New York Mets: Top three players to wear the number one
2. Lance Johnson
We have another member of the list that is not a homegrown Met. Lance Johnson spent nine years in the league before he arrived in New York in 1996. He broke into the league with the St. Louis Cardinals and spent eight years in Chicago with the White Sox. Johnson posted over 1,000 hits and an average of .286 during his time in the Windy City.
He didn’t stay in Queens for very long but his time was well-spent. His 1996 campaign with the Mets was his career year. Hitting leadoff for the Mets that year, he hit .333, racked up 227 hits, 50 steals, 31 doubles, 21 triples and 117 runs scored. The hits and triples led the major leagues and the 227 hits are still a single season record for the Mets. Those numbers came in 682 official at bats, and he was selected to the All-Star game that year.
Johnson played in 72 games in 1997 before being sent away. In that time, however, he did post a batting average of .309 with 82 hits and six more triples. To say he was a prolific offensive player was an understatement. On defense his field goal percentage never dropped below .971, and he recorded 16 outfield assists during his time in Queens. He wasn’t around for the resurgence that took the Mets to the series but he was a part of the beginnings, and wore the number one very well.