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 4th in the NL East. They were managed by Dallas Green and Bobby Valentine. They played home games at Shea Stadium.

1996 New York Mets
Major League affiliations
Location
Other information
OwnersFred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday, Jr.
General managersJoe McIlvaine
ManagersDallas Green, Bobby Valentine
Local televisionWWOR-TV/SportsChannel New York
(Ralph Kiner, Tim McCarver, Fran Healy, Howie Rose, Gary Thorne)
Local radioWFAN
(Bob Murphy, Gary Cohen, Ed Coleman)
WXLX (spanish)
(Juan Alicea)
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Offseason
  • December 14, 1995: Lance Johnson signed as a free agent with the New York Mets.[1]
  • December 19, 1995: Brent Mayne was traded by the Kansas City Royals to the New York Mets for Al Shirley (minors).[2]
  • March 31, 1996: Ryan Thompson was traded by the New York Mets with Reid Cornelius to the Cleveland Indians for Mark Clark.[3]

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.[4] 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.[5]

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.[6] He was the sixth Met to hit for the cycle.[6]

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

[7]

Season standings
NL East W L Pct. GB Home Road
Atlanta Braves 9666 0.593 — 56–25 40–41
Montreal Expos 8874 0.543 8 50–31 38–43
Florida Marlins 8082 0.494 16 52–29 28–53
New York Mets 7191 0.438 25 42–39 29–52
Philadelphia Phillies 6795 0.414 29 35–46 32–49

Record vs. opponents
1996 National League record

Sources:
Team ATL CHC CIN COL FLA HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta —7–57–55–76–76–65–710–37–69–49–39–47–59–4
Chicago 5–7—5–85–76–65–88–56–67–57–64–96–67–55–8
Cincinnati 5–78–5—7–63–97–64–83–96–610–25–89–39–45–8
Colorado 7–57–56–7—5–88–56–73–97–56–67–58–55–88–4
Florida 7–66–69–38–5—7–56–75–87–66–75–73–95–76–6
Houston 6–68–56–75–85–7—6–64–98–410–28–56–68–42–11
Los Angeles 7–55–88–47–67–66–6—9–38–47–66–65–87–68–4
Montreal 3–106–69–39–38–59–43–9—7–66–77–54–89–48–4
New York 6–75–76–65–76–74–84–86–7—7–68–53–106–65–7
Philadelphia 4-96–72–106–67–62–106–77–66–7—7–54–86–64–8
Pittsburgh 3–99–48–55–77–55–86–65–75–85–7—4–98–43–10
San Diego 4–96–63–95–89–36–68–58–410–38–49–4—11–24–8
San Francisco 5–75–74–98–57–54–86–74–96–66–64–82–11—7–6
St. Louis 4–98–58–54–86–611-24–84–87–58–410–38–46–7—

