Saturday Seasons: 1976 Celebrating 15 Amazing Seasons

The post-mortem of the 1975 season, while ultimately characterized as a disappointment, was not the disaster that was 1974. The pitching staff—anchored by the big three of Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, and Jon Matlack—combined for 52 wins. Offensively, the Mets fielded the most potent lineup in franchise history, featuring Dave Kingman, Rusty Staub, John Milner, and Joe Torre.

Entering the September stretch run in third place, only four games behind the first-place Pittsburgh Pirates, the idea of a third miracle wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. But the dream died quickly. In the first week of September, the Mets dropped four of six games at home to the Pirates and the second-place St. Louis Cardinals. They limped through the month with an 11–16 record, finishing in a disappointing tie for second with St. Louis.

The usual culprits—doubleheader losses, a shaky bullpen, and glaring holes at the back end of the rotation—undid the Mets again. Controversy didn’t spare them either. Cleon Jones refused Yogi Berra’s order to take the field during a game, and Berra responded with a “him or me” stance. Soon, both were gone.

In the immediate aftermath, the Mets named Joe Frazier as manager, replacing interim skipper Roy McMillan, who had stepped in after Berra's dismissal. Hopes that McMillan would emulate Gil Hodges’ quiet leadership never materialized, prompting the front office to go with Frazier, a successful minor league manager.

A few days later, owner Joan Payson passed away. While its full impact wasn’t yet known, her death marked the beginning of the end of the Mets’ first Amazin’ Era. Her passing gave M. Donald Grant full control of the franchise—and the dismantling began.

Flush with optimism over rookie Mike Vail, the Mets had penciled him in as the starting right fielder. General Manager Joe McDonald was instructed not to return from the winter meetings with Rusty Staub still on the roster. McDonald complied, trading the popular Staub to Detroit for an overweight and over-the-hill Mickey Lolich, who had no interest in New York and had to be persuaded by Grant to accept the trade.

The Mets defended the deal by pointing to their pitching needs and insisted Lolich still had gas left in the tank. Ironically, Vail twisted his ankle in an offseason pickup basketball game and was never a factor in 1976. It's worth noting the Mets could’ve traded Staub for Brooks Robinson’s replacement at third base but instead placed their faith in Roy Staiger—a solid defender whose bat, alas, left much to be desired.

1976: A Successful Season, But Cracks Showed

Spring training was delayed by a players’ strike, the first rumblings of the free agent era—a market that Donald Grant had no intention of participating in. The big story that spring was Seaver’s demand for a multi-year deal. The Mets responded by threatening to trade him to the Dodgers for Don Sutton. Ultimately, cooler heads prevailed, and Seaver and the Mets agreed to terms.

Despite the off-field chaos, the 1976 season was, in many ways, a success. Under rookie manager Joe Frazier, the Mets won 86 games—the second-most in franchise history at the time. But success and excitement don’t always go hand in hand. The Mets were never truly in the race, as the Phillies ran away with the division early.

The biggest stories on the field were Dave Kingman and Jerry Koosman.

Kingman was on a tear, chasing Hack Wilson’s National League record of 59 home runs. But on July 19, while diving for a Phil Niekro line drive, Kingman tore ligaments in his thumb. He missed six weeks and finished tied with Mike Schmidt for the league lead at 37 homers.

New York Mets right fielder Dave Kingman watches as he clubs homerun number thirty-seven over the left field fence

Koosman, meanwhile, began the season in the bullpen—Frazier’s idea after the arrival of Lolich. Koosman, who had lost his father, Morris, during spring training, accepted the role but preferred to start. He got his first start on April 17, and the Mets responded by drubbing the Pirates 17–1. Koosman never returned to the bullpen. Fueled by the memory of his father, he had a career-best season, winning 21 games and narrowly missing the Cy Young Award, which went to Randy Jones of San Diego.

After ending June with a mediocre 7–6 record, Koosman caught fire, going 14–3 the rest of the way.

Once again, the Seaver-Koosman-Matlack trio combined for 52 wins. Lolich added eight of his own and, despite his 8–13 record, pitched better than it appeared. Still, he was unhappy in New York and retired after the season—only to resurface in 1978 with the Padres.

Seaver, despite a 14–14 record marred by poor run support, struck out 200 batters for the ninth consecutive year. Matlack notched a career-high 17 wins.

The Shea Stadium scoreboard congratulating the Kooz on his 20th win.

New York Mets' Tom Seaver delivers to Philadelphia Phillies Tom Hutton a third strike and a record for Seaver, 200 strikeouts for nine consecutive years, Sept. 4, 1976.

The 1976 Mets also put together a 10-game winning streak that began in late June and ended on July 4 in the second game of a doubleheader against the Cubs.

Unfortunately, the front office couldn't resist making another questionable trade. Del Unser—the main return in the Tug McGraw deal—and Wayne Garrett were shipped to the Montreal Expos for Pepe Mangual and Jim Dwyer. The pair’s only mark in Mets history is that they were acquired for Garrett and Unser.

Unlike 1975, the 1976 bullpen was a strength, anchored by Skip Lockwood and Bob Apodaca. But despite the improved results, cracks were beginning to show.

Veterans like Jerry Grote, Bud Harrelson, Joe Torre, and Ed Kranepool were showing their age. John Milner, despite hitting 15 home runs, wasn’t becoming the slugger the Mets hoped he’d be.

Joe Torre and Mickey Lolich Camera Day 1976

Looking ahead, the league was preparing for its first-ever free agent re-entry draft, featuring stars like Reggie Jackson, Bobby Grich, and Gary Matthews. It was a golden opportunity to retool for the future.

But the Mets' front office had other ideas—and the results, as history shows, weren’t pretty.