1976 New York Mets season

Major League Baseball team season

1976 New York Mets

League| National League
Division| East
Ballpark| Shea Stadium
City| New York City
Record| 86–76 (.531)
Owners| Charles Shipman Payson
General managers| Joe McDonald
Managers| Joe Frazier
Television| WOR-TV
Radio| WNEW
(Ralph Kiner, Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy)
| ← 1975 | Seasons | 1977 →

|
|

The 1976 New York Mets season was the 15th regular season for the Mets, who played home games at Shea Stadium. Led by manager Joe Frazier, the team had an 86–76 record and finished in third place in the National League East, fifteen games behind the first place Philadelphia Phillies.

## Offseason

[edit]

On December 6, Mrs. Lorinda de Roulet, daughter of the late Joan Payson, was named president of the Mets. The critical decisions, however, were still made by board chairman M. Donald Grant and General Manager Joe McDonald.

### Notable transactions

[edit]

* December 3, 1975: Kelvin Chapman was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets.[1]
* December 12, 1975: Rusty Staub and Bill Laxton were traded by the Mets to the Detroit Tigers for Mickey Lolich and Billy Baldwin.[2]
* January 7, 1976: 1976 Major League Baseball draft
* Greg Harris was drafted by the Mets in the 7th round, but did not sign.[3]
* Kim Seaman was drafted by the Mets in the 4th round of the Secondary Phase.[4]
* March 5, 1976: Mario Ramírez was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets.[5]
* March 30, 1976: Jesús Alou was released by the Mets.[6]

## Regular season

[edit]

### Season Summary

[edit]

On September 16, before a small crowd of 5,472 at Shea Stadium, Jerry Koosman overcame a home run by future Mets player Keith Hernandez to pitch a complete game and win his 20th game of the season for the first time in his career in a 4–1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. He became the second pitcher in Mets history to win 20 games.

### Season standings

[edit]

* v
* t
* e

NL East Team  | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road

|
|
|
|
|
|

Philadelphia Phillies | 101 | 61  | .623  | —  | 53‍–‍28  | 48‍–‍33
Pittsburgh Pirates | 92 | 70  | .568  | 9  | 47‍–‍34  | 45‍–‍36
New York Mets | 86 | 76  | .531  | 15  | 45‍–‍37  | 41‍–‍39
Chicago Cubs | 75 | 87  | .463  | 26  | 42‍–‍39  | 33‍–‍48
St. Louis Cardinals | 72 | 90  | .444  | 29  | 37‍–‍44  | 35‍–‍46
Montreal Expos | 55 | 107  | .340  | 46  | 27‍–‍53  | 28‍–‍54

### Record vs. opponents

[edit]

1976 National League record

* v
* t
* e

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

Team  | ATL  | CHC  | CIN  | HOU  | LAD  | MTL  | NYM  | PHI  | PIT  | SD  | SF  | STL
Atlanta | — | 6–6 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 8–10 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 4–8
Chicago | 6–6 | — | 3–9 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 11–7 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 12–6
Cincinnati | 12–6 | 9–3 | — | 12–6 | 13–5 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 6–6
Houston | 11–7 | 7–5 | 6–12 | — | 5–13 | 10–2 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 2–10 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 9–3
Los Angeles | 10–8 | 9–3 | 5–13 | 13–5 | — | 10–2 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 9–3 | 6–12 | 8–10 | 10–2
Montreal | 4–8 | 7–11 | 3–9 | 2–10 | 2–10 | — | 8–10 | 3–15 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 7–11
New York | 8–4 | 13–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 10–8 | — | 5–13 | 10–8 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 9–9
Philadelphia | 7-5 | 10–8 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 15–3 | 13–5 | — | 8–10 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 12–6
Pittsburgh | 9–3 | 10–8 | 4–8 | 10–2 | 3–9 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 10–8 | — | 7–5 | 9–3 | 12–6
San Diego | 8–10 | 6–6 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 12–6 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — | 8–10 | 4–8
San Francisco | 9–9 | 4–8 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 3–9 | 10–8 | — | 5–7
St. Louis | 8–4 | 6–12 | 6–6 | 3–9 | 2–10 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 6–12 | 8–4 | 7–5 | —

### Notable transactions

[edit]

* June 8, 1976: Dave Von Ohlen was drafted by the Mets in the 17th round of the 1976 Major League Baseball draft.[7]
* July 21, 1976: Del Unser and Wayne Garrett were traded by the Mets to the Montreal Expos for Jim Dwyer and Pepe Mangual.[8]
* September 17, 1976: Greg Harris was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets.[3]

### Roster

[edit]

