The arrival of Mike Baxter on Monday ended a drought of 71 days without a Met making a debut — the longest such in-season drought since 1988 and the seventh-longest of all time. This gap, between Dale Thayer at 910 and Baxter at 911 follows an April during which 13 Mets made a debut — the most in that category since 2005.
MBTN roster expert Jason E. crunched the numbers and came up with a list of the longest new-Met droughts in history, presented in handy chart form here. How about that pair from 1983?
| Gap | Year | Met No. | Name | Debut Date |
| 96 Days | 1968 | 163 | Al Weis | April 15 |
| 164 | Jim McAndrew | July 21 | ||
| 94 Days | 1988 | 402 | Mackey Sasser | April 10 |
| 403 | Bob McClure | July 14 | ||
| 84 Days | 1986 | 384 | Rick Anderson | June 9 |
| 385 | Kevin Elster | Sept. 2 | ||
| 80 Days | 1983 | 348 | Keith Hernandez | June 17 |
| 349 | Ron Darling | Sept. 6 | ||
| 78 Days | 1971 | 188 | Charlie Williams | April 23 |
| 189 | Jon Matlack | July 11 | ||
| 72 Days | 1969 | 172 | Bobby Pfeil | June 26 |
| 173 | Jim Gosger | Sept. 7 | ||
| 71 Days | 2011 | 910 | Dale Thayer | May 28 |
| 911 | Mike Baxter | Aug. 8 |
