Amazin'ly Bad: The 10 Worst Players in Mets History

What a disappointing season 2009 has been for the Mets and their fans.
Come to think of it, it's actually been three disappointing seasons in a row, the only difference this year is that the Flushing Faithful won't have to wait until the final day of the season to have their hearts ripped out.
Truth be told, if your a Mets fan, you are quite accustomed to disappointment. For every Amazin' moment in Mets history, there is just as much heart break. For every 1969 or 1986, there's about ten 2007 and 2008's.
So keeping with the theme of disappointment that has clouded Citi Field this season, and it's predecessor the last two seasons, here is the list of the ten worst Mets everyday players in team history.

No. 10 Carlos Baerga, 1996-1998

When the Mets traded a young second baseman named Jeff Kent to Cleveland in exchange for Baerga, they thought they were getting the guy who had hit 20 or more home runs and driven 100 runs twice, as well a guy who had just hit over .300 for four consecutive seasons. That wasn't the case, however, as Baerga would be only a shell of his former self for the Mets. He would hit only .193 with two home runs in 26 games for the Mets in 1996. The next two seasons weren't much better, as Baerga would not hit higher than .281 or hit more than 9 home runs the rest of his time in Queens.

No. 9 George Foster, 1982-1986

George Foster came to the Mets in a trade with the Cincinatti Reds prior to the 1982 season. In a Reds uniform Foster had established himself as a premier slugger in the National league helping the Reds win two World Series rings and even becoming the only player during the 1970's to belt 50 homers in a season.
But Foster got off to a slow start in 1982, and hit just .247 with 13 home runs, while striking out 123 times. That season didn't exactly warm Foster up to the fans, as he became the player fans would take their agression out on with a fire storm of boos every time he played.
Actually, Foster did hit over 20 home runs in three of his five seasons with the Mets, but never really lived up to what he did in Cincinatti.

No. 8 Mo Vaughn, 2002-2003

The 2002 Mets were one of the most disappointing teams in the history of the franchise, and Mo Vaughn was a big part of that.
After years of gaining weight, and missing the entire 2001 campaign due to a back injury, the Angels were actively looking for a sucker to take Vaughn and his hefty (no pun intended) contract on.
They found that sucker in Steve Phillips and the Mets, as they would trade Kevin Appier to the Angels for Vaughn.
The result, Vaughn would hit 26 home runs but only drive in 72 in 2002, before playing in only 27 games the next year before being out of the game permanently.

No. 7 Mackey Sasser, 1988-1992

Sasser seemed to be the guy to take over the backstop role from Gary Carter in 1990, but it never came to be.
Offensively, Sasser would have a pretty decent season in 1990, batting .307 in 100 games played, but defensively, Sasser was a terrible liability.
In his 100 games played in 1990, base runners stole a whopping 91 bases against Sasser, many of them coming when he would attempt to throw the ball back to the pitcher. It seemed that Sasser had developed a mental block that would not allow him to throw the ball to the pitcher. He would lob the ball, miss the pitcher, and eventually would have to walk the ball to the mound after almost every pitch.
He may be the only guy in history not to make it in the bigs because he couldn't throw to the pitcher.

No. 6 Roberto Alomar, 2002-2003

The last time the Mets acquired a second baseman from the Indians, it was Carlos Baerga, a former all star who never came close to doing in New York what he had in Cleveland.
Nobody thought that history would repeat itself, when the Mets acquired Alomar, arguably the best second baseman of his generation, prior to the 2002 season, but that's exactly what happened.
Alomar went from batting .336, with 20 homers, 113 runs scored and 100 RBI for the Indians in 2001, to batting .266 with 11 homers, 73 runs scored and 53 RBI for the Mets in 2002.
Alomar's 2003 would bring much of the same, and after only a season and a half, he was on his way out of Shea.

No. 5 Bernard Gilkey, 1996-1998

After being mostly a part time player during the first six years of his career with the Cardinals, Gilkey arrived in New York via trade and became an everyday player for the Mets.
The move seemed to benefit Gilkey, as he would go on to have a career year in 1996 for the Mets, batting .317 while scoring 108 runs, belting 30 home runs, and driving in 117 RBI.
That season would see the Mets give Gilkey a nice new contract and a huge raise.
Gilkey, however, would not live up to the contract, and would never come close to approaching the numbers he reached in 1996. In fact, Gilkey would only lats another season and a half with the Mets, hitting fewer home runs and driving fewer runs in 1997 and 1998 combined than he did in 1996.

No. 4 Jim Fregosi 1972-1973

Fregosi was a slick fielding all star shortstop for the Angels during the late 1960's and early 1970's who was coming off an injury plagued 1971 season, that saw him play only 107 games.
So the Mets would make one of the worst trades ever, trading away a young and erratic pitcher to the Angels for the former all star.
Fregosi would be a shell of his former self, batting in the .230's for the Mets and playing in only 146 games during his year-and-a-half stay in Queens.
Oh yeah, and the pitcher the Mets traded away to get Fregosi would go on to win 300 games, throw seven no-hitters, and strike out over 5,000 batter, but you may know him as Nolan Ryan.

No. 3 Mike Marshall, 1990

Keith Hernandez signed with the Cleveland Indians after the 1989 baseball season, so needless to say, there was a huge void left at first base by Mex's absence.
So despite having a quality contact hitting, slick fielding first baseman in waiting in Dave Magadan, the Mets went out and traded for the Dodgers Mike Marshall, a quality baseball player who was good for 15-20 homers and 80 RBI a season.
Except, that's not what the Mets got. Marshall became the target of the Shea boo birds, as he would bat just .239 with 6 home runs and 27 RBI before being traded to Boston that same year.
Marshall's Mets career last all of 53 games. It's such a forgettable stint, that I wasn't even able to find a picture of him in a Mets uniform.

No. 2 Vince Coleman, 1991-1993

A card carrying member of the "Worst team money could buy", Coleman had been the Rickey Henderson of the NL from 1985-1990 wile in St. Louis. He even became the only man to steal 100 bases three years in a row.
So needless to say, when the Mets signed Coleman prior to the 1991 season, it was met with much fanfare.
Coleman would end up hurt most of 1991, playing in only 72 games that season. It would be a sign of things to come, as Coleman would never even play 100 games in any of his seasons at Shea. once a lethal base thief, Coleman's steal totals dropped from 77 in 1990 to 37 in 1991, 24 in 1992, and 38 in 1993.
And let's not forget how he once threw a lit firecracker into a crowd of Mets fans.
His career with the Mets was a total flop, topped only by...

No. 1 Bobby Bonilla, 1992-1995

The Mets made Bonilla the highest paid player in baseball when they signed him prior to the 1992 season.
The Mets, desperate to rid themselves of the bad boy image brought on by the teams of the late 1980's, Bonilla's arrival had many experts picking the Mets to win it all in 1992.
But the opposite happened, as Bonilla would have his worst season in the bigs, batting just .249 with 19 home runs and 70 RBI, challenge Bob Klapish to a fight, and would earn the label of "selfish player", all while the Mets would finish in fifth place with a record of 72-90.
Looking at the numbers, Bonilla would actually have productive years after 1991, but the damage was already done as any Mets fan could attest to. Bonilla's signing would set the franchise back until the arrival of Mike Piazza in 1998.