1980
From The Met Wiki
The 1980 season marked the start of a new era for the Mets. The team played in its first year under a new ownership group headed by Fred Wilpon. The phrase of The Magic is Back was often used as the new regime sought to bring excitement back to Shea Stadium. However, the Mets ended the season in fifth place with a 67-95 won-lost record.
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April
The Mets first season with their new owners got off to a rocky start. The team won six games while losing 10 in the first month. After splitting six games on a season-opening home stand, the Mets were swept in a three-game series at Chicago between April 17 and April 20. They won two of three games at Philadelphia before dropping all three games of a series at Houston. At Shea on April 30, the Mets concluded the month with a 2-0 win over the Phillies.
May
In May, things got a little better for the Mets. They had a break-even record for the month with 13 wins in 26 games played. On May 4, the Mets ended a four-game losing streak with a 6-2 victory over the Padres for a doubleheader split at Shea. The team made it two straight wins with a 3-2 triumph over the Reds in 10 innings at Shea one night later. After winning four of seven games on a road trip, the Mets won four of six against the Astros and Braves between May 20 and May 25 at Shea. They won three in a row at St. Louis and Pittsburgh from May 27 to May 30. To close out the month on May 31, the Mets dropped a 5-0 decision to the Pirates in Pittsburgh. The team stood fifth in the National League East Division.
June
The Mets showed some steady improvement in June. For the month, the team posted a 15-14 record for a .517 winning percentage. From June 5 to June 8, the Mets won four games in a row against the Cardinals and Pirates during a home stand. They defeated the Dodgers, 6-2, on a grand slam by Mike Jorgensen in the tenth inning at Shea on June 11. Three days later, the Mets scored five runs with two outs in the ninth to pull out a 7-6 win over the Giants at Shea. The team ended a seven-game losing streak with a 9-6 win at Los Angeles on June 22. The Mets followed up with three wins in each of two consecutive four-game series at Chicago and Philadelphia. They ended the month in fourth place, five and one-half games behind the division-leading Montreal Expos.
July
In July, the Mets continued to maintain a season percentage around the .500 mark. They reached the break-even point for the month at 14-14. The Mets won four of seven games against the Cubs and Expos at Shea between July 1 and July 6. In their first game after the All-Star Break, Pat Zachry pitched a shutout for a 2-0 victory over the Pirates on July 10 at Shea. The team swept a doubleheader at Shea with 7-4 and 10-4 wins over the Cardinals on July 13. The Mets reached the .500 mark on the season (42-42) with a 9-2 victory at Atlanta on July 15. They had 20 hits in a 13-3 win at Cincinnati on July 19. Zachry shut out the Reds with a six-hitter for a 2-0 Mets victory on July 25 at Shea. On July 30, Pat tossed his third shutout of the month in a 3-0 Mets triumph over the Braves at Shea. For his accomplishments, Zachry was named the National League Pitcher of the Month for July. The Mets were three games below the .500 mark (48-51) and in fourth place at the end of the month.
August
August turned out to be a bottoming out for the Mets. Halfway through the month, the team fell into a downward spiral from which it would not recover. After winning two of three against the Astros at Shea from August 1 to August 3, the Mets went 6-5 on an ensuing road trip. They defeated the Pirates, 5-3, on August 13 to conclude the trip and put themselves one game below the .500 mark on the season. The team then lost five consecutive games to the Phillies at Shea. Between August 19 and August 27, the Mets dropped six of eight games at home against the Giants, Dodgers and Padres. They lost three of four games at San Francisco to finish off the month. Twelve games under .500, the Mets still stood fourth in the N. L. East. However, the team was ten games in back of the second place Phillies and Expos.
September/October
Things did not improve for the Mets over the rest of the season. The team concluded the year with 8 wins in its final 32 games. At Shea on September 13, the Mets broke a 13-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over the Cubs. They came up with a 9-6 victory in 11 innings at Pittsburgh on September 20. The Mets snapped a seven-game skid with an 8-0 win over the Cardinals on September 28 at Shea. The team followed up by winning two of three games against the Pirates in its final home series of the year. On October 5, the Mets concluded the season with a 3-2 defeat to the Cardinals at St. Louis. They ended up 24 games behind the division-champion Phillies.
Award Winners
- Second baseman Doug Flynn won a National League Gold Glove Award. He was the third Mets player ever to be so honored.
