |
| 42 | 1963 | Al Moran | -1.0 |
| 43 | 1983 | Jose Oquendo | -1.0 |
| 44 | 1994 | Jose Vizcaino | -1.2 |
| 45 | 1998 | Rey Ordonez | -1.4 |
| 46 | 1964 | Roy McMillan | -1.9 |
| 47 | 1981 | Frank Taveras | -1.9 |
Some brief notes:
- He has only played four full seasons, but I'll say that Jose Reyes is the best shortstop in team history. Bud Harrelson's longevity is impressive, and he was a valuable asset to those late 1960s/early 1970s teams, but Reyes's past three seasons have been outstanding. The logical thing to do with the best shortstop in team history, who is just 25 years old and under contract for far below his market value: trade him of course!
- Rey Ordonez had the biggest gap between best and worst seasons, at 4.0 WAR. TotalZone loved Rey-O's glove in 1999, to the tune of 33 runs saved above average.
- The Mets fielded some awful shortstops in the 1980s. Current Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was worth 0.1 WAR for the Mets in 1982.
- The Melvin Mora for Mike Bordick trade in 2000 turned out quite poorly. Bordick's Met performance was replacement level, while Mora was worth 27.9 WAR for the Orioles from 2000-2008. In fairness to royal douchelord Steve Phillips, I don't think anyone predicted that from Mora.