1976 New York Mets season

1976 New York Mets
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1962)
Eastern Division (since 1969)
Location
Shea Stadium (since 1964)
New York City (since 1962)
Other information
Owner(s)	Charles Shipman Payson
General manager(s)	Joe McDonald
Manager(s)	Joe Frazier
Local television	WOR-TV
Local radio	WNEW (Ralph Kiner, Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy)
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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.

Offseason

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 Donald Grant and General Manager Joe McDonald.

Notable transactions

• 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

Season Summary

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 pitched 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.

Season standings

NL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Philadelphia Phillies	101	61	0.623	—	53–28	48–33
Pittsburgh Pirates	92	70	0.568	9	47–34	45–36
New York Mets	86	76	0.531	15	45–37	41–39
Chicago Cubs	75	87	0.463	26	42–39	33–48
St. Louis Cardinals	72	90	0.444	29	37–44	35–46
Montreal Expos	55	107	0.340	46	27–53	28–54

Record vs. opponents

1976 National League Records Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	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

• 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

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

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

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
2B	Millán, FélixFélix Millán	139	531	150	.282	1	35
CF	Unser, DelDel Unser	77	276	63	.228	5	25

Other batters

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
Phillips, MikeMike Phillips	87	262	67	.256	4	29
Garrett, WayneWayne Garrett	80	251	56	.223	4	26
Mangual, PepePepe Mangual	41	102	19	.186	1	9
Foster, LeoLeo Foster	24	59	12	.203	1	15
Baldwin, BillyBilly Baldwin	9	22	6	.273	1	5
Dwyer, JimJim Dwyer	11	13	2	.154	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Lolich, MickeyMickey Lolich	31	192.7	8	13	3.22	120

Other pitchers

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

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Espinosa, NinoNino Espinosa	12	41.2	4	4	3.67	30

Relief pitchers

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

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Apodaca, BobBob Apodaca	43	3	7	5	45	2.81
Myrick, BobBob Myrick	21	1	1	0	11	3.25
Baldwin, RickRick Baldwin	11	0	0	0	9	2.38
Hall, TomTom Hall	5	1	1	0	2	5.79

Farm system

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

1. Kelvin Chapman at Baseball Reference
2. Rusty Staub at Baseball Reference
3. 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

• 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

• 1976 New York Mets
• 1976 New York Mets at Baseball Almanac