New York Mets' Top Team Career Leaders in Strikeouts

The all-time leader in strikeouts, Nolan Ryan, spent a brief time on the New York Mets. The king of strikeouts was not a member of the Metropolitans long enough to rank on their team's all-time leaders in strikeouts. These are the 10 Mets pitchers that are the team's all-time leaders in strikeouts.

#10 Craig Swan (1973 - 1984) 671 K's
Craig Swan was a third round pick by the New York Mets in the 1972 Draft. During his career Swan compiled a 59 - 72 record but he did lead the league in ERA once in 1978. Swan was also a part of the Mets team that won the 1973 National League pennant.

#9 Bobby Jones (1993 - 2000) 714 K's
Bobby Jones was a compensatory draft pick in 1991 after the Mets lost Darryl Strawberry to free agency. Jones had some good seasons with the Mets including a 3.15 ERA in 1994 and an All-Star appearance in 1997. Jones is probably best known for having one of the best performances in Mets history. In game four of the 2000 NLDS against the San Francisco Giants, Jones pitched a one-hitter and retired the side in 8 out of the 9 innings.

#8 John Matlack (1971 - 1977) 1023 K's
John Matlack was part of the big three that led the Mets during the 70's. In his first full season as a Met Matlack posted a 2.32 ERA and won the Rookie of the Year. Matlack was also vital in the Mets 1973 World Series run. Matlack went 5 - 1 in August to help win the division and then pitched a key two-hitter against the Big Red Machine in the NLCS.

#7 Al Leiter (1998 - 2004) 1106 K's
The Mets received Mike Piazza from the Marlins after a trade that sent many of Florida's stars to Los Angeles but what a lot of people forget is that Al Leiter also went from Florida to New York in the Marlins' fire sale. Al Leiter was the ace of the Mets for much of his time with New York and compiled a 162 - 132 career record.

#6 Ron Darling (1983 - 1991) 1148 K's
Ron Darling won a spot in the Mets rotation in 1984 and was a mainstay until 1990. During his years with the Mets Darling helped the Mets win the World Series in 1986, was an All-Star in 1985 and won a Gold Glove in 1989.

#5 David Cone (1987 - 1992, 2003) 1172 K's
David Cone was traded to the New York Mets in 1987 and started paying dividends pretty quickly. In 1988 David Cone posted a remarkable 20 - 3 record with a 2.22 ERA. These days that would be good enough to run away with the Cy Young but in 1988 it was only good enough for third place. David Cone was one of the Mets two aces in the early 90's and lead the league in strikeouts in 1990 and 1991.

#4 Sid Fernandez (1984 - 1993) 1449 K's
Sid Fernandez compiled a 114 - 96 record during his career and had a lifetime ERA of 3.36. Fernandez was especially impressive in 1985. Fernandez struck out 180 batters while only giving up 108 total hits. Fernandez's hits per nine innings that season were the second best in baseball history.

#3 Jerry Koosman (1967 - 1978) 1799 K's
Jerry Koosman made his Mets debut in 1968 and immediately broke the franchise record for wins (19), strikeouts (178) and ERA (2.08). Those stats weren't good enough to win Rookie of the Year though because he would finish runner up to Johnny Bench. In 1969 Koosman was a big part of the Miracle Mets that won the World Series. Koosman had a 17 - 9 record with a 2.28 ERA. Koosman was the pitching star in the 69 World Series as he helped the Mets bounce back after Seaver lost game one and he also won the clinching game.

#2 Dwight Gooden (1984 - 1994) 1875 K's
Dwight Gooden burst onto the scene in 1984 as a 19 year old, the youngest player to play in the All-Star game and shattered the rookie record for strikeouts. The next year Gooden would win the Cy Young after winning the pitching triple crown and posting the second lowest ERA in the live ball era. In his career Dwight Gooden would post a 194 - 112 record.

#1 Tom Seaver (1967 - 1977, 1983) 2541 K's
Tom Seaver has a long list of accolades. Seaver won over 300 games in his career, compiled over 3000 strikeouts and had a career ERA of 2.85. Seaver made the All-Star team 12 times and won the Cy Young three times. Seaver is the only Met in the Hall of Fame and his number is the only number the Mets have retired. In 1992 Tom Seaver was inducted into the Hall of Fame with the highest percentage of votes ever.