Five Things About New York Mets' Hitting Records You May Not Know

The New York Mets have had their moments since coming into existence in 1962, but their fans would have to admit that as far as individual batting statistics are concerned, they have been few and far between. The New York Mets have never had a player win a National League batting title and only a trio of Mets has won league home run crowns. The New York Mets are certainly lacking when it comes to the record books for individual achievement, but even the most dyed-in-the-wool Mets' rooter might be surprised by the 5 bits of information that follow.

1. Only 2 men have a .300 average while playing for the Mets!

John Olerud's .315 batting average and current third baseman's David Wright's .308 are the only pair of averages over the .300 plateau for New York. Olerud was a Met for 3 seasons from 1997 through 1999 and his average was helped by his .354 mark in '98. Keith Hernandez was a .297 batter with the Mets and Mike Piazza hit .296 in his 3,941 plate appearances in Gotham. In comparison, the cross-town Yankees have 10 players that have hit over .305 as members of the Bronx Bombers.

2. No Met has ever reached the 1,500 hit mark!

The club's all-time hits leader is Ed Kranepool, a lifetime .261 hitter who retired in 1979 with 1,418 base knocks. Kranepool was an original Met, and his total is the squad's record by 230 hits over Cleon Jones. David Wright, at age 25, has 630 base hits and should eclipse Kranepool's mark if he remains with the club. Jose Reyes, at the age of 24, has 715 hits, and conceivably could be the first Met to 2,000 and beyond if he stays healthy.

3. Only one Met has garnered more than 200 hits in a single season!

Lance Johnson managed to accumulate 227 hits in 1996; no other New York Met has reached 200. Jose Reyes has come close on 4 separate occasions, with totals of 197, 194, 191, and 190, so it is safe to assume that he will break the elusive 200 barrier some time soon. Wright also has gotten within reach, as his 196 hits in 2007 came so very close. Even Olerud, in his great 1998 season, couldn't get this done, ending up with 197. Again, Derek Jeter of the Yankees alone has had over 200 hits 5 times all by himself.

4. Just 2 Mets have hit over 200 home runs in a New York uniform!

This is not a hard trivia question for the true Mets fan, as they would quickly come up with Darryl Strawberry's 252 and Mike Piazza's 220 as Mets. However, the lack of Mets' power is alarming over the years, as there are only 8 Mets that have hit even 100 home runs. Such sluggers as Dave Kingman and Howard Johnson could not reach 200 dingers as Mets, and even the powerful George Foster fell short of the century mark, hitting 99 before New York released him in 1986.

5. The most runs batted in for one season by a Met is 124!

In 45 years one would think that some batter would have put together a truly monster year for the Mets, but such is not the case. Piazza's 124 RBI in 1999 is 4 more than Robin Ventura's 120 that same season, easily the Mets record for this category. In comparison, expansion teams such as the Royals, Rockies, Astros, and Angels have single season RBI leaders that have no fewer than 139. It is a good bet that either Carlos Beltran or David Wright, within the next couple of years, will break Piazza's Mets' record.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYM/