Mets' all-time retired numbers

NEW YORK -- Throughout their history, the Mets have established lofty standards when it comes to retired numbers. With the exception of Gil Hodges, who passed away as an active manager, the Mets have only allowed the numbers of Hall of Famers to grace the upper deck of Citi Field. They waited until Mike Piazza earned induction into Cooperstown to honor him in Flushing.

That had led to the absence of several popular players -- Dwight Gooden, Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter (who went in the Hall as an Expo), for example -- from their retired-number ranks. But that has changed in recent years. Hernandez and Willie Mays had their numbers retired in 2022, with Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry joining them in '24.

Gil Hodges, Manager: No. 14
Number retired: June 9, 1973
An original Met, Hodges played parts of two seasons in New York after spending 16 in Brooklyn and Los Angeles with the Dodgers. His greater impact came as a manager; in just his second season at the helm, Hodges led the Mets to their stunning 1969 World Series victory. Although Hodges passed away at age 47 after suffering an unexpected heart attack just before the start of the '72 campaign, his 339 wins stood as a franchise record for most of the next two decades. A Citi Field entranceway is dedicated in his honor.

Dwight Gooden, RHP: No. 16
Number retired: April 14, 2024
Doc or Dr. K, as he was affectionately known, became the second 1986 Mets championship player to have his number retired following Keith Hernandez. Gooden, who pitched for the Mets from 1984-94, ranks second in franchise history in wins (157) and strikeouts (1,875), as well as third in innings (2,169 2/3) and complete games (67). He captured the NL Rookie of the Year Award after setting a big league rookie record with 276 strikeouts. The following year, he became the youngest pitcher to capture the Cy Young Award.

Keith Hernandez, 1B: No. 17
Number retired: July 9, 2022
To a current generation of Mets fans, Hernandez is one-third of the popular SNY broadcast trio. But to a different legion of Mets fans, he's also one of the leaders of the 1986 World Series team. A career .296 hitter, Hernandez accumulated a record 11 Gold Gloves as a first baseman, five with the Mets; he’s the only all-time Gold Glove leader at his position not enshrined in Cooperstown.

Darryl Strawberry, RF: No. 18
Number retired: June 1 9, 2024
“My eight seasons in New York were the greatest of my career, and I will always be a Met,” said Strawberry, who helped the club win two division titles, one pennant and one World Series title, while earning seven All-Star nods, two Silver Slugger Awards and the 1983 National League Rookie of the Year Award.

Willie Mays, OF: No. 24
Number retired: Aug. 27, 2022
Fifty years after Mays was promised by then-Mets owner Joan Payson that he would be the last Mets player to wear No. 24, the organization made a surprise announcement to retire the number during Old Timers' Day in 2022. Mays could not attend the ceremony due to a hip replacement but his son Michael traveled to Queens to represent him. While Mays is best remembered for his time with the Giants, the outfielder played a small yet impactful role with the Mets. Mays hit his 660th and final home run with the franchise and delivered multiple RBI singles during the 1973 postseason, including one in National League Championship Series Game 5 and another in World Series Game 2. The Mets won both.

Mike Piazza, C: No. 31
Number retired: July 30, 2016
Days after Piazza was enshrined in Cooperstown, the Mets retired his number at Citi Field. Arriving in Flushing via a 1998 midseason trade, Piazza made six All-Star teams over the next seven seasons. He guided the Mets to the 2000 National League pennant and hit one of the most memorable home runs in baseball history, in the first game in New York City following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. At the time of his retirement after the '07 season, Piazza's 220 homers ranked second in Mets history.

Jerry Koosman, LHP: No. 36
Number retired: Aug. 28, 2021
Koosman is the winningest left-hander in team history (140 wins), and he ranks second in team history in starts (346), complete games (108), innings (2,544 2/3) and shutouts (26), third in strikeouts (1,799) and sixth in ERA (3.09). The lefty beat the Orioles twice in the 1969 World Series, pitching a complete game in Game 5 to clinch the club's first title. The two-time All-Star, who had a 19-year big league career that also included stints with the Twins, White Sox and Phillies, finished with 222 wins and 2,556 strikeouts.

Casey Stengel, Manager: No. 37
Number retired: Sept. 2, 1965
A Hall of Fame manager who won seven World Series titles and 10 American League pennants with the crosstown Yankees from 1949-60, Stengel closed his career with four seasons as the Mets' inaugural skipper. Although he posted just a .302 winning percentage with a roster dominated by expansion-draft players, Stengel offered the fledgling franchise instant credibility. His career in professional baseball spanned six decades, including a 14-year playing career that began in Brooklyn in '12.

Tom Seaver, RHP: No. 41
Number retired: June 24, 1988
Nicknamed "The Franchise," Seaver was the driving force behind the Mets' transition from laughingstock to champion. In Seaver's third season, he won 25 games, then two more in October to lead the Mets to the 1969 World Series title. He went 182-107 with a 2.47 ERA over his first 10 seasons and was 7-3 at the time the Mets dealt him to the Reds on June 15, 1977, in what remains one of the least popular trades in Major League history. Seaver returned briefly to the Mets in '83, at age 38, before retiring after the '86 season and becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Notes:
? On April 15, 1997, the Mets joined every team in MLB in retiring No. 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson.
? The Mets have an emblem beside their retired numbers reading "SHEA," in homage to Bill Shea, whose work was instrumental in the birth of the franchise.