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1993 New York Mets season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1993 New York Mets
LeagueNational League
DivisionEast
BallparkShea Stadium
CityNew York
Record59–103 (.364)
Divisional place7th
OwnersFred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday, Jr.
General managersAl Harazin, Joe McIlvaine
ManagersJeff Torborg, Dallas Green
TelevisionWWOR-TV/SportsChannel New York
(Ralph Kiner, Tim McCarver, Fran Healy, Rusty Staub)
RadioWFAN
(Bob Murphy, Gary Cohen, Todd Kalas)
WSKQ-FM (spanish)
(Juan Alicea, Billy Berroa, Renato Morffi, Armando Talavera)
← 1992 Seasons 1994 →

The 1993 New York Mets season was the 32nd season in the history of the franchise. The team sought to improve on its 72–90 mark from 1992. Instead, the Mets slid back and for the first time since 1967 lost 100 games. The Mets finished with a 59–103 record, their fifth worst in history, and finished in last place in the National League East. They played all of their home games at Shea Stadium. As of 2024, this was the most recent 100-loss season for the Mets.

Background

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The 1993 Mets entered the season after a disappointing 1992 campaign where their major player acquisitions, designed to help the team return to contending for a division title, largely fizzled out. Their biggest acquisition, outfielder Bobby Bonilla, did not perform up to fans' expectations and was frequently booed by the local fans. Pitcher Bret Saberhagen and second baseman Willie Randolph, two more major pickups in the previous offseason, were injured much of the season and largely ineffective. One of the few bright spots was Eddie Murray, who led the team with 91 RBI to go along with 16 home runs, but besides he and Bonilla (74 RBI, 19 home runs) no Met reached 50 RBI or 15 home runs. Murray's .261 average led the regulars, who all struggled to record hits; shortstop Dick Schofield, for instance, recorded over 400 plate appearances but could not manage to reach 100 hits. Howard Johnson, the 1991 National League home run and RBI champion, also battled injuries and saw his totals fall off significantly. The pitching staff was not much better off, as Dwight Gooden recorded his worst season as a major leaguer and the team left a hole in its rotation by trading away ace David Cone in August; Gooden's 12 wins led the team.

Manager Jeff Torborg, who had come off two consecutive winning seasons with the Chicago White Sox, found himself unable to maintain control of the team. He had a particularly testy relationship with outfielder Vince Coleman, which eventually resulted in the former stolen base king's suspension in September.

Offseason

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The Mets were not as aggressive in pursuing other players as they had been in 1992 but made a splash in a trade, acquiring All-Star shortstop Tony Fernández in a trade with the San Diego Padres. Another significant acquisition was veteran starter Frank Tanana, who had spent the last eight years with the Detroit Tigers and would give the rotation an additional veteran to go with Gooden, Fernandez, and Saberhagen.

Moves

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Regular season

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The Mets first game of the season was reminiscent of the first game of their 1969 championship season, as they hosted an expansion team in their very first game in franchise history; this time, the Colorado Rockies.

Once again, trouble courted the Mets in 1993. After Bob Klapisch and John Harper's chronicle of the 1992 season, The Worst Team Money Could Buy, came out early in the season, Bobby Bonilla confronted Klapisch after a game and tried to provoke him into a physical confrontation. In June, Bret Saberhagen filled a Super Soaker water gun with bleach and shot it at reporters in the clubhouse. Vince Coleman once again found himself in trouble when he struck Dwight Gooden with a golf club while swinging it wildly in the clubhouse and injured him. Later in the season, while in the car of Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Eric Davis, Coleman tossed a lit firecracker toward a crowd of autograph seekers at Dodger Stadium, injuring three people when it exploded. This proved to be the last straw for the Mets and Coleman; he was placed on administrative leave following the incident and the team later announced that Coleman would not be with the team going forward.

