New York Mets: Five best second basemen in franchise history
3. Ron Hunt
For the number three choice, we have a guy that first played for the Mets in the old Polo Grounds, one year before Shea Stadium opened. For our young audience, the New York Giants played at the Polo Grounds before they moved to San Francisco. From 1962-1963 it was the home of the Mets, and Ron Hunt debuted for the team in 1963 as the starting second baseman. He was second in the race for Rookie of the Year with a .272 batting average, ten home runs and 42 RBI. His fielding percentage was .967, but in future years it went up to .979 and never dropped past .970 while in New York.
Hunt became the third All-Star in franchise history when he was selected to play in the game in 1964. That year he batted .303 and added a .979 fielding percentage. He went to the Midsummer Classic once more in 1966. That year he hit .288 and posted a .970 fielding percentage. Hunt posted one hit in his first All-Star game appearance (1964) in three at bats.
For information sake, his biggest claim to fame came after leaving the Mets. Hunt became known as the guy that got hit by pitches. He literally gave up his body for his team. Every year from 1968-1974, Hunt led the league in times hit by a pitch. The total was 243 times for his entire career. That’s a lot of bruises, wouldn’t you say? Even though he didn’t accomplish this with the Mets, his two appearances at the All-Star game earn him a spot on this list.