1977 New York Mets season
| 1977 New York Mets | |
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| Owner(s) | Charles Shipman Payson |
| General manager(s) | Joe McDonald |
| Manager(s) | Joe Frazier, Joe Torre |
| Local television | WOR-TV |
| Local radio |
WNEW/WNYC (Ralph Kiner, Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The 1977 New York Mets season was the 16th regular season for the Mets, who played home games at Shea Stadium. Initially led by manager Joe Frazier followed by Joe Torre, the team had a 64–98 and finished in last place for the first time since 1967, and for the first time since divisional play was introduced in 1969.
The 1977 Mets had some promising new players in outfielder Lee Mazzilli and catcher John Stearns, but there was not enough sock in the lineup. the once powerful pitching staff had also taken on a leaner look. By midseason, ace Tom Seaver had been traded, Jerry Koosman was 8–20 and Jon Matlack (who would be traded in December) was 7–15.
1977 got off to a bad start for Joe Frazier's Mets. On May 30, after being swept in a doubleheader by the Montreal Expos, the Mets' record fell to 15–30, and Frazier was fired as manager of the Mets. Mets first baseman Joe Torre assumed the role of player-manager, leading his team to a 49–68 record the remainder of the way. The team finished 37 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East, narrowly avoiding a 100-loss season (64–98).
Torre was the club's sixth manager and in certain respects his appointment reestablished the New York connection of Mets managers. Although he had spent most of his career with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals, Torre had grown up and played his first baseball in Brooklyn. When the thirty-six-year-old Torre retired as a player that June, he left behind a .297 lifetime batting average for his eighteen years in the major leagues, including an MVP season in 1971 when he led the league with a .363 batting average. Torre was an able manager, with a veteran's incisive insights into the game and the ability to handle and motivate players. But in this case, a last-place team was a last-place team no matter how able the manager.
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