The 1962

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

season was the first regular season for the Mets, as the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

returned to New York City for the first time since 1957. They went 40–120 (.250) and finished tenth and last in the

, games behind the NL Champion

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

, who had 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 Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

. The Mets' 120 losses are the most by any MLB team in one season since the 1899 Cleveland Spiders (20–134, .130). Since then, the 2003 Detroit Tigers and 2018 Orioles have come the closest to matching this mark, at 43–119 (.265), and 47-115 (.290), respectively. The Mets'

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

s 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 The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

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 Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

, 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 Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and manager, best known as the manager of the championship New York Yankees of the 1950s and later, the expansion New York ...

and played their home games at the

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...

, which was their temporary home while

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

. They remain infamous for their ineptitude and were one of the worst teams in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

history. Their team batting average, team earned run average (ERA), 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 sixth in the National League that year. The season was chronicled in

Jimmy Breslin James Earle Breslin (October 17, 1928 – March 19, 2017) was an American journalist and author. Until the time of his death, he wrote a column for the New York ''Daily News'' Sunday edition.''Current Biography 1942'', pp. 648–51: "Patterson, ...

'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 William Loes (December 13, 1929 – July 15, 2010) was an American right-handed pitcher who spent eleven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1950, 1952–56), Baltimore Orioles (1956–59) and San Franci ...

was purchased by the Mets from the

. * November 28, 1961: The Mets traded a player to be named later and cash to the

for Frank Thomas and a player to be named later. The deal was completed on May 21, 1962, when the Mets sent

Gus Bell David Russell "Gus" Bell Jr. (November 15, 1928 – May 7, 1995) was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1950 through 1964, who played with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets and Milwaukee Braves. He batted ...

to the Braves, and the Braves sent

Rick Herrscher Richard Franklin Herrscher (born November 3, 1936) is an American former professional baseball infielder who appeared in 35 Major League Baseball games for the 1962 New York Mets. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he threw and batted right-handed an ...

to the Mets. * January 30, 1962:

Joe Ginsberg Myron Nathan "Joe" Ginsberg (October 11, 1926 – November 2, 2012) was an American professional baseball player. A catcher, he played for seven Major League Baseball teams: the Detroit Tigers (1948 and 1950–53), Cleveland Indians (1953–54), K ...

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,

, outfielder,

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Ed Bouchee Edward Francis Bouchee (March 7, 1933 – January 23, 2013) was an American professional baseball first baseman. He appeared in Major League Baseball (MLB) for three National League (NL) ballclubs – the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and ...

, infielder,

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

Chris Cannizzaro Christopher John Cannizzaro (May 3, 1938 – December 29, 2016) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1960 to 1974 for the St. Louis Cardinals (1960–61), New York Mets ...

, catcher,

Elio Chacón Elio Chacón Rodríguez (October 26, 1936 – April 24, 1992) was a Major League Baseball second baseman and shortstop who played in the National League from 1960 to 1962. He was the seventh baseball player from Venezuela to play in the major ...

, infielder,

Joe Christopher Joseph O'Neal Christopher (born December 13, 1935) is a former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through . Listed at 5' 10", 175 lbs., he batted and threw right-handed. Christopher reached the big ...

, outfielder,

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Choo-Choo Coleman Clarence "Choo-Choo" Coleman (August 25, 1937 – August 15, 2016) was an American professional baseball catcher, who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets. Career Clarence Coleman was born in Orla ...

, catcher,

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

* Roger Craig, pitcher,

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

Ray Daviault Raymond Joseph Robert Daviault (May 27, 1934 – November 6, 2020) was a Canadian professional baseball player. The right-handed pitcher, a native of Montreal, Quebec, had an 11-season (1953–63) professional career, but spent only part of one s ...

, pitcher,

John DeMerit John Stephen DeMerit (born January 8, 1936 in West Bend, Wisconsin) is an American former professional baseball player from Port Washington, Wisconsin. He was an outfielder over parts or all of five seasons (1957–1959; 1961–1962) with the Mi ...

, outfielder,

Sammy Drake Samuel Harrison Drake (October 7, 1934 – January 27, 2010) was a Major League Baseball second and third baseman. He played two seasons with the Chicago Cubs from 1960 to 1961 and one season with the expansion 1962 New York Mets. Sammy and h ...

, infielder,

* Jim Hickman, outfielder,

Gil Hodges Gilbert Ray Hodges (''né'' Hodge; April 4, 1924 – April 2, 1972) was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his 18-year career for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers. He was widely regarded as t ...

, infielder,

Jay Hook James Wesley Hook (born November 18, 1936) is an American former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1957 through 1964, Hook played for the Cincinnati Reds (1957–61) and New York Mets (1962–64). He batted left-handed and threw r ...

, pitcher,

Al Jackson Alvin Neill Jackson (December 26, 1935 – August 19, 2019), affectionately referred to as "Little" Al Jackson, was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1959 to 1969. His 43 wins with the New York Mets were the franchi ...

