Yesterday we looked at the Mets position players that would be in the Hall of Fame (HOF) discussion, and today we dissect the pitchers. Remember, a Black Ink point is earned when a player leads the league in certain pitching statistics and a Gray Ink point is gained when they appear in the top 10 of the same categories. My analysis is focusing on players who spent a solid chunk of their careers in Flushing. Using Baseball Reference’s Play Index, I identified the pitchers who threw more than 1,000 innings and sorted them by ERA+. One key difference to note between the position players and pitchers: while the average HOF hitter accrued 27 Black Ink points and 144 Gray Ink points during their career, the average HOF pitcher accrued 40 and 185, respectively.

Well, there’s a reason why Tom Seaver had the highest vote total ever among Hall of Fame inductees. Keep in mind that the average Hall of Famer has 40 Black Ink and 185 Gray Ink points. Seaver blew those marks out of the water.

David Cone has a compelling case as a borderline candidate but, unlike Keith Hernandez, he lacks the hardware. A five-time All-Star, he has two top-10 MVP finishes to go along with three top-five Cy Young finishes (and one top-ten) and one Cy Young Award. It’s a nice resume, but with a few 300 game winners coming up it will be a stretch for him to make the Hall.

Jerry Koosman had a nice run but never got the Black Ink. Dwight Gooden had a stronger run but was robbed of several productive seasons by a serious drug problem that eventually saw him land in jail. At least he made it into the Mets Hall of Fame this season. Hopefully it strengthens his bond with the organization. I’d like nothing more than to see the Doc have a role in the clubs coaching staff, if only to tell his story to future prospects. I firmly believe that Doc still has a lot to offer and it’s great to see the organization reaching out to him again.