Game log
1996 Game Log: 71–91 (Home: 42–39; Away: 29–52)
April: 11–13 (Home: 6–7; Away: 5–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 1Cardinals7–6Dipoto (1–0)FossasFranco (1)42,0601–0
2April 3Cardinals3–5StottlemyrePerson (0–1)Eckersley13,3231–1
3April 4Cardinals10–9Franco (1–0)Eckersley—15,5072–1
4April 5Pirates5–7SmithMlicki (0–1)—16,0882–2
5April 6Pirates0–5DarwinClark (0–1)—20,7562–3
6April 8@ Reds6–7SchourekJones (0–1)Brantley17,6232–4
7April 9@ Reds12–5Isringhausen (1–0)SmileyFranco (2)15,9583–4
8April 10@ Reds7–9PughMacdonald (0–1)Brantley16,7753–5
9April 11@ Rockies3–7ReynosoMlicki (0–2)—48,0103–6
10April 12@ Rockies5–6FreemanClark (0–2)Leskanic50,0453–7
11April 14@ Rockies10–4Harnisch (1–0)RitzHenry (1)48,0514–7
12April 16Astros6–9ReynoldsIsringhausen (1–1)Jones13,7954–8
13April 17Astros5–7KileWilson (0–1)Jones12,0654–9
14April 19Rockies3–5RitzHarnisch (1–1)Leskanic16,2254–10
15April 20Rockies4–3 (10)Franco (2–0)Habyan—20,8475–10
16April 21Rockies4–6LeskanicFranco (2–1)—22,7375–11
17April 22Reds5–1Wilson (1–1)Portugal—14,5686–11
18April 23Reds8–6 (10)Henry (1–0)Shaw—14,3577–11
19April 24@ Cardinals4–9PetkovsekHarnisch (1–2)—23,1897–12
20April 25@ Cardinals9–3Clark (1–2)Benes—26,9338–12
21April 26@ Pirates6–10ChristiansenIsringhausen (1–2)—13,1858–13
22April 27@ Pirates7–4Mlicki (1–2)MiceliFranco (3)16,6989–13
23April 28@ Pirates7–5Jones (1–1)WagnerFranco (4)27,70610–13
24April 29Expos3–2Harnisch (2–2)FasseroFranco (5)14,01111–13
May: 11–17 (Home: 6–6; Away: 5–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
25May 1Expos0–4MartinezClark (1–3)——11–14
26May 1Expos6–0Isringhausen (2–2)Alvarez—16,93712–14
27May 3@ Cubs2–4NavarroWilson (1–2)—19,82212–15
28May 4@ Cubs7–3Jones (2–1)CastilloHenry (2)30,04113–15
29May 5@ Cubs4–5WendellDipoto (1–1)—25,94913–16
30May 6@ Marlins1–4LeiterClark (1–4)Nen16,81913–17
31May 7@ Marlins2–3HammondIsringhausen (2–3)Nen20,12713–18
32May 8@ Marlins3–6PerezHenry (1–1)Nen21,35713–19
33May 10Cubs2–0Jones (3–1)CastilloFranco (6)16,68714–19
34May 11Cubs7–6Henry (2–1)Jones—23,23715–19
35May 12Cubs0–3BullingerClark (1–5)—19,12215–20
36May 13@ Padres2–5ValenzuelaIsringhausen (2–4)—12,82915–21
37May 14@ Padres4–9AshbyWilson (1–3)—12,16815–22
38May 15@ Padres3–4 (10)WorrellFranco (2–2)—12,16615–23
39May 16@ Padres6–3Harnisch (3–2)HamiltonFranco (7)17,34116–23
40May 18@ Giants14–5Clark (2–5)VanLandingham—15,29817–23
41May 19@ Giants0–1WatsonIsringhausen (2–5)Beck—17–24
42May 19@ Giants2–6GardnerWilson (1–4)—22,95917–25
43May 20@ Dodgers7–1Jones (4–1)Candiotti—26,62518–25
44May 21@ Dodgers4–6ValdezHarnisch (3–3)Worrell27,15818–26
45May 22@ Dodgers3–2Clark (3–5)NomoFranco (8)33,71619–26
46May 24Padres1–13ValenzuelaIsringhausen (2–6)—24,75119–27
47May 25Padres2–7AshbyWilson (1–5)—21,05719–28
48May 26Padres1–0Jones (5–1)BergmanFranco (9)20,40520–28
49May 28Giants4–0Clark (4–5)LeiterHenry (3)15,73321–28
50May 29Giants2–4VanLandinghamIsringhausen (2–7)Beck15,57821–29
51May 30Giants1–0Wilson (2–5)WatsonFranco (10)15,78122–29
52May 31Dodgers3–10MartinezJones (5–2)—19,79322–30
June: 15–13 (Home: 10–5; Away: 5–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
53June 1Dodgers4–3Harnisch (4–3)CandiottiFranco (11)26,44523–30
54June 2Dodgers0–1ValdezClark (4–6)Worrell39,32823–31
55June 3@ Braves4–5ClontzMacdonald (0–2)Wohlers30,16223–32