After thirty-eight games, the Mets had decided enough was enough and relieved Torborg of his duties as manager. He became the third straight Mets skipper to be fired before the end of the season, following Davey Johnson and Bud Harrelson. Dallas Green, who had not managed a team since he was fired by the New York Yankees as their manager during the 1989 season but had been serving as a scout for the Mets, was promoted to replace him. With the team standing at 13-25, Green recorded only forty-six victories in his abbreviated first campaign and brought the Mets home with the worst record in baseball. The team's poor record also cost second year general manager Al Harazin his job, with the team hiring San Diego Padres general manager Joe McIlvaine to replace him.

Despite the poor record, some positives came from the Mets' lineup. Bonilla returned to the All-Star Game and hit a career high 34 home runs. Second baseman Jeff Kent, in his first full year as a starter, added 21 home runs with 80 RBI. Eddie Murray tallied 27 home runs, led the team with a .285 average, and recorded 100 RBI, the first time he had done that since he was with the Baltimore Orioles in 1985. 1993 also saw the debut of Bobby Jones, a rookie who would become a frontline starter for the Mets in the coming years.

Anthony Young

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One of the stranger stories of the 1993 season was the losing streak recorded by pitcher Anthony Young. After winning his first two decisions of the 1992 season, Young would lose his final fourteen of the year. He picked up right where he left off in 1993, dropping thirteen straight games where he factored into the decision[6] and breaking a record that was held by Boston Braves pitcher Cliff Curtis, who lost 23 straight decisions over the course of the 1910 and 1911 seasons.

Young's losing streak was snapped at 27 on July 28 against the expansion Florida Marlins. Young allowed an unearned run in the top of the ninth to give the Marlins a 4-3 lead.[6] The Mets scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth against closer Bryan Harvey to win the game 5-4. The win was the only one Young recorded in 1993, and he went on to finish with a team high sixteen losses in thirty-nine appearances with ten starts.

Season standings

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NL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Philadelphia Phillies 97 65 .599 52‍–‍29 45‍–‍36
Montreal Expos 94 68 .580 3 55‍–‍26 39‍–‍42
St. Louis Cardinals 87 75 .537 10 49‍–‍32 38‍–‍43
Chicago Cubs 84 78 .519 13 43‍–‍38 41‍–‍40
Pittsburgh Pirates 75 87 .463 22 40‍–‍41 35‍–‍46
Florida Marlins 64 98 .395 33 35‍–‍46 29‍–‍52
New York Mets 59 103 .364 38 28‍–‍53 31‍–‍50

Record vs. opponents

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Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team ATL CHC CIN COL FLA HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta 7–5 10–3 13–0 7–5 8–5 8–5 7–5 9–3 6–6 7–5 9–4 7–6 6–6
Chicago 5–7 7–5 8–4 6–7 4–8 7–5 5–8–1 8–5 7–6 5–8 8–4 6–6 8–5
Cincinnati 3–10 5–7 9–4 7–5 6–7 5–8 4–8 6–6 4–8 8–4 9–4 2–11 5–7
Colorado 0–13 4–8 4–9 7–5 11–2 7–6 3–9 6–6 3–9 8–4 6–7 3–10 5–7
Florida 5–7 7–6 5–7 5–7 3–9 5–7 5–8 4–9 4–9 6–7 7–5 4–8 4–9
Houston 5–8 8–4 7–6 2–11 9–3 9–4 5–7 11–1 5–7 7–5 8–5 3–10 6–6
Los Angeles 5–8 5–7 8–5 6–7 7–5 4–9 6–6 8–4 2–10 8–4 9–4 7–6 6–6
Montreal 5–7 8–5–1 8–4 9–3 8–5 7–5 6–6 9–4 6–7 8–5 10–2 3–9 7–6
New York 3–9 5–8 6–6 6–6 9–4 1–11 4–8 4–9 3–10 4–9 5–7 4–8 5–8
Philadelphia 6-6 6–7 8–4 9–3 9–4 7–5 10–2 7–6 10–3 7–6 6–6 4–8 8–5
Pittsburgh 5–7 8–5 4–8 4–8 7–6 5–7 4–8 5–8 9–4 6–7 9–3 5–7 4–9
San Diego 4–9 4–8 4–9 7–6 5–7 5–8 4–9 2–10 7–5 6–6 3–9 3–10 7–5
San Francisco 6–7 6–6 11–2 10–3 8–4 10–3 6–7 9–3 8–4 8–4 7–5 10–3 4–8
St. Louis 6–6 5–8 7–5 7–5 9–4 6–6 6–6 6–7 8–5 5–8 9–4 5–7 8–4


