1975 New York Mets season

The 1975 New York Mets season was the 14th regular season for the Mets, who played their home games at Shea Stadium. Initially led by manager Yogi Berra followed by Roy McMillan, the team had an 82-80 record yielding a third-place finish in the National League's Eastern Division.

Offseason

• October 22, 1974: Duffy Dyer was traded by the Mets to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Gene Clines.^[1]
• December 3, 1974: Tug McGraw, Don Hahn, and Dave Schneck were traded by the Mets to the Philadelphia Phillies for Del Unser, Mac Scarce and John Stearns.^[2]
• January 9, 1975: Greg Harris was drafted by the Mets in the 4th round of the 1975 Major League Baseball Draft (Secondary Phase), but did not sign.^[3]

Regular season

Season summary

After the Mets forgettable 1974 season, changes were made to make the team better. On February 28, the Mets scored a coup. For cash estimated at around $100,000, they acquired the San Francisco Giants' explosive home run hitter, Dave Kingman. A moody but undeniable talent, Kingman had batted just .223 for San Francisco in 1974, striking out every third at-bat, but many of his 18 home runs had traveled breathtaking distances. Kingman, the Mets hoped, would provide the home run power the club lacked, as well as generate some excitement.

The Mets were indeed stronger in 1975. Their .256 batting average was the highest in club history, and Kingman did supply some wallop with a then team-record 36 home runs, while Rusty Staub's 105 RBIs made him the first Met to drive in 100. Again the club's greatest strength lay in its pitching, topped by Tom Seaver's 22-9 record, good enough for a third Cy Young Award. Jerry Koosman was 14-13 and Jon Matlack 16-12, but after that no one won more than seven. It all added up to an 82-80 season and a tie for third.

Firings and tragedies

The Mets' 82-80 season also added up to the dismissal of manger Yogi Berra on August 6. His replacement for the rest of the season was coach Roy McMillan. Also gone, a week earlier, was Cleon Jones, released outright. The mythmakers of 1969 were rapidly thinning out.

As the season rolled to an end, there was a quick succession of news stories impinging on the Mets. On September 29, Casey Stengel died of cancer in California at the age of 85. A few days later, on October 4, the club's popular "godmother" and principal owner, Mrs. Joan Payson, died at the age of 72. If death delineates history, then the Mets' historical past was beginning to take shape, 13 years after their origin.

In between these two passings, on October 3 the club announced the hiring of their fifth full-time manager. The new man was Joe Frazier, former major league infielder and manager of the Tidewater Tides in 1975. Frazier was the first Mets skipper without some connection with New York's baseball past, and the first to be promoted from within.^{[citation needed]} Frazier had led the Tides, the Mets' top farm club, to a first-place finish in the International League, earning him the Sporting News award for Minor League Manager of the Year.

Season standings

Notable transactions

• April 4, 1975: Joe Nolan was traded by the Mets to the Atlanta Braves for Leo Foster.^[4]
• April 12, 1975: Jesús Alou was signed as a free agent by the Mets.^[5]
• April 25, 1975: Bill Laxton was signed as a free agent by the Mets.^[6]

Draft picks

• June 3, 1975: Butch Benton was drafted by the Mets in the 1st round (6th pick) of the 1975 Major League Baseball Draft.^[7]

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

• Dave Kingman – Player of the Month, July 1975

All-Star Game

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Tidewater

Notes

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3. 
• 1975 New York Mets
• 1975 New York Mets team page at www.baseball-almanac.com