Former Mets Fall Short of Hall of Fame

The New York Mets failed to get any of its former players in the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday as part of its Class of 2024.

The Hall of Fame announced the results of voting by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. When the results were released, no former Mets — including reliever Billy Wagner, slugger Gary Sheffield and third baseman David Wright — made the cut.

In fact, Wagner fell five votes short of election. 

The Class of 2024 will include Adrián Beltré, Joe Mauer and Todd Helton. Former manager Jim Leyland is already set for induction after he was elected by the Eras Committee in December.

Wagner spent four seasons with the Mets and saved 101 games for the franchise. He made the All-Star Game twice with the Mets and his 422 saves at the end of his career were sixth all-time and second among left-handed relievers. He is most associated with the Houston Astros, where he played nine seasons.

Wagner was in his ninth year on the Hall of Fame ballot.

Sheffield is 27th all-time with 507 home runs, putting him in the select company of the 500 home-run club. He also drove in 1,676 runs, earned nine All-Star Game berths and won five Silver Sluggers. He won a World Series ring with the Marlins in 1997, and while he was never named an MVP, he was the Top 10 in balloting six times.

Sheffield played his final year with the Mets and batted .276 with 10 home runs and 43 RBI. He was in his final year on the ballot.

Wright needed to be on at least 5% of the ballots cast to remain on the ballot next year.

Wright is a fan favorite for the Mets. The lifetime .296 hitter finished his career with 242 home runs and 979 RBI. For the first 10 years of his career, Wright was tracking like a potential Hall-of-Famer while playing third base. But injuries curtailed the final four seasons of his career and he only played 77 games.

Wright was a seven-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove winner and two-time Silver Slugger winner. He batted .300 seven different times, drove in 100 or more runs five times and hit 20 or more home runs six times.