56June 4@ Braves12–6Wilson (3–5)Schmidt—32,19924–32
57June 5@ Braves6–8McMichaelMlicki (1–3)Wohlers31,99824–33
58June 7Marlins2–12LeiterHarnisch (4–4)—13,00924–34
59June 8Marlins7–6Clark (5–6)WeathersFranco (12)22,55025–34
60June 9Marlins3–0Isringhausen (3–7)Burkett—40,70726–34
61June 10Braves8–3Jones (6–2)Avery—17,43927–34
62June 11Braves3–4 (13)BorbonByrd (0–1)Wade19,25627–35
63June 12Braves3–2Clark (6–6)MadduxFranco (13)18,89628–35
64June 13@ Cardinals2–1Person (1–1)BenesHenry (4)30,69729–35
65June 14@ Cardinals4–13StottlemyreIsringhausen (3–8)—38,55629–36
66June 15@ Cardinals2–4BenesJones (6–3)Eckersley50,63529–37
67June 16@ Cardinals4–5PetkovsekHenry (2–2)Eckersley31,37529–38
68June 17@ Pirates7–6 (10)Mlicki (2–3)CordovaFranco (14)11,00230–38
69June 19@ Pirates5–6PlesacIsringhausen (3–9)——30–39
70June 19@ Pirates5–3Mlicki (3–3)CordovaFranco (15)20,10831–39
71June 20Reds3–5BurbaJones (6–4)Shaw16,99431–40
72June 21Reds9–4Dipoto (2–1)SalkeldMlicki (1)19,43232–40
73June 22Reds5–2Clark (7–6)SchourekFranco (16)24,58933–40
74June 23Reds1–2SmileyPerson (1–2)Brantley18,59333–41
75June 24Rockies2–1Isringhausen (4–9)HolmesFranco (17)16,98834–41
76June 25Rockies3–2Jones (7–4)ThompsonFranco (18)18,25135–41
77June 26Rockies9–5Mlicki (4–3)Reed—20,67536–41
78June 28@ Astros7–2Clark (8–6)DrabekHenry (5)24,56937–41
79June 29@ Astros1–9ReynoldsPerson (1–3)—35,45437–42
80June 30@ Astros3–9KileIsringhausen (4–10)—35,98137–43
July: 15–13 (Home: 10–5; Away: 5–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
81July 1@ Phillies4–6WilliamsJones (7–5)Ryan20,77937–44
82July 2@ Phillies2–3SpringerHarnisch (4–5)Bottalico20,89037–45
83July 3@ Phillies10–6Byrd (1–1)RyanHenry (6)43,15838–45
84July 4@ Expos4–0Person (2–3)Fassero—11,86139–45
85July 5@ Expos9–6Dipoto (3–1)ScottFranco (19)13,55040–45
86July 6@ Expos11–3Jones (8–5)Rueter—15,54641–45
87July 7@ Expos3–4CormierHarnisch (4–6)Rojas16,07641–46
88July 11Astros8–2Clark (9–6)Drabek—18,55742–46
89July 12Astros1–3ReynoldsJones (8–6)Wagner17,40542–47
90July 14Astros5–7 (11)HernandezMlicki (4–4)Jones—42–48
91July 14Astros10–3Harnisch (5–6)Hampton—33,50543–48
92July 15Phillies7–5Dipoto (4–1)SpringerHenry (7)15,54944–48
93July 16Phillies6–3Clark (10–6)SchillingFranco (20)18,47845–48
94July 17Phillies3–2Mlicki (5–4)Frey—29,45946–48
95July 18Expos3–7MartinezHarnisch (5–7)—19,46746–49
96July 19Expos4–5DyerIsringhausen (4–11)Rojas19,00546–50
97July 20Expos4–1Wilson (4–5)UrbinaFranco (21)27,40747–50
98July 21Expos3–4FasseroClark (10–7)Rojas32,17347–51
99July 23@ Rockies7–10RuffinHenry (2–3)—48,01647–52
100July 23@ Rockies10–11ReedHenry (2–4)—48,05847–53
101July 24@ Rockies6–7 (10)LeskanicByrd (1–2)—48,06147–54
102July 26@ Reds4–7SmileyWilson (4–6)—30,01147–55
103July 27@ Reds5–7ServiceClark (10–8)Brantley26,88047–56
104July 28@ Reds7–1Jones (9–6)Jarvis—25,09448–56
105July 29Pirates5–0Harnisch (6–7)Peters—15,68049–56
106July 30Pirates5–4Isringhausen (5–11)CordovaFranco (22)—50–56
107July 30Pirates4–3 (12)Franco (3–2)Lieber—18,37851–56
108July 31Pirates3–2 (10)Dipoto (5–1)Plesac—15,78752–56
August: 8–20 (Home: 3–9; Away: 5–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
109August 1Pirates9–13MorelMlicki (5–5)Ericks20,32752–57
110August 2Cardinals3–4StottlemyreJones (9–7)Honeycutt34,09152–58
