| 1966 New York Mets | |
|---|---|
| Major League affiliations | |
| |
| Location | |
| |
| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Joan Whitney Payson |
| General manager(s) | George Weiss, Bing Devine |
| Manager(s) | Wes Westrum |
| Local television | WOR-TV |
| Local radio | WHN (Ralph Kiner, Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The 1966 New York Mets season was the fifth regular season for the Mets. They went 66–95 and finished 9th in the NL. They were managed by Wes Westrum. They played home games at Shea Stadium.
1966 marked the first season in which the Mets avoided a last place finish, as well as the first time they did not lose at least 100 games.
Offseason
- October 20, 1965: Charley Smith and Al Jackson were traded by the Mets to the St. Louis Cardinals for Ken Boyer.[1]
- November 29, 1965: Al Luplow was purchased by the Mets from the Cleveland Indians.[2]
- November 30, 1965: Joe Christopher was traded by the Mets to the Boston Red Sox for Eddie Bressoud.[3]
- January 6, 1966: Gary Kroll was traded by the Mets to the Houston Astros for Johnny Weekly and cash.[4]
Regular season
- September 11, 1966: Pitcher Pat Jarvis of the Atlanta Braves becomes the first of 5,714 strikeout victims of Nolan Ryan's career.[5]
Season standings
| National League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 95 | 67 | 0.586 | — | 53–28 | 42–39 |
| San Francisco Giants | 93 | 68 | 0.578 | 1½ | 47–34 | 46–34 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 92 | 70 | 0.568 | 3 | 46–35 | 46–35 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 87 | 75 | 0.537 | 8 | 48–33 | 39–42 |
| Atlanta Braves | 85 | 77 | 0.525 | 10 | 43–38 | 42–39 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 83 | 79 | 0.512 | 12 | 43–38 | 40–41 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 76 | 84 | 0.475 | 18 | 46–33 | 30–51 |
| Houston Astros | 72 | 90 | 0.444 | 23 | 45–36 | 27–54 |
| New York Mets | 66 | 95 | 0.410 | 28½ | 32–49 | 34–46 |
| Chicago Cubs | 59 | 103 | 0.364 | 36 | 32–49 | 27–54 |
Record vs. opponents
1966 National League Records Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | NYM | PHI | PIT | SF | STL | |||||
| Atlanta | — | 7–11 | 10–8 | 14–4–1 | 7–11 | 14–4 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 8–10 | 7–11 | |||||
| Chicago | 11–7 | — | 6–12 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 5–13 | 6–12 | 6–12 | 4–14 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 8–10 | 12–6 | — | 4–14 | 6–12 | 10–7 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 7–10 | 11–7 | |||||
| Houston | 4–14–1 | 13–5 | 14–4 | — | 7–11 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 4–14 | 6–12 | 10–8 | |||||
| Los Angeles | 11–7 | 10–8 | 12–6 | 11–7 | — | 12–6 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 10–8 | |||||
| New York | 4–14 | 10–8 | 7–10 | 11–7 | 6–12 | — | 7–11 | 5–13 | 9–9 | 7–11 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 7-11 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 11–7 | — | 10–8 | 10–8 | 10–8 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 11–7 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 14–4 | 9–9 | 13–5 | 8–10 | — | 7–11 | 8–10 | |||||
| San Francisco | 10–8 | 12–6 | 10–7 | 12–6 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 11–7 | — | 12–6 | |||||
| St. Louis | 11–7 | 14–4 | 7–11 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 6–12 | — | |||||
Notable transactions
- April 3, 1966: Tom Seaver was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets.[6]
- June 4, 1966: Galen Cisco was released by the Mets.[7]
- June 7, 1966: Duffy Dyer was drafted by the Mets in the 1st round (9th pick) of the 1966 Major League Baseball Draft (Secondary Phase).[8]
- June 10, 1966: Bob Shaw was purchased by the Mets from the San Francisco Giants.[9]
- August 6, 1966: Ralph Terry was purchased by the Mets from the Kansas City Athletics.[10]
Roster
| 1966 New York Mets | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
| Catchers
Infielders
| Outfielders
Other batters | Manager Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3B | Ken Boyer | 136 | 496 | 132 | .266 | 14 | 61 |
| RF | Al Luplow | 111 | 334 | 84 | .251 | 7 | 31 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gerry Arrigo | 17 | 43.1 | 3 | 3 | 3.74 | 28 |
| Nolan Ryan | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 15.00 | 6 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Bearnarth | 29 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4.45 | 27 |
Farm system
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | Jacksonville Suns | International League | Solly Hemus |
| AA | Williamsport Mets | Eastern League | Bill Virdon |
| A | Auburn Mets | New York–Penn League | Clyde McCullough |
| A | Greenville Mets | Western Carolinas League | Pete Pavlick |
| Rookie | Marion Mets | Appalachian League | Buddy Peterson |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Auburn, Marion
Notes
- ^ Charley Smith page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Al Luplow page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Joe Christopher page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Gary Kroll page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Baseball's Top 100: The Game's Greatest Records, p. 32, Kerry Banks, 2010, Greystone Books, Vancouver, BC, ISBN 978-1-55365-507-7
- ^ Tom Seaver page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Galen Cisco page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Duffy Dyer page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Mets buy Bob Shaw from Giants
- ^ Ralph Terry page at Baseball Reference
References
- 1966 New York Mets
- 1966 New York Mets team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.