Opening Day starters

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Notable transactions

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Roster

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1993 New York Mets
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

Coaches

Game log

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Regular season

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1993 game log: 59–103 (Home: 28–53; Away: 31–50)
April: 8–13 (Home: 4–8; Away: 4–5)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Stadium Record
1 April 5 Rockies 3–0 Shea Stadium 1–0
2 April 7 Rockies 6–1 Shea Stadium 2–0
3 April 9 Astros 3–7 (10) Shea Stadium 2–1
4 April 10 Astros 3–6 Shea Stadium 2–2
5 April 11 Astros 4–5 Shea Stadium 2–3
April 12 @ Rockies Postponed (rain) Makeup: Apr 12
6 April 13 @ Rockies 8–4 Mile High Stadium 3–3
7 April 14 @ Rockies 6–3 Mile High Stadium 4–3
8 April 15 @ Rockies 3–5 Mile High Stadium 4–4
9 April 16 @ Reds 3–1 Riverfront Stadium 5–4
10 April 17 @ Reds 4–1 Riverfront Stadium 6–4
11 April 18 @ Reds 2–3 Riverfront Stadium 6–5
May: 9–18 (Home: 5–8; Away: 4–10)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Stadium Record
45 May 28 Reds 2–5 (10) Shea Stadium 15–30
46 May 29 Reds 4–3 Shea Stadium 16–30
47 May 30 Reds 4–8 Shea Stadium 16–31
June: 6–21 (Home: 2–11; Away: 4–10)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Stadium Record
51 June 4 @ Astros 2–7 Astrodome 18–33
52 June 5 @ Astros 5–7 Astrodome 18–34
53 June 6 @ Astros 4–5 Astrodome 18–35
July: 12–16 (Home: 6–8; Away: 6–8)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Stadium Record
August: 11–18 (Home: 5–10; Away: 6–8)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Stadium Record
118 August 16 @ Reds 6–2 Riverfront Stadium 41–77
119 August 17 @ Reds 0–6 Riverfront Stadium 41–78
120 August 18 @ Reds 12–2 Riverfront Stadium 42–78
August 20 @ Rockies Postponed (rain) Makeup: Aug 21
121 August 21 @ Rockies 3–4 Mile High Stadium 42–79
122 August 21 @ Rockies 6–8 Mile High Stadium 42–80
123 August 22 @ Rockies 3–4 Mile High Stadium 42–81
124 August 23 Reds 2–6 Shea Stadium 42–82
125 August 24 Reds 5–4 Shea Stadium 43–82
126 August 25 Reds 1–4 Shea Stadium 43–83
127 August 26 Rockies 7–1 Shea Stadium 44–83
128 August 27 Rockies 3–2 Shea Stadium 45–83
129 August 28 Rockies 5–7 Shea Stadium 45–84
130 August 29 Rockies 1–6 Shea Stadium 45–85
131 August 30 Astros 5–4 Shea Stadium 46–85
132 August 31 Astros 2–10 Shea Stadium 46–86
September: 8–13 (Home: 6–8; Away: 2–5)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Stadium Record
133 September 1 Astros 2–3 Shea Stadium 46–87
138 September 6 @ Astros 2–7 Astrodome 47–91
139 September 7 @ Astros 3–4 (10) Astrodome 47–92
140 September 8 @ Astros 1–7 Astrodome 47–93
October: 0–3 (Home: 0–0; Away: 0–3)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Stadium Record
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement
Bold = Mets team member

