The 1984 New York Mets season was the 23rd regular season for the Mets. They went 90–72 (their first winning season in 8 years) and finished in second place in the National League East, six and half games behind the first place Chicago Cubs. They were managed by Davey Johnson. They played home games at Shea Stadium.

This was Davey Johnson's first season as Mets manager and the move paid instant dividends. With rookie Dwight Gooden and the first full seasons as Mets for Keith Hernandez & Darryl Strawberry the Mets contended for the division title but fell just short against the Cubs. It would be the first of 6 straight seasons where the Mets would finish either first or second in the division.

The Mets would acquire more future championship pieces during the season by drafting Kevin Elster, signing free agent Rafael Santana and trading for Sid Fernandez and most importantly, Ray Knight.

Despite their winning record, the Mets were actually outscored on the season, 676 runs allowed to 652 scored. Their Pythagorean winning percentage, a sabermetric estimate of expected record based on run differential, translated to a 78–84 mark — 12 games worse than their actual 90–72 finish.

Offseason December 8, 1983: Acquired Sid Fernandez and Ross Jones from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Bob Bailor and Carlos Diaz. January 17, 1984: Kevin Elster was drafted by the Mets in the 2nd round of the 1984 Major League Baseball draft. Player signed May 21, 1984.Kevin Elster at Baseball Reference January 17, 1984: Rafael Santana was signed as a free agent by the Mets.Rafael Santana at Baseball Reference January 20, 1984: The Chicago White Sox choose Tom Seaver from the Mets as a free agent compensation pick. January 27, 1984: Signed Dick Tidrow as a free agent. The Mets released him on May 8. January 30, 1984: Released Dave Kingman. February 19, 1984: Kelvin Moore was traded by the Mets to the Milwaukee Brewers for Billy Max (minors).Kelvin Moore at Baseball Reference March 17, 1984: Jerry Martin was signed as a free agent with the New York Mets.

Regular season 1984 got off to an embarrassing start for GM Frank Cashen and the Mets before the season even began. Believing that it was unnecessary to protect a high-salaried, 39-year-old pitcher, the Mets left Tom Seaver unprotected. In a move that stunned the Mets, on January 20 Seaver was claimed in a free-agent compensation draft by the Chicago White Sox.

This left opening day duties to Mike Torrez. Torrez lasted only 1.1 innings against the Cincinnati Reds at Riverfront Stadium, giving up six earned runs, and giving the Mets their first opening day loss since 1974. Davey Johnson's team did, however, come back to win the next six in a row, including Dwight Gooden's Major League Baseball debut on April 7. Johnson also helped bring the Mets back in contention, producing their first winning season since 1976. Off-season acquisition Sid Fernandez made his debut with the Mets on July 16, going seven innings against the Houston Astros at the Astrodome, and earning the victory.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions May 9, 1984: Released Craig Swan. June 4, 1984: 1984 Major League Baseball draft Shawn Abner was drafted by the Mets in the 1st round (1st pick).Shawn Abner at Baseball Reference Mauro Gozzo was drafted by the Mets in the 13th round.Mauro Gozzo at Baseball Reference June 15, 1984: Acquired Bruce Berenyi from the Cincinnati Reds for Jay Tibbs, Eddie Williams and Matts Bullinger. June 22, 1984: Released Mike Torrez.Mike Torrez at Baseball Reference July 10, 1984: Heathcliff Slocumb was signed by the Mets as an amateur free agent.Heathcliff Slocumb at Baseball Reference August 28, 1984: The Mets traded players to be named later to the Houston Astros for Ray Knight. The Mets completed the deal by sending Gerald Young and Manuel Lee to the Astros on August 31 and Mitch Cook (minors) to the Astros on September 10.Ray Knight at Baseball Reference August 28, 1984: Jeff Gardner was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets.Jeff Gardner at Baseball Reference September 30, 1984: Jerry Martin was released by the New York Mets.

Opening Day starters Wally Backman Hubie Brooks George Foster John Gibbons Keith Hernandez Jose Oquendo Darryl Strawberry Mike Torrez Mookie Wilson

Roster 1984 New York Mets Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Game log LegendMets WinMets LossGame PostponedBold = Mets team member

Regular season

|- style="background:#bbcaff;" | – || July 10 || ||colspan=10 |1984 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Candlestick Park in San Francisco

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 112 360 87 .242 2 33 1B 154 550 171 .311 15 94 2B 128 436 122 .280 1 26 SS 74 207 51 .246 1 10 3B 153 561 159 .283 16 73 LF 146 553 149 .269 24 86 CF 154 587 162 .276 10 54 RF 147 522 131 .251 26 97

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 99 199 46 .231 1 12 75 197 57 .289 3 23 81 189 42 .222 0 10 51 152 42 .276 1 12 64 106 22 .208 1 11 27 93 26 .280 1 6 51 91 14 .154 3 5 40 91 18 .198 0 11 78 72 19 .264 1 18 10 31 2 .065 0 1 14 27 11 .407 0 5 8 17 3 .176 0 1 7 14 3 .214 0 1 5 11 3 .273 0 3 5 10 1 .100 0 0 17 10 1 .100 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 31 218.0 17 9 2.60 276 33 215.0 11 12 3.52 114 33 205.2 12 9 3.81 136 19 115.0 9 6 3.76 81 15 90.0 6 6 3.50 62 9 37.2 1 5 5.02 16

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 40 124.0 9 8 4.50 62 20 53.2 3 3 4.02 29 5 17.1 0 2 5.71 16

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 60 10 6 31 2.59 85 50 1 3 15 2.09 32 47 3 2 1 3.63 42 36 6 0 0 2.97 40 21 1 1 1 6.39 19 11 0 0 0 9.19 8 10 1 0 0 8.20 10

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Jackson, Lynchburg, Little Falls

Awards and honors Mike Fitzgerald, Topps All-Star Rookie Teams Dwight Gooden, Rookie of the Year & Topps All-Star Rookie Team Keith Hernandez, Gold Glove & Silver Slugger All-Star Game Dwight Gooden, pitcher Jesse Orosco, pitcher Darryl Strawberry, outfielder

Notes

References

1984 New York Mets at Baseball Reference 1984 New York Mets at Baseball Almanac