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 lea ...

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. 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.

Offseason

*December 8, 1983: Acquired Sid Fernandez and Ross Jones 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) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

for Bob Bailor and Carlos Diaz. *January 17, 1984: Kevin Elster 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 sup ...

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 ...

choose Tom Seaver from the Mets as a free agent compensation pick. *January 27, 1984: Signed Dick Tidrow 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 caree ...

. *February 19, 1984: Kelvin Moore 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 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 dr ...

, the Mets left Tom Seaver 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 ...

. 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 Major League Baseball season, 1970 throug ...

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

'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 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 s ...

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 Craig Steven Swan (born November 30, 1950) is a former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1973 to 1984 for the New York Mets and California Angels. Swan's best season came in when he posted a 9–6 win–loss r ...

. *June 4, 1984:

** Shawn Abner was drafted by the Mets in the 1st round (1st pick). ** Mauro Gozzo was drafted by the Mets in the 13th round. *June 15, 1984: Acquired Bruce Berenyi 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 ...

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

. *July 10, 1984: Heathcliff Slocumb 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 League ...

. 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 age ...

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, 198 ...

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 ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

, - , - , - , - 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 *

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

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 b ...

& Silver Slugger

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 d ...

*Dwight Gooden, pitcher * Jesse Orosco, 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