1964 New York Mets season

The 1964 New York Mets season was the third regular season for the Mets. They went 53–109 and finished 10th in the NL, 40 games behind the World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals. They were managed by Casey Stengel. They played home games at Shea Stadium, which opened on April 17 of that year.

1964 New York Mets
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1962)
Location
Shea Stadium (since 1964) New York (since 1962)
Other information
Owner(s)	Joan Whitney Payson
General manager(s)	George Weiss
Manager(s)	Casey Stengel
Local television	WOR-TV
Local radio	WHN (Ralph Kiner, Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy)
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Offseason

• October 10, 1963: Jack Fisher was drafted by the Mets from the San Francisco Giants in a 1963 special draft.[1]

Regular season

One high point of Shea Stadium's first season came on Father's Day, when Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jim Bunning threw a perfect game against the Mets, the first in the National League since 1880. For perhaps the only time in the stadium's history, the Shea faithful found themselves rooting for the visitors, caught up in the rare achievement, and roaring for Bunning on every pitch in the ninth inning.[2] His strikeout of John Stephenson capped the performance.

Another high point was Shea Stadium's hosting of the All-Star Game. Johnny Callison's ninth-inning three-run home run off Dick Radatz capped a four-run rally and gave the National League a 7–4 win over the American League in that game, which evened the series at seventeen wins for each league.

The stadium also saw pitcher Masanori Murakami of the San Francisco Giants become the first Japanese player to appear in the Major Leagues. He entered the game in the ninth inning of the Giants' 4–1 loss to the Mets

Unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight in the final hectic weekend of the 1964 season, the Mets relished the role of spoiler, beating the Cardinals in St. Louis on Friday and Saturday (keeping alive the hopes of the Phillies, Giants, and Reds) before succumbing to the eventual National League champions on Sunday.

Season standings

National League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
St. Louis Cardinals	93	69	0.574	—	48–33	45–36
Philadelphia Phillies	92	70	0.568	1	46–35	46–35
Cincinnati Reds	92	70	0.568	1	47–34	45–36
San Francisco Giants	90	72	0.556	3	44–37	46–35
Milwaukee Braves	88	74	0.543	5	45–36	43–38
Pittsburgh Pirates	80	82	0.494	13	42–39	38–43
Los Angeles Dodgers	80	82	0.494	13	41–40	39–42
Chicago Cubs	76	86	0.469	17	40–41	36–45
Houston Colt .45s	66	96	0.407	27	41–40	25–56
New York Mets	53	109	0.327	40	33–48	20–61

Record vs. opponents

1964 National League Records Sources:
Team	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MIL	NYM	PHI	PIT	SF	STL
Chicago	—	6–12	11–7	10–8	8–10	11–7	6–12	9–9	9–9	6–12
Cincinnati	12–6	—	12–6	14–4–1	9–9	11–7	9–9	8–10	7–11	10–8
Houston	7–11	6–12	—	7–11	12–6	9–9	5–13	5–13	7–11	8–10
Los Angeles	8–10	4–14–1	11–7	—	8–10	15–3–1	8–10	10–8	6–12	10–8
Milwaukee	10–8	9–9	6–12	10–8	—	14–4	10–8	12–6	9–9	8–10
New York	7–11	7–11	9–9	3–15–1	4–14	—	3–15	6–12	7–11	7–11
Philadelphia	12-6	9–9	13–5	10–8	8–10	15–3	—	10–8	10–8	5–13
Pittsburgh	9–9	10–8	13–5	8–10	6–12	12–6	8–10	—	8–10	6–12
San Francisco	9–9	11–7	11–7	12–6	9–9	11–7	8–10	10–8	—	9–9
St. Louis	12–6	8–10	10–8	8–10	10–8	11–7	13–5	12–6	9–9	—

Notable transactions

• April 6, 1964: Darrell Sutherland was selected off waivers by the Mets from the Philadelphia Phillies as a first-year waiver pick.[3]
• April 23, 1964: Chico Fernández, Bobby Catton (minors), and cash were traded by the Mets to the Chicago White Sox for Charley Smith.[4]
• August 7, 1964: Frank Thomas was traded by the Mets to the Philadelphia Phillies for Wayne Graham, Gary Kroll, and cash.[5]
• August 8, 1964: Frank Lary was traded by the Mets to the Milwaukee Braves for Dennis Ribant and cash.[6]
• August 27, 1964: Jerry Koosman was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets.[7]

Shea Stadium

The Mets' new home park was originally to be called "Flushing Meadows Stadium" – the name of the public park on which it was built – but a movement was launched to name it in honor of William A. Shea, the man who brought National League baseball back to New York. After 29 months and $28.5 million, Shea Stadium opened on April 17, 1964, with the Mets losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates, led by Roberto Clemente and Bill Mazeroski, 4–3 before a crowd of 50,312.[8] Shea was a circular stadium, with the grandstand forming a perfect circle around the field and ending a short distance beyond the foul lines. The remainder of the perimeter was mostly empty space beyond the outfield fences. This space was occupied by the bullpens, the scoreboard, and the centerfield "batter's eye" backdrop. The stadium boasted 54 restrooms, 21 escalators and seats for 57,343. It was big, airy, sparkling, with a massive 86' x 175' scoreboard. Also, rather than the standard light towers, Shea had lamps along its upper reaches, like a convoy of semis with their brights on, which gave the field that unique high-wattage glow. Praised for its convenience, even its elegance, Shea was deemed a showplace.[9]

