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Very few Mets players could chase a ball down the way Carlos Beltran did.For the next few weeks, we’re going to pay tribute to Mets history on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in this space. Our plan is to rank the Mets' best players at bat, on the mound and in the field.
Since the Gold Glove Awards are being announced Monday night, we’ll start by looking at the top 10 defensive players in Mets history. We’ll reveal the top 6-10 today and the top five Tuesday.
10. David Wright
Even when Wright was struggling offensively in 2014, his defense didn’t suffer. Wright has played a high-caliber third base since coming up to the Mets in 2004. He may not have the cannon arm of some of the game’s elite third basemen, but his range and reflexes are both very solid. And he has the defensive creativity to make plays like the bare-handed catch vs. San Diego for which he earned his most acclaim.
9. Carlos Beltran
Beltran ranks second in Mets history in Gold Gloves with three. His defensive skills were often taken for granted because he made even the most difficult plays look easy due to the speed with which he was able to glide to the ball.
8. Jerry Grote
The website The On-Deck Circle recently did an eloquent job of summing up Grote’s defense, noting that former stolen-base record holder and Hall of Famer Lou Brock often said that Grote was the toughest catcher to steal bases against, and that Hall of Famer Johnny Bench said that if he and Grote were on the same team, Bench would have moved to third base.
That’s a good enough endorsement for us to make sure he’s on this list.
7. Tommie Agee
Agee had perhaps the single best defensive game in Mets history, robbing Paul Blair and Elrod Hendricks of extra-base hits in key spots in Game 3 of the 1969 World Series.
Agee succeeded on both speed and persistence. He would win a Gold Glove the following season.
“A lot of guys came into this Shea Stadium outfield,” former teammate Cleon Jones once said. “Nobody played it better than Tommie Agee.”
6. Robin Ventura
Ventura’s best days were with the White Sox. But he was still pretty good when he signed with the Mets prior to the 1999 season. With apologies to Wright, the Mets have not had as good a glove at the hot corner in their history as they had with Ventura from 1999 to 2001.
“Ventura made everything look easy,” said former Mets first baseman John Olerud a few years ago. “You'd see a ball hit in the hole and think, boy, that's gonna be a tough play, or you'd see a fast guy bunt -- but when Ventura was at third, not only would he get to the ball quick, he'd get it to you quick."
Coming on Wednesday: The players ranked 1-5 in Mets history
