1996 New York Mets season

The 1996 New York Mets season was the 35th regular season for the Mets. They went 71–91 and finished fourth in the National League East, twenty-five games behind the first place Atlanta Braves. The Mets were managed by Dallas Green and Bobby Valentine. They played home games at Shea Stadium.

Offseason

• December 14, 1995: Lance Johnson signed as a free agent with the New York Mets.
• December 19, 1995: Brent Mayne was traded by the Kansas City Royals to the New York Mets for Al Shirley (minors).
• March 31, 1996: Ryan Thompson was traded by the New York Mets with Reid Cornelius to the Cleveland Indians for Mark Clark.

Regular season

After back to back finishes near the top of the National League East, the Mets returned to the losing ways that had plagued the team since 1991. Manager Dallas Green, like his three predecessors in the position, was fired before the season was completed. His replacement was former Texas Rangers manager Bobby Valentine, the manager of the Norfolk Tides.

The Mets did not put up great power numbers as they had in recent years but managed to have two players reach 30 or more home runs. One was catcher Todd Hundley, who broke Roy Campanella's major league record for home runs by a catcher by recording 41. The other was outfielder Bernard Gilkey, who put up 30 home runs of his own. Lance Johnson, acquired in the off season after spending eight years with the Chicago White Sox, had a career year as well. The National League's All-Star center fielder, Johnson hit a career high .333, led the NL in hits with 227, stole 50 bases to set another career high, and recorded sixty extra base hits including a league leading 21 triples; no player since 1930 had that many in the National League.

The Mets traded away infielders Jeff Kent and José Vizcaíno to the Cleveland Indians during the season. The promotion of rookie Rey Ordoñez to be the team's everyday shortstop had both players playing out of position, with Vizcaino at second base and Kent at third. In return the Mets received Carlos Baerga and Alvaro Espinoza, neither of whom made much of an impact.

Mark Clark led the Mets starters with a 14–11 record. Bobby Jones' 12–8 mark was good enough for second best on the team. Jason Isringhausen made more than twenty starts for the only time in his career, finishing with a 6–14 mark.

Alex Ochoa hit for the cycle on July 3 in a 10–6 win in Philadelphia. He was the sixth Met to hit for the cycle.

The Mets and San Diego Padres traveled to Mexico in August, marking the first time a regular season MLB game was played in Mexico.

Opening Day Roster

• Rico Brogna
• Bernard Gilkey
• Todd Hundley
• Butch Huskey
• Lance Johnson
• Bobby Jones
• Jeff Kent
• Rey Ordóñez
• José Vizcaíno

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Detailed records

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Other batters

Note: G = Games played, AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Awards and records

• Lance Johnson, National League leader, Triples (21)

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: St. Lucie

External links

• 1996 New York Mets at Baseball Reference
• 1996 New York Mets team page at www.baseball-almanac.com

References