The New York Mets played their third regular season in 1964. They went 53–109 and finished tenth in the National League, 40 games behind the World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals. They were managed by Casey Stengel. They played home games at Shea Stadium, which opened on April 17 of that year. This was Stengel's final full season as manager.

Offseason October 10, 1963: Jack Fisher was drafted by the Mets from the San Francisco Giants in a 1963 special draft.Jack Fisher page at Baseball Reference

Regular season One high point of Shea Stadium's first season came on Father's Day, when Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jim Bunning threw a perfect game against the Mets, the first in the National League since 1880. For perhaps the only time in the stadium's history, the Shea faithful found themselves rooting for the visitors, caught up in the rare achievement, and roaring for Bunning on every pitch in the ninth inning. His strikeout of John Stephenson capped the performance.

Another high point was Shea Stadium's hosting of the All-Star Game. Johnny Callison's ninth-inning three-run home run off Dick Radatz capped a four-run rally and gave the National League a 7–4 win over the American League in that game, which evened the series at seventeen wins for each league.

The stadium also saw pitcher Masanori Murakami of the San Francisco Giants become the first Japanese player to appear in the Major Leagues. He entered the game in the ninth inning of the Giants' 4–1 loss to the Mets

Unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight in the final hectic weekend of the 1964 season, the Mets relished the role of spoiler, beating the Cardinals in St. Louis on Friday and Saturday (keeping alive the hopes of the Phillies, Giants, and Reds) before succumbing to the eventual National League champions on Sunday.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions April 6, 1964: Darrell Sutherland was selected off waivers by the Mets from the Philadelphia Phillies as a first-year waiver pick.Darrell Sutherland page at Baseball Reference April 23, 1964: Chico Fernández, Bobby Catton (minors), and cash were traded by the Mets to the Chicago White Sox for Charley Smith.Charley Smith page at Baseball Reference August 7, 1964: Frank Thomas was traded by the Mets to the Philadelphia Phillies for Wayne Graham, Gary Kroll, and cash.Frank Thomas page at Baseball Reference August 8, 1964: Frank Lary was traded by the Mets to the Milwaukee Braves for Dennis Ribant and cash.Dennis Ribant page at Baseball Reference August 27, 1964: Jerry Koosman was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets.Jerry Koosman page at Baseball Reference

Shea Stadium The Mets' new home park was originally to be called "Flushing Meadows Stadium" – the name of the public park on which it was built – but a movement was launched to name it in honor of William A. Shea, the man who brought National League baseball back to New York. After 29 months and $28.5 million, Shea Stadium opened on April 17, 1964, with the Mets losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates, led by Roberto Clemente and Bill Mazeroski, 4–3 before a crowd of 50,312. Shea was a circular stadium, with the grandstand forming a perfect circle around the field and ending a short distance beyond the foul lines. The remainder of the perimeter was mostly empty space beyond the outfield fences. This space was occupied by the bullpens, the scoreboard, and the centerfield "batter's eye" backdrop. The stadium boasted 54 restrooms, 21 escalators and seats for 57,343. It was big, airy, sparkling, with a massive 86' x 175' scoreboard. Also, rather than the standard light towers, Shea had lamps along its upper reaches, like a convoy of semis with their brights on, which gave the field that unique high-wattage glow. Praised for its convenience, even its elegance, Shea was deemed a showplace.

Roster 1964 New York Mets Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Manager

Coaches (Pitching) (Third base) (Bullpen) (First base)

Player stats = Indicates team leader

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 R H Avg. HR RBI SB C 131 341 28 92 .270 7 35 0 1B 119 420 47 108 .257 10 45 0 2B 127 475 59 144 .303 6 42 6 3B 127 443 44 106 .239 20 58 2 SS 113 379 30 80 .211 1 25 3 LF 124 422 48 97 .230 9 47 4 CF 139 409 48 105 .257 11 57 0 RF 154 543 78 163 .300 16 76 6

Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB R H Avg. HR RBI SB 98 254 25 59 .232 1 11 3 Hawk Taylor 92 225 20 54 .240 4 23 0 Larry Elliot 80 224 27 51 .228 9 22 1 Bobby Klaus 56 209 25 51 .244 2 11 3 60 197 19 50 .254 3 19 1 Chris Cannizzaro 60 164 11 51 .311 0 10 0 Amado Samuel 53 142 7 33 .232 0 5 0 Tim Harkness 39 117 11 33 .282 2 13 1 Dick Smith 46 94 14 21 .223 0 3 6 37 57 2 9 .158 1 2 0 20 33 1 3 .091 0 0 0 Al Moran 16 22 2 5 .227 0 4 0 3 7 0 0 .000 0 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 40 227.2 10 17 4.23 115 36 225.2 10 20 3.79 118 40 213.1 11 16 4.26 112 36 191.2 6 19 3.62 78

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 Dennis Ribant 14 57.2 1 5 5.15 35 13 57.1 2 3 4.55 27 Carl Willey 14 30.0 0 2 3.60 14 10 26.2 0 3 7.76 9 8 21.2 0 1 4.15 24 4 19.1 1 2 4.19 10 9 15.1 0 2 8.22 11 4 13.0 0 1 5.54 5 Jay Hook 3 9.2 0 1 9.31 5

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 41 3 3 5 4.41 22 62 3 5 2 3.61 61 44 5 5 3 4.15 31 Ron Locke 25 1 2 0 3.48 17 Tom Sturdivant 16 0 0 1 5.97 18 8 0 2 1 5.40 3 2 0 0 0 0.00 0

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Auburn

Notes

References 1964 New York Mets at Baseball Reference 1964 New York Mets team page at www.baseball-almanac.com