The 1962 New York Mets season was the first regular season for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB), as the National League returned to New York City for the first time since 1957. They went 40–120 (.250) and finished tenth and last in the National League, games behind the NL Champion San Francisco Giants, who had once called New York home. The Mets were the latest team to be 60+ games behind in a division before the 2018 Baltimore Orioles finished 61 games behind the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox. In one of the worst MLB seasons in the modern era and the National League since the 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates, the Mets lost 120 games, setting the record for the most losses in the era. Their losses became the second most when the 2024 Chicago White Sox lost their 121st game; though their winning percentage (.253) is still higher than the Mets' (.250). The Mets' starting pitchers also recorded a new major league low of just 23 wins all season.

The team lost its first game 11–4 to the St. Louis Cardinals on April 11 and went on to lose its first nine games. Their first win in franchise history came on April 23 in Pittsburgh in a 9–1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, which also resulted in the Pirates' first loss after a 10–0 start. Their first win in New York came on April 28 in a 9–4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Having repaired their record to 12–19 on May 20 after sweeping a doubleheader against the Milwaukee Braves, the Mets lost their next 17 games. They also lost 11 games straight from July 15 to July 26 and 13 games straight from August 9 to August 21. Their longest winning streak of the season was three wins.

The Mets were managed by former New York Yankees manager Casey Stengel and played their home games at the Polo Grounds, which was their temporary home while Shea Stadium was being built in Queens. They remain infamous for their ineptitude and were one of the worst teams in Major League Baseball history. The team's 120 losses were the third most by any MLB team, after the infamous 1899 Cleveland Spiders lost 134. Their team batting average, team earned run average (ERA), and team fielding percentage were all the worst in the major leagues that season.

Despite the team's terrible performance, fans came out in droves. Their 1962 season attendance of 922,530 was good enough for sixth in the National League.

The season was chronicled in Jimmy Breslin's humorous best-selling 1963 book Can't Anybody Here Play This Game? The title came from a remark made by manager Casey Stengel expressing frustration over his team's poor play.

One of the only bright spots was left fielder Frank Thomas, who hit .266 with 152 hits, 34 home runs, and 94 RBIs.

Offseason July 20, 1961: Paul Blair was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets. October 16, 1961: Billy Loes was purchased by the Mets from the San Francisco Giants. November 28, 1961: The Mets traded a player to be named later and cash to the Milwaukee Braves for Frank Thomas and a player to be named later. The deal was completed on May 21, 1962, when the Mets sent Gus Bell to the Braves, and the Braves sent Rick Herrscher to the Mets. January 30, 1962: Joe Ginsberg was signed as a free agent by the Mets. March 2, 1962: Billy Loes was returned by the Mets to the San Francisco Giants.

Expansion draft

Craig Anderson, pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals Gus Bell, outfielder, Cincinnati Reds Ed Bouchee, infielder, Chicago Cubs Chris Cannizzaro, catcher, St. Louis Cardinals Elio Chacón, infielder, Cincinnati Reds Joe Christopher, outfielder, Pittsburgh Pirates Choo-Choo Coleman, catcher, Philadelphia Phillies Roger Craig, pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers Ray Daviault, pitcher, San Francisco Giants John DeMerit, outfielder, Milwaukee Braves Sammy Drake, infielder, Chicago Cubs Jim Hickman, outfielder, St. Louis Cardinals Gil Hodges, infielder, Los Angeles Dodgers Jay Hook, pitcher, Cincinnati Reds Al Jackson, pitcher, Pittsburgh Pirates Sherman Jones, pitcher, Cincinnati Reds Hobie Landrith, catcher, San Francisco Giants Félix Mantilla, infielder, Milwaukee Braves Bob L. Miller, pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals Bobby Gene Smith, outfielder, Philadelphia Phillies Lee Walls, infielder/outfielder, Philadelphia Phillies Don Zimmer, infielder, Chicago Cubs

1961 minor league affiliates The Mets and Houston Colt .45s were established on October 17, 1960, giving them time to acquire minor league professional players, sign amateur free agents (there was no first-year MLB draft until 1965) and enter into working agreements with minor league affiliates during the 1961 season. New York had formal working agreements with three minor league baseball teams in 1961:

Regular season As an expansion team, the Mets were not expected to do well. They finished last in the National League, and they also finished 24 games behind their expansion brethren, the Colt .45s.

