1984 New York Mets season

1984 New York Mets
League	National League
Division	East
Ballpark	Shea Stadium
City	New York
Owners	Nelson Doubleday, Jr.
General managers	Frank Cashen
Managers	Davey Johnson
Television	WOR-TV/SportsChannel New York (Ralph Kiner, Steve Zabriskie, Tim McCarver, Fran Healy)
Radio	WHN (Bob Murphy, Steve LaMar, Juan Alicea)
Seasons

The 1984 New York Mets season was the 23rd regular season for the Mets. They went 90–72 and finished in second place in the National League East. They were managed by Davey Johnson. They played home games at Shea Stadium.

Offseason

• December 8, 1983: Acquired Sid Fernandez and Ross Jones from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Bob Bailor and Carlos Diaz.
• January 17, 1984: Kevin Elster was drafted by the Mets in the 2nd round of the 1984 Major League Baseball draft. Player signed May 21, 1984.
• January 17, 1984: Rafael Santana was signed as a free agent by the Mets.
• January 20, 1984: The Chicago White Sox choose Tom Seaver from the Mets as a free agent compensation pick.
• January 27, 1984: Signed Dick Tidrow as a free agent. The Mets released him on May 8.
• January 30, 1984: Released Dave Kingman.
• February 19, 1984: Kelvin Moore was traded by the Mets to the Milwaukee Brewers for Billy Max (minors).
• March 17, 1984: Jerry Martin was signed as a free agent with the New York Mets.

Regular season

1984 got off to an embarrassing start for GM Frank Cashen and the Mets before the season even began. Believing that it was unnecessary to protect a high-salaried, 39-year-old pitcher, the Mets left Tom Seaver unprotected. In a move that stunned the Mets, on January 20 Seaver was claimed in a free-agent compensation draft by the Chicago White Sox.

This left opening day duties to Mike Torrez. Torrez lasted only 1.1 innings against the Cincinnati Reds at Riverfront Stadium, giving up six earned runs, and giving the Mets their first opening day loss since 1974. Davey Johnson's team did, however, come back to win the next six in a row, including Dwight Gooden's Major League Baseball debut on April 7. Johnson also helped bring the Mets back in contention, producing their first winning season since 1976. Off-season acquisition Sid Fernandez made his debut with the Mets on July 16, going seven innings against the Houston Astros at the Astrodome, and earning the victory.

Season standings

NL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Chicago Cubs	96	65	.596	—	51‍–‍29	45‍–‍36
New York Mets	90	72	.556	6½	48‍–‍33	42‍–‍39
St. Louis Cardinals	84	78	.519	12½	44‍–‍37	40‍–‍41
Philadelphia Phillies	81	81	.500	15½	39‍–‍42	42‍–‍39
Montreal Expos	78	83	.484	18	39‍–‍42	39‍–‍41
Pittsburgh Pirates	75	87	.463	21½	41‍–‍40	34‍–‍47

Record vs. opponents

1984 National League record Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	3–9	13–5	12–6	6–12	5–7	4–8	7–5	8–4	7–11	10–8	5–7
Chicago	9–3	—	7–5	6–6	7–5	10–7	12–6	9–9	8–10	6–6	9–3	13–5
Cincinnati	5–13	5–7	—	8–10	7–11	7–5	3–9	5–7	7–5	7–11	12–6	4–8
Houston	6–12	6–6	10–8	—	9–9	7–5	4–8	6–6	6–6	6–12	12–6	8–4
Los Angeles	12–6	5–7	7–11	9–9	—	6–6	3–9	3–9	4–8	10–8	10–8	6–6
Montreal	7–5	7–10	5–7	5–7	6–6	—	7–11	11–7	7–11	7–5	7–5	9–9
New York	8–4	6–12	9–3	8–4	9–3	11–7	—	10–8	12–6	6–6	4–8	7–11
Philadelphia	5-7	9–9	7–5	6–6	9–3	7–11	8–10	—	7–11	7–5	8–4	8–10
Pittsburgh	4–8	10–8	5–7	6–6	8–4	11–7	6–12	11–7	—	4–8	6–6	4–14
San Diego	11–7	6–6	11–7	12–6	8–10	5–7	6–6	5–7	8–4	—	13–5	7–5
San Francisco	8–10	3–9	6–12	6–12	8–10	5–7	8–4	4–8	6–6	5–13	—	7–5
St. Louis	7–5	5–13	8–4	4–8	6–6	9–9	11–7	10–8	14–4	5–7	5–7	—

Notable transactions

• May 9, 1984: Released Craig Swan.
• June 4, 1984: 1984 Major League Baseball draft
  • Shawn Abner was drafted by the Mets in the 1st round (1st pick).
  • Mauro Gozzo was drafted by the Mets in the 13th round.
• June 15, 1984: Acquired Bruce Berenyi from the Cincinnati Reds for Jay Tibbs, Eddie Williams and Matts Bullinger.
• June 22, 1984: Released Mike Torrez.
• July 10, 1984: Heathcliff Slocumb was signed by the Mets as an amateur free agent.
• August 28, 1984: The Mets traded players to be named later to the Houston Astros for Ray Knight. The Mets completed the deal by sending Gerald Young and Manuel Lee to the Astros on August 31 and Mitch Cook (minors) to the Astros on September 10.
• August 28, 1984: Jeff Gardner was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets.
• September 30, 1984: Jerry Martin was released by the New York Mets.

