1962 New York Mets season
The 1962 New York Mets season was the first regular season for the Mets, as the National League returned to New York City for the first time since 1957. They went 40–120 and finished tenth and last in the National League, games behind the NL Champion San Francisco Giants, who once called New York home. The Mets were the latest team to be 60+ games behind in a division before the 2018 Baltimore Orioles finished 61 games behind the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox. The Mets' 120 losses are the most by any MLB team in one season since the 1899 Cleveland Spiders. Since then, the 2003 Detroit Tigers and 2018 Orioles have come the closest to matching this mark, at 43–119, and 47-115, respectively. The Mets' starting pitchers also recorded a new major league low of just 23 wins all season.
The team lost its first game 11–4 to the St. Louis Cardinals on April 11, and went on to lose its first nine games. Having repaired their record to 12–19 on May 20 after sweeping a doubleheader against the Milwaukee Braves, the Mets lost their next 17 games. They also lost 11 straight from July 15 to July 26, and 13 straight from August 9 to August 21. Their longest winning streak of the season was three.
The Mets were managed by Casey Stengel and played their home games at the Polo Grounds, which was their temporary home while Shea Stadium was being built in Queens. They remain infamous for their ineptitude and were one of the worst teams in Major League Baseball history. Their team batting average, team earned run average, and team fielding percentage were all the worst in the major leagues that season.
Despite the team's terrible performance, fans came out in droves. Their season attendance of 922,530 was good enough for 6th in the National League that year.
The season was chronicled in Jimmy Breslin's humorous best-selling book Can't Anybody Here Play This Game? The title came from a remark made by manager Casey Stengel expressing his frustration over the team's poor play.
Offseason
- July 20, 1961: Paul Blair was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets.
- October 16, 1961: Billy Loes was purchased by the Mets from the San Francisco Giants.
- November 28, 1961: The Mets traded a player to be named later and cash to the Milwaukee Braves for Frank Thomas and a player to be named later. The deal was completed on May 21, 1962, when the Mets sent Gus Bell to the Braves, and the Braves sent Rick Herrscher to the Mets.
- January 30, 1962: Joe Ginsberg was signed as a free agent by the Mets.
- March 2, 1962: Billy Loes was returned by the Mets to the San Francisco Giants.
Expansion draft
- Craig Anderson, pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals
- Gus Bell, outfielder, Cincinnati Reds
- Ed Bouchee, infielder, Chicago Cubs
- Chris Cannizzaro, catcher, St. Louis Cardinals
- Elio Chacón, infielder, Cincinnati Reds
- Joe Christopher, outfielder, Pittsburgh Pirates
- Choo-Choo Coleman, catcher, Philadelphia Phillies
- Roger Craig, pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers
- Ray Daviault, pitcher, San Francisco Giants
- John DeMerit, outfielder, Milwaukee Braves
- Sammy Drake, infielder, Chicago Cubs
- Jim Hickman, outfielder, St. Louis Cardinals
- Gil Hodges, infielder, Los Angeles Dodgers
- Jay Hook, pitcher, Cincinnati Reds
- Al Jackson, pitcher, Pittsburgh Pirates
- Sherman Jones, pitcher, Cincinnati Reds
- Hobie Landrith, catcher, San Francisco Giants
- Félix Mantilla, infielder, Milwaukee Braves
- Bob L. Miller, pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals
- Bobby Gene Smith, outfielder, Philadelphia Phillies
- Lee Walls, infielder/outfielder, Philadelphia Phillies
- Don Zimmer, infielder, Chicago Cubs
1961 minor league affiliates
Regular season
Season standings
Opening Day lineup
The first game in franchise history was played on the road, at Busch Stadium, St. Louis, on Wednesday night, April 11, 1962. The Mets fell behind 2-0 and 5–2 early, then narrowed the deficit to one run, but ultimately lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 11–4. Former Brooklyn Dodgers Gil Hodges and Charlie Neal homered for the Mets, whose home opener at New York's Polo Grounds would wait until their second-ever official game, on Friday, April 13, 1962.Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions
- April 26, 1962: Harry Chiti was purchased by the Mets from the Cleveland Indians.
