NEW YORK -- The Rule 5 Draft is Major League Baseball’s annual opportunity for teams to take a chance. Often, that means a rebuilding club selecting a player with potential and hoping he sticks. The Twins famously received Johan Santana in the Rule 5 Draft, using it to grab one

The pitcher’s mound was Tom Seaver's studio; the baseball, a lump of clay that he routinely shaped into breathtaking masterpieces. George Thomas Seaver was an artist. The comparison became hackneyed from overuse during the right-hander’s heyday. But the shortchanged generations who never saw him pitch must learn that Seaver, like

This story was originally published on MLB.com on Oct. 3, 2015. This year's National League Championship Series between the Dodgers and Mets, which opens with Game 1 on Sunday at 8:15 p.m. ET on FOX, will mark the fourth postseason meeting between the clubs. They last faced off in the

Who are the best players born on each day of the year? We have a list for every day on the calendar. Here’s a subjective ranking of the top five for Oct. 9. 1) Joe Sewell (1898) Sewell, the first of two Hall of Famers on this list, found his

The New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies have something of a tense relationship, boasting a mutual history that is full of historic performances and long-standing grievances. (We are talking about New York and Philly sports, after all.) This rivalry, one of baseball's most heated, had just about seen it

Who are the best players born on each day of the year? We have a list for every day on the calendar. Here’s a subjective ranking of the top five for Oct. 6. 1) Freddy Garcia (1976) A two-time All-Star with the Mariners and later a World Series champion with

Who are the best players born on each day of the year? We have a list for every day on the calendar. Here’s a subjective ranking of the top five for Sept. 24: 1) Rafael Palmeiro (1964) Long before the finger-wag seen 'round the world, Palmeiro, a four-time All-Star and

Who are the best players born on each day of the year? We have a list for every day on the calendar. Here’s a subjective ranking of the top five for Sept. 23:

NEW YORK -- For teams that wish to become consistent winners, there is no better avenue than the amateur Draft. That’s been the case for most of the past century, despite the dawn of free agency as a legitimate way to build a roster.

• All-time Draft picks The Mets

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.

Who are the best players born on each day of the year? We have a list for every day on the calendar. Here’s a subjective ranking of the top five for April 21:

NEW YORK -- The arc of David Wright’s career was unlike any in Mets history -- from his productive start to the injuries that later defined him and, finally, to the return that allowed him to author a piece of his own ending. Although Wright's teams often struggled around him,

NEW YORK -- Every Mets fan of a certain age recalls Willie Mays playing the final two years of his career for the Mets in the early 1970s. Most remember Eddie Murray checking into Shea Stadium for a two-year stint during the back half of his Hall of Fame career.

NEW YORK -- Over the first decade-plus of Citi Field’s existence, no matter if it was empty, full, or somewhere in between, the ballpark was a frequent host of history. The Mets have already played some of the most memorable games in franchise lore at Citi Field, which opened in

NEW YORK -- For more than six decades, the Mets and Yankees have coexisted fewer than 10 miles apart across the East and Harlem Rivers. Because of it, they’ve shared plenty of experiences, from the now-defunct Mayor’s Trophy Games to the 2000 Subway Series and other Interleague matchups. They also

The Subway Series always provides some must-see moments. Both teams are in first place for this week's series at Citi Field. But regardless of where the Mets and Yankees are in the standings, their yearly showdowns rank among the MLB season's most intriguing Interleague matchups -- and the Subway Series

Mike Piazza had no shortage of standout moments during his Hall of Fame career – breaking Carlton Fisk’s record for home runs by a catcher, epic faceoffs with Roger Clemens, going deep to cap a 10-run comeback by the Mets in 2000. But if you ask Piazza, one moment outshines

NEW YORK -- It would be difficult to understate Mike Piazza's impact on multiple organizations throughout his career. For the Dodgers, he was a revelation, a family friend of Tommy Lasorda who became an icon in his own right. For the Mets, he changed the course of franchise history, becoming

The Mets waited 50 years -- 8,019 games -- for their first no-hitter, and when it finally came when Johan Santana went the distance in 2012, it left the Padres as the lone remaining MLB club without a no-no. 1,428 games later, they threw their second no-hitter against NL East

NEW YORK -- They were brash. They were edgy. They were memorable. Beyond everything, they were good. On talent alone, the 1986 Mets ranked among the greatest teams in National League history. But it required a World Series title to seal their legacy as one of the greatest professional sports

MINNEAPOLIS -- Johan Santana's career may not (yet) have carried him into the National Baseball Hall of Fame due to his injury-shortened career, but when he was in his prime, with that signature changeup tying hitters into knots again and again, few could stand in the way of his sheer

Few baseball players have managed not only to maintain their popularity over the decades, but to grow it the way Keith Hernandez has. Multiple generations have come to adore Hernandez, from the Cardinals and Mets fans that watched him in his prime to the millions who knew him first as

NEW YORK -- Four Mets executives sat in an Anaheim, Calif., hotel room, listening as then-owner Fred Wilpon teleconferenced into the conversation to call for a vote. To a man, the baseball operations staffers understood that a four-year contract for Pedro Martínez probably wouldn’t end well, but it was likely

NEW YORK -- Gil Hodges' election into the National Baseball Hall of Fame may have been overdue in the eyes of many, but it was nonetheless treasured by his family, his friends, and multiple generations of baseball fans. Hodges’ career spanned decades, from his teenage years through an American war