The 1963

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 second regular season for the Mets. They went 51–111 and finished 10th in the NL, 48 games behind the World Series Champion

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 ...

. They 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 Y ...

. They played their home games at the Polo Grounds, the second and final season there for the Mets before moving to

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.

the following season.

Offseason

* October 11, 1962:

Ron Hunt Ronald Kenneth Hunt (born February 23, 1941) is a former professional baseball second baseman. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1963 to 1974 for the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Montreal Expos and ...

was purchased by the Mets from the Milwaukee Braves. * October 14, 1962:

Norm Sherry Norman Burt Sherry (July 16, 1931 – March 8, 2021) was an American baseball catcher, manager, and coach who played five seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets from 1959 to 1963. He bat ...

and Dick Smith were purchased by the Mets from the

. * November 26, 1962: Paul Blair was drafted from the Mets 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) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

in the 1962 first-year draft.

Regular season

On June 14,

Duke Snider Edwin Donald "Duke" Snider (September 19, 1926 – February 27, 2011), nicknamed "the Silver Fox" and "the Duke of Flatbush", was an American professional baseball player. Primarily a center fielder, he spent most of his Major League Baseball (M ...

of the Mets hit his 400th home run against the Cincinnati Reds. The opposing pitcher was

Bob Purkey Robert Thomas Purkey (July 14, 1929 – March 16, 2008) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball known for his use of the knuckleball. From 1954 through 1966, Purkey played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds / Redle ...

. The homer came in the 6,783rd at bat of his career.Duke Snider , The Baseball Page
/ref> Snider became the ninth player to reach 400 homers. Along with

Eddie Mathews Edwin Lee Mathews (October 13, 1931 – February 18, 2001) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman. He played 17 seasons for Boston / Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1952–1966); Houston Astros (1967) and Detroit Tigers (1967– ...

, Snider became part of the first duo to reach the 400-plateau in the same season. Afterwards, Mets outfielder

Jimmy Piersall James Anthony Piersall (November 14, 1929 – June 3, 2017) was an American baseball center fielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for five teams, from 1950 through 1967. Piersall was best known for his well-publicized ba ...

told Snider that he could get more publicity for his 100th home run. Nine days later, on June 23, Piersall ran the bases backward after hitting the 100th home run of his career off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Dallas Green. He was released by the Mets one month later, with that home run being the only one he hit in a Mets uniform.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* May 8, 1963: Larry Foss was traded by the Mets to the Milwaukee Braves for

Chico Fernández Humberto "Chico" Fernández Pérez (March 2, 1932 – June 11, 2016) was a Cuban professional baseball shortstop who played in Major League Baseball ( MLB) with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and New York Mets from ...

. * May 23, 1963:

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 ...

was traded by the Mets to the Washington Senators for

.Jimmy Piersall page at Baseball Reference
/ref> * July 1, 1963:

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

and Sammy Taylor were traded by the Mets to the Cincinnati Reds for

Jesse Gonder Jesse may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible. * Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Jesse (surname), a list of people Music * ''Jesse'' ( ...

. * July 29, 1963: Jacke Davis and cash were traded by the Mets 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 ha ...

for

Duke Carmel Leon James "Duke" Carmel (April 23, 1937 – August 3, 2021) was an American professional baseball player. Carmel played in 124 games over all or parts of four seasons in Major League Baseball between 1959 and 1965 for the St. Louis Cardinals, N ...

. * July 27, 1963: Jimmy Piersall was released by the Mets. * September 5, 1963:

Ron Swoboda Ronald Alan Swoboda (born June 30, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from through , most notably as a member of the New York Mets ...

was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets.

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

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

, outfield, reserve

Farm system

Notes

References

1963 New York Mets at Baseball Reference1963 New York Mets team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
*

External links

1963 New York Mets season
at ''Baseball Reference'' {{New York Mets New York Mets seasons New York Mets season

1960s in Manhattan Washington Heights, Manhattan