Season standings

Opening Day lineup The first game in franchise history was played on the road, at Busch Stadium, St. Louis, on Wednesday night, April 11, 1962. The Mets fell behind 2–0 and 5–2 early, then narrowed the deficit to one run, but ultimately lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 11–4. Former Brooklyn Dodgers Gil Hodges and Charlie Neal homered for the Mets, whose home opener at New York's Polo Grounds would wait until their second-ever official game, on Friday, April 13, 1962.

+Opening Day Lineup # Name Position1 Richie Ashburn CF18 Félix Mantilla SS4 Charlie Neal 2B25 Frank Thomas LF3 Gus Bell RF14 Gil Hodges 1B17 Don Zimmer 3B5 Hobie Landrith C 38 Roger Craig SP

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions April 26, 1962: Harry Chiti was purchased by the Mets from the Cleveland Indians. April 26, 1962: Bob Smith was traded by the Mets to the Chicago Cubs for Sammy Taylor. May 1, 1962: Joe Ginsberg was released by the Mets. May 7, 1962: Don Zimmer was traded by the Mets to the Cincinnati Reds for Bob G. Miller and Cliff Cook. May 7, 1962: Jim Marshall was traded by the Mets to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Vinegar Bend Mizell. May 9, 1962: Marv Throneberry was sold by the Baltimore Orioles to the New York Mets. June 7, 1962 The New York Mets sell Hobie Landrith to the Orioles. June 15, 1962: Harry Chiti was returned by the Mets to the Cleveland Indians. June 27, 1962: Ed Kranepool was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets. August 4, 1962: Vinegar Bend Mizell was released by the Mets. September 7, 1962: Galen Cisco was selected off waivers by the Mets from the Boston Red Sox.

Roster 1962 New York Mets Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Manager

Coaches (Third base) (Hitting)

(First base) (Pitching)

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 H Avg. HR RBI C 59 133 32 .241 0 9 1B 116 357 87 .244 16 49 2B 136 508 132 .260 11 58 3B 141 466 128 .275 11 59 SS 118 368 87 .236 2 27 LF 156 571 152 .266 34 94 CF 140 392 96 .245 13 46 RF 119 271 66 .244 6 32

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 135 389 119 .306 7 28 133 351 87 .248 4 27 81 190 52 .274 5 24 68 158 35 .222 3 20 55 152 38 .250 6 17 54 127 32 .252 9 17 40 112 26 .232 2 9 30 101 15 .149 1 6 50 87 14 .161 3 10 27 56 13 .232 0 2 25 52 10 .192 0 7 14 52 4 .077 0 1 35 50 11 .220 1 6 23 45 13 .289 1 7 15 41 8 .195 0 0 17 32 11 .344 3 4 8 22 3 .136 0 2 14 16 3 .188 1 1 3 6 1 .167 0 0 2 5 0 .000 0 0

Pitching

= Indicates league leader 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 42 233.1 10 24 4.51 118 36 231.1 8 20 4.40 118 37 213.2 8 19 4.84 113

Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L SV ERA SO 33 143.2 1 12 0 4.89 91 50 131.1 3 17 4 5.35 62 38 105.1 0 2 0 4.53 63 27 63.0 1 6 0 5.57 40 8 23.1 0 4 0 7.71 11 4 19.1 1 1 0 3.26 13 5 11.2 0 1 0 4.63 3

Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L SV ERA SO 36 81.0 1 5 0 6.22 51 42 80.0 5 4 1 4.95 51 17 38.0 0 2 0 7.34 15 17 20.1 2 2 1 7.08 8 13 16.2 0 0 1 6.32 8 7 15.0 0 1 0 7.20 5 3 4.0 0 0 0 11.25 2

Awards and honors

League top five finishers Richie Ashburn #3 in NL in bases on balls (81)

Roger Craig MLB leader in losses (24) #2 in NL in home runs allowed (35) #3 in NL in earned runs allowed (117)

Jay Hook #4 in NL in earned runs allowed (115) #4 in NL in home runs allowed (31)

Al Jackson #2 in NL in losses (20)

Farm system

1962 minor league affiliates

Notes

References 1962 New York Mets at Baseball Reference 1962 New York Mets Roster at Baseball Almanac