List of New York Mets Opening Day starting pitchers

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Tom Seaver made eleven Opening Day starts for the Mets.

The New York Mets are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Flushing, Queens, in New York City. They play in the National League East division. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season,[1] though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day.[2] The New York Mets have used 27 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 59 seasons. The 27 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 29 wins, 13 losses (29–13) and 17 no decisions. No decisions are only awarded to the starting pitcher if the game is won or lost after the starting pitcher has left the game.

Tom Seaver holds the Mets' record for most Opening Day starts with 11, and has an Opening Day record of 6–0. He also has the most starts in Shea Stadium, the Mets' home ballpark from 1964 through 2008. Seaver and Dwight Gooden hold the Mets' record for most Opening Day wins with six each. Al Jackson and Roger Craig share the worst winning percentage as the Opening Day starting pitcher with a record of 0–2.

From 1968 through 1983, Mets' Opening Day starting pitchers went 16 consecutive years without a loss. During this period, Tom Seaver won six starts with five no decisions, Craig Swan won two starts, and Jerry Koosman, Pat Zachry and Randy Jones won one start apiece. Furthermore, in the 31-year period from 1968 through 1998, Mets' Opening Day starting pitchers only lost two games. During that period, they won 19 games with 10 no decisions. The only losses during this period were by Mike Torrez in 1984 and by Dwight Gooden in 1990.

Overall, Mets Opening Day starting pitchers have a record of 0–1 at the Polo Grounds, a 12–5 record with five no decisions at Shea Stadium and a 3–0 record with three no decisions at Citi Field. In addition, although the Mets were nominally the home team in 2000, the game was played in Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.[3] Mike Hampton started the game in Tokyo and lost, making the Mets' Opening Day starting pitchers' combined home record 15–7, and their away record 14–6. The Mets went on to play in the World Series in 1969, 1973, 1986, 2000 and 2015, and won the 1969 and 1986 World Series championship games. Tom Seaver (1969 and 1973), Dwight Gooden (1986), Mike Hampton (2000) and Bartolo Colón (2015) were the Opening Day starting pitchers when the Mets played in the World Series, and they had a combined Opening Day record of 3–1 with one no decision.

Key[edit]

Shea Stadium, site of 22 Opening Day starts by New York Mets pitchers
Season Each year is linked to an article about that particular Mets season.
W Win
L Loss
ND (W) No decision by starting pitcher; Mets won game
ND (L) No decision by starting pitcher; Mets lost game
Location Stadium in italics for home game
Pitcher (#) Number of appearances as Opening Day starter with the Mets
* Advanced to the post-season
** NL Champions
† World Series Champions

Pitchers[edit]

