Sports

Ten New York Mets alums who belong in the team Hall of Fame

By Jerry Beach Lindys Sports

Updated June 1, 2026 7:18 AM

With the induction this weekend of Lee Mazzilli and Bobby Valentine into the New York Mets' Hall of Fame, Steve Cohen has now presided over more Hall of Fame ceremonies in five-plus seasons as owner than the Wilpons did in the previous 18 years - which means there's still plenty of deserving alums who warrant being introduced by Howie Rose before delivering an acceptance speech in front of second base at Citi Field.

Here are 10 candidates - six players and four managers or executives - who should be enshrined as the Mets expand their Hall of Fame.

John Stearns: The ultimate bright spot of a bleak era (Catcher, 1975-84)

Stearns, like Mazzilli, was one of the few bright spots for the Mets during the bleak post-Tom Seaver years.

He made four All-Star teams from 1977 through 1982, when he hit .265 with 41 homers and 85 stolen bases, by far the most amongst big league catchers. He also earned a reputation as one of the toughest players in the game by absorbing all sorts of punishment behind the plate, including a collision with Dave Parker in 1978 that left the hulking future Hall of Famer with a busted left eye and a broken cheekbone.

Stearns continued to exhibit his no-nonsense demeanor as a Mets coach, when he made no secret of his disdain for Roger Clemens not pitching at Shea after he beaned Mike Piazza in 2000.

His toughness was most poignantly on display at Old-Timers Day in 2022, when Stearns, frail from a battle with cancer, flew in from Colorado to participate in the activities just two weeks before his death. He should have been in the Hall of Fame long ago.

Jose Reyes: An electric, record-holding franchise force (infielder, 2003-11, 2016-18)

There's little doubt Reyes would already be in the Mets Hall of Fame if not for his domestic violence arrest in 2015.

Charges were dropped when Reyes' wife didn't talk to prosecutors and he was suspended 51 games by Major League Baseball. I certainly understand anyone who believes his arrest disqualifies him from consideration.

The on-field resume is impressive for Reyes, who survived the usual Mets dysfunction - remember how he had to move to second base for Kaz Matsui and was instructed to learn how to run differently to cut down on hamstring injuries? - to electrify two home stadiums.

Reyes won the 2011 NL batting title and is the Mets' all-time leader with 408 steals and 113 triples - two records likely to last forever - while ranking second in hits and runs behind only longtime teammate and friend David Wright.

El Sid's Untouchable Rising Fastball and the Iconic Relieving Performance that Saved Game 7 (starting pitcher, 1984-93)

Fernandez reached 200 innings just three times in an era in which 200 innings was the baseline expectation for pitchers and was never the ace of a loaded staff.

But few pitchers were stingier than Fernandez, who has more WAR with the Mets (29.2) than anyone else not in the team's Hall of Fame and led the league in fewest hits allowed per nine innings three times from 1985 through 1990.

And his 2 1/3 hitless innings of relief in Game 7 of the 1986 World Series made the comeback from a 3-0 deficit possible.

Jesse Orosco: The ultimate late-inning anchor of the 1986 championship (relief pitcher, 1979-87)

Orosco has a sturdy case even before he recorded the final out of the franchise's most recent championship.

The southpaw posted a 2.73 ERA and recorded 107 saves over a whopping 595 2/3 innings, all but 18 1/3 of which were in relief. He made two All-Star teams and finished third in the NL Cy Young balloting in 1983, when the Mets went 68-94.

David Cone: A big-game ace who thrived despite front-office friction (starting pitcher, 1987-92, 2003)

Cone was never going to get in under the Wilpons, who didn't like his off-field social life long before he became a vital part of four Yankees World Series winners.

But he ranks amongst the Mets' top 10 all-time in wins, ERA, strikeouts and pitcher's WAR and authored one of the great pitching performances in franchise history, the five-hit complete game that forced a Game 7 in the 1988 NLCS.

Todd Zeile: The post-9/11 leader who became a lifelong team ambassador (infielder, 2000-01, 2004)

The Immaculate Grid king was the first baseman on the 2000 NL champs and hit .302 with nine RBIs in the postseason (it would have been 10 RBIs if Timo Perez was running hard, in which case the Mets might have won the whole thing).

But this honor is almost entirely about his role on the post-9/11 Mets - Zeile began a yearly tradition by becoming the first player to wear a first responder cap following the terrorist attacks - as well as his post-playing career as a well-liked team broadcaster and ambassador.

"The Mets are one organization I want to be identified with," Zeile told MLB.com in 2023. The Mets need to embrace those alums.

More MLB:

Terry Collins: Navigating the post-Madoff austerity years (manager, 2011-17)

A baseball lifer whose roots trace back to the Los Angeles Dodgers directs the previously aimless Mets to consecutive playoff berths and a trip to the World Series while displaying a never-ending, endearing passion for the game.

Now that Valentine is finally in the Mets Hall of Fame, it's time to bestow the same honor on Collins, who took on the Spinal Tap-esque job of skippering the Mets - in the midst of the post-Madoff austerity years, to boot - and somehow emerged from from the longest managerial tenure in team history with most of his limbs intact despite stomping out fires on a daily basis.

And make sure umpire Tom Hallion, who famously bore Collins' fury in the latter's version of Valentine's dugout disguise, is on the field for the ceremony!

Sandy Alderson: Stabilizing front-office force who built a pennant winner (general manager, 2010-18, team president, 2020-22)

Alderson - steered to Queens by commissioner Bud Selig in order to serve as the adult in the room and keep Jeff Wilpon from wrecking more havoc - battled cancer twice in between constructing consecutive playoff teams, including the 2015 NL champions, and returning as Cohen's first team president.

His tenure in his two positions was not perfect - before he almost signed Trevor Bauer, Alderson hired manager Mickey Callaway and general manager Jared Porter, both of whom embarrassed the club with off-field behavior that got them banished from baseball.

But Alderson understood baseball is supposed to be fun and developed a droll appreciation for serving as the steward of a naturally quirky franchise, traits sorely lacking in the club's front office today.

Steve Phillips: Constructing the back-to-back playoff squads of the Subway Series era (General manager, 1997-2003)

This one got me some heat on Twitter Saturday, because Phillips' ill-advised rapid rebuild following the 2001 season signaled the end of an era.

But think about how good his peak - making aggressive trades for Al Leiter, Mike Piazza and Mike Hampton while constructing the Mets' first back-to-back playoff squads in 1999-2000 and the NL champs in 2000 - looks today, when David Stearns is overseeing ill-advised rapid rebuilds without the pennant-winning resume in New York.

And unlike David Stearns, Phillips had to navigate a dysfunctional ownership situation along with the Wilpons' hands-on nature and Valentine's unique brand of daily chaos.

Nelson Doubleday: The passionate co-owner who rescued the franchise from its nadir (co-owner, 1980-2002)

It's impossible to tell the history of the Mets without Doubleday, who bought a 95 percent share in the team at its nadir in 1980 and pushed for the acquisition and eventual re-signing of Piazza in 1998.

It was also impossible for Doubleday to get this honor under the Wilpons, who managed to turn scion Fred's one percent share circa 1980 into full ownership while the family's relationship with Doubleday fractured.

This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 7:03 AM.