The 1965

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 fourth regular season for the Mets. They went 50–112 and finished tenth and last in 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 ...

. 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 ...

and

Wes Westrum Wes or WES may refer to: * Westmorland, county in England, Chapman code __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Wes (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Wes Madiko (1964–2021), Cameroonian musi ...

. They played home games at

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.

, where they drew 1.77 million paying fans, third in the National League (and over 500,000 more fans than the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

). As WOR-TV, the team' television broadcaster, began to be broadcast on cable starting that year via microwave relay thru the WWOR EMI Service throughout much of the Northeastern United States, it made the Mets the first major league team to broadcast its games via satellite to viewers outside its home city. Home and away games were aired on cable to regional viewers in this part of the country.

Offseason

* November 23, 1964:

Warren Spahn Warren Edward Spahn (April 23, 1921 – November 24, 2003) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-handed pitcher, Spahn played in 1942 and then from 1946 until 1965, most notabl ...

was purchased by the Mets from the Milwaukee Braves.Warren Spahn page at Baseball Reference
/ref> * November 30, 1964:

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 ...

was drafted from the Mets by the

in the 1964 rule 5 draft. * December 7, 1964: Tracy Stallard and

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 majo ...

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 Gordie Richardson and

Johnny Lewis Jonathan Kendrick Lewis (October 29, 1983 – September 26, 2012), also credited as Johnny K. Lewis, was an American film and television actor. He played Kip "Half-Sack" Epps in the first two seasons of the FX series ''Sons of Anarchy'', and o ...

. * January 15, 1965: George Altman was traded by the Mets to the Chicago Cubs for

Billy Cowan Billy Rolland Cowan (born August 28, 1938) is an American former professional baseball player. Appearing primarily as an outfielder, Cowan totalled 493 games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total num ...

. * April 27, 1965:

Yogi Berra Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of manager and coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1946–1963, 1965), all but ...

signed as a free agent by the Mets.

Regular season

Former Yankee great

, fired as manager of the Bombers even after he had led them to the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

pennant and into the seventh game of the

1964 World Series The 1964 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1964 season. The 61st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals against the Amer ...

, signed with the Mets as player–coach during the off-season. Before managing the 1964 Yankees, his last appearance in a game had been as a pinch hitter in Game 3 of the

1963 World Series The 1963 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1963 season. The 60th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the American League (AL) champion and two-time defending World Se ...

on October 5; batting for

Jim Bouton James Alan Bouton (; March 8, 1939 – July 10, 2019) was an American professional baseball player. Bouton played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pitcher for the New York Yankees, Seattle Pilots, Houston Astros, and Atlanta Braves between 1 ...

, Berra lined out to right field off Don Drysdale. With the 1965 Mets, Berra appeared in only four games, with two starts at

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

, and made two hits in nine

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

. On May 9, 1965, he appeared in his final game as a player, three days shy of his 40th birthday. He then served as the Mets' first-base coach through the season and proved to be a valuable asset to the team, especially with young talent like

Jerry Grote Gerald Wayne Grote (born October 6, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player. He played the majority of his Major League Baseball career as a catcher for the New York Mets, catching every inning of the franchise's first two World ...

coming up. Following the 1964 season, the Milwaukee Braves sold pitcher Warren Spahn to the Mets. Braves manager

Bobby Bragan Robert Randall Bragan (October 30, 1917 – January 21, 2010) was an American shortstop, catcher, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball and an influential minor league executive. His professional baseball career encompassed 73 years, fro ...

predicted, "Spahnie won't win six games with the Mets." Spahn took on the dual role of pitcher and pitching coach in New York but won only four and lost twelve. Spahn was put on waivers on July 15, 1965, and released on July 22, 1965. He immediately signed with the San Francisco Giants, with whom he finished the season.

had joined the Mets as a coach in 1964 and became pitching coach on July 14, 1965, after Spahn's release. When manager Casey Stengel fell and broke his hip on July 25 while celebrating his upcoming 75th birthday at Toots Shor's in Manhattan, Westrum was named interim manager, a position in which he served until Stengel formally retired on August 30—Westrum then became the team's official manager.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* April 27, 1965:

was signed as a free agent by the Mets.Yogi Berra page at Baseball Reference
/ref> * May 17, 1965: Yogi Berra was released as a player by the Mets. * June 8, 1965:

1965 Major League Baseball Draft The 1965 Major League Baseball Draft is the first year in which a draft took place for Major League Baseball. It was held on June 8–9 in New York City. In Major League Baseball's first Free Agent Amateur Draft, the Kansas City Athletics selec ...

Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan ...

was drafted by the Mets in the 12th round. ** Don Shaw was drafted by the Mets in the 35th round. * July 17, 1965: Warren Spahn was released by the Mets. * July 21, 1965:

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'' ( ...

was traded by the Mets to the Milwaukee Braves for

Gary Kolb Gary Alan Kolb (March 13, 1940 – July 3, 2019) was an American professional baseball player. An outfielder and utilityman, Kolb played all or parts of seven seasons (1960; 1962–65; 1968–69) of Major League Baseball with the St. Louis Cardi ...

. * August 5, 1965:

was traded by the Mets to the Milwaukee Braves for players to be named later. The Braves completed the deal by sending

Lou Klimchock Louis Stephen Klimchock (born October 15, 1939) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played parts of 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Athletics, Milwaukee Braves, Washington Senators, New York Met ...

and Ernie Bowman to the Mets on September 25.

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases''

Other batters

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

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''

Farm system

Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition''. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

Notes

References

1965 New York Mets at Baseball Reference1965 New York Mets team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
{{New York Mets New York Mets seasons New York Mets season

1960s in Queens Shea Stadium