1976 New York Mets season

March 2026 November 2013 New York Mets 1976 New York Mets Insignia (1962 to 1992).svg National League East Shea Stadium New York City 86 76 y Charles Shipman Payson Joe McDonald Joe Frazier WOR-TV WNEW (Ralph Kiner, Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy) The 1976 New York Mets season was the 15th regular season for the Mets, who played home games at Shea Stadium. Led by manager Joe Frazier, the team had an 86–76 record (the team's best finish in the 1970s) and finished in third place in the National League East, fifteen games behind the first place Philadelphia Phillies. Offseason On December 6, Mrs. Lorinda de Roulet, daughter of the late Joan Payson, was named president of the Mets. The critical decisions, however, were still made by board chairman M. Donald Grant and General Manager Joe McDonald. Notable transactions December 3, 1975: Kelvin Chapman was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets.Kelvin Chapman at Baseball Reference December 12, 1975: Rusty Staub and Bill Laxton were traded by the Mets to the Detroit Tigers for Mickey Lolich and Billy Baldwin.Rusty Staub at Baseball Reference January 7, 1976: 1976 Major League Baseball draft Greg Harris was drafted by the Mets in the 7th round, but did not sign.Greg Harris at Baseball Reference Kim Seaman was drafted by the Mets in the 4th round of the Secondary Phase.Kim Seaman at Baseball Reference March 5, 1976: Mario Ramírez was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets.Mario Ramirez at Baseball Reference March 30, 1976: Jesús Alou was released by the Mets.Jesús Alou at Baseball Reference Regular season Season summary On September 16, before a small crowd of 5,472 at Shea Stadium, Jerry Koosman overcame a home run by future Mets player Keith Hernandez to pitch a complete game and win his 20th game of the season for the first time in his career in a 4–1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. He became the second pitcher in Mets history to win 20 games. Season standings New York Mets Record vs. opponents NYM Notable transactions June 8, 1976: Dave Von Ohlen was drafted by the Mets in the 17th round of the 1976 Major League Baseball draft.Dave Von Ohlen at Baseball Reference July 21, 1976: Del Unser and Wayne Garrett were traded by the Mets to the Montreal Expos for Jim Dwyer and Pepe Mangual.Del Unser at Baseball Reference September 17, 1976: Greg Harris was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets. Roster 1976 New York Mets Roster Pitchers 34 Bob Apodaca 45 Rick Baldwin 39 Nino Espinosa 19 Tom Hall 36 Jerry Koosman 38 Skip Lockwood 29 Mickey Lolich 32 Jon Matlack 44 Bob Myrick 33 Ken Sanders 41 Tom Seaver 27 Craig Swan 30 Hank Webb Catchers 15 Jerry Grote 42 Ron Hodges 22 Jay Kleven 16 John Stearns Infielders  1 Leo Foster 11 Wayne Garrett  3 Bud Harrelson 12 Jack Heidemann  7 Ed Kranepool 17 Félix Millán  5 Mike Phillips  2 Roy Staiger  9 Joe Torre Outfielders 18 Benny Ayala 21 Billy Baldwin  4 Bruce Boisclair 23 Leon Brown 25 Jim Dwyer 26 Dave Kingman 11 Pepe Mangual 12 Lee Mazzilli 28 John Milner 25 Del Unser  6 Mike Vail Manager 55 Joe Frazier Coaches 24 Willie Mays 51 Roy McMillan 52 Joe Pignatano 54 Rube Walker 53 Eddie Yost Player stats Batting Starters by position 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 101 323 88 .272 4 28 1B Ed Kranepool 123 415 121 .292 10 49 2B Félix Millán 139 531 150 .282 1 35 SS Bud Harrelson 118 359 84 .234 1 26 3B Roy Staiger 95 304 67 .220 2 26 LF John Milner 127 443 120 .271 15 78 CF Del Unser 77 276 63 .228 5 25 RF Dave Kingman 123 474 113 .238 37 86 Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI Joe Torre 114 310 95 .306 5 31 Bruce Boisclair 110 286 82 .287 2 13 Mike Phillips Mike Phillips (baseball) 87 262 67 .256 4 29 Wayne Garrett 80 251 56 .223 4 26 Ron Hodges 56 155 35 .226 4 24 Mike Vail 53 143 31 .217 0 9 John Stearns 32 103 27 .262 2 10 Pepe Mangual 41 102 19 .186 1 9 Lee Mazzilli 24 77 15 .195 2 7 Leon Brown Leon Brown (baseball) 64 70 15 .214 0 2 Leo Foster 24 59 12 .203 1 15 Benny Ayala 22 26 3 .115 1 2 Billy Baldwin Billy Baldwin (baseball) 9 22 6 .273 1 5 Jim Dwyer Jim Dwyer (baseball) 11 13 2 .154 0 0 Jack Heidemann 5 12 1 .083 0 0 Jay Kleven 2 5 1 .200 0 2 Pitching Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Tom Seaver 35 271.0 14 11 2.59 235 Jon Matlack 35 262.0 17 10 2.95 153 Jerry Koosman 34 247.1 21 10 2.69 200 Mickey Lolich 31 192.2 8 13 3.22 120 Craig Swan 23 132.1 6 9 3.54 89 Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Nino Espinosa 12 41.2 4 4 3.67 30 Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L SV ERA SO Skip Lockwood 56 94.1 10 7 19 2.67 108 Bob Apodaca 43 89.2 3 7 5 2.81 45 Ken Sanders baseball 31 47.0 1 2 1 2.87 16 Bob Myrick 21 27.2 1 1 0 3.25 11 Rick Baldwin Rick Baldwin (baseball) 11 22.2 0 0 0 2.38 9 Hank Webb 8 16.0 0 1 0 4.50 7 Tom Hall Tom Hall (baseball) 5 4.2 1 1 0 5.79 2 Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Tidewater Tides International League Tom Burgess AA Jackson Mets Texas League John Antonelli A Lynchburg Mets Carolina League Jack Aker A Wausau Mets Midwest League Bill Monbouquette Rookie Marion Mets Appalachian League Al Jackson Notes 2 References Johnson Lloyd Wolff Miles The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball 2nd Durham, North Carolina Baseball America 1997 978-0-9637189-8-3 External links 1976 New York Mets at Baseball Reference 1976 New York Mets at Baseball Almanac Category:New York Mets seasons New York Mets season New York Category:1970s in Queens