1976 New York Mets

Roster
Pitchers

* 34 Bob Apodaca
* 45 Rick Baldwin
* 39 Nino Espinosa
* 19 Tom Hall
* 36 Jerry Koosman
* 38 Skip Lockwood
* 29 Mickey Lolich
* 32 Jon Matlack
* 44 Bob Myrick
* 33 Ken Sanders
* 41 Tom Seaver
* 27 Craig Swan
* 30 Hank Webb

|  | Catchers

* 15 Jerry Grote
* 42 Ron Hodges
* 22 Jay Kleven
* 16 John Stearns

Infielders

*  1 Leo Foster
* 11 Wayne Garrett
*  3 Bud Harrelson
* 12 Jack Heidemann
*  7 Ed Kranepool
* 17 Félix Millán
*  5 Mike Phillips
*  2 Roy Staiger
*  9 Joe Torre

|  | Outfielders

* 18 Benny Ayala
* 21 Billy Baldwin
*  4 Bruce Boisclair
* 23 Leon Brown
* 25 Jim Dwyer
* 26 Dave Kingman
* 11 Pepe Mangual
* 12 Lee Mazzilli
* 28 John Milner
* 25 Del Unser
*  6 Mike Vail

|  | Manager

* 55 Joe Frazier

Coaches

* 24 Willie Mays
* 51 Roy McMillan
* 52 Joe Pignatano
* 54 Rube Walker
* 53 Eddie Yost

## Player stats

[edit]

### Batting

[edit]

#### Starters by position

[edit]

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 | Jerry Grote | 101 | 323 | 88 | .272 | 4 | 28
1B | Ed Kranepool | 123 | 415 | 121 | .292 | 10 | 49
2B | Félix Millán | 139 | 531 | 150 | .282 | 1 | 35
SS | Bud Harrelson | 118 | 359 | 84 | .234 | 1 | 26
3B | Roy Staiger | 95 | 304 | 67 | .220 | 2 | 26
LF | John Milner | 127 | 443 | 120 | .271 | 15 | 78
CF | Del Unser | 77 | 276 | 63 | .228 | 5 | 25
RF | Dave Kingman | 123 | 474 | 113 | .238 | 37 | 86

#### Other batters

[edit]

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

|
|
|
|
|
|

Joe Torre | 114 | 310 | 95 | .306 | 5 | 31
Bruce Boisclair | 110 | 286 | 82 | .287 | 2 | 13
Mike Phillips | 87 | 262 | 67 | .256 | 4 | 29
Wayne Garrett | 80 | 251 | 56 | .223 | 4 | 26
Ron Hodges | 56 | 155 | 35 | .226 | 4 | 24
Mike Vail | 53 | 143 | 31 | .217 | 0 | 9
John Stearns | 32 | 103 | 27 | .262 | 2 | 10
Pepe Mangual | 41 | 102 | 19 | .186 | 1 | 9
Lee Mazzilli | 24 | 77 | 15 | .195 | 2 | 7
Leon Brown | 64 | 70 | 15 | .214 | 0 | 2
Leo Foster | 24 | 59 | 12 | .203 | 1 | 15
Benny Ayala | 22 | 26 | 3 | .115 | 1 | 2
Billy Baldwin | 9 | 22 | 6 | .273 | 1 | 5
Jim Dwyer | 11 | 13 | 2 | .154 | 0 | 0
Jack Heidemann | 5 | 12 | 1 | .083 | 0 | 0
Jay Kleven | 2 | 5 | 1 | .200 | 0 | 2

### Pitching

[edit]

#### Starting pitchers

[edit]

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 | 35 | 271.0 | 14 | 11 | 2.59 | 235
Jon Matlack | 35 | 262.0 | 17 | 10 | 2.95 | 153
Jerry Koosman | 34 | 247.1 | 21 | 10 | 2.69 | 200
Mickey Lolich | 31 | 192.2 | 8 | 13 | 3.22 | 120
Craig Swan | 23 | 132.1 | 6 | 9 | 3.54 | 89

#### Other pitchers

[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player  | G  | IP  | W  | L  | ERA  | SO

|
|
|
|
|
|

Nino Espinosa | 12 | 41.2 | 4 | 4 | 3.67 | 30

#### Relief pitchers

[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player  | G  | IP  | W  | L  | SV  | ERA  | SO

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Skip Lockwood | 56 | 94.1 | 10 | 7 | 19 | 2.67 | 108
Bob Apodaca | 43 | 89.2 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 2.81 | 45
Ken Sanders | 31 | 47.0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2.87 | 16
Bob Myrick | 21 | 27.2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.25 | 11
Rick Baldwin | 11 | 22.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.38 | 9
Hank Webb | 8 | 16.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.50 | 7
Tom Hall | 5 | 4.2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5.79 | 2

