1974 New York Mets season

The 1974 New York Mets season was the 13th regular season for the Mets, who played home games at Shea Stadium. Led by manager Yogi Berra, the team finished the season with a record of 71–91, placing fifth in the National League East. This was the first time the Mets had a losing season since 1968.

1974 New York Mets
LeagueNational League
DivisionEast
BallparkShea Stadium
CityNew York
Record71-91
Divisional place5th
OwnersJoan Whitney Payson
General managersBob Scheffing
ManagersYogi Berra
TelevisionWOR-TV
RadioWHN
(Ralph Kiner, Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy)
← 1973 Seasons 1975 →

Offseason

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Regular season

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Season standings

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NL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Pittsburgh Pirates 88 74 .543 52‍–‍29 36‍–‍45
St. Louis Cardinals 86 75 .534 44‍–‍37 42‍–‍38
Philadelphia Phillies 80 82 .494 8 46‍–‍35 34‍–‍47
Montreal Expos 79 82 .491 42‍–‍38 37‍–‍44
New York Mets 71 91 .438 17 36‍–‍45 35‍–‍46
Chicago Cubs 66 96 .407 22 32‍–‍49 34‍–‍47

Record vs. opponents

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Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta 4–8 7–11–1 6–12 8–10 9–3 8–4 8–4 4–8 17–1 8–10 9–3
Chicago 8–4 5–7 4–8 2–10 5–13 8–10 8–10 9–9 6–6 6–6 5–13
Cincinnati 11–7–1 7–5 14–4 6–12 6–6 9–3 8–4 8–4 12–6 11–7 6–6
Houston 12–6 8–4 4–14 5–13 6–6 6–6 6–6 5–7 7–11 10–8 8–4
Los Angeles 10–8 10–2 12–6 13–5 8–4 5–7 6–6 4–8 16–2 12–6 6–6
Montreal 3–9 13–5 6–6 6–6 4–8 9–9 11–7 9–9 6–6 4–8 8–9
New York 4–8 10–8 3–9 6–6 7–5 9–9 7–11 7–11 6–6 6–6 6–12
Philadelphia 4-8 10–8 4–8 6–6 6–6 7–11 11–7 10–8 5–7 8–4 9–9
Pittsburgh 8–4 9–9 4–8 7–5 8–4 9–9 11–7 8–10 9–3 8–4 7–11
San Diego 1–17 6–6 6–12 7–11 2–16 6–6 6–6 7–5 3–9 11–7 5–7
San Francisco 10–8 6–6 7–11 8–10 6–12 8–4 6–6 4–8 4–8 7–11 6–6
St. Louis 3–9 13–5 6–6 4–8 6–6 9–8 12–6 9–9 11–7 7–5 6–6


Opening Day starters

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Notable transactions

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Roster

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1974 New York Mets
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats

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Batting

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Starters by position

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Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
C Jerry Grote 97 319 82 .257 5 36
1B John Milner 137 507 128 .252 20 63
2B Félix Millán 136 518 139 .268 1 33
SS Bud Harrelson 106 331 75 .227 1 13
3B Wayne Garrett 151 522 117 .224 13 53
LF Cleon Jones 124 461 130 .282 13 60
CF Don Hahn 110 323 81 .251 4 28
RF Rusty Staub 161 561 145 .258 19 78

Other batters

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Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
SS-OF Ted Martinez 116 334 73 .219 2 43
OF Dave Schneck 93 254 52 .205 5 25
2B-3B Ken Boswell 96 222 48 .216 2 15
1B Ed Kranepool 94 217 65 .300 4 24
C Duffy Dyer 63 142 30 .211 0 10
C Ron Hodges 59 136 30 .221 4 14
LF-PH George Theodore 60 76 12 .158 1 1
OF-PH Benny Ayala 23 68 16 .235 2 8
OF Jim Gosger 26 33 3 .091 0 0
1B-PH Brock Pemberton 11 22 4 .182 0 1
OF Bruce Boisclair 7 12 3 .250 0 1
2B-3B Rich Puig 4 10 0 .000 0 0
C-PH Ike Hampton 4 4 0 .000 0 1

Pitching

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Starting pitchers

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Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Jon Matlack 34 265.1 13 15 2.41 195
Jerry Koosman 35 265.0 15 11 3.36 188
Tom Seaver 32 232.0 11 11 3.20 201
George Stone 15 77.0 2 7 5.03 29

Other pitchers

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Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Harry Parker 40 131.0 4 12 3.92 58
Bob Apodaca 35 103.0 6 6 3.50 54
Ray Sadecki 34 103.0 8 8 3.41 46
Craig Swan 7 30.1 1 3 4.45 10
Hank Webb 3 10.0 0 2 7.20 8
Randy Sterling 3 9.1 1 1 4.82 2
Nino Espinosa 2 9.0 0 0 5.00 2

Relief pitchers

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Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO IP
Bob Miller 58 2 2 2 3.58 35 78.0
Tug McGraw 41 6 11 3 4.16 54 88.2
Jack Aker 24 2 1 2 3.48 18 41.1
Jerry Cram 10 0 1 3 1.61 8 22.1
John Strohmayer 1 0 0 0 0.00 0 1.0

Farm system

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Level Team League Manager
AAA Tidewater Tides International League John Antonelli
AA Victoria Toros Texas League Joe Frazier
A Visalia Mets California League Nolan Campbell
A Anderson Mets Western Carolinas League Owen Friend
A-Short Season Batavia Trojans New York–Penn League Wilbur Huckle
Rookie Marion Mets Appalachian League Chuck Hiller

