The 1984

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

season was the 23rd regular season for the Mets. They went 90–72 and finished in second place in the

National League East The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title. The division was created when the National Leag ...

. They were managed by

Davey Johnson David Allen Johnson (born January 30, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played as a second baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynasty that won four American League ...

. They played home games at

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.Sid Fernandez Charles Sidney Fernandez (born October 12, 1962) is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, and ...

and

Ross Jones Ross A. Jones (born January 14, 1960) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played for the New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, and Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Amateur career A native of Miami, Florida, Jon ...

from the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

for

Bob Bailor Robert Michael Bailor (born July 10, 1951) is a former Major League Baseball player best known for being the first player selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1976 Major League Baseball expansion draft. Early years Bailor was born in Connell ...

and Carlos Diaz. *January 17, 1984:

Kevin Elster Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

was drafted by the Mets in the 2nd round of the

1984 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1984 Major League Baseball draft. Other notable players *Jeff Blauser†, 1st round (secondary phase), 4th overall by the Atlanta Braves * Greg Maddux‡, 2nd round, 31st ...

. Player signed May 21, 1984. *January 17, 1984:

Rafael Santana Rafael Francisco Santana de la Cruz (born January 31, 1958) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop who won a World Series ring with the 1986 New York Mets. He currently serves as the Dominican Republic scouting and player development superv ...

was signed as a free agent by the Mets. *January 20, 1984: The

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

choose

Tom Seaver George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cinc ...

from the Mets as a free agent compensation pick. *January 27, 1984: Signed

Dick Tidrow Richard William Tidrow (May 14, 1947 – July 10, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher and the senior vice president of player personnel and senior advisor to the general manager for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Basebal ...

as a free agent. The Mets released him on May 8. *January 30, 1984: Released

Dave Kingman David Arthur Kingman (born December 21, 1948), nicknamed "Kong," "King Kong," and "Sky King", is a former Major League Baseball left fielder, first baseman, third baseman, and designated hitter who was a three-time MLB All-Star with 442 career hom ...

. *February 19, 1984:

Kelvin Moore Kelvin David Moore (born 15 August 1950) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Moore was one of the best full-backs of his era and played in three Hawthorn p ...

was traded by the Mets to the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

for Billy Max (minors). *March 17, 1984: Jerry Martin was signed as a free agent with the New York Mets.

Regular season

1984 got off to an embarrassing start for GM

Frank Cashen John Francis "Frank" Cashen (September 13, 1925 – June 30, 2014) was a Major League Baseball general manager. He was an executive when the Baltimore Orioles won the 1966 World Series, and 1970 World Series while winning three consecutive AL penna ...

and the Mets before the season even began. Believing that it was unnecessary to protect a high-salaried, 39-year-old

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

, the Mets left

unprotected. In a move that stunned the Mets, on January 20 Seaver was claimed in a free-agent compensation draft by the

. This left opening day duties to

Mike Torrez Michael Augustine Torrez (born August 28, 1946) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) starting pitcher. In an 18-season career, he pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals (1967–1971), Montreal Expos (1971–1974), Baltimore Orioles (19 ...

. Torrez lasted only 1.1 innings against the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Riverfront Stadium Riverfront Stadium, also known as Cinergy Field from 1996 to 2002, was a multi-purpose stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States that was the home of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball from 1970 through 2002 and the Cincinnati Bengals o ...

, giving up six earned runs, and giving the Mets their first opening day loss since 1974.

's team did, however, come back to win the next six in a row, including

Dwight Gooden Dwight Eugene Gooden (born November 16, 1964), nicknamed "Dr. K" and "Doc", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Gooden pitched from 1984 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2000 for the N ...

's Major League Baseball debut on April 7. Johnson also helped bring the Mets back in contention, producing their first winning season since 1976. Off-season acquisition

Sid Fernandez Charles Sidney Fernandez (born October 12, 1962) is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, and ...

made his debut with the Mets on July 16, going seven innings against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

at the

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...