Roster

1964 New York Mets
Roster
Pitchers 20 Craig Anderson 38 Ed Bauta 31 Larry Bearnarth 26 Galen Cisco 39 Steve Dillon 22 Jack Fisher 24 Jerry Hinsley 47 Jay Hook 38 Willard Hunter 15 Al Jackson 25 Gary Kroll 17 Frank Lary 21,45 Ron Locke 27 Tom Parsons 17 Dennis Ribant 36 Tracy Stallard 47 Tom Sturdivant 43 Darrell Sutherland 43 Bill Wakefield 28 Carlton Willey		Catchers  8 Chris Cannizzaro 12 Jesse Gonder 19 Hawk Taylor Infielders  6 Larry Burright  4 Wayne Graham  3 Tim Harkness 33 Ron Hunt 10 Rod Kanehl  6 Bobby Klaus 21 Ed Kranepool 11 Roy McMillan 40 Al Moran  7 Amado Samuel  1 Charley Smith 16 Dick Smith 49 John Stephenson		Outfielders  2 George Altman 23 Joe Christopher 17 Larry Elliot  9 Jim Hickman 25 Frank Thomas		Manager 37 Casey Stengel Coaches 53 Mel Harder (Pitching) 52 Don Heffner (Third base) 54 Sheriff Robinson (Bullpen) 51 Wes Westrum (First base)

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

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	R	H	Avg.	HR	RBI	SB
C	Jesse Gonder	131	341	28	92	.270	7	35	0
1B	Ed Kranepool	119	420	47	108	.257	10	45	0
2B	Ron Hunt	127	475	59	144	.303	6	42	6
3B	Charley Smith	127	443	44	106	.239	20	58	2
SS	Roy McMillan	113	379	30	80	.211	1	25	3
LF	George Altman	124	422	48	97	.230	9	47	4
CF	Jim Hickman	139	409	48	105	.257	11	57	0
RF	Joe Christopher	154	543	78	163	.300	16	76	6

[10]

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	R	H	Avg.	HR	RBI	SB
Rod Kanehl	98	254	25	59	.232	1	11	3
Frank Thomas	60	197	19	50	.254	3	19	1
John Stephenson	37	57	2	9	.158	1	2	0
Wayne Graham	20	33	1	3	.091	0	0	0
Larry Burright	3	7	0	0	.000	0	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
Jack Fisher	40	227.2	10	17	4.23	115
Tracy Stallard	36	225.2	10	20	3.79	118
Al Jackson	40	213.1	11	16	4.26	112
Galen Cisco	36	191.2	6	19	3.62	78

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
Frank Lary	13	57.1	2	3	4.55	27
Darrell Sutherland	10	26.2	0	3	7.76	9
Gary Kroll	8	21.2	0	1	4.15	24
Tom Parsons	4	19.1	1	2	4.19	10
Jerry Hinsley	9	15.1	0	2	8.22	11
Craig Anderson	4	13	0	1	5.54	5

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
Bill Wakefield	62	3	5	2	3.61	61
Larry Bearnarth	44	5	5	3	4.15	31
Willard Hunter	41	3	3	5	4.41	22
Ed Bauta	8	0	2	1	5.40	3
Steve Dillon	2	0	0	0	0.00	0

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Buffalo Bisons	International League	Whitey Kurowski
AA	Williamsport Mets	Eastern League	Ernie White
A	Salinas Mets	California League	Kerby Farrell
A	Auburn Mets	New York–Penn League	Clyde McCullough
Rookie	Cocoa Mets	Cocoa Rookie League	Ken Deal

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Auburn

Notes

1. Jack Fisher page at Baseball Reference
2. White, Gordon S. Jr. (June 22, 1964). "Bunning Pitches a Perfect Game; Mets Are Perfect Victims, 6 to 0". New York Times. p. 1. The Phils won the contest...before 32,904 fans who were screaming for Bunning during the last two innings...Yesterday's perfect pitching turned the usually loyal Met fans into Bunning fans in the late innings. From the seventh inning on...Bunning had the crowd...behind him.
3. Darrell Sutherland page at Baseball Reference
4. Charley Smith page at Baseball Reference
5. Frank Thomas page at Baseball Reference
6. Dennis Ribant page at Baseball Reference
7. Jerry Koosman page at Baseball Reference
8. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=196404170NYN
9. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=moehringer/080929&sportCat=mlb
10. https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYM/1964.shtml

References

• 1964 New York Mets
• 1964 New York Mets team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.