The 1976 New York Mets season was the 15th regular season for the Mets, who played home games at Shea Stadium. Led by manager

Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011), nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. He was known for his strength, durability, formidable left hand, and relentless pressure fi ...

, the team had an 86–76 record and finished in third place in the National League East.

Offseason

On December 6, Mrs.

Lorinda de Roulet Lorinda "Linda" de Roulet ('' née'' Payson; born May 8, 1930) is an American philanthropist. She is the former president of the New York Mets of Major League Baseball. She served in the role from 1975 through 1980. She succeeded her mother, Joa ...

, daughter of the late

Joan Payson Joan Whitney Payson (February 5, 1903 – October 4, 1975) was an American heiress, businesswoman, philanthropist, patron of the arts and art collector, and a member of the prominent Whitney family. She was also co-founder and majority owner of ...

, was named president of the Mets. The critical decisions, however, were still made by board chairman

M. Donald Grant Michael Donald Grant (May 1, 1904 – November 28, 1998) was the chairman and a minority owner of the New York Mets baseball club from its beginnings in 1962 to 1978. Early life Grant was born in Montreal in 1904, the son of Hockey Hall of Fa ...

and General Manager Joe McDonald.

Notable transactions

* December 3, 1975: Kelvin Chapman was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets. * December 12, 1975: Rusty Staub and Bill Laxton were traded by the Mets to the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

for Mickey Lolich and Billy Baldwin. * January 7, 1976:

1976 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1976 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Other notable Selections ''*'' Did not sign Background The 1976 Arizona State University team, considered by ma ...

** Greg Harris was drafted by the Mets in the 7th round, but did not sign.Greg Harris
at ''Baseball Reference'' ** Kim Seaman was drafted by the Mets in the 4th round of the Secondary Phase. * March 5, 1976: Mario Ramírez was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets. * March 30, 1976: Jesús Alou was released by the Mets.

Regular season

Season Summary

On September 16, before a small crowd of 5,472 at Shea Stadium, Jerry Koosman overcame a home run by future Mets player Keith Hernandez to pitch a complete game and win his 20th game of the season for the first time in his career in a 4–1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. He became the second pitcher in NY Mets history to win 20 games.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* June 8, 1976: Dave Von Ohlen was drafted by the Mets in the 17th round of the

. * July 21, 1976: Del Unser and Wayne Garrett were traded by the Mets to the Montreal Expos for Jim Dwyer and Pepe Mangual.Del Unser
at ''Baseball Reference'' * September 17, 1976: Greg Harris was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets.

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''

Other batters

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

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Farm system

Notes

References

External links

1976 New York Mets at Baseball Reference1976 New York Mets
at ''Baseball Almanac'' {{New York Mets New York Mets seasons New York Mets season

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

1970s in Queens