, and earning the victory.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

*May 9, 1984: Released Craig Swan. *June 4, 1984:

Shawn Abner Shawn Wesley Abner (born June 17, 1966) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1987 to 1992 for the San Diego Padres, California Angels, and Chicago White Sox. In 392 career games, A ...

was drafted by the Mets in the 1st round (1st pick). **

Mauro Gozzo Mauro "Blond Herring" or "Goose" Gozzo (born March 7, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher and current manager of the Gastonia Honey Hunters. He played all or parts of six seasons in the majors, from until . Career Playing H ...

was drafted by the Mets in the 13th round. *June 15, 1984: Acquired

Bruce Berenyi Bruce Michael Berenyi (born August 21, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher from 1980 to 1986. Early years Berenyi's uncle was MLB pitcher Ned Garver. Berenyi played basketball as well as baseball at Fairview High School in ...

from the

for

Jay Tibbs Jay Lindsey Tibbs (born January 4, 1962) is a retired American Major League Baseball pitcher with a seven-year career from 1984 to 1990. Tibbs graduated from Huffman High School in 1980, the same year he was named Alabama's High School Player of t ...

, Eddie Williams and Matts Bullinger. *June 22, 1984: Released

. *July 10, 1984:

Heathcliff Slocumb Heath "Heathcliff" Slocumb (born June 7, 1966) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) relief pitcher. He batted and threw right-handed. Early life and amateur career As a child, Slocumb was nicknamed "Heathcliff" after the comic strip cat of t ...

was signed by the Mets as an amateur free agent. *August 28, 1984: The Mets traded players to be named later to the

for

Ray Knight Charles Ray Knight (born December 28, 1952) is an American former Major League Baseball infielder best remembered for his time with the Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets. Originally drafted by the Reds in the tenth round of the 1970 Major Leag ...

. The Mets completed the deal by sending Gerald Young and

Manuel Lee Manuel Lora Lee (born June 17, 1965) is a former shortstop and second baseman for Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays (1985–92), Texas Rangers (1993–94) and St. Louis Cardinals (1995). He was originally signed as an amateur free agent ...

to the Astros on August 31 and Mitch Cook (minors) to the Astros on September 10. *August 28, 1984: Jeff Gardner was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets. *September 30, 1984: Jerry Martin was released by the New York Mets.

Opening Day starters

*Wally Backman *Hubie Brooks *George Foster *John Gibbons *Keith Hernandez *Jose Oquendo *Darryl Strawberry *Mike Torrez *Mookie Wilson

Roster

Game log

Regular season

, - , - , - , - style="background:#bbcaff;" , – , , July 10 , , , , colspan=10 ,

1984 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 1984 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 55th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played on July 10, 1984 ...

Candlestick Park Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 un ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, - , - , - , - style="text-align:center;" , Legend: = Win = Loss = Postponement
Bold = Mets team member

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

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Jackson, Lynchburg, Little Falls

Awards and honors

* Mike Fitzgerald,

Topps All-Star Rookie Teams The Topps All-Star Rookie Team, also known as the Topps ASRT, is a set of baseball cards issued by Topps Company, Inc., every year to commemorate notable Major League Baseball rookie players. History Since the 1960s, Topps' regular-issue basebal ...

, Rookie of the Year & Topps All-Star Rookie Team *

Keith Hernandez Keith Hernandez (born October 20, 1953) is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman who played the majority of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets. Hernandez was a five-time All-Star who shared the 1979 NL MVP ...

Gold Glove The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

Silver Slugger The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. These voters co ...

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

*Dwight Gooden, pitcher *

Jesse Orosco Jesse Russell Orosco (born April 21, 1957) is a Mexican American former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who holds the major league record for career pitching appearances, having pitched in 1,252 games. He pitched most notably for the New ...

, pitcher *

Darryl Strawberry Darryl Eugene Strawberry (born March 12, 1962) is an American former professional baseball right fielder and author who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Throughout his career, Strawberry was one of the most feared sluggers in th ...

, outfielder

Notes

References

*
1984 New York Mets at Baseball Reference1984 New York Mets
at ''Baseball Almanac'' {{New York Mets New York Mets seasons New York Mets season

1980s in Queens