1975
From The Met Wiki
The Mets got back to a winning record in 1975. They recorded 82 victories for a .506 percentage. During the season, manager Yogi Berra was fired and replaced by Roy McMillan. The team ended the year in third place in the National League Eastern Division.
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April
The Mets’ season got off to a rough start. Following a 2-1 win over the Phillies in the season opener at Shea Stadium on April 8, the team lost its next five consecutive games. They rebounded with a seven-game winning streak that began with a doubleheader sweep over the Cubs (8-6 and 4-3) on April 20 at Shea. The Mets ended the month with a 9-7 won-lost record.
May
In May, the Mets played .500 ball with a 12-12 record. They defeated the Expos, 3-0, at Shea on May 2 before dropping six consecutive games. The Mets ended the skid with a 3-2 victory over the Reds on May 11 at Shea that started a five-game winning streak. The team won two of three games at Atlanta on Memorial Day weekend. On the holiday itself (May 26), they defeated the Dodgers, 6-3, at Shea on a ninth-inning home run by Wayne Garrett. The Mets closed out the month with a 7-2 win over the Padres at Shea on May 31. They stood in third place, two games behind the first-place Pirates.
June
The Mets managed to stay above the break-even point in June. The team won 16 of its 31 games for the month. From June 2 to June 5, the Mets swept a four-game series against the Astros at Shea. They came away with a 7-6 win over the Braves in 14 innings at Shea on June 8. On an ensuing west coast trip, the team won five of seven games. They ended a seven-game losing streak with a 5-1 win over the Cardinals on June 24 at Shea. The Mets split a four-game series with the Phillies at Shea before a 5-1 triumph over the Cubs on June 30. At month’s end, the team remained in third place with a 37-34 record.
July
The Mets moved to six games over .500 on the season during July. They won 17 times to remain in respectable position in the N. L. East pennant race. At Philadelphia on July 4, the Mets came from behind for a 4-3 win over the Phillies. The team swept a three-game series at Atlanta, but followed up with four losses at Cincinnati before the All-Star Break. In their first game after the mid-summer classic, the Mets defeated the Braves, 4-3, on July 17 at Shea. They came from six runs behind to pull out a 10-9 victory over the Astros at Shea on July 20. Against the Reds at Shea on July 22, the Mets had a 3-1 victory in which Jerry Koosman pitched a complete game and recorded his first career stolen base. They won three of four games at Chicago and split four games at St. Louis between July 25 and July 30. The Mets concluded July with a 6-2 triumph at Pittsburgh on July 31. The team ended the month eight games behind the front-running Pirates and three and one-half games in back of the second-place Phillies.
August
In August, the Mets continued to slowly enhance their winning record. They went 17-16 for the month and found themselves among four teams contending the N. L. East race. At Pittsburgh on August 2, Jon Matlack pitched a five-hit shutout for a 6-0 Mets win over the Pirates. The team lost eight of its next ten games (during which Berra was dismissed) before an 8-4 win over the Padres on August 11 at Shea. Craig Swan returned from the minor leagues to pitch the Mets to a 4-2 win over the Giants at Shea on August 16. During a west coast trip, the team had a five-game winning streak between August 25 and August 29. They concluded the California journey on August 31 with a 5-2 loss at Los Angeles.
September
The Mets staggered to close out the regular season. The team recorded only 11 victories and had a .407 percentage during September. The month began very well with a 3-0 Labor Day victory over the Pirates at Shea on September 1. In this game, Tom Seaver got his 20th win of the season and passed the 200-strikeout mark for a record-setting eight consecutive year. The Mets stopped a six-game losing streak with a 7-0 win at Pittsburgh on September 11. Rookie Mike Vail tied a team record by hitting safely in his 23rd consecutive game in the Mets’ 3-2 win over the Expos on September 15 at Shea. Three days later, Dave Kingman set a Mets record with his 35th home run of the year and Rusty Staub became the team’s first player to reach 100 RBIs for a season in a 7-5 victory over the Cubs at Shea. At Chicago on September 24, Seaver held the Cubs hitless through eight and two-thirds innings before the Mets suffered a 1-0 defeat in 11 innings. Tom then recorded his 22nd win of the year in a season-closing 5-4 Mets triumph at Philadelphia on September 28.
Award Winners
- Matlack was named co-MVP of the All-Star Game in Milwaukee
- Seaver won the National League Cy Young Award for the third time in his career
- Mets broadcaster Ralph Kiner was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
