The Top 27 Mets All-Time Home Run Leaders

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Last Updated on February 27, 2024 by Matt Musico

If you take a look at the Mets all time home run leaders list, it’s a who’s who of the franchise’s best hitters. Darryl Strawberry is currently at the top with 252 home runs in Flushing, but his days as the Mets’ all-time home run king could be numbered based on a current slugger who is quickly climbing the ranks.

Let’s get to the Mets all time home run leaders, shall we?

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Mets All Time Home Run Leaders: Top 6

Darryl Strawberry: 252 Home Runs

When Strawberry won the 1983 NL Rookie of the Year honors, he set a rookie club record with 26 home runs. That mark didn’t get broken until Pete Alonso went ham in his own Rookie of the Year campaign in 2019. This number is significant for Straw because it was one he didn’t finish below during his entire time in Queens.

He followed that ’83 campaign up with three more seasons of 26-plus dingers. The sweet-swinging outfielder then posted two straight years of 39 homers in 1987 and 1988. His third year of 30-plus homers in four tries happened in 1990 before leaving for the Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency. Strawberry won his second and final Silver Slugger Award while placing third in NL MVP voting that season.

The then-28-year-old slashed .277/.361/.518 with 37 homers and a career-high 108 RBI. His best month was June. Strawberry posted his highest OPS (1.209), homer total (10), and RBI total (27) of any month that season. Just about 75% of his 335 career home runs came with the Mets. From 1983-90, Strawberry posted eight straight years of 20-plus homers. From 1991-99, he surpassed that total in a single season just twice.

David Wright: 242 Home Runs

Unfortunately, David Wright is one of the ultimate “What could’ve been?” situations in baseball. His career was cut short because of health issues — he appeared in just 77 regular-season games from 2015-18. However, he could’ve easily been the Mets’ all-time home run leader had Citi Field not had monstrous dimensions when it opened up in 2009.

Wright slugged 14 home runs in 69 games as a rookie. Then from 2005-08, he enjoyed four straight seasons of 20-plus home runs. The 2007 and 2008 seasons were of special significance because they included 30 homers, 100 RBI, and a .900-plus OPS. The biggest culprit (outside of health) that kept Wright out of the top spot of this leaderboard was his 2009 campaign. He slugged 10 homers through 144 games in Citi Field’s inaugural season. He even mentioned in his book that his offensive approach changed because of the cavernous dimensions.

Over the first five seasons of his career, Wright averaged 26 home runs. Had he done that in 2009, the third baseman would’ve become the Mets’ all-time home run leader. Even with the injuries that prematurely ended his career. I talked about Wright’s career and Hall of Fame candidacy on the Pod of Fame podcast. Check it out here.

Mike Piazza: 220 Home Runs

Mike Piazza is one of those iconic Mets legends. When you mention the club, he’s likely one of the first players that come to mind. His being in Cooperstown with a Mets cap on — along with hitting a truly memorable home run after 9/11 — will do that. As we all know, he did much more than just hit that one dinger. The dude mashed virtually the entire time he wore the Orange and Blue.

After posting a 1.024 OPS with 23 home runs in 109 games following the trade that brought him to New York in 1998, Piazza continued what he was doing in L.A. He racked up the hits, which included plenty of dingers.

In 1999, he nearly tied the single-season franchise record with 40 homers. He also collected 124 RBI, which was a franchise record. The backstop followed that with three more seasons of 30-plus homers before the dip in production came. Piazza slugged a total of 50 homers over his final three seasons with New York. In his first three full campaigns, though, he averaged 37 homers per year.

Howard Johnson: 192 Home Runs

If you want to make a list of Mets position players who seemingly fly under the radar, I’d make an argument that Howard Johnson should be included. He’s certainly appreciated by the fan base, but not nearly as much as he should. HoJo was the first Mets player to rack up 30 homers and 30 steals in a single season with 36 dingers and 41 thefts in 1989. He also did it again two years later with another 38 dingers and 30 steals.

Both of these campaigns were accompanied by 100-plus RBI and 100-plus runs scored. Johnson led the league in homers (38) and RBI (117) in 1991, as well. In each instance, he went to the All-Star Game, won a Silver Slugger, and placed fifth in NL MVP voting.

From the standpoint of OPS (.928) and OPS+ (169), that ’89 season was the best of Johnson’s career. Consistency was the name of the game during this particular campaign. He enjoyed one month with double-digit homers (11 in June) and one with double-digit steals (12 in July). HoJo hit fewer than five homers just once (four in April). He also stole fewer than six bigs just once (two in May).

Pete Alonso: 192 Home Runs (…And Counting)

How prodigious is Pete Alonso‘s power in the context of Mets history? Well, he cracked the top five on the franchise’s all-time home run leaderboard by his age-28 season. And by the time it happened, there were still about two full seasons left before he’s scheduled to hit free agency.

The Mets have had some great power hitters over the years. But none of them have been like Polar Pete. He’s currently the only Met with multiple seasons of 40-plus homers and 120-plus RBI. He debuted in 2019, yet already has four years of at least 30 homers on his resume through 2023. Alonso owns the MLB rookie home run record, the Mets’ single-season home run record, and is a two-time Home Run Derby champion.

Oh, and he’s a homegrown player. As long as Alonso sticks around in Flushing, he’ll be at the top of this list in short order. The longer New York and team owner Steve Cohen wait, though, the more expensive his price tag is going to get.

Dave Kingman: 154 Home Runs

Dave Kingman spent six years with the Mets over two different stints. During this tenure, he posted 30-plus homers three different times. His 37 homers led the league in 1982, but his most powerful consecutive-year span with New York came from 1975-76. He slugged 36 homers in ’75 and followed that up with another 37 in ’76. Kingman appeared in one All-Star Game and finished in the top 20 of NL MVP voting both times. He did that all without posting an OPS greater than .800.

When looking at the monthly production across these two seasons, July 1975 was his best in just about every category that matters. Kingman slugged 13 homers with 31 RBI, all while slashing .322/.366/.686. In the three months prior to this performance, the right-handed hitter pummeled 11 balls over the wall. After this performance, he hit 12 combined homers over the final two months of the regular season.

It’s notable that he was a much better hitter away from Shea Stadium during this season. At home, Kingman posted a .675 OPS with 14 home runs. On the road, those numbers improved to .870 and 22, respectively.

Mets All Time Home Run Leaders: The Rest

Here’s what the rest of the Mets’ career home run leaders list looks like through the top 29:

Interested in seeing who falls behind this group? Check out the details on FanGraphs.

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