, pitcher,

Sherman Jones Sherman Jarvis Jones (February 10, 1935 – February 21, 2007), nicknamed "Roadblock", was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who went on to a career in Kansas politics. He was listed at tall and . Baseball Career Born i ...

, pitcher,

Hobie Landrith Hobart Neal Landrith (born March 16, 1930) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1950 through 1963 for the Cincinnati Reds/Redlegs, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francis ...

, catcher,

* Félix Mantilla, infielder,

* Bob L. Miller, pitcher,

* Bobby Gene Smith, outfielder,

Lee Walls Raymond Lee Walls Jr. (January 6, 1933 – October 11, 1993) was an American professional baseball player, an outfielder who appeared in Major League Baseball (MLB) between and as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds ...

, infielder/outfielder,

Don Zimmer Donald William Zimmer (January 17, 1931 – June 4, 2014) was an American infielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). Zimmer was involved in professional baseball from 1949 until his death, a span of 65 years, across 8 d ...

, infielder,

1961 minor league affiliates

The Mets and

Houston Colt .45s The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

were established on October 17, 1960, giving them time to acquire minor league professional players, sign amateur free agents (there was no first-year MLB draft until 1965) and enter into working agreements with minor league affiliates during the 1961 season. New York had formal working agreements with three minor league baseball teams in 1961:

Regular season

Season standings

Opening Day lineup

The first game in franchise history was played on the road, at

Busch Stadium Busch Stadium (also referred to informally as "New Busch Stadium" or "Busch Stadium III") is a baseball stadium located in St. Louis, Missouri. The stadium serves as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) f ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, on Wednesday night, April 11, 1962. The Mets fell behind 2-0 and 5–2 early, then narrowed the deficit to one

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

, but ultimately lost to the

, 11–4. Former

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

and

Charlie Neal Charles Lenard Neal (January 30, 1931 – November 18, 1996) was an American professional baseball player, a second baseman and shortstop who had an eight-season career (1956–1963) in Major League Baseball. Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as a ...

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 Harry Dominic Chiti Jr. (pronounced ) (November 16, 1932 – January 31, 2002) was an American catcher in Major League Baseball. He appeared in 502 games over all or parts of ten seasons between and for the Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Athletic ...

was purchased by the Mets from the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

. * April 26, 1962: Bob Smith was traded by the Mets to the

for Sammy Taylor. * May 1, 1962: Joe Ginsberg was released by the Mets. * May 7, 1962:

was traded by the Mets to the Cincinnati Reds for Bob G. Miller and

Cliff Cook Raymond Clifford Cook (born August 20, 1936) is an American former professional baseball player who appeared in 163 games played over parts of five Major League Baseball seasons. Primarily a third baseman, though he played some games as an outfi ...

. * May 7, 1962: Jim Marshall was traded by the Mets to the

for

Vinegar Bend Mizell Wilmer David "Vinegar Bend" Mizell, Sr. (August 13, 1930 – February 21, 1999), was an American athlete and politician. From 1952 to 1962, he was a left-handed pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets of Major Le ...

. * May 9, 1962:

Marv Throneberry Marvin Eugene Throneberry (September 2, 1933 – June 23, 1994) was an American Major League Baseball player. Affectionately known as "Marvelous Marv", he was the starting first baseman for the 1962 New York Mets, a team which set the modern rec ...

was sold by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

to the New York Mets. * June 7, 1962 The New York Mets sell

to the Orioles. * June 15, 1962: Harry Chiti was returned by the Mets to the Cleveland Indians. * June 27, 1962:

Ed Kranepool Edward Emil Kranepool (born November 8, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He spent his entire Major League Baseball career with the New York Mets. He was predominantly a first baseman, but he also played in the outfield ...

was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets. * August 4, 1962:

was released by the Mets. * September 7, 1962:

Galen Cisco Galen Bernard Cisco (born March 7, 1936) is an American former baseball player and coach. He was a pitcher in Major League Baseball for three different teams between 1961 and 1969. Listed at tall and , Cisco batted and threw right-handed. He was ...

was selected off waivers by the Mets from the

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''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Other pitchers

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

Relief pitchers

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

Awards and honors

League top five finishers

Richie Ashburn Don Richard Ashburn (March 19, 1927 – September 9, 1997), also known by the nicknames, "Putt-Putt", "The Tilden Flash", and "Whitey" (due to his light-blond hair), was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball. (Some sources give his ...

* #3 in NL in bases on balls (81) Roger Craig * MLB leader in losses (24) * #2 in NL in home runs allowed (35) * #3 in NL in earned runs allowed (117)

* #4 in NL in earned runs allowed (115) * #4 in NL in home runs allowed (31)

* #2 in NL in losses (20)

Farm system

1962 minor league affiliates

Notes

References

1962 New York Mets
at Baseball Reference
1962 New York Mets Roster
at Baseball Almanac * {{New York Mets New York Mets seasons New York Mets season Inaugural Major League Baseball seasons by team

Washington Heights, Manhattan 1960s in Manhattan