1974 New York Mets season

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. This was the first time the Mets had a losing season since 1968.

1974 New York Mets
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1962)
Eastern Division (since 1969)
Location
Shea Stadium (since 1964) New York (since 1962)
Other information
Owner(s)	Joan Whitney Payson
General manager(s)	Bob Scheffing
Manager(s)	Yogi Berra
Local television	WOR-TV
Local radio	WHN (Ralph Kiner, Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy)
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Offseason

• March 26, 1974: Buzz Capra was purchased from the Mets by the Atlanta Braves.[1]

Regular season

Season standings

NL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Pittsburgh Pirates	88	74	0.543	—	52–29	36–45
St. Louis Cardinals	86	75	0.534	1½	44–37	42–38
Philadelphia Phillies	80	82	0.494	8	46–35	34–47
Montreal Expos	79	82	0.491	8½	42–38	37–44
New York Mets	71	91	0.438	17	36–45	35–46
Chicago Cubs	66	96	0.407	22	32–49	34–47

Record vs. opponents

1974 National League Records Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	4–8	7–11–1	6–12	8–10	9–3	8–4	8–4	4–8	17–1	8–10	9–3
Chicago	8–4	—	5–7	4–8	2–10	5–13	8–10	8–10	9–9	6–6	6–6	5–13
Cincinnati	11–7–1	7–5	—	14–4	6–12	6–6	9–3	8–4	8–4	12–6	11–7	6–6
Houston	12–6	8–4	4–14	—	5–13	6–6	6–6	6–6	5–7	7–11	10–8	8–4
Los Angeles	10–8	10–2	12–6	13–5	—	8–4	5–7	6–6	4–8	16–2	12–6	6–6
Montreal	3–9	13–5	6–6	6–6	4–8	—	9–9	11–7	9–9	6–6	4–8	8–9
New York	4–8	10–8	3–9	6–6	7–5	9–9	—	7–11	7–11	6–6	6–6	6–12
Philadelphia	4-8	10–8	4–8	6–6	6–6	7–11	11–7	—	10–8	5–7	8–4	9–9
Pittsburgh	8–4	9–9	4–8	7–5	8–4	9–9	11–7	8–10	—	9–3	8–4	7–11
San Diego	1–17	6–6	6–12	7–11	2–16	6–6	6–6	7–5	3–9	—	11–7	5–7
San Francisco	10–8	6–6	7–11	8–10	6–12	8–4	6–6	4–8	4–8	7–11	—	6–6
St. Louis	3–9	13–5	6–6	4–8	6–6	9–8	12–6	9–9	11–7	7–5	6–6	—

Opening Day starters

• Wayne Garrett
• Jerry Grote
• Don Hahn
• Bud Harrelson
• Cleon Jones
• Jerry Koosman
• Félix Millán
• John Milner
• Rusty Staub[2]

Notable transactions

• June 5, 1974: Bob Myrick was drafted by the Mets in the 20th round of the 1974 Major League Baseball Draft.[3]

Roster

1974 New York Mets
Roster
Pitchers 22 Jack Aker 34 Bob Apodaca 38 Jerry Cram 48 Nino Espinosa 36 Jerry Koosman 32 Jon Matlack 45 Tug McGraw 30 Bob Miller 31 Harry Parker 33 Ray Sadecki 41 Tom Seaver 35 Randy Sterling 40 George Stone 39 John Strohmayer 27 Craig Swan 29 Hank Webb		Catchers 10 Duffy Dyer 15 Jerry Grote 20 Ike Hampton 42 Ron Hodges Infielders 12 Ken Boswell 11 Wayne Garrett  3 Bud Harrelson 23 Ted Martínez 17 Félix Millán 28 John Milner  2 Brock Pemberton  6 Rich Puig  9 George Theodore		Outfielders 18 Benny Ayala 26 Bruce Boisclair 19 Jim Gosger 25 Don Hahn 21 Cleon Jones  7 Ed Kranepool 16 Dave Schneck  4 Rusty Staub		Manager  8 Yogi Berra Coaches 51 Roy McMillan 52 Joe Pignatano 54 Rube Walker 53 Eddie Yost

Player stats

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
2B	Félix Millán	136	518	139	.268	1	33
3B	Wayne Garrett	151	522	117	.224	13	53
RF	Rusty Staub	161	561	145	.258	19	78
LF	Cleon Jones	124	461	130	.282	13	60
1B	John Milner	137	507	128	.252	20	63
C	Jerry Grote	97	319	82	.257	5	36
CF	Don Hahn	110	323	81	.251	4	28
SS	Bud Harrelson	106	331	75	.227	1	13

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
1B	Ed Kranepool	94	217	65	.300	4	24
SS-OF	Ted Martinez	116	334	73	.219	2	43
2B-3B	Ken Boswell	96	222	48	.216	2	15
C	Duffy Dyer	63	142	30	.211	0	10
C	Ron Hodges	59	136	30	.221	4	14
OF	Dave Schneck	93	254	52	.205	5	25
LF-PH	George Theodore	60	76	12	.158	1	1
OF-PH	Benny Ayala	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

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
Tom Seaver	32	232.0	11	11	3.20	201
Jerry Koosman	35	265.0	15	11	3.36	188
Jon Matlack	34	265.1	13	15	2.41	195
George Stone	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	4	12	3.92	58
Ray Sadecki	34	103.0	8	8	3.41	46
Bob Apodaca	35	103.0	6	6	3.50	54
Craig Swan	7	30.1	1	3	4.45	10
Hank Webb	3	10	0	2	7.20	8
Randy Sterling	3	9.1	1	1	4.82	2
Nino Espinosa	2	9	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
Jack Aker	24	2	1	2	3.48	18	41.1
Tug McGraw	41	6	11	3	4.16	54	88.2
Bob Miller	58	2	2	2	3.58	35	78.0
Jerry Cram	10	0	1	3	1.61	8	22.1
John Strohmayer	1	0	0	0	0.00	0	1.0

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Tidewater Tides	International League	John Antonelli
AA	Victoria Toros	Texas League	Joe Frazier
A	Visalia Mets	California League	Nolan Campbell
A	Anderson Mets	Western Carolinas League	Owen Friend
A-Short Season	Batavia Trojans	New York–Penn League	Wilbur Huckle
Rookie	Marion Mets	Appalachian League	Chuck Hiller

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Victoria

Notes

1. Buzz Capra page at Baseball Reference
2. http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1974&t=NYN
3. Bob Myrick page at Baseball Reference

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
• 1974 New York Mets
• 1974 New York Mets team page at www.baseball-almanac.com

External links

• New York Mets 1974 schedule at MLB.com