The 1977 New York Mets season was the 16th regular season for the Mets, who played home games at Shea Stadium. Initially led by manager Joe Frazier followed by Joe Torre, the team posted a 64–98 record and finished in last place for the first time since 1967, and for the first time since divisional play was introduced in 1969.

Offseason March 30, 1977: Benny Ayala was traded by the Mets to the St. Louis Cardinals for Doug Clarey.Benny Ayala at Baseball-Reference

Regular season The 1977 Mets had some promising new players in outfielder Lee Mazzilli and catcher John Stearns, but there was not enough stock in the lineup. The once powerful pitching staff had also taken on a leaner look. By midseason, ace Tom Seaver had been traded, Jerry Koosman was on the way to going 8–20 and Jon Matlack (who would be traded in December) finished 7–15.

Managerial change On May 30, after being swept in a doubleheader by the Montreal Expos, the Mets' record fell to 15–30, and Frazier was fired as manager of the Mets. Mets first baseman Joe Torre assumed the role of player-manager, leading his team to a 49–68 record the remainder of the way. The team finished 37 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East, narrowly avoiding a 100-loss season (64–98).

Torre was the club's eighth manager and in certain respects his appointment reestablished the New York connection of Mets managers. Although he had spent most of his career with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals, Torre had grown up and played his first baseball in Brooklyn. When the thirty-six-year-old Torre retired as a player that June, he left behind a .297 lifetime batting average for his eighteen years in the major leagues, including an MVP season in 1971 when he led the league with a .363 batting average. Torre was an able manager, with a veteran's incisive insights into the game and the ability to handle and motivate players. But in this case, a last-place team was a last-place team no matter how able the manager.

"The Midnight Massacre" Seaver was at odds with Met chairman M. Donald Grant all season due to contract disputes. The conflict came to a head two weeks after Torre took over as manager on June 15, when Grant traded Seaver to the Cincinnati Reds for Pat Zachry, Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson and Dan Norman. Dave Kingman was also traded to the San Diego Padres, in return for Bobby Valentine and minor league pitcher Paul Siebert. Somewhat more quietly that day, the Mets also acquired Joel Youngblood from the St. Louis Cardinals for Mike Phillips. To make room for Youngblood on the Mets' active roster, Torre retired as a player.

From a public-relations perspective, the Seaver and Kingman trades were a disaster. Seaver especially was a hard hit to the fan base. As a member of the 1969 World Champions, he was a symbol of past glory, and was still a highly-effective pitcher. Whatever else they might not have had, they still had as their very own the man generally acclaimed as baseball's premier pitcher. No matter how abrasive the relationship between Seaver and his employers had become, dealing him away was a highly unpopular and much-ridiculed move. Shea Stadium was dubbed "Grant's Tomb" in the New York sports pages.

Grant did acquire some good, young talent for Seaver; Flynn was a second baseman who won the NL Gold Glove award in fielding in 1980, Zachry was co-winner of the NL Rookie of the Year award with Butch Metzger the previous season (coincidentally, they would be teammates on the Mets in 1978), and Henderson would come in second place to the Montreal Expos' Andre Dawson for the Rookie of the Year award in 1977.

Dave Kingman was in the final year of his contract, and would have become a free agent at the end of the season unless the club re-signed him. Additionally, his performance in 1977 had been anything but stellar, as evidenced by his .209 batting average at the time of the trade. However, coming on top of the Seaver banishment, along with the minimal return received for their big bruiser, the Kingman trade only added to the growing disenchantment at Shea Stadium. As a result of the trades, June 15, 1977, would forever be known to Mets' fans as "The Midnight Massacre."

Season highlights May 31 - June 16 - In his first 17 games as manager, Joe Torre's Mets went 12–5, a great start that was compared to the Mets championship run. June 7 - Tom Seaver struck out ten Cincinnati Reds in an 8–0 Mets win. It was the last time Seaver struck out 10 or more batters in a Mets uniform. July 13 - The Mets trailed the Chicago Cubs 2–1 with one out in the sixth inning when the lights at Shea went out as New York City was stricken with a blackout that would last two days. The game was resumed on September 16, with the Cubs winning 5–2. On July 15, when the lights finally went on in New York, the Mets split a doubleheader with the Pittsburgh Pirates. August 21 - Tom Seaver took the mound against the New York Mets for the first time in his career. His Cincinnati Reds defeated the Mets 5–1.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions June 7, 1977: Bud Black was drafted by the Mets in the 2nd round of the secondary phase of the 1977 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign.Bud Black at Baseball Reference June 14, 1977: Jeff Reardon was signed by the Mets as an amateur free agent.Jeff Reardon at Baseball Reference June 15, 1977: Tom Seaver was traded by the Mets to the Cincinnati Reds for Pat Zachry, Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson, and Dan Norman.Tom Seaver at Baseball Reference June 15, 1977: Mike Phillips was traded by the Mets to the St. Louis Cardinals for Joel Youngblood.Joel Youngblood at Baseball Reference June 15, 1977: Dave Kingman was traded by the Mets to the San Diego Padres for Bobby Valentine and Paul Siebert.Paul Siebert at Baseball Reference

Roster 1977 New York Mets Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Manager

Coaches

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 John Stearns 139 431 108 .251 12 55 1B John Milner 131 388 99 .255 12 57 2B Félix Millán 91 314 78 .248 2 21 SS Bud Harrelson 107 269 48 .178 1 12 3B Lenny Randle 136 513 156 .304 5 27 LF 99 350 104 .297 12 65 CF Lee Mazzilli 159 537 134 .250 6 46 RF Mike Vail 108 279 73 .262 8 35

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 Bruce Boisclair 127 307 90 .293 4 44 90 282 54 .191 0 14 Ed Kranepool 108 281 79 .281 10 40 Dave Kingman 58 211 44 .209 9 28 Joel Youngblood 70 182 46 .253 0 11 Roy Staiger 40 123 31 .252 2 11 Ron Hodges 66 117 31 .265 1 5 Jerry Grote 42 115 31 .270 0 7 Mike Phillips 38 86 18 .209 1 3 42 83 11 .133 1 3 36 75 17 .227 0 6 26 51 9 .176 1 9 Luis Rosado 9 24 5 .208 0 3 7 16 4 .250 0 0 Pepe Mangual 8 7 1 .143 0 2 Luis Alvarado 1 2 0 .000 0 0

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 32 226.2 8 20 3.49 192 32 200.0 10 13 3.42 105 Jon Matlack 26 169.0 7 15 4.21 123 Craig Swan 26 146.2 9 10 4.23 71 19 119.2 7 6 3.76 63 13 96.0 7 3 3.00 72 4 24.0 0 2 6.00 13 1 7.0 0 1 3.86 3

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 19 71.2 3 6 4.77 39

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 Skip Lockwood 63 4 8 20 3.38 84 59 4 8 5 3.43 53 44 2 2 2 3.61 49 40 1 2 1 4.45 23 25 2 1 0 3.86 20 Ray Sadecki 4 0 1 0 6.00 0 John Pacella 3 0 0 0 0.00 1

Farm system

Notes

References

External links The New York Mets, The Official 25th Anniversary Book, Donald Honig, 1986 1977 New York Mets at Baseball Reference 1977 New York Mets at Baseball Almanac