Opening Day starters

• Wally Backman
• Hubie Brooks
• George Foster
• John Gibbons
• Keith Hernandez
• Jose Oquendo
• Darryl Strawberry
• Mike Torrez
• Mookie Wilson

Roster

1984 New York Mets roster
Roster
Pitchers 27 Bruce Berenyi 44 Ron Darling 50 Sid Fernandez 45 Brent Gaff 27 Wes Gardner 16 Dwight Gooden 29 Tom Gorman 38 Tim Leary 36 Ed Lynch 47 Jesse Orosco 40 Calvin Schiraldi 39 Doug Sisk 27 Craig Swan 49 Walt Terrell 13 Dick Tidrow 30 Mike Torrez		Catchers 20 Mike Fitzgerald  8 John Gibbons 42 Ron Hodges 34 Junior Ortiz 12 John Stearns Infielders  6 Wally Backman  7 Hubie Brooks 11 Kelvin Chapman 19 Ron Gardenhire 17 Keith Hernandez 21 Ross Jones 22 Ray Knight 32 Kevin Mitchell  2 José Oquendo  3 Rafael Santana 10 Rusty Staub		Outfielders 35 Billy Beane 35 John Christensen 15 George Foster 25 Danny Heep  9 Jerry Martin 18 Darryl Strawberry  1 Mookie Wilson 21,3 Herm Winningham		Manager  5 Davey Johnson Coaches 51 Vern Hoscheit 55 Frank Howard 26 Bill Robinson 48 Mel Stottlemyre 28 Bobby Valentine

Game log

Regular season

1984 regular season game log: 90–72 (Home: 48–33; Away: 42–39)
April: 12–8 (Home: 4–2; Away: 8–6) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak GB
May: 10–13 (Home: 6–9; Away: 4–4) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak GB
June: 16–12 (Home: 6–8; Away: 10–5) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak GB
July: 21–9 (Home: 13–4; Away: 8–5) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak GB – July 10 1984 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Candlestick Park in San Francisco
August: 15–17 (Home: 7–6; Away: 8–11) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak GB
September: 16–13 (Home: 12–4; Away: 4–9) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak GB
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Mets team member

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	Mike Fitzgerald	112	360	87	.242	2	33
1B	Keith Hernandez	154	550	171	.311	15	94
2B	Wally Backman	128	436	122	.280	1	26
SS	Ron Gardenhire	74	207	51	.246	1	10
3B	Hubie Brooks	153	561	159	.283	16	73
LF	George Foster	146	553	149	.269	24	86
CF	Mookie Wilson	154	587	162	.276	10	54
RF	Darryl Strawberry	147	522	131	.251	26	97

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
Danny Heep	99	199	46	.231	1	12
Kelvin Chapman	75	197	57	.289	3	23
José Oquendo	81	189	42	.222	0	10
Rafael Santana	51	152	42	.276	1	12
Ron Hodges	64	106	22	.208	1	11
Ray Knight	27	93	26	.280	1	6
Jerry Martin	51	91	14	.154	3	5
Junior Ortiz	40	91	18	.198	0	11
Rusty Staub	78	72	19	.264	1	18
John Gibbons	10	31	2	.065	0	1
Herm Winningham	14	27	11	.407	0	5
John Stearns	8	17	3	.176	0	1
Kevin Mitchell	7	14	3	.214	0	1
John Christensen	5	11	3	.273	0	3
Billy Beane	5	10	1	.100	0	0
Ross Jones	17	10	1	.100	0	1

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
Dwight Gooden	31	218.0	17	9	2.60	276
Walt Terrell	33	215.0	11	12	3.52	114
Ron Darling	33	205.2	12	9	3.81	136
Bruce Berenyi	19	115.0	9	6	3.76	81
Sid Fernandez	15	90.0	6	6	3.50	62
Mike Torrez	9	37.2	1	5	5.02	16

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
Ed Lynch	40	124.0	9	8	4.50	62
Tim Leary	20	53.2	3	3	4.02	29
Calvin Schiraldi	5	17.1	0	2	5.71	16

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
Jesse Orosco	60	10	6	31	2.59	85
Doug Sisk	50	1	3	15	2.09	32
Brent Gaff	47	3	2	1	3.63	42
Tom Gorman	36	6	0	0	2.97	40
Wes Gardner	21	1	1	1	6.39	19
Dick Tidrow	11	0	0	0	9.19	8
Craig Swan	10	1	0	0	8.20	10

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Tidewater Tides	International League	Bob Schaefer
AA	Jackson Mets	Texas League	Sam Perlozzo
A	Lynchburg Mets	Carolina League	Mike Cubbage
A	Columbia Mets	South Atlantic League	Rich Miller
A-Short Season	Little Falls Mets	New York–Penn League	Bud Harrelson
Rookie	Kingsport Mets	Appalachian League	Dan Radison

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Jackson, Lynchburg, Little Falls

Awards and honors

• Mike Fitzgerald, Topps All-Star Rookie Teams
• Dwight Gooden, Rookie of the Year & Topps All-Star Rookie Team
• Keith Hernandez, Gold Glove & Silver Slugger

All-Star Game

• Dwight Gooden, pitcher
• Jesse Orosco, pitcher
• Darryl Strawberry, outfielder

References

• 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.
• 1984 New York Mets at Baseball Reference
• 1984 New York Mets at Baseball Almanac