Photo by Tim Healey, Newsday

The New York Mets have had many dominant pitchers come through the organization since their inception in 1962. As expected, strikeouts have played an important role in the dominance of some of these Amazin’ hurlers. I spent time creating an interactive timeline of the Mets All-Time strikeout leaders since the Mets first took the field almost 59 years ago. Let’s first detail who has been at the top of this list after any Mets season.

Roger Craig (1962)

Roger Craig spent seven seasons with the Dodgers before being drafted by the Mets as the sixth pick in the 1961 expansion draft. Although he led the league with 24 losses in 1962, he was tied for the most strikeouts on the team with 118 punchouts. Craig would spend just one more season with the club, leading the National League again with 22 losses in 1963 and finishing his Mets career with a total of 226 strikeouts.

Al Jackson (1962 – 1968)

Al Jackson was another expansion draft pick in 1961 as he was selected from the Pirates with the 22nd pick after two seasons in Pittsburgh. Jackson would also lead the 1962 Mets club with 118 strikeouts, sharing that lead with previously mentioned Roger Craig. He would spend another three years with the Mets, accumulating 492 punchouts, before heading to the Cardinals for two seasons. Jackson would make his return to Queens in 1968, which would be the last season that he would be on top of this list. He finished with 561 strikeouts in a Mets uniform after his last appearance in 1969.

Tom Seaver (1969- 2020)

It did not take very long for Tom Terrific to lead this list as he reached the top spot in just his third season with the Mets. Once he took over during the 1969 season, Seaver has not given up the title since. He reached the 200-strikeout mark in nine consecutive seasons between 1986 and 1976, which can be represented by Seaver leaving every other pitcher in the dust.

Although Seaver was traded to the Reds in 1977, he would return to the Mets for one more season in 1983. He had 135 strikeouts in his final season with the Amazin’s, leaving his career Mets total at 2,541.

Although there have only been three top leaders on this list, many have tried coming close to Seaver’s mark in the years that followed. Down below are a few pitchers who have come close to the top spot and one that could make it close by the end of his career.

Dwight Gooden 

Doc started extremely hot in his first three seasons with the Mets, accumulating 744 strikeouts over that span. However, drugs and injuries soon took over as Gooden missed part of the 1987 season due to time in a rehabilitation center, and then he missed a portion of the 1989 season due to a shoulder injury. In 1990, Gooden would eclipse 200 strikeouts, the only other season besides his first three that he would do so.

After 11 seasons with the Mets, he would finish with 1,875 strikeouts, 666 strikeouts short of tying Seaver’s record. Had Gooden been healthier over the course of his career, he might have taken the top spot based on the potential he showed throughout his first three seasons in the majors. He currently is in second place on the Mets’ All-Time strikeout list.

Jerry Koosman

Kooz came up during the same year as Seaver, yet only appeared in nine games while racking up just 11 strikeouts. However, Koosman became a star right along with Seaver in 1968 and totaled 358 strikeouts over the next two seasons.

Over the course of his 12-season career with the Mets, he only reached the 200 strikeout mark once which was in 1976. Although Koosman could never quite catch up to Seaver, he still accumulated 1,799 strikeouts in his time in Queens, which currently sits third on the All-Time list.

Jacob deGrom

The deGrominator has the best shot out of anyone currently on the Mets to catch Seaver’s All-Time mark. He currently sits at 1,359 strikeouts in the blue and orange, which is 1,182 away from Tom Seaver. Over the past four seasons, deGrom has accumulated 867 strikeouts, which would average out to 276 strikeouts per 162 games.

DeGrom’s K/9 has increased over the past four seasons, as it was 10.7 in 2017, 11.2 in 2018, 11.3 in 2019, and 13.8 in 2020. He is currently signed through the 2024 season, with a team option for the 2024 season. DeGrom would have to average 295.5 strikeouts per season to get to Tom Seaver’s record by the time his contract is over.

However, if deGrom stays with the team for at least another season or two, he has a much higher chance of getting to the record. He would need to average 236.4 over the next five seasons or 197 strikeouts over the next six seasons to reach the top of the leaderboard. If deGrom stays healthy and stays dominant, we may have a new strikeout king during the 2026 season.

Fun Facts

  • The Mets had two pitchers named Bob Miller during the 1962 season. One pitched from the right-hand side and the other pitched from the left-hand side. They both were out of the Top-15 by 1966.
  • Three members of the 1986 World Series team (Gooden, Sid Fernandez, & Ron Darling) are listed on the current Top-15 while three members of the 1969 World Series team are also on the current Top-15 list (Seaver, Koosman, Tug McGraw).
  • Six of the current Top-15 leaders throw left-handed while the other nine throw right-handed
  • Tug McGraw is the only reliever left on the current Top-15 list