111August 3Cardinals5–4Harnisch (7–7)BenesFranco (23)28,59453–58
112August 4Cardinals2–4MorganIsringhausen (5–12)Eckersley24,59553–59
113August 5@ Cubs3–7TrachselWilson (4–7)—36,76653–60
114August 6@ Cubs0–3NavarroClark (10–9)Patterson24,55853–61
115August 7@ Cubs11–7Dipoto (6–1)Adams—27,08654–61
116August 8@ Marlins3–0Harnisch (8–7)BrownFranco (24)21,62755–61
117August 9@ Marlins1–2 (10)NenHenry (2–5)—21,50655–62
118August 10@ Marlins6–9RappWilson (4–8)Nen22,11555–63
119August 11@ Marlins5–3Clark (11–9)ValdesFranco (25)21,09256–63
120August 12Cubs1–11NavarroIsringhausen (5–13)—17,63656–64
121August 13Cubs2–3TelemacoHarnisch (8–8)Wendell17,81956–65
122August 14Cubs8–5Jones (10–7)BullingerFranco (26)20,11057–65
123August 16@ Padres10–15ValenzuelaPerson (2–4)—23,69957–66
124August 17@ Padres7–3Clark (12–9)WorrellHenry (8)20,87358–66
125August 18@ Padres0–8HamiltonWilson (4–9)—22,81058–67
126August 19@ Giants4–5ScottHarnisch (8–9)Beck11,56558–68
127August 20@ Giants7–3Jones (11–7)FernandezFranco (27)10,88559–68
128August 21@ Giants11–12DeweyPerson (2–5)Beck11,47359–69
129August 23@ Dodgers5–7MartinezClark (12–10)Worrell36,90959–70
130August 24@ Dodgers5–7CandiottiWilson (4–10)Worrell33,20159–71
131August 25@ Dodgers5–6RadinskyFranco (3–3)Worrell39,05659–72
132August 27Padres3–4BlairMlicki (5–6)Hoffman17,92559–73
133August 28Padres2–3 (12)BergmanWallace (0–1)Hoffman17,44259–74
134August 29Padres2–3HamiltonWilson (4–11)Hoffman17,01659–75
135August 30Giants4–6EstesHarnisch (8–10)Beck17,58159–76
136August 31Giants7–2Person (3–5)ScottHenry (9)23,63660–76
September: 11–15 (Home: 7–7; Away: 4–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
137September 1Giants6–5 (10)Franco (4–3)Beck—40,64361–76
138September 2Dodgers5–8AstacioClark (12–11)Worrell19,65861–77
139September 3Dodgers6–7RadinskyHenry (2–6)—15,64661–78
140September 4Dodgers3–2 (12)Wallace (1–1)Dreifort—15,66262–78
141September 6@ Braves7–8WohlersHenry (2–7)—37,66062–79
142September 7@ Braves1–6SmoltzJones (11–8)—47,13062–80
143September 8@ Braves6–2Clark (13–11)Maddux—39,04563–80
144September 9Marlins6–1Mlicki (6–6)Brown—14,10064–80
145September 10Marlins3–9 (12)PowellHenry (2–8)—14,74664–81
146September 11Marlins3–1Isringhausen (6–13)RappWallace (1)12,44865–81
147September 13Braves6–4Dipoto (7–1)BorowskiWallace (2)17,33166–81
148September 14Braves6–5 (12)Wallace (2–1)Borowski—22,85767–81
149September 15Braves2–3GlavineWilson (4–12)Wohlers23,71867–82
150September 16Braves2–5NeagleHarnisch (8–11)—14,98067–83
151September 17@ Expos1–7FasseroIsringhausen (6–14)—17,28267–84
152September 18@ Expos3–4UrbinaMlicki (6–7)Rojas14,93067–85
153September 19@ Phillies7–2Clark (14–11)Hunter—16,68968–85
154September 20@ Phillies5–2Wilson (5–12)MimbsFranco (28)22,00169–85
155September 21@ Phillies1–2SchillingHarnisch (8–12)—23,28369–86
156September 22@ Phillies3–4BottalicoWallace (2–2)—27,67269–87
157September 24@ Astros4–0Jones (12–8)Wall—39,51170–87
158September 25@ Astros4–5 (10)HudekWallace (2–3)—15,76070–88
159September 26@ Astros2–6DrabekTrlicek (0–1)—13,75170–89
160September 27Phillies5–6JordanDipoto (7–2)Bottalico15,88970–90
161September 28Phillies4–2Person (4–5)MaduroWallace (3)16,80171–90
162September 29Phillies5–9BlazierFyhrie (0–1)—21,97571–91
Legend:        = Win        = Loss
Bold = Mets team member