Player stats

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Batting

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Starters by position

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Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; OPS = OBP + SLG (On base + slugging percentage)

Player Pos G AB H Avg. HR RBI OPS
Todd Hundley C 130 417 95 .228 11 53 .626
Eddie Murray 1B 154 610 174 .285 27 100 .792
Jeff Kent 2B 140 496 134 .270 21 80 .765
Tim Bogar SS 78 205 50 .244 3 25 .652
Howard Johnson 3B 72 235 56 .238 7 26 .732
Vince Coleman LF 92 373 104 .279 2 25 .691
Ryan Thompson CF 80 288 72 .250 11 26 .747
Bobby Bonilla RF 139 502 133 .265 34 87 .874

Other batters

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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
Joe Orsulak 134 409 116 .284 8 35
Jeromy Burnitz 86 263 64 .243 13 38
Chico Walker 115 213 48 .225 5 19
Dave Gallagher 99 201 55 .274 6 28
Charlie O'Brien 67 188 48 .255 4 23
Tony Fernández 48 173 39 .225 1 14
Jeff McKnight 105 164 42 .256 2 13
Kevin Baez 52 126 23 .183 0 7
Darrin Jackson 31 87 17 .195 1 7
Doug Saunders 28 67 14 .209 0 0
Butch Huskey 13 41 6 .146 0 3
Ced Landrum 22 19 5 .263 0 1
Tito Navarro 12 17 1 .059 0 1
Wayne Housie 18 16 3 .188 0 1

Pitching

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Starting pitchers

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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 29 208.2 12 15 3.45 149
Frank Tanana 29 183.0 7 15 4.48 104
Eric Hillman 27 145.0 2 9 3.97 60
Bret Saberhagen 19 139.1 7 7 3.29 93
Sid Fernandez 18 119.2 5 6 2.93 81
Bobby Jones 9 61.2 2 4 3.65 35

Other pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Pete Schourek 41 128.1 5 12 5.96 72
Anthony Young 39 100.1 1 16 3.77 62
Dave Telgheder 24 75.2 6 2 4.76 35

Relief pitchers

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

Player G W L SV ERA SO
John Franco 35 4 3 10 5.20 29
Jeff Innis 67 2 3 3 4.11 36
Mike Maddux 58 3 8 5 3.60 57
Mike Draper 29 1 1 0 4.25 16
Mauro Gozzo 10 0 1 1 2.57 6
Paul Gibson 8 1 1 0 5.19 12
Josías Manzanillo 6 0 0 0 3.00 11
Jeff Kaiser 6 0 0 0 11.57 5
Mickey Weston 4 0 0 0 7.94 2
Kenny Greer 1 1 0 0 0.00 2

Farm system

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Level Team League Manager
AAA Norfolk Tides International League Clint Hurdle
AA Binghamton Mets Eastern League Steve Swisher
A St. Lucie Mets Florida State League John Tamargo
A Capital City Bombers South Atlantic League Ron Washington
Short-Season A Pittsfield Mets New York–Penn League Howie Freiling
Rookie Kingsport Mets Appalachian League Ron Gideon
Rookie GCL Mets Gulf Coast League Junior Roman

[12]

References

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  1. ^ Wally Whitehurst page at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ José Martínez page at Baseball-Reference
  3. ^ a b Roger Mason page at Baseball Reference
  4. ^ "Mauro Gozzo Stats".
  5. ^ Eric Bullock page at Baseball Reference
  6. ^ a b "July 28, 1993: Young's Losing Streak Snapped at 27 | BaseballLibrary.com". Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
  7. ^ "1993 New York Mets Roster by Baseball Almanac".
  8. ^ Jeff Kaiser page at Baseball Reference
  9. ^ Ced Landrum page at Baseball Reference
  10. ^ Tony Fernández page at Baseball Reference
  11. ^ Josias Manzanillo page at Baseball Reference
  12. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
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