Fansided

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) /
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19 Oct 1999: John Olerud #5 of the New York Mets celebrates as he runs the base during the National League Championship Series game six against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves defeated the Mets 10-9. Mandatory Credit: Jed Jacobsohn /Allsport
19 Oct 1999: John Olerud #5 of the New York Mets celebrates as he runs the base during the National League Championship Series game six against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves defeated the Mets 10-9. Mandatory Credit: Jed Jacobsohn /Allsport /

5. John Olerud 2 years, $8 million

  • 325/.437/.506
  • 41 HR
  • 189 RBI
  • 221 walks
  • 12th place in 1998 MVP voting

After being acquired by the Toronto Blue Jays before the 1997 season started, Olerud drove in 102 runs, his most since putting up 107 RBI in 1993, where he finished in third place in the NL MVP Award voting. The Mets resigned him, and in 1998, he slashed an amazing 354/.447/.551 and belted 22 home runs, playing in all 162 games. He also posted a .890 OPS in the final season of his deal. This is a super slept-on deal for a super slept-on player.

4. John Franco, 3 years, $7.6 million

  • 2.48 ERA
  • 78 saves
  • 1.29 WHIP
  • All-Star

An offseason trade with Cincinnati in 1989 made Franco, a Brooklyn native, a happy man. Little did he and the Mets know that he would stay in Queens until 2004. Franco is the franchise’s saves leader (276) and is still a huge fan favorite. He finished in seventh place in the 1994 National League Cy Young Award voting, which earned him another deal from the Mets. But a three-year deal turned into 14 seasons of reliability to shut down the ninth inning.

3. Billy Wagner, 4 years, $43 million

  • 2.37 ERA
  • 10.9 K/9
  • 101 saves
  • Two All-Star nods,
  • Sixth place in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2006

This man is a Hall of Famer. His K/9 with the Mets is higher than Mariano Rivera’s best single-season K/9, and Wagner wasn’t even in his prime with the Mets. We won’t talk about the five earned runs he allowed in 2.2 innings in the 2006 NLCS, which was a 16.88 ERA, but Wagner was electric despite standing just 5’10”. After losing fan favorite John Franco, Wagner did more than replace him, and remained an elite closer until his retirement in 2010.

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