One Shot At Glory: The New York Mets' One-Time All-Stars, Part 2

[Tom Gatto]

Image courtesy of © Frank Becerra Jr/USA TODAY / USA TODAY NETWORK

Phase 1 of fan voting for the 2026 MLB All-Star Game closed on Thursday. Just one New York Mets player (Juan Soto) advanced to Phase 2, which begins Monday. He's in the running for a place in the National League's starting lineup.

But even if Soto doesn't get enough votes to be named a starter, he's the most likely Met to represent the club in Philadelphia on July 14, based on his stats and the Mets’ overall poor play. He would be a first-time Met All-Star after being passed over last year.

It's quite likely that Soto will earn multiple All-Star berths during his Mets tenure and escape the fate of more than 30 players who have made the Midsummer Classic just once while wearing orange and blue. Grand Central Mets is taking a look back at those players in a three-part series. Part 1 covered the period from 1962 to 1981; Part 2 covers the period from 1982 to 2006.

Ron Darling (1985)

Darling was the sidekick to Dwight Gooden while the two headed the Mets’ rotation in the mid-'80s. That was especially true in ‘85 as Doc was putting together his season for the ages. But Ronnie was having a terrific year himself, and so he and Gooden both made the trip to Minneapolis for the All-Star Game.

Neither man pitched in the game — Darling had thrown nine innings four days earlier, while Gooden had thrown a shutout two days prior. They watched the National League prevail, 6-1. When they rejoined the Mets for the second half, they were ready to lead a furious pennant drive.

In the end, the Mets fell short, finishing second to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL East despite winning 98 games. While Gooden dazzled with his 24-4 record and 1.53 ERA, Darling went 16-6 with a 2.90 ERA in 248 innings pitched.

After battling for a pennant, they were ready to dominate in “86. In the World Series against the Boston Red Sox that year, it was Darling who filled the No. 1 role. He started Games 1, 4 and 7 — two gems followed by an early exit. He posted a 1.53 ERA for the series and, more importantly, collected a ring.

John Franco (1990)

Franco had been a Met for about half a season when he got his All-Star invite. New York acquired him in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds in December 1989. Fellow reliever Randy Myers was the big get for the Reds in the deal.

It's safe to say the trade worked out for both teams from the start. Myers became one of the “Nasty Boys” in Cincinnati with Rob Dibble and Norm Charlton, while Franco excelled as the closer for his hometown team. The Brooklyn native had 17 saves at the break in ‘90, good for a trip to Wrigley Field in mid-July. Franco threw a scoreless ninth in a 2-0 NL loss, coming on after Myers and Dibble. He finished the year with a league-high 33 saves, but the Mets faltered in September and finished second in the division to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Out of that failure came the “Worst Team Money Could Buy,” a franchise crash, and then a turnaround capped by an NL pennant in 2000. Franco was there for all of it, and then some. He was given the title of team captain later in his career. Franco lasted 15 seasons with the Mets in all. He became the franchise's all-time saves leader and the first left-hander in baseball history to collect 400 saves. Twenty-one years after throwing his last big-league pitch, Franco is still seventh all time with 424 saves.

Bret Saberhagen (1994)

Saberhagen was one of the big-name players who joined the Mets right as their run as contenders was ending. New York got him in a trade with the Kansas City Royals at the close of the 1991 Winter Meetings. They sent franchise villains Gregg Jeffrerie and Kevin McReynolds, plus Keith Miller, to KC.

Sabes brought championship pedigree to New York — he shut out the Cardinals for the Royals in Game 7 of the 1985 World Series — but his body was betraying him. Injuries limited him to 15 starts in 1992 and 19 starts in 1993. He stayed healthy in ‘94, though, and he was stellar that year.

A 10-4 record and a 3.15 ERA (3.03 FIP) got him to Pittsburgh for the All-Star Game. He pitched the previous Sunday, so he did not take the mound for the NL's thrilling 8-7 win at Three Rivers Stadium. A month later, the players went on a season-ending strike as the owners pushed for a salary cap in baseball. Saberhagen ended the year 14-4 with a 2.74 ERA in 177⅓ innings. He allowed 13 walks, meaning he had more wins than bases on balls.

The health issues returned in 1995. Saberhagen began experiencing shoulder soreness in May after a compressed post-strike spring training, and then he strained a muscle in his side in July. He pitched through everything. On July 31, New York traded him to the Colorado Rockies, who were pursuing a wild-card berth in their third season.

Lance Johnson (1996)

Johnson made the most of his first season in Queens. He played every day in center field, he led off, and he gave the team a jolt of energy. The “1 Dog” quickly became a fan favorite, so much so that he was voted an All-Star starter.

Johnson was in center field, flanked by Barry Bonds and Dante Bichette, as the National League took the field at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. He ended up playing all nine innings. He led off, naturally, and did his thing at the plate. He went 3-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base.

The hits kept coming for Johnson in the second half. By season's end, he led the majors with 227 hits, good for a .333 average. He also topped baseball with 21 triples, a Mets franchise record. For good measure, he had 50 steals.