Dwight Gooden made eight Opening Day starts for the Mets, winning six
Johan Santana, the 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012 Opening Day starter
Pedro Martínez, the 2005 Opening Day starter
Season Pitcher Decision Opponent Location Ref(s)
1962 Roger Craig L St. Louis Cardinals Sportsman's Park [4]
1963 Roger Craig (2) L St. Louis Cardinals Polo Grounds [5][6]
1964 Al Jackson L Philadelphia Phillies Connie Mack Stadium [7]
1965 Al Jackson (2) L Los Angeles Dodgers Shea Stadium [5][8]
1966 Jack Fisher L Atlanta Braves Shea Stadium [5][9][10]
1967 Don Cardwell L Pittsburgh Pirates Shea Stadium [5][11]
1968 Tom Seaver ND (L) San Francisco Giants Candlestick Park [12]
1969† Tom Seaver (2) ND (L) Montreal Expos Shea Stadium [5][9][13]
1970 Tom Seaver (3) ND (W) Pittsburgh Pirates Forbes Field [14]
1971 Tom Seaver (4) W Montreal Expos Shea Stadium [5][9][15]
1972 Tom Seaver (5) W Pittsburgh Pirates Shea Stadium [5][9][16]
1973** Tom Seaver (6) W Philadelphia Phillies Shea Stadium [5][9][17]
1974 Tom Seaver (7) ND (L) Philadelphia Phillies Veterans Stadium [18]
1975 Tom Seaver (8) W Philadelphia Phillies Shea Stadium [5][9][19]
1976 Tom Seaver (9) W Montreal Expos Jarry Park Stadium [20]
1977 Tom Seaver (10) W Chicago Cubs Wrigley Field [21]
1978 Jerry Koosman W Montreal Expos Shea Stadium [5][22]
1979 Craig Swan W Chicago Cubs Wrigley Field [23]
1980 Craig Swan (2) W Chicago Cubs Shea Stadium [5][24]
1981 Pat Zachry W Chicago Cubs Wrigley Field [25]
1982 Randy Jones W Philadelphia Phillies Veterans Stadium [26]
1983 Tom Seaver (11) ND (W) Philadelphia Phillies Shea Stadium [5][9][27]
1984 Mike Torrez L Cincinnati Reds Riverfront Stadium [28]
1985 Dwight Gooden ND (W) St. Louis Cardinals Shea Stadium [29]
1986† Dwight Gooden (2) W Pittsburgh Pirates Three Rivers Stadium [30]
1987 Bobby Ojeda W Pittsburgh Pirates Shea Stadium [5][9][31][32]
1988* Dwight Gooden (3) W Montreal Expos Olympic Stadium [33][34]
1989 Dwight Gooden (4) W St. Louis Cardinals Shea Stadium [5][35][36]
1990 Dwight Gooden (5) L Pittsburgh Pirates Shea Stadium [5][9][37][38]
1991 Dwight Gooden (6) W Philadelphia Phillies Shea Stadium [5][39][40]
1992 David Cone ND (W) St. Louis Cardinals Busch Memorial Stadium [41][42]
1993 Dwight Gooden (7) W Colorado Rockies Shea Stadium [5][9][43][44]
1994 Dwight Gooden (8) W Chicago Cubs Wrigley Field [5][45][46]
1995 Bobby Jones ND (L) Colorado Rockies Coors Field [5][47][48]
1996 Bobby Jones (2) ND (W) St. Louis Cardinals Shea Stadium [5][9][49][50]
1997 Pete Harnisch ND (L) San Diego Padres Qualcomm Stadium [51][52]
1998 Bobby Jones (3) ND (W) Philadelphia Phillies Shea Stadium [5][9][53][54]
1999* Al Leiter L Florida Marlins Pro Player Stadium [55][56]
2000** Mike Hampton L Chicago Cubs Tokyo Dome [3][5][57]
2001 Al Leiter (2) ND (W) Atlanta Braves Turner Field [58][59]
2002 Al Leiter (3) W Pittsburgh Pirates Shea Stadium [5][60][61]
2003 Tom Glavine L Chicago Cubs Shea Stadium [5][9][62][63]
2004 Tom Glavine (2) W Atlanta Braves Turner Field [64][65]
2005 Pedro Martinez ND (L) Cincinnati Reds Great American Ball Park [66][67]
2006* Tom Glavine (3) W Washington Nationals Shea Stadium [5][68][69]
2007 Tom Glavine (4) W St. Louis Cardinals Busch Stadium [70][71]
2008 Johan Santana W Florida Marlins Dolphin Stadium [72][73]
2009 Johan Santana (2) W Cincinnati Reds Great American Ball Park [74]
2010 Johan Santana (3) W Florida Marlins Citi Field [75]
2011 Mike Pelfrey L Florida Marlins Sun Life Stadium [75]
2012 Johan Santana (4) ND (W) Atlanta Braves Citi Field [76]
2013 Jon Niese W San Diego Padres Citi Field [77]
2014 Dillon Gee ND (L) Washington Nationals Citi Field [78]
2015** Bartolo Colón W Washington Nationals Nationals Park [79]
2016* Matt Harvey L Kansas City Royals Kauffman Stadium [80]
2017 Noah Syndergaard ND (W) Atlanta Braves Citi Field [81]
2018 Noah Syndergaard (2) W St. Louis Cardinals Citi Field [82]
2019 Jacob deGrom W Washington Nationals Nationals Park [83]
2020 Jacob deGrom (2) ND (W) Atlanta Braves Citi Field [84]
2021 Jacob deGrom (3) ND (L) Philadelphia Phillies Citizens Bank Park [85]
2022* Tylor Megill W Washington Nationals Nationals Park [86]
2023 Max Scherzer W Miami Marlins LoanDepot Park [87]
2024 José Quintana L Milwaukee Brewers Citi Field [88]

References[edit]

General
  • "New York Mets Opening Day Starters and Results". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2008.
Specific
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  49. ^ Willis, George (April 2, 1996). "Determined Mets Climb Out of a 6-0 Hole to Top Cards". The New York Times. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
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  52. ^ "Opening Day 1997". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  53. ^ Diamos, Jason (April 1, 1998). "It's A Midsummer Classic in March as Mets Nip Phillies". The New York Times. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  54. ^ "Opening Day 1998". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
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  64. ^ Jenkins, Lee (April 7, 2004). "Smashing Start For Mets Begins On the First Pitch". The New York Times. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
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  67. ^ "Opening Day 2005". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
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  69. ^ "Opening Day 2006". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  70. ^ Borzi, Pat (April 2, 2007). "For Starters, Sturdy Effort and Victory for Glavine". The New York Times. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
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  86. ^ "Opening Day 2022". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
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  88. ^ "Opening Day 2024". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 29, 2024.

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