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

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day starters Wayne Garrett Jerry Grote Don Hahn Bud Harrelson Cleon Jones Jerry Koosman Félix Millán John Milner Rusty Staub

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 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 97 319 82 .257 5 36 1B 137 507 128 .252 20 63 2B 136 518 139 .268 1 33 SS 106 331 75 .227 1 13 3B 151 522 117 .224 13 53 LF 124 461 130 .282 13 60 CF 110 323 81 .251 4 28 RF 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 116 334 73 .219 2 43 OF 93 254 52 .205 5 25 2B-3B 96 222 48 .216 2 15 1B 94 217 65 .300 4 24 C 63 142 30 .211 0 10 C 59 136 30 .221 4 14 LF-PH 60 76 12 .158 1 1 OF-PH 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 34 265.1 13 15 2.41 195 35 265.0 15 11 3.36 188 32 232.0 11 11 3.20 201 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 35 103.0 6 6 3.50 54 34 103.0 8 8 3.41 46 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 58 2 2 2 3.58 35 78.0 41 6 11 3 4.16 54 88.2 24 2 1 2 3.48 18 41.1 10 0 1 3 1.61 8 22.1 John Strohmayer 1 0 0 0 0.00 0 1.0

Farm system

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

References

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