The 1979

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 18th season for the Mets, who 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.

. Led by manager

Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseb ...

, the team had a 63–99 record and finished in sixth place 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 ...

's East Division. This was also the first season that the players names appeared on the back of the uniforms.

Offseason

* October 2, 1978: Paul Siebert was 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 Bob Coluccio. * December 4, 1978:

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

was drafted by the Mets from 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 ...

in the 1978 rule 5 draft.Bobby Brown page at Baseball Reference
/ref> * December 5, 1978: Tom Grieve and

Kim Seaman Kim Michael Seaman (born May 6, 1957) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who appeared in 27 games for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB) during the 1979 and 1980 baseball seasons. Early career Seaman attended ...

were traded by the Mets to the

for

Pete Falcone Peter Frank Falcone (born October 1, 1953) is an American former professional baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, and Atlanta Braves. Early years As a senior at Lafayette High School in Brooklyn, N ...

. * December 8, 1978:

Jerry Koosman Jerome Martin Koosman (born December 23, 1942) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies between and . ...

was traded by the Mets to the Minnesota Twins for a player to be named later and Greg Field (minors). The Minnesota Twins completed the trade by sending

Jesse Orosco Jesse Russell Orosco (born April 21, 1957) is a Mexican American former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who holds the major league record for career pitching appearances, having pitched in 1,252 games. He pitched most notably for the New ...

to the Mets on February 7, 1979. * March 25, 1979: Bobby Brown was selected off waivers from the Mets by the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

. * March 27, 1979: Nino Espinosa was traded by the Mets to the Philadelphia Phillies for

Richie Hebner Richard Joseph Hebner (born November 26, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from through , most prominently as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams tha ...

and José Moreno.

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day starters

Kelvin Chapman Kelvin Keith Chapman (born June 2, 1956) is a retired Major League Baseball player. He played his entire Major League career with the New York Mets. Early career Kelvin Chapman attended Santa Rosa Junior College. He was signed by the Mets organi ...

Doug Flynn Robert Douglas Flynn, Jr. (born April 18, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1975 to 1985 as an infielder for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Montreal Exp ...

* Steve Henderson *

Elliott Maddox Elliott Maddox (born December 21, 1947) is an American former Major League Baseball player. In , he was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the first round (20th pick) of the draft (secondary phase). He made his MLB debut in 1970. Early years Maddox ...

Lee Mazzilli Lee Louis Mazzilli (born March 25, 1955) is an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder for the New York Mets, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and T ...

Willie Montañez Guillermo Montañez Naranjo (born April 1, 1948) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the California Angels (), Philadelphia Phillies (–, ), San Francisco Giants (–), ...

John Stearns John Hardin Stearns (August 21, 1951 – September 15, 2022), nicknamed "Bad Dude", was an American professional baseball catcher and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets from 1975 to 1984 after playing a single ...

* Craig Swan

Notable transactions

* June 5, 1979: 1979 Major League Baseball Draft ** Tim Leary was drafted by the Mets in the 1st round (2nd pick). **

Ron Gardenhire Ronald Clyde Gardenhire (born October 24, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played as a shortstop for the New York Mets from 1981 through 1985. After another year playing in the minor leagues, he se ...

was drafted by the Mets in the 6th round. ** Dave Smith was drafted by the Mets in the 27th round. **

Bill Mooneyham William Craig Mooneyham (August 16, 1960) was an American professional baseball pitcher for the Oakland Athletics of the Major League Baseball (MLB). Mooneyham attended Merced College. He was originally drafted in 1980 Major League Baseball dra ...

was drafted by the Mets in the 1st round (22nd pick) of the secondary phase, but did not sign. * June 15, 1979: Bob Myrick and Mike Bruhert were traded by the Mets to the Texas Rangers for

Dock Ellis Dock Phillip Ellis Jr. (March 11, 1945 – December 19, 2008) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams ...

.Dock Ellis page at Baseball-Reference
/ref> * August 12, 1979:

was traded by the Mets to the Texas Rangers for two players to be named later. The Rangers sent Ed Lynch to the Mets on September 18 and

Mike Jorgensen Michael Jorgensen (born August 16, 1948) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who currently works in the St. Louis Cardinals' front office. The New York Mets drafted him in the fourth round of the 1966 Major L ...

on October 23 to complete the deal. * August 20, 1979:

Ray Burris Bertram Ray Burris (born August 22, 1950) is an American former pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB), and the current rehabilitation pitching coordinator in the Philadelphia Phillies organization. He played in MLB from 1973 through 1987 for seve ...

was selected off waivers by the Mets from the

.Ray Burris page at Baseball Reference
/ref> * September 21, 1979: Dock Ellis was purchased from the Mets by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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''

Farm system

Notes

References

1979 New York Mets at Baseball Reference1979 New York Mets team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
* {{New York Mets New York Mets seasons New York Mets season New York 1970s in Queens Shea Stadium