1979
From The Met Wiki
In 1979, the Mets played the final season under their original ownership. The descendents of Joan Whitney Payson sold the club following its third consecutive last place finish. The Mets had a 63-99 record for the season.
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April
The Mets started slowly in ‘79. The team won eight games and lost ten in the season’s first month. After a pair of wins at Chicago, the Mets lost eight of their next nine games. They started a three-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory at Philadelphia on April 22. The team then dropped two of three to the Dodgers before a 4-3 win over the Padres at Shea Stadium on April 30.
May
May was not the merry month for the Mets. The team had a won-lost record of 8-18, plus one game that ended in a tie. After losing to the Padres, 10-5, at Shea on May 1, the Mets dropped 11 of 14 games on an ensuing road trip. They came up with an amazing 8-7 win over the Cardinals in 11 innings on May 20 at Shea. After winning two of three against the Cubs, the Mets faced the Pirates at Shea in a four-game series on Memorial Day weekend. The series opener on May 25 was halted in the 11th inning due to a fog that rolled into the ballpark and resulted in a 3-3 tie. The Mets defeated Pittsburgh, 10-8, the next day for their only win of the series. They lost two of three games at St. Louis to end the month.
June
In June, the Mets posted a winning record. They had 15 victories and 11 defeats for a .577 percentage during the month. At Atlanta and Cincinnati between June 1 and June 6, the Mets won four times in six games against the Braves and Reds. They set an all-time team record with ten runs in one inning in a 12-6 victory over the Reds at Shea on June 12. The Mets ended a four-game losing streak with a 6-2 triumph at St. Louis on June 24. Against the Pirates from June 25 and June 28, they won three of five games played at both Shea and Pittsburgh. The team concluded June with a 9-8 victory in 11 innings at Chicago on June 30. The Mets stood at the bottom of the National League East Division, twelve games behind the first place Montreal Expos at month’s end.
July
The Mets had 13 wins and 17 losses in July. They began the month with nine defeats in their first 11 games. At Shea on July 11, the Mets began a five-game winning streak with a 4-3 triumph in 10 innings over the Dodgers. They won three of seven games on a west coast trip following the All-Star Break. The team split a four-game series with the Cubs at Shea between July 26 and July 29. They won one of two at Pittsburgh to close out the month. The Mets had a record of 44-56 and were 13 games behind the front-running Expos at the end of July.
August
August was a disaster for the Mets. A won-lost record of 8-22 sank the team even further in the N. L. East cellar. The Mets began the month by losing two of three to the Phillies at Shea and splitting a four-game series with the Expos at Montreal. They dropped six of seven games against the Cardinals and Expos on an ensuing home stand. On August 14, the Mets began a three-game sweep at Atlanta with an 18-5 victory over the Braves. At Shea on August 21, they recorded a 5-0 win over the Astros that had to be completed a day later due to unusual circumstances that occurred. The team lost its next eight games to finish off the dismal month. The Mets were 25 games behind the first place Pirates when August came to a close.
September
In September, the Mets had a .344 winning percentage. The team won 11 games and lost 21 for the month. After dropping their nine straight with a 3-1 defeat at Houston on September 1, the Mets came away with a 5-4 win over the Astros one day later to end the skid. They lost five of their next six before a 3-2 victory over the Pirates in 15 innings on September 8 at Shea. At Pittsburgh on September 16, the Mets stopped a five-game losing streak with a 3-0 triumph over the Bucs. The team was swept in four consecutive doubleheaders at Shea between September 18 and September 22. On a season-closing road trip to Chicago and St. Louis, the Mets won seven of eight games and avoided the 100-loss mark for the year. The team’s final game of ‘79 was a 4-2 victory over the Cardinals on September 30.