Johnson couldn't repeat his success in 1997, thanks to shin splints that kept him on the disabled list for six weeks. His numbers were still OK, though. Johnson was at .309/.385/.404 through Aug. 7. Then came a bizarre twist. On Aug. 8. Johnson was traded to the Chicago Cubs for center fielder Brian McRae and relievers Mel Rojas and Turk Wendell. Right-hander Mark Clark and infielder Manny Alexander were heading to Chicago days later. All six players had to clear trade waivers because the deal was made after the July 31 deadline. Johnson was 34 and hobbled. The deal worked out for the Mets because Wendell became a huge part of the bullpen from 1998 to 2000.

Bobby J. Jones (1997)

This Bobby Jones is not to be confused with Bobby M. Jones, who pitched briefly for the Mets. Bobby M. was a left-handed swingman. Bobby J. was a durable right-handed starter drafted in the first round by the Mets out of Fresno State in 1991.

In 1997, he was also an All-Star. Jones earned a spot on the NL staff with a 12-5 record and 3.08 ERA at the break that year. He worked a scoreless eighth inning in the NL's 3-1 loss at Jacobs Field in Cleveland.

His work in the second half wasn't as good, and by season’s end, he was at 15-9, 3.63. It was the beginning of a downward career spiral. His one shining moment over the next three years, and it was as bright as possible, was a game in the 2000 NLDS. Jones shut out the San Francisco Giants on one hit in Game 4 to clinch the series.

Edgardo Alfonzo (2000)

“Fonzie” was one of the top second basemen in the game when he made his lone All-Star team. A year earlier, he had moved to second from third with the arrival of Robin Ventura. Those two, plus John Olerud and Rey Ordonez, formed one of the finest all-around infields in franchise history.

Around the same time, Alfonzo found his power stroke as offense throughout the sport was exploding. By 2000, he was a middle-of-the-order threat who also had elite bat control. He claimed his place as an All-Star reserve with a .316/.417/.538 slash line, 13 home runs, a 14.7 walk rate and a 9.8 percent strikeout rate at the break. He replaced Jeff Kent midgame at Turner Field, going hitless in two at-bats as the NL lost 6-3.

The All-Star appearance would not be Alfonzo's last big stage of the season. The Mets won the NL wild card and then advanced to face the Yankees in the Subway Series. Alfonzo went 3-for-21 as the Amazins lost in five games.

That disappointment aside, he was riding high in 2000. He received MVP votes after posting 6.0 bWAR, his third season of 6 or more in a four-year span. He was a star at 26. But then injuries hit hard. His 2001 campaign was marred by back, elbow, hand and leg ailments. He bounced back in 2002 with 5.0 bWAR, but then he left the Mets after that season to sign a four-year, $26 million contract with the NL champion San Francisco Giants as a free agent.

Al Leiter (2000)

Leiter's left arm might still be sore from those 142 pitches in Game 5 of the 2000 Series. But Leiter had earned the trust of manager Bobby Valentine, who kept him on the mound for 8⅔ innings until the Yankees took the lead. He was the leader of the rotation.

In July, he was leading the way with a 10-2 record and 2.99 ERA (3.97 FIP). He made the NL All-Star staff off those numbers. He took the loss in the game after allowing a two-run single to Derek Jeter in the fourth inning. Ominous foreshadowing there.

Leiter ended the season with 16 wins, a 139 ERA+ and 200 strikeouts. He stayed a Met through the 2004 season. He ended his career in 2005 with two of his former teams, the then-Florida Marlins and the Yankees.

Armando Benitez (2003)

Benitez played a major role in the 2000 World Series drama, too. He blew the save in Game 1 and the Yankees ended up winning in 12 innings. It was all downhill for the Mets after that.

But Benitez saved a lot of games for the club, as well, and by 2003, he was long past the Subway Series failure. He wasn't at his best that season, though. In fact, he was having a tough year when he made the All-Star team. He was just 21-for-28 in save opportunities at the break. Benitez was spared an appearance in the game at then-U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. Billy Wagner and Eric Gagne gave it up in a 7-6 NL loss.

The next day, he was a Yankee. The Mets traded him to the Bronx Bombers on July 16 for three prospects as their deadline sell-off continued. Benitez was in the last year of his contract. He left having recorded 160 saves as a Met.

Paul Lo Duca (2006)

Lo Duca was an All-Star at his two stops before New York, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and then-Florida Marlins. He hit the trifecta with the Mets in ‘06 when he was voted an NL starter. His .302 average at the break, the Mets’ place in the standings and the team's popularity at the time helped a lot.

In fact, he was one of three Mets to start the game. David Wright and Carlos Beltran were the others. He went 0-for-2 in the NL's 3-2 loss. Lo Duca finished the season with a .318 average, but he had just five home runs and 49 RBIs. 

The Mets won the East that year, but famously lost the NLCS to the Cardinals in seven games. In Game 7, Lo Duca walked with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to load the bases for Beltran. An Adam Wainwright hook from hell buckled Beltran's legs for strike three and sent the Redbirds to the World Series.

The next year, Lo Duca was in the middle of the Mets’ “up seven with 17 to play” collapse that gifted the Phillies the division. That's some bad stretch running. And Lo Duca would know all about that as someone who has been involved in horse racing for decades.

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[Cowtipper]

Paul Lo Duca was awesome. You can tell how much the Mets standards have fallen since then. He wasn't brought back because he "slipped" to a .272/.311/.378 line in 2007. By the team's modern standards, that's enough to keep him around for another 5-6 years. 

[MFS62]

Yikes!

I would have thought that a .354/.447/.998 slash line for John Olerud would have made him an all-star. But it didn't. 

Later