The 1962 New York Mets |
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Rounding Third Hitter of the Year Frank Thomas |
Rounding Third Pitcher of the Year Al Jackson |
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40-120, 10th place in National League |
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PLAYER
G
AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI
TB SB CS SO BB HBP SAC SF OBP SLG
AVG |
OPS+ bWAR HoY |
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PITCHER G
GS CG IP W L PCT
H R ER SO BB ShO SV ERA |
ERA+ bWAR PoY |
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Coaching Staff |
1962 National League Standings |
1962 Opening Day Lineup |
Casey
Stengel, MGR Solly
Hemus, CO |
Team
W L PCT GB |
Richie Ashburn, CF |
THE SEAson story |
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It all began
here, in 1962, with one of the worst-constructed teams in history. This was not entirely the fault of the
front office; expansion teams in the early days of the concept were
notoriously hard to fill, with no free agency available, and only the other
clubs’ culls to pick between to fill out your roster. The Mets did employ some stars that first
season, with .300-hitting Richie Ashburn, 34-HR-slugging Frank Thomas, and
first-Mets-homer-in-history-hitting Gil Hodges on board. So they did have the
ability at least to score a few runs. The pitching,
however, was another story. The five
pitchers who led the team in games started went a combined 30-92 for the
season, and the staff ERA for the year was over 5.00 runs per game, and that
in an era largely dominated by pitching.
The 120 losses in 1962 held the record for most defeats in a season
until the horrible Chicago White Sox in 2024 squeaked past them with 121, and
even those White Sox managed 41 wins, to narrowly edge out the ’62 Mets with
a .253 winning percentage, to the Mets’ .250. For a truly
terrible team, these Mets are remembered with great fondness. Hall of Famers to make appearances at the
Polo Grounds in 1962 include the afore-mentioned Ashburn and Hodges, and even
more Hall of Famers appeared on the coaching staff, including Red Ruffing,
Rogers Hornsby, and manager Casey Stengel.
The roster was peppered with ex-Yankees, ex-Giants, and ex-Dodgers,
all of whom were brought on board to beguile the fans with a hint of
nostalgia, even though their on-the-field talents were mostly gone. After finishing
60½ games out of first place in that inaugural season, there was no place to
go but up. |
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š 1963 |