1962 New York Mets season

The 1962 New York Mets season was the first regular season for the Mets, as the National League returned to New York City for the first time since 1957. They went 40–120 and finished tenth and last in the National League, games behind the NL Champion San Francisco Giants, who had once called New York home. The Mets were the latest team to be 60+ games behind in a division before the 2018 Baltimore Orioles finished 61 games behind the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox. In one of the worst MLB seasons in the modern era and the National League since the 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates, the Mets lost 120 games, setting the record for the most losses in the era. Their losses became the second most when the 2024 Chicago White Sox lost their 121st game; though their winning percentage is still higher than the Mets'. The Mets' starting pitchers also recorded a new major league low of just 23 wins all season.
The team lost its first game 11–4 to the St. Louis Cardinals on April 11 and went on to lose its first nine games. Having repaired their record to 12–19 on May 20 after sweeping a doubleheader against the Milwaukee Braves, the Mets lost their next 17 games. They also lost 11 games straight from July 15 to July 26 and 13 games straight from August 9 to August 21. Their longest winning streak of the season was three wins.
The Mets were managed by former New York Yankees manager Casey Stengel and played their home games at the Polo Grounds, which was their temporary home while Shea Stadium was being built in Queens. They remain infamous for their ineptitude and were one of the worst teams in Major League Baseball history. The team's 120 losses were the third most by any team in MLB history, after the infamous 1899 Cleveland Spiders lost 134. Their team batting average, team earned run average, and team fielding percentage were all the worst in the major leagues that season.
Despite the team's terrible performance, fans came out in droves. Their 1962 season attendance of 922,530 was good enough for sixth in the National League.
The season was chronicled in Jimmy Breslin's humorous best-selling 1963 book Can't Anybody Here Play This Game? The title came from a remark made by manager Casey Stengel expressing frustration over his team's poor play.
One of the only bright spots was left fielder Frank Thomas, who hit.266 with 152 hits, 34 home runs, and 94 RBIs.

Offseason

July 20, 1961: Paul Blair was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets.
October 16, 1961: Billy Loes was purchased by the Mets from the San Francisco Giants.
November 28, 1961: The Mets traded a player to be named later and cash to the Milwaukee Braves for Frank Thomas and a player to be named later. The deal was completed on May 21, 1962, when the Mets sent Gus Bell to the Braves, and the Braves sent Rick Herrscher to the Mets.
January 30, 1962: Joe Ginsberg was signed as a free agent by the Mets.
March 2, 1962: Billy Loes was returned by the Mets to the San Francisco Giants.
Expansion draft
Craig Anderson, pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals
Gus Bell, outfielder, Cincinnati Reds
Ed Bouchee, infielder, Chicago Cubs
Chris Cannizzaro, catcher, St. Louis Cardinals
Elio Chacón, infielder, Cincinnati Reds
Joe Christopher, outfielder, Pittsburgh Pirates
Choo-Choo Coleman, catcher, Philadelphia Phillies
Roger Craig, pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers
Ray Daviault, pitcher, San Francisco Giants
John DeMerit, outfielder, Milwaukee Braves
Sammy Drake, infielder, Chicago Cubs
Jim Hickman, outfielder, St. Louis Cardinals
Gil Hodges, infielder, Los Angeles Dodgers
Jay Hook, pitcher, Cincinnati Reds
Al Jackson, pitcher, Pittsburgh Pirates
Sherman Jones, pitcher, Cincinnati Reds
Hobie Landrith, catcher, San Francisco Giants
Félix Mantilla, infielder, Milwaukee Braves
Bob L. Miller, pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals
Bobby Gene Smith, outfielder, Philadelphia Phillies
Lee Walls, infielder/outfielder, Philadelphia Phillies
Don Zimmer, infielder, Chicago Cubs
1961 minor league affiliates

The Mets and Houston Colt.45s were established on October 17, 1960, giving them time to acquire minor league professional players, sign amateur free agents and enter into working agreements with minor league affiliates during the 1961 season. New York had formal working agreements with three minor league baseball teams in 1961:

Regular season

As an expansion team, the Mets were not expected to do well. They finished last in the National League, and they also finished 24 games behind their expansion brethren, the Colt.45s.

Season standings

Opening Day lineup

The first game in franchise history was played on the road, at Busch Stadium, St. Louis, on Wednesday night, April 11, 1962. The Mets fell behind 2–0 and 5–2 early, then narrowed the deficit to one run, but ultimately lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 11–4. Former Brooklyn Dodgers Gil Hodges and Charlie Neal homered for the Mets, whose home opener at New York's Polo Grounds would wait until their second-ever official game, on Friday, April 13, 1962.

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

April 26, 1962: Harry Chiti was purchased by the Mets from the Cleveland Indians.
April 26, 1962: Bob Smith was traded by the Mets to the Chicago Cubs for Sammy Taylor.
May 1, 1962: Joe Ginsberg was released by the Mets.
May 7, 1962: Don Zimmer was traded by the Mets to the Cincinnati Reds for Bob G. Miller and Cliff Cook.
May 7, 1962: Jim Marshall was traded by the Mets to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Vinegar Bend Mizell.
May 9, 1962: Marv Throneberry was sold by the Baltimore Orioles to the New York Mets.
June 7, 1962 The New York Mets sell Hobie Landrith to the Orioles.
June 15, 1962: Harry Chiti was returned by the Mets to the Cleveland Indians.
June 27, 1962: Ed Kranepool was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets.
August 4, 1962: Vinegar Bend Mizell was released by the Mets.
September 7, 1962: Galen Cisco was selected off waivers by the Mets from the Boston Red Sox.
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

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C		59	133	32	.241	0	9
1B		116	357	87	.244	16	49
2B		136	508	132	.260	11	58
3B		141	466	128	.275	11	59
SS		118	368	87	.236	2	27
LF		156	571	152	.266	34	94
CF		140	392	96	.245	13	46
RF		119	271	66	.244	6	32

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
	135	389	119	.306	7	28
	133	351	87	.248	4	27
	81	190	52	.274	5	24
	68	158	35	.222	3	20
	55	152	38	.250	6	17
	54	127	32	.252	9	17
	40	112	26	.232	2	9
	30	101	15	.149	1	6
	50	87	14	.161	3	10
	27	56	13	.232	0	2
	25	52	10	.192	0	7
	14	52	4	.077	0	1
	35	50	11	.220	1	6
	23	45	13	.289	1	7
	15	41	8	.195	0	0
	17	32	11	.344	3	4
	8	22	3	.136	0	2
	14	16	3	.188	1	1
	3	6	1	.167	0	0
	2	5	0	.000	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
	42	233.1	10	24	4.51	118
	36	231.1	8	20	4.40	118
	37	213.2	8	19	4.84	113

Other pitchers