- April 26, 1962: Bob Smith was traded by the Mets to the Chicago Cubs for Sammy Taylor.
- May 1, 1962: Joe Ginsberg was released by the Mets.
- May 7, 1962: Don Zimmer was traded by the Mets to the Cincinnati Reds for Bob G. Miller and Cliff Cook.
- May 7, 1962: Jim Marshall was traded by the Mets to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Vinegar Bend Mizell.
- May 9, 1962: Marv Throneberry was sold by the Baltimore Orioles to the New York Mets.
- June 7, 1962 The New York Mets sell Hobie Landrith to the Orioles.
- June 15, 1962: Harry Chiti was returned by the Mets to the Cleveland Indians by the New York Mets.
- June 27, 1962: Ed Kranepool was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets.
- August 4, 1962: Vinegar Bend Mizell was released by the Mets.
- September 7, 1962: Galen Cisco was selected off waivers by the Mets from the Boston Red Sox.
Roster
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 | 59 | 133 | 32 | .241 | 0 | 9 | |
| 1B | 116 | 357 | 87 | .244 | 16 | 49 | |
| 2B | 136 | 508 | 132 | .260 | 11 | 58 | |
| 3B | 141 | 466 | 128 | .275 | 11 | 59 | |
| SS | 118 | 368 | 87 | .236 | 2 | 27 | |
| LF | 156 | 571 | 152 | .266 | 34 | 94 | |
| CF | 140 | 392 | 96 | .245 | 13 | 46 | |
| RF | 119 | 271 | 66 | .244 | 6 | 32 |
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 |
| 135 | 389 | 119 | .306 | 7 | 28 | |
| 133 | 351 | 87 | .248 | 4 | 27 | |
| 81 | 190 | 52 | .274 | 5 | 24 | |
| 68 | 158 | 35 | .222 | 3 | 20 | |
| 55 | 152 | 38 | .250 | 6 | 17 | |
| 54 | 127 | 32 | .252 | 9 | 17 | |
| 40 | 112 | 26 | .232 | 2 | 9 | |
| 30 | 101 | 15 | .149 | 1 | 6 | |
| 50 | 87 | 14 | .161 | 3 | 10 | |
| 27 | 56 | 13 | .232 | 0 | 2 | |
| 25 | 52 | 10 | .192 | 0 | 7 | |
| 14 | 52 | 4 | .077 | 0 | 1 | |
| 35 | 50 | 11 | .220 | 1 | 6 | |
| 23 | 45 | 13 | .289 | 1 | 7 | |
| 15 | 41 | 8 | .195 | 0 | 0 | |
| 17 | 32 | 11 | .344 | 3 | 4 | |
| 8 | 22 | 3 | .136 | 0 | 2 | |
| 14 | 16 | 3 | .188 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | 6 | 1 | .167 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2 | 5 | 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 |
| 37 | 213.2 | 8 | 19 | 4.84 | 113 | |
| 42 | 233.1 | 10 | 24 | 4.51 | 118 | |
| 36 | 231.1 | 8 | 20 | 4.40 | 118 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| 33 | 143.2 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 4.89 | 91 | |
| 50 | 131.1 | 3 | 17 | 4 | 5.35 | 62 | |
| 38 | 105.1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4.53 | 63 | |
| 27 | 63 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 5.57 | 40 | |
| 8 | 23.1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7.71 | 11 | |
| 4 | 19.1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.26 | 13 | |
| 5 | 11.2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.63 | 3 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| 36 | 81 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6.22 | 51 | |
| 42 | 80 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 4.95 | 51 | |
| 17 | 38 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7.34 | 15 | |
| 17 | 20.1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7.08 | 8 | |
| 13 | 16.2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6.32 | 8 | |
| 7 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7.20 | 5 | |
| 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.25 | 2 |
Awards and honors
League top five finishers
Richie Ashburn- #3 in NL in bases on balls
- MLB leader in losses
- #2 in NL in home runs allowed
- #3 in NL in earned runs allowed
- #4 in NL in earned runs allowed
- #4 in NL in home runs allowed
- #2 in NL in losses
Farm system
1962 minor league affiliates
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: AuburnSyracuse affiliation shared with Washington Senators