1963
From The Met Wiki
In 1963, the Mets played their second season of their history. The orange-and-blue had two new faces (one old, one new) that provided excitement for the hometown fans during the year. Brooklyn favorite Duke Snider joined the team for the penultimate season of his career and Ron Hunt finished second (to Pete Rose) in the voting for National League Rookie of the Year. The Mets won 51 games and lost 111 the final year of baseball at the Polo Grounds.
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April
The Mets’ season got off to a rough start. The team began with eight consecutive losses (four of which were shutouts), during which it was outscored 39-10. They responded by sweeping a four-game series at home against the Milwaukee Braves, starting with a 5-4 victory on April 19. The Mets closed the month with a 7-12 won-lost record.
May
In May, the Mets reached double-digits for wins in a month for the first time ever. The came out on top 11 times while dropping 19. From May 5 to May 10, the Mets had a five-game winnings streak that concluded with a 3-2 triumph over the Reds at the Polo Grounds. In a doubleheader nightcap on May 12, they emerged with a 13-12 victory over Cincinnati in a slugfest at home. The Mets also stopped a seven-game losing streak with a 3-2 win in 11 innings at St. Louis on May 26.
June
The Mets repeated their feat of 11 wins in the month of June. The team chalked up a pair of 10-inning wins over the Pirates (2-1 and 4-3) in a doubleheader at the Polo Grounds on June 2. At home on June 7, a three-run homer by Snider in the ninth gave the Mets a 3-2 win over the Cardinals. The Mets recorded a doubleheader sweep with 5-0 and 4-1 victories over the Phillies at home on June 23. They also came away with an 8-6 win over the Cubs in 14 innings on June 26 at the Polo Grounds.
July
July was a nightmare for the Mets. After losing their last three games of June, the team proceeded to drop its first twelve of the new month. The skid finally ended with a 14-5 romp over the Colt .45s in the first game of a twinbill at the Polo Grounds on July 15. The Mets also had a string of 11 straight losses that ended with a 5-1 win at Los Angeles on July 30. For July, the Mets lost 25 of their 29 games played. The ended the month with a season record of 33-73.
August
The Mets continued to struggle in August. The team had a pair of three-game losing streaks and a six-game skid during the month. Still, Mets’ fans did get to witness a couple of key moments courtesy of Jim Hickman. At the Polo Grounds on August 7, Jim hit for the first cycle (a natural one of single, double, triple, home run in that order) in team history in a 7-3 win over the Cardinals. Hickman also hit a grand slam in the ninth inning to give the Mets a 7-3 win over the Cubs at home on August 9. Rookie Grover Powell pitched a four-hit shutout for a 4-0 Mets win in a doubleheader opener at Philadelphia on August 20. This victory brought the Mets to 40 wins on the season to match their mark for the entire previous year.
September
The Mets had a 9-19 won-lost record in September to equal the one they had in August. The month started well for the team with a 6-4 triumph over the Braves in 16 innings at the Polo Grounds on September 1. The Mets had both a four-game losing streak and a four-game winning streak during the first half of September. They also suffered eight consecutive defeats, one of which was a 5-1 loss to the Phillies on September 18 in the last game ever at the Polo Grounds. The Mets reached the 50-win mark with a 5-4 victory at San Francisco on September 21. They also recorded a 10-3 win at Houston on September 27 in a game that featured nine rookies (including future Mets Jerry Grote and Rusty Staub) in the Colt 45s’ starting lineup.