## Farm system

[edit]

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level  | Team  | League  | Manager

|
|
|

AAA | Tidewater Tides | International League | Tom Burgess
AA | Jackson Mets | Texas League | John Antonelli
A | Lynchburg Mets | Carolina League | Jack Aker
A | Wausau Mets | Midwest League | Bill Monbouquette
Rookie | Marion Mets | Appalachian League | Al Jackson

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Kelvin Chapman at Baseball Reference
2. ^ Rusty Staub at Baseball Reference
3. ^ a b Greg Harris at Baseball Reference
4. ^ Kim Seaman at Baseball Reference
5. ^ Mario Ramirez at Baseball Reference
6. ^ Jesús Alou at Baseball Reference
7. ^ Dave Von Ohlen at Baseball Reference
8. ^ Del Unser at Baseball Reference

## References

[edit]

* 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.

## External links

[edit]

* 1976 New York Mets at Baseball Reference
* 1976 New York Mets at Baseball Almanac

* v
* t
* e

1976 MLB season by team

| AL East|

* Baltimore
* Boston
* Cleveland
* Detroit
* Milwaukee
* New York

|

AL West|

* California
* Chicago
* Kansas City
* Minnesota
* Oakland
* Texas

| NL East|

* Chicago
* Montréal
* New York
* Philadelphia
* Pittsburgh
* St. Louis

|

NL West|

* Atlanta
* Cincinnati
* Houston
* Los Angeles
* San Diego
* San Francisco

* 1976 MLB draft
* 1976 All-Star Game
* 1976 World Series

* v
* t
* e

New York Mets

* Established in 1962
* Based in Queens, New York

Franchise|

* History
* Brooklyn Dodgers
* New York Giants
* New York Metropolitans
* 1962 expansion
* expansion draft
* Seasons
* Records
* No-hitters
* Award winners and League leaders
* Players
* Hall of Fame
* Managers
* Coaches
* Owners and executives
* Broadcasters
* Kiner's Korner
* Radio network
* SportsNet New York
* Opening Day starting pitchers
* First-round draft picks
* Logos and uniforms

Ballparks|

* Polo Grounds
* Shea Stadium
* Citi Field

Spring training
Al Lang Stadium
Clover Park

Culture|

* Continental League
* Mr. Met
* Mrs. Met
* "Ya Gotta Believe!"
* Grant's Tomb
* Home Run Apple
* Generation K
* Sidd Finch
* The 7 Line Army
* Spider-Man's wedding (live performance)
* Rheingold Brewery
* Statue of Tom Seaver

| Books|

* Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?
* Sometimes You See It Coming

|

Movies|

* Game 6
* Frequency
* Mathematically Alive
* The Odd Couple

Music|

* "Let's Go Mets Go"
* "Lazy Mary"
* "Meet the Mets"
* "Narco"
* "New York Groove"
* "Ode to the Mets"
* "OMG"

TV show episodes|

* "The Boyfriend" (Seinfeld episode)
* "A Leela of Her Own" (Futurama episode)

Notable figures|

* Alex Anthony
* Jane Jarvis
* George Kalinsky
* Michael Sergio
* Sign Man
* Cow-Bell Man
* Grimace

Lore|

* 2018 MLB Little League Classic
* Miracle Mets
* Bill Buckner's 1986 World Series error
* Grand Slam Single
* MLB Puerto Rico Series
* Rick Camp Game

Rivalries|

* Atlanta Braves
* New York Yankees
* Subway Series
* 2000 World Series
* Philadelphia Phillies

Key personnel|

* Owner: Steve Cohen
* President of Baseball Operations: David Stearns
* General manager: Vacant
* Manager: Carlos Mendoza

World Series
championships (2)|

* 1969
* 1986

National League
pennants (5)|

* 1969
* 1973
* 1986
* 2000
* 2015

Division titles (6)|

* 1969
* 1973
* 1986
* 1988
* 2006
* 2015

Wild Card (5)|

* 1999 (tie-breaker game)
* 2000
* 2016
* 2022
* 2024

Minor league affiliates|

* Triple-A: Syracuse Mets
* Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies
* High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones
* Single-A: St. Lucie Mets
* Rookie: FCL Mets
* DSL Mets Blue
* DSL Mets Orange
* Player overview

Seasons (65)

1960s|

* 1960 · 1961 ·  1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969

1970s|

* 1970
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* 1972
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* 1975
* 1976
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* 1980
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1990s|

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