New York Mets: Five best third basemen in franchise history
2. Robin Ventura
We will all remember this man for the “Grand Slam Single”, but he was also one solid all-around third baseman as well.
After ten years in Chicago, Robin Ventura signed a four-year contract with the Mets that began in 1999. He won his final of six Gold Gloves in that first year with the Mets. He also hit .301, with 38 home runs and 120 RBI. With the Mets history at the hot corner, that’s about as good of a season as the franchise had ever seen. That year he also hit a grand slam in both ends of a May doubleheader, becoming the first player ever to do so.
The batting average fell off but the power numbers stayed high, with 24 homers in 2000 and 21 in 2001. Ventura spent time on the DL in the year 2000, but after recovery hit is only World Series home run off of Orlando Hernandez. He also hit .320 down the stretch to salvage the year with a .232 batting average. His final year in New York was 2001 when he hit .237.
Why does Ventura rank so high on this list? He is one of the few to play the position in Queens that could be noted as an all-around player. Most of the Mets history at the position consisted of one or the other. The combination didn’t happen so much. So to have a guy that could hit for average and power to go along with a Gold Glove quality fielder, he jumps up the list rather easily.