3 periods in NY Mets history where the team hit rock bottom

1 – The New York Mets had turned the corner in 1968 and looked like the organization was going to be a dynasty but…

Everyone looks to 1969 as the turning point. But it actually began the year before when Gil Hodges was brought back to the organization. The 1969 season is what people remember because of how sudden and unexpected it was. But there was a lot more to it.

The organization was doing a great job in scouting and stockpiling young talent, and good baseball people to work with that talent. Young players like Cleon Jones, Bud Harrelson, Nolan Ryan, Gary Gentry were all home grown and there were a lot more who were good enough but blocked due to the success the Mets began to have.

The Mets actually got stronger after 1969 and a lot of the players had even better personal seasons in 1970 and especially 1971. Statistically, the 1971 season was the one of the best in the team’s history and the majority of the ’69 Championship team was still intact. But the Mets couldn’t overcome the offensive powerhouses of teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates.

So in 1972, the Mets made some changes by getting rid of young talent like Nolan Ryan and Kenny Singleton while bringing in Rusty Staub (not bad) and Jim Fregosi (not good). But what really changed things was the sudden death of Gil Hodges just before the ’72 season. It would be a defining point, but it would not yet be the bottom.

The Mets would not be able to overcome the multitude of injuries incurred during the 1972 season, but famously rallied to shake loose the injury bug and make it to the 1973 World Series. And while the Series was exciting, it was probably the worst thing that could have happened. Because Mets management believed they could annually produce a winner without operating as such.

The 1974 season was one of the worst in team history as every player had a horrible season and the Mets fired Yogi Berra 2/3 into the season. But it was still not rock bottom.

The team rallied a bit for a decent 1975 campaign as there was new manager – Joe Frazier - and there were some new players making an impact like Dave Kingman and Del Unser, as well as Tom Seaver winning his third Cy Young Award. It gave some reason to be hopeful that things were turning around.

But that optimism turned to doom. Although the Mets would win 86 games and finish third in 1976, the team was awful. And when they got off to a 15-30 start in ’77 mass changes were made and Frazier was canned.

Joe Torre retired as a player and took over as manager in May. And then a few weeks later, on June 15, 1977, the Mets traded away Mike Phillips, Dave Kingman, and Tom Seaver. They traded away the best player, the most popular player, the Mets ever had.

The New York Mets hit rock bottom.