1974 New York Mets season

March 2026 November 2013 New York Mets 1974 New York Mets Insignia (1962 to 1992).svg National League East Shea Stadium New York 71 91 y 5th Joan Whitney Payson Bob Scheffing Yogi Berra WOR-TV WHN (Ralph Kiner, Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy) 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, seventeen games behind the first place Pittsburgh Pirates. This was the first time the Mets had a losing season since 1968. Offseason March 26, 1974: Buzz Capra was purchased from the Mets by the Atlanta Braves.Buzz Capra page at Baseball Reference Regular season Season standings New York Mets Record vs. opponents NYM Opening Day starters Wayne Garrett Jerry Grote Don Hahn Bud Harrelson Cleon Jones Jerry Koosman Félix Millán John Milner Rusty Staubhttp://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1974&t=NYN 1974 New York Mets Roster by Baseball Almanac Notable transactions June 5, 1974: Bob Myrick was drafted by the Mets in the 20th round of the 1974 Major League Baseball draft.Bob Myrick page at Baseball Reference Roster 1974 New York Mets Roster Pitchers 22 Jack Aker 34 Bob Apodaca 38 Jerry Cram 48 Nino Espinosa 36 Jerry Koosman 32 Jon Matlack 45 Tug McGraw 30 Bob Miller 31 Harry Parker 33 Ray Sadecki 41 Tom Seaver 35 Randy Sterling 40 George Stone 39 John Strohmayer 27 Craig Swan 29 Hank Webb Catchers 10 Duffy Dyer 15 Jerry Grote 20 Ike Hampton 42 Ron Hodges Infielders 12 Ken Boswell 11 Wayne Garrett  3 Bud Harrelson 23 Ted Martínez 17 Félix Millán 28 John Milner  2 Brock Pemberton  6 Rich Puig  9 George Theodore Outfielders 18 Benny Ayala 26 Bruce Boisclair 19 Jim Gosger 25 Don Hahn 21 Cleon Jones  7 Ed Kranepool 16 Dave Schneck  4 Rusty Staub Manager  8 Yogi Berra Coaches 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 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 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 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 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 George Stone (pitcher) 15 77.0 2 7 5.03 29 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 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 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 Bob Miller (baseball, born 1939) 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 Minor League Baseball 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 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."Mets Finally Get Torre in Trade for Sadecki and Minor Leaguer," The New York Times, Monday, October 14, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024.Eskenazi, Gerald. "Mets Get Clines in Dyer Trade," The New York Times, Wednesday, October 23, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024. Starters Rusty Staub, Jerry Grote, Bud Harrelson and Cleon Jones elected to forego the tour for various personal reasons.Durso, Joseph. "Another Diplomatic Success," The New York Times, Tuesday, October 29, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024. The ballclub arrived at Haneda Airport on October 24 after a combined 21-hour flight.Durso, Joseph. "Warm Tokyo Welcome Starts Met Orientation," The New York Times, Friday, October 25, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024. Both Torre and Tom Seaver were dealing with health issues, shoulder for the former and back and hip for the latter. GameMonthDateDayPlaceOpponentW/L/DScoreMets 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.Durso, Joseph. "Tom Terrific and Mr. Oh," The New York Times, Sunday, October 27, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024. 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. 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."Yomiuri Giants Beat Mets Again, 3–2," The Associated Press (AP), Wednesday, October 30, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024. 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."Mets Tie on Milner's Homer," The Associated Press (AP), Thursday, October 31, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024. 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.Durso, Joseph. "Mets, Good Diplomats, Lose Again," The New York Times, Tuesday, November 5, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024. 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."Mets Lose Again; Aker Waived," The Associated Press (AP), Wednesday, November 6, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024. 10 NOV 7 TH Toyama Yomiuri Giants W 6–3 Jon Matlack Twelve hits for Mets; single, double and three RBI for Torre."Mets Finally Beat Yomiuri Giants," The Associated Press (AP), Thursday, November 7, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024. 11 NOV 9 SA Osaka Yomiuri Giants/Nankai Hawks W 6–4 Jerry Koosman Milner and Kranepool each hit a home run."Met Homers Turn Back Japanese," The Associated Press (AP), Saturday, November 9, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024. 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."Mets Win and Go Over .500," The Associated Press (AP), Tuesday, November 12, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024. 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."Mets Begin to Win in the East," The Associated Press (AP), Thursday, November 14, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024. 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."Mets Set Again in the East," The Associated Press (AP), Saturday, November 16, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024. 16 NOV 18 M Kokura Yomiuri Giants W 9–5 Homers by Félix Millán and Teddy Martínez spark a five-run ninth-inning rally."Mets Beat Yomiuri Giants 9–5," The Associated Press (AP), Monday, November 18, 1974. Retrieved March 19, 2024. 17 NOV 18 NOV 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 1974 New York Mets at Baseball Reference 1974 New York Mets team page at www.baseball-almanac.com External links New York Mets 1974 schedule at MLB.com Category:New York Mets seasons New York Mets season New York Category:1970s in Queens