Let’s look back at some of the most interesting New York Mets contracts
By Ryan Morik
![NEW YORK - CIRCA 2001: Mike Piazza #31 of the New York Mets bats against the Atlanta Braves during a Major League Baseball game circa 2001 at Shea Stadium in the Queens borough of New York City. Piazza played for the Mets from 1998-2005. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) NEW YORK - CIRCA 2001: Mike Piazza #31 of the New York Mets bats against the Atlanta Braves during a Major League Baseball game circa 2001 at Shea Stadium in the Queens borough of New York City. Piazza played for the Mets from 1998-2005. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/842797e21e64fe67abf7b53926ec021326c1ef734f55f5c02abae1ed7c73fde8.jpg)
7. Lance Johnson, 1 year, 2.7 million
- .333/.362/.479
- All-Star, 18th place in NL MVP voting
- 7.2 bWAR – fifth-highest by a Met in a single-season
- MLB-high 21 triples
- MLB-high 227 hits
A career .285 hitter before signing with the Mets, Johnson became one of baseball’s best hitters for a season. The Mets wound up re-signing Johnson and Bernard Gilkey after their great 1996 seasons, but traded both soon after. However, a low-risk gamble worked, and that’s something that cannot be said for a lot of Mets deals.
6. Johan Santana, 6 years, $137.5 million
- 109-109 record
- 3.18 ERA
- Pitched the only no-hitter in franchise history
Sure, the two-time Cy Young Award winner didn’t finish out his contract with the club, as injuries derailed his career. But Santana was well on his way to a Hall of Fame career. In his first three seasons with the Mets, he posted a 2.85 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He finished in third place in the 2008 National League Cy Young Award voting, leading all of baseball in ERA (2.53). It also was his sixth-consecutive top-seven finish.
Even though some Mets fans may take back the no-hitter if it meant a dominant Santana for the rest of the contract, there is no reason to think that the Mets made a mistake signing him at first. Maybe the Wilpons would take it back if they knew what would come, but for the first three years, it was a total steal.