One Shot At Glory: The New York Mets’ One-Time All-Stars, Part 1

The New York Mets may send just one representative to the 2026 MLB All-Star Game. Juan Soto is the favorite to earn the spot after being left off the National League team last year. He would join the group of one-time Mets All-Stars, although that feels like a temporary “honor.” More than one trip seems inevitable, even after the snub in '25.

In this three-part series, Grand Central Mets will look at each player who has made just one All-Star Game appearance as a member of the club. Part 1 will span the franchise's first 20 seasons, 1962 through 1981.

Duke Snider (1963)

“The Duke of Flatbush” was not the Mets’ first All-Star. Richie Ashburn holds that distinction. But Ashburn was technically a two-time All-Star with the club, even though he played one season for the Mets. There were two All-Star Games in 1962 and he was named to the National League team for both games. Thus, the No. 1 designation goes to Snider. 

Duke was no stranger to the Midsummer Classic by the time he got to the Mets. He made the NL squad seven seasons in a row (1950 through 1956) during his prime as the Brooklyn Dodgers’ center fielder. As a Mets outfielder, though, he was mostly washed, a big name who could attract nostalgic fans to the Polo Grounds.

On the other hand, he was a top player on a club that would go on to lose 111 games, so he deserved the trip to Cleveland for the game. He entered in the ninth inning as a replacement for Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Tommy Davis. Snider struck out as a pinch hitter in the top half and then played in the field in the bottom half as the NL prevailed 5-3.

He finished the year with 14 home runs, 45 RBIs and a .243/.345/.401 slash line in 415 plate appearances. That looked great when compared with the team's anemic .219/.285/.315 line.

Snider's return to New York lasted just one season. He wanted to end his career playing for a contending club, and the Mets were years away from becoming one, so they sold him to, of all teams, the San Francisco Giants on April 14, 1964, just prior to the season opener.

Ed Kranepool (1965)

Kranepool was the Mets’ first homegrown All-Star. The Bronx native signed with the club out of high school in June 1962 for a reported $75,000, a huge sum at the time. He was called up from the minors that September and got into three games, making him an original Met.

Three years later, as a 20-year-old, he was backing up NL first baseman Ernie Banks at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota. Kranepool didn't get into the game, a 6-5 NL victory. The managers back then treated the All-Star contest as a mini-World Series rather than an exhibition. The berth became his only shot at glory. He never did much better than his 1965 season numbers: 10 home runs, 53 RBIs and a .253/.303/.371 slash line over 575 plate appearances.

But Kranepool could boast other accomplishments. He won a World Series ring with the 1969 Mets, hitting a home run in Game 3. He also played a bench role for the Mets in the 1973 World Series. He lasted 18 seasons with the franchise, and his name is still high on many of its all-time lists: first in games played, third in hits, and sixth in RBIs.

Cleon Jones (1969)

Jones was in the midst of a career year when he represented the Mets alongside Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman in Washington, D.C. He was fourth in the NL batting race when average still meant something. (He finished the year third at .340, to go with 12 homers and 75 RBIs.) Jones started in left field and went 2-for-4 with two runs scored in a 9-3 Senior Circuit victory.

One week later, his season took an odd turn. As the Mets were getting hammered by the Houston Astros in Game 2 of a doubleheader at Shea Stadium, manager Gil Hodges walked to the outfield to publicly yank Jones from the game. The official reason was a hamstring pull, but it was clear in the moment that Hodges was benching Jones for loafing in the field.

The incident helped to spark a furious stretch run that ended with the Miracle Mets winning the World Series over the 109-win Baltimore Orioles. Jones caught the final out of the clinching Game 5 victory.

Tug McGraw (1972)

McGraw became one of the game's top relief pitchers in 1971, posting a 1.70 ERA, 11 wins and eight saves. In 1972, he was even better as the Mets’ late-game stopper. He earned the trip to Atlanta for the Midsummer Classic. 

The screwballing left-hander wound up playing a huge role in the game. He pitched a scoreless ninth and 10th inning, striking out four (including Reggie Jackson) and allowing one hit. His teammates scored a run in the bottom of the 10th for a 4-3 victory, making McGraw the winning pitcher. 