Detailed records

Roster
1996 New York Mets
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Manager

Coaches

Player stats

Batting

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
CTodd Hundley153540140.25941112
1BButch Huskey118414115.2781560
2BJosé Vizcaíno96363110.303132
SSRey Ordóñez151502129.257130
3BJeff Kent8933597.290939
LFBernard Gilkey153571181.31730117
CFLance Johnson160682227.333969
RFAlex Ochoa8228283.294433

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
Edgardo Alfonzo12336896.261440
Carl Everett10119246.240116
Rico Brogna5518848.255730
Chris Jones8914936.242418
Álvaro Espinoza4813441.306416
Brent Mayne709926.26316
Roberto Petagine509923.232417
Tim Bogar918919.21306
Carlos Baerga268316.193211
Andy Tomberlin636617.258310
Jason Hardtke195711.19306
Kevin Roberson27368.22239
Matt Franco14316.19412
Alberto Castillo6114.36400
Charlie Greene210.00000

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
Mark Clark32212.114113.43142
Bobby Jones31195.21284.42116
Pete Harnisch31194.28124.21114
Jason Isringhausen27171.26144.77114
Paul Wilson26149.05125.38109

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
Robert Person2789.2454.5276
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
John Franco5143281.8348
Doug Henry582894.6858
Jerry Dipoto577204.1952
Dave Mlicki516713.3083
Paul Byrd381204.2431
Bob MacDonald200204.2612
Derek Wallace192334.0115
Blas Minor170003.5120
Pedro Martínez50006.436
Ricky Trlicek50103.383
Mike Fyhrie201015.430

Awards and records
  • Lance Johnson, National League leader, Triples (21) [5]

Farm system
See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Norfolk Tides International League Bobby Valentine and Bruce Benedict
AA Binghamton Mets Eastern League John Tamargo
A St. Lucie Mets Florida State League John Gibbons
A Capital City Bombers South Atlantic League Howie Freiling
A-Short Season Pittsfield Mets New York–Penn League Doug Davis
Rookie Kingsport Mets Appalachian League John Stephenson
Rookie GCL Mets Gulf Coast League Mickey Brantley

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: St. Lucie[8]

References
  1. Lance Johnson Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  2. "Brent Mayne Stats".
  3. Ryan Thompson Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  4. Willis, George (September 15, 1996). "Hundley's 41st Puts Him in Record Books". New York Times. Retrieved April 22, 2011.
  5. Nemec, David; Flatow, Scott (2008). Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures (2008 ed.). New York: Penguin Group. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0.
  6. Diamos, Jason (July 4, 1996). "Ochoa Hits For the Cycle To Spark Mets". New York Times. p. B9.
  7. 1996 New York Mets Roster by Baseball Almanac
  8. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
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