1970 New York Mets season
Major League Baseball team season
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The 1970 New York Mets season was the ninth regular season for the Mets, who played home games at Shea Stadium. Led by manager Gil Hodges, the team had an 83–79 record and finished in third place in the National League East, six games behind the first place Pittsburgh Pirates.
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| 1970 New York Mets | |
|---|---|
| |
| League | National League |
| Division | East |
| Ballpark | Shea Stadium |
| City | New York |
| Record | 83–79 (.512) |
| Divisional place | 3rd |
| Owners | Joan Whitney Payson |
| General manager | Bob Scheffing |
| Manager | Gil Hodges |
| Television | WOR-TV |
| Radio | WJRZ/WNBC-FM (Ralph Kiner, Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy) |
Offseason
- December 3, 1969: Amos Otis and Bob Johnson were traded by the Mets to the Kansas City Royals for Joe Foy.[1]
Regular season
The Mets opened the 1970 season on April 7 with a historic 5–3, 11-inning victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field. The win marked the first time in franchise history that the Mets won their Opening Day game, snapping an eight-game losing streak in season openers that dated back to the team's inaugural season in 1962.
The game remained tied 3–3 until the top of the 11th inning, when 1969 World Series MVP Donn Clendenon delivered a clutch, two-run single as a pinch-hitter against his former team. Reliever Tug McGraw pitched a scoreless bottom of the frame to secure the victory. The win flipped a long-standing franchise trend; after starting their history 0–8 on Opening Day, the Mets would go on to establish the highest Opening Day winning percentage in Major League Baseball history over the following decades.[2][3][4]
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 89 | 73 | .549 | — | 50–32 | 39–41 |
| Chicago Cubs | 84 | 78 | .519 | 5 | 46–34 | 38–44 |
| New York Mets | 83 | 79 | .512 | 6 | 44–38 | 39–41 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 76 | 86 | .469 | 13 | 34–47 | 42–39 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 73 | 88 | .453 | 15½ | 40–40 | 33–48 |
| Montreal Expos | 73 | 89 | .451 | 16 | 39–41 | 34–48 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | |||||
| Atlanta | — | 8–4 | 5–13 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 7–5 | |||||
| Chicago | 4–8 | — | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 13–5 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 7–11 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 13–5 | 5–7 | — | 15–3 | 13–5 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 9–3 | |||||
| Houston | 9–9 | 5–7 | 3–15 | — | 8–10 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 14–4 | 10–8 | 6–6 | |||||
| Los Angeles | 12–6 | 6–6 | 5–13 | 10–8 | — | 8–4 | 7–5 | 6–5 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 7–5 | |||||
| Montreal | 6–6 | 5–13 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 4–8 | — | 10–8 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–11 | |||||
| New York | 6–6 | 11–7 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 8–10 | — | 13–5 | 6–12 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 12–6 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 5-7 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 5–6 | 7–11 | 5–13 | — | 4–14 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 8–10 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 6–6 | 10–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 12–6 | 14–4 | — | 6–6 | 4–8 | 12–6 | |||||
| San Diego | 9–9 | 3–9 | 10–8 | 4–14 | 7–11 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 3–9 | 6–6 | — | 5–13 | 4–8 | |||||
| San Francisco | 11–7 | 5–7 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 13–5 | — | 7–5 | |||||
| St. Louis | 5–7 | 11–7 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 11–7 | 6–12 | 10–8 | 6–12 | 8–4 | 5–7 | — | |||||
Notable transactions
- July 12, 1970: Don Cardwell was purchased from the Mets by the Atlanta Braves.[5]
Roster
| 1970 New York Mets | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Jerry Grote | 126 | 415 | 106 | .255 | 2 | 34 |
| 1B | Donn Clendenon | 121 | 396 | 114 | .288 | 22 | 97 |
| 2B | Ken Boswell | 105 | 351 | 89 | .254 | 5 | 44 |
| SS | Bud Harrelson | 157 | 564 | 137 | .243 | 1 | 42 |
| 3B | Joe Foy | 99 | 322 | 76 | .236 | 6 | 37 |
| LF | Cleon Jones | 134 | 506 | 140 | .277 | 10 | 63 |
| CF | Tommie Agee | 153 | 636 | 182 | .286 | 24 | 75 |
| RF | Ron Swoboda | 115 | 245 | 57 | .233 | 9 | 40 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art Shamsky | 122 | 403 | 118 | .293 | 11 | 49 |
| Wayne Garrett | 114 | 366 | 93 | .254 | 12 | 45 |
| Ken Singleton | 69 | 198 | 52 | .263 | 5 | 26 |
| Dave Marshall | 92 | 189 | 46 | .243 | 6 | 29 |
| Duffy Dyer | 59 | 148 | 31 | .209 | 2 | 12 |
| Al Weis | 75 | 121 | 25 | .207 | 1 | 11 |
| Mike Jorgensen | 76 | 87 | 17 | .195 | 3 | 4 |
| Ed Kranepool | 43 | 47 | 8 | .170 | 0 | 3 |
| Ted Martínez | 4 | 16 | 1 | .063 | 0 | 0 |
| Rod Gaspar | 11 | 14 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Foli | 5 | 11 | 4 | .364 | 0 | 1 |
| Leroy Stanton | 4 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Seaver | 37 | 290.2 | 18 | 12 | 2.82 | 283 |
| Jerry Koosman | 30 | 212.0 | 12 | 7 | 3.14 | 118 |
| Gary Gentry | 32 | 188.1 | 9 | 9 | 3.68 | 134 |
| Jim McAndrew | 32 | 184.1 | 10 | 14 | 3.56 | 111 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ray Sadecki | 28 | 138.2 | 8 | 4 | 3.89 | 89 |
| Nolan Ryan | 27 | 131.2 | 7 | 11 | 3.42 | 125 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ron Taylor | 57 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 3.93 | 28 |
| Tug McGraw | 57 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 3.28 | 81 |
| Danny Frisella | 30 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 3.02 | 54 |
| Rich Folkers | 16 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6.44 | 15 |
| Don Cardwell | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6.48 | 8 |
| Cal Koonce | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3.27 | 10 |
| Ron Herbel | 12 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1.38 | 8 |
| Dean Chance | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13.50 | 0 |
Awards and honors
- Tommie Agee – Player of the Month, June 1970