He finished 1972 with another 1.70 ERA, along with eight wins and a career-high 27 saves, but by the summer of 1973 he was in a steep decline and no longer reliable. Then came his “Ya Gotta Believe” clubhouse rant. McGraw and the Mets got red-hot in September. The vibes lasted all the way to Game 7 of the World Series, where Jackson homered to power the Oakland Athletics to a championship repeat.

Dave Kingman (1976)

Kingman was dubbed “Sky King” and “Kong” in New York because of his size (6-foot-6) and power. In ‘76, he was leading the NL with 30 home runs at the break. The fans rewarded him with a trip to Philadelphia for baseball's bicentennial celebration. He started the game in right field and went 0-for-2 with a strikeout (he did that a lot, too) in the NL's 7- 1 triumph.

Six days later, Kingman's season fell apart. He tore a ligament in his left thumb diving for a ball in left field against the Atlanta Braves at Shea Stadium. He underwent surgery and missed 33 games. When he returned in late August, his power wasn't quite the same. He hit five more homers to finish the season with 37, eclipsing his franchise record by one.

By mid-1977, the Mets were moving on from him. They traded their slugger to the San Diego Padres at the June 15 deadline for Bobby Valentine and Paul Siebert. The move was not the most notable one that night, of course.

Pat Zachry (1978)

Zachry came to the Mets from the Cincinnati Reds on June 15, 1977, as part of the Tom Seaver “Midnight Massacre” trade. The right-hander from Texas was never going to fill “The Franchise”’s shoes, but he was good enough to lead a rotation and represent his new club in the All-Star Game. 

He went to San Diego for the ‘78 game but only watched as the NL won 5-3. Two weeks later, Zachry pitched in a game that came to define his career. 

He was facing the Reds at Shea, and Pete Rose was pursuing Joe DiMaggio's record 56-game hitting streak. Zachry gave up a single to Rose in the seventh inning, extending the streak to 37 games. Zachry was taken out of the game later in the frame with the Mets trailing. After he got into the dugout, he tried to kick a helmet in frustration. He ended up hitting a cement step. Zachry broke his left foot and missed the remainder of the season. His final numbers were solid — a 10-6 record, 3.33 ERA and five complete games in 21 starts. 

More injuries followed. Elbow and Achilles ailments limited him to seven games in 1979. He finally came back strong in 1980 and went on to pitch into the 1985 season.

Lee Mazzilli (1979)

The ‘79 game is known as “The Dave Parker Game”: Mets fans could claim it as “The Lee Mazzilli Game.” 

Parker gained lasting fame for throwing out Jim Rice at third base and Brian Downing at the plate from right field, but Mazzilli contributed greatly to the NL's 7-6 win at Seattle's Kingdome, too. First, “The Italian Stallion” lined a game-tying pinch-hit home run off the left-field foul pole in the eighth inning against Texas Rangers fireballer Jim Kern.

Then, the kid from Brooklyn drew a go-ahead bases-loaded walk in the ninth against New York Yankees ace Ron Guidry. It was a rare moment of pride for a Mets team that finished 63-99 that season.

But Mazzilli's magic was about to disappear. Prior to the 1980 season, the Mets moved him from center field to first base to make room for the newly acquired Jerry Morales. He eventually moved back to center, but on April 1, 1982, the Mets traded Mazzilli to the Rangers for two major league-ready pitchers: Walt Terrell and a kid from Yale named Ron Darling.

Joel Youngblood (1981)

Youngblood possessed speed, pop and versatility, but mostly, he possessed a big arm. In 1981, he also possessed a lofty batting average, and that made him All-Star material.

He was hitting .359 in 48 games as the club's everyday right fielder when the players went on strike in mid-June. When the strike ended about two months later, baseball decided to use the All-Star Game in Cleveland as the relaunch. Youngblood's average — and the Mets’ 17-34 record —- hadn't changed, so a spot on the NL roster was his.

Youngblood made an early cameo in the game. He pinch-hit for NL starter Fernando Valenzuela in the top of the second. With that out of the way (the NL won 5-4), it was on to the makeshift second half of the season.

Youngblood didn't last a week. He had injured his left knee in June, and he injured it again in mid-August. His season was over by Aug. 15. The Mets missed him as they fought for the second-half NL East title in the final six weeks.

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