New York Mets: Five best third basemen in franchise history
4. Howard Johnson
The man they called “HoJo” comes in at fourth on our list. Howard Johnson spent the early part of his career with the Detroit Tigers, acquired by the Mets in a trade after the 1984 season which sent Walt Terrell to Detroit. For the Tigers, Johnson had been a part-time player that showed some pop in his bat as well as so speed.
For the Mets he did all of that and more. Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog believed it wasn’t all Hojo if you remember. How often did he ask the umpire to check his bat for cork? It felt like every time the two teams played. He never found anything so the joke was on him. Johnson was an average fielder so, like Brooks, his predominant claim to fame was with the bat in his hand.
Johnson’s first trip to the 30-30 club came in 1987 when he hit 36 home runs and stole 32 bases. In 1989 he hit 36 again and stole 41, making him the only one at the time with multiple seasons in the 30-30 club besides Bobby Bonds and Willie Mays. That’s pretty good company, wouldn’t you say? Hojo did it one more time while with the Mets (1991, 38-30).
He may not have been the best fielder, but Howard Johnson did something right to have spent 835 games at third base, which had been a revolving door in the past.