The New York Mets are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Flushing, Queens, in New York City. They play in the National League East division. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season, though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day. The New York Mets have used 27 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 59 seasons. The 27 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 29 wins, 13 losses (29–13) and 17 no decisions. No decisions are only awarded to the starting pitcher if the game is won or lost after the starting pitcher has left the game.
Tom Seaver holds the Mets' record for most Opening Day starts with 11, and has an Opening Day record of 6–0. He also has the most starts in Shea Stadium, the Mets' home ballpark from 1964 through 2008. Seaver and Dwight Gooden hold the Mets' record for most Opening Day wins with six each. Al Jackson and Roger Craig share the worst winning percentage as the Opening Day starting pitcher with a record of 0–2.
From 1968 through 1983, Mets' Opening Day starting pitchers went 16 consecutive years without a loss. During this period, Tom Seaver won six starts with five no decisions, Craig Swan won two starts, and Jerry Koosman, Pat Zachry and Randy Jones won one start apiece. Furthermore, in the 31-year period from 1968 through 1998, Mets' Opening Day starting pitchers only lost two games. During that period, they won 19 games with 10 no decisions. The only losses during this period were by Mike Torrez in 1984 and by Dwight Gooden in 1990.
Overall, Mets Opening Day starting pitchers have a record of 0–1 at the Polo Grounds, a 12–5 record with five no decisions at Shea Stadium and a 3–0 record with three no decisions at Citi Field. In addition, although the Mets were nominally the home team in 2000, the game was played in Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. Mike Hampton started the game in Tokyo and lost, making the Mets' Opening Day starting pitchers' combined home record 15–7, and their away record 14–6. The Mets went on to play in the World Series in 1969, 1973, 1986, 2000 and 2015, and won the 1969 and 1986 World Series championship games. Tom Seaver (1969 and 1973), Dwight Gooden (1986), Mike Hampton (2000) and Bartolo Colón (2015) were the Opening Day starting pitchers when the Mets played in the World Series, and they had a combined Opening Day record of 3–1 with one no decision.
Key
SeasonEach year is linked to an article about that particular Mets season.WWinLLossND (W)No decision by starting pitcher; Mets won gameND (L)No decision by starting pitcher; Mets lost gameLocationStadium in italics for home gamePitcher Number of appearances as Opening Day starter with the Mets*Advanced to the post-season**NL Champions†World Series Champions
Pitchers
SeasonPitcherDecisionOpponentLocationRef(s)1962LSt. Louis CardinalsSportsman's Park1963 LSt. Louis CardinalsPolo Grounds1964LPhiladelphia PhilliesConnie Mack Stadium1965 LLos Angeles DodgersShea Stadium1966LAtlanta BravesShea Stadium1967LPittsburgh PiratesShea Stadium1968ND (L)San Francisco GiantsCandlestick Park1969† ND (L)Montreal ExposShea Stadium1970 ND (W)Pittsburgh PiratesForbes Field1971 WMontreal ExposShea Stadium1972 WPittsburgh PiratesShea Stadium1973** WPhiladelphia PhilliesShea Stadium1974 ND (L)Philadelphia PhilliesVeterans Stadium1975 WPhiladelphia PhilliesShea Stadium1976 WMontreal ExposJarry Park Stadium1977 WChicago CubsWrigley Field1978WMontreal ExposShea Stadium1979WChicago CubsWrigley Field1980 WChicago CubsShea Stadium1981WChicago CubsWrigley Field1982WPhiladelphia PhilliesVeterans Stadium1983 ND (W)Philadelphia PhilliesShea Stadium1984LCincinnati RedsRiverfront Stadium1985ND (W)St. Louis CardinalsShea Stadium1986† WPittsburgh PiratesThree Rivers Stadium1987WPittsburgh PiratesShea Stadium1988* WMontreal ExposOlympic Stadium1989 WSt. Louis CardinalsShea Stadium1990 LPittsburgh PiratesShea Stadium1991 WPhiladelphia PhilliesShea Stadium1992ND (W)St. Louis CardinalsBusch Memorial Stadium1993 WColorado RockiesShea Stadium1994 WChicago CubsWrigley Field1995ND (L)Colorado RockiesCoors Field1996 ND (W)St. Louis CardinalsShea Stadium1997ND (L)San Diego PadresQualcomm Stadium1998 ND (W)Philadelphia PhilliesShea Stadium1999*LFlorida MarlinsPro Player Stadium2000**LChicago CubsTokyo Dome2001 ND (W)Atlanta BravesTurner Field2002 WPittsburgh PiratesShea Stadium2003LChicago CubsShea Stadium2004 WAtlanta BravesTurner Field2005ND (L)Cincinnati RedsGreat American Ball Park2006* WWashington NationalsShea Stadium2007 WSt. Louis CardinalsBusch Stadium2008WFlorida MarlinsDolphin Stadium2009 WCincinnati RedsGreat American Ball Park2010 WFlorida MarlinsCiti Field2011 LFlorida MarlinsSun Life Stadium2012 ND (W)Atlanta BravesCiti Field2013 WSan Diego PadresCiti Field2014 ND (L)Washington NationalsCiti Field2015** WWashington NationalsNationals Park2016* LKansas City RoyalsKauffman Stadium 2017Noah Syndergaard ND (W)Atlanta BravesCiti Field 2018Noah Syndergaard WSt. Louis CardinalsCiti Field 2019Jacob deGrom WWashington NationalsNationals Park 2020Jacob deGrom ND (W)Atlanta BravesCiti Field 2021Jacob deGrom ND (L)Philadelphia PhilliesCitizens Bank Park2022*WWashington NationalsNationals Park2023 WMiami MarlinsLoanDepot Park 2024* LMilwaukee BrewersCiti Field 2025 LHouston AstrosDaikin Park 2026 WPittsburgh PiratesCiti Field
References General
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