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Victoria

Japan tour

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The Mets' tour of Japan began with its departure from John F. Kennedy International Airport on October 23. The team's charter flight included stops to pick up players in San Francisco and Anchorage, Alaska, the latter for Jerry Koosman. Two nonparticipants were Ray Sadecki and Duffy Dyer who were both traded, the former to the St. Louis Cardinals for Joe Torre on October 13 and the latter to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Gene Clines on October 22. Torre was the only one of the two new Mets to participate in the tour.[4][5] Starters Rusty Staub, Jerry Grote, Bud Harrelson and Cleon Jones elected to forego the tour for various personal reasons.[6] The ballclub arrived at Haneda Airport on October 24 after a combined 21-hour flight.[7]

Both Torre and Tom Seaver were dealing with health issues, shoulder for the former and back and hip for the latter.[7]

Game Month Date Day Place Opponent W/L/D Score Mets Starting Pitcher Notes
1 OCT 26 SA Tokyo Yomiuri Giants L 7–10 Tom Seaver Sadaharu Oh grand slam off Jerry Cram in eighth. John Milner, Wayne Garrett and Dave Schneck each homer.[8]
2 OCT 28 M Tokyo Yomiuri Giants D 4–4 Jon Matlack 4–2 lead disappears as Jack Aker walks five Giants batters in ninth. Don Hahn homers.[6]
3 OCT 29 TU Sapporo Yomiuri Giants
4 OCT 30 W Sendai Yomiuri Giants L 2–3 Tom Seaver Seaver allows two runs in first six innings. Deciding run off Hank Webb in seventh. Ed Kranepool solo home run.[9]
5 OCT 31 TH Kōriyama Yomiuri Giants D 3–3 (9) Bob Apodaca Milner game-tying solo homer in ninth; Jack Aker's final Mets appearance before waived on NOV 6.[10][11]
6 NOV
7 NOV
8 NOV 4 M Tokyo Yomiuri Giants L 4–10 Tom Seaver 17 hits combined off Seaver, Webb, Cram and Bob Miller. Milner homers.[12]
9 NOV 6 W Niigata Yomiuri Giants L 4–9 Randy Tate Tate gives up three runs in first; Dave Schneck and Joe Torre each hit a homer.[11]
10 NOV 7 TH Toyama Yomiuri Giants W 6–3 Jon Matlack Twelve hits for Mets; single, double and three RBI for Torre.[13]
11 NOV 9 SA Osaka Yomiuri Giants/Nankai Hawks W 6–4 Jerry Koosman Milner and Kranepool each hit a home run.[14]
12 NOV
13 NOV 12 TU Matsuyama Yomiuri Giants W 7–5 Jon Matlack Kranepool homers twice despite Matlack surrendering five runs in first three innings.[15]
14 NOV 14 TH Hiroshima Yomiuri Giants/Hiroshima Toyo Carp W 4–0 Jerry Koosman Torre hits three-run homer in fourth; Koosman pitches a five-hit shutout.[16]
15 NOV 16 SA Fukuoka Yomiuri Giants/Taiheiyo Club Lions L 0–2 Tom Seaver Seaver takes shutout into eighth, but Mets batters combine for only two hits.[17]
16 NOV 18 M Kokura Yomiuri Giants W 9–5 Homers by Félix Millán and Teddy Martínez spark a five-run ninth-inning rally.[18]
17 NOV
18 NOV

Notes

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  1. ^ Buzz Capra page at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ "1974 New York Mets Roster by Baseball Almanac".
  3. ^ Bob Myrick page at Baseball Reference
  4. ^ "Mets Finally Get Torre in Trade for Sadecki and Minor Leaguer," The New York Times, Monday, October 14, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  5. ^ Eskenazi, Gerald. "Mets Get Clines in Dyer Trade," The New York Times, Wednesday, October 23, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Durso, Joseph. "Another Diplomatic Success," The New York Times, Tuesday, October 29, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Durso, Joseph. "Warm Tokyo Welcome Starts Met Orientation," The New York Times, Friday, October 25, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  8. ^ Durso, Joseph. "Tom Terrific and Mr. Oh," The New York Times, Sunday, October 27, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  9. ^ "Yomiuri Giants Beat Mets Again, 3–2," The Associated Press (AP), Wednesday, October 30, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  10. ^ "Mets Tie on Milner's Homer," The Associated Press (AP), Thursday, October 31, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Mets Lose Again; Aker Waived," The Associated Press (AP), Wednesday, November 6, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  12. ^ Durso, Joseph. "Mets, Good Diplomats, Lose Again," The New York Times, Tuesday, November 5, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  13. ^ "Mets Finally Beat Yomiuri Giants," The Associated Press (AP), Thursday, November 7, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  14. ^ "Met Homers Turn Back Japanese," The Associated Press (AP), Saturday, November 9, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  15. ^ "Mets Win and Go Over .500," The Associated Press (AP), Tuesday, November 12, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  16. ^ "Mets Begin to Win in the East," The Associated Press (AP), Thursday, November 14, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  17. ^ "Mets Set Again in the East," The Associated Press (AP), Saturday, November 16, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  18. ^ "Mets Beat Yomiuri Giants 9–5," The Associated Press (AP), Monday, November 18, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024.

References

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