The 1970 New York Mets season was the ninth regular season for the Mets, who played home games at Shea Stadium. Led by manager Gil Hodges, the team had an 83–79 record and finished in third place in the National League East, six games behind the first place Pittsburgh Pirates.
Offseason December 3, 1969: Amos Otis and Bob Johnson were traded by the Mets to the Kansas City Royals for Joe Foy.Amos Otis page at Baseball Reference
Regular season
The Mets opened the 1970 season on April 7 with a historic 5–3, 11-inning victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field. The win marked the first time in franchise history that the Mets won their Opening Day game, snapping an eight-game losing streak in season openers that dated back to the team's inaugural season in 1962.
The game remained tied 3–3 until the top of the 11th inning, when 1969 World Series MVP Donn Clendenon delivered a clutch, two-run single as a pinch-hitter against his former team. Reliever Tug McGraw pitched a scoreless bottom of the frame to secure the victory. The win flipped a long-standing franchise trend; after starting their history 0–8 on Opening Day, the Mets would go on to establish the highest Opening Day winning percentage in Major League Baseball history over the following decades.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions July 12, 1970: Don Cardwell was purchased from the Mets by the Atlanta Braves.Don Cardwell page at Baseball Reference
Roster 1970 New York Mets Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders 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 C Jerry Grote 126 415 106 .255 2 34 1B Donn Clendenon 121 396 114 .288 22 97 2B Ken Boswell 105 351 89 .254 5 44 SS Bud Harrelson 157 564 137 .243 1 42 3B 99 322 76 .236 6 37 LF Cleon Jones 134 506 140 .277 10 63 CF Tommie Agee 153 636 182 .286 24 75 RF Ron Swoboda 115 245 57 .233 9 40
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 Art Shamsky 122 403 118 .293 11 49 Wayne Garrett 114 366 93 .254 12 45 Ken Singleton 69 198 52 .263 5 26 Dave Marshall 92 189 46 .243 6 29 Duffy Dyer 59 148 31 .209 2 12 Al Weis 75 121 25 .207 1 11 Mike Jorgensen 76 87 17 .195 3 4 Ed Kranepool 43 47 8 .170 0 3 4 16 1 .063 0 0 Rod Gaspar 11 14 0 .000 0 0 Tim Foli 5 11 4 .364 0 1 Leroy Stanton 4 4 1 .250 0 0
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 Tom Seaver 37 290.2 18 12 2.82 283 Jerry Koosman 30 212.0 12 7 3.14 118 Gary Gentry 32 188.1 9 9 3.68 134 Jim McAndrew 32 184.1 10 14 3.56 111
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 Ray Sadecki 28 138.2 8 4 3.89 89 Nolan Ryan 27 131.2 7 11 3.42 125
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 Ron Taylor 57 5 4 13 3.93 28 Tug McGraw 57 4 6 10 3.28 81 Danny Frisella 30 8 3 1 3.02 54 Rich Folkers 16 0 2 2 6.44 15 16 0 2 0 6.48 8 Cal Koonce 13 0 2 0 3.27 10 Ron Herbel 12 2 2 1 1.38 8 Dean Chance 3 0 1 1 13.50 0
Awards and honors Tommie Agee – Player of the Month, June 1970 All-Star Game
Farm system
Notes
References 1970 New York Mets at Baseball Reference 1970 New York Mets team page at www.baseball-almanac.com