22
2013
How The Miracle Mets Were Built: The Spring Of 1968
An article by Barry Duchan
Welcome to Part One of my four part series entitled, How The Miracle Mets Were Built.
Turn Back The Clock 45 Years – It’s the Spring of 1968.
Spring training of 1968 saw the Mets coming off another last place finish but with a few glimmers of hope for the future. There was a new manager in Gil Hodges and a new center fielder in former A.L. Rookie of The Year Tommie Agee who came to the Mets in a deal for their best hitter, Tommy Davis.
Tom Seaver had a brilliant rookie year in 1967, winning 16 games and establishing himself as the team’s first legitimate #1 pitcher, but there were still a lot of question marks in the rotation. Optimistic Mets fans could point to an impressive crop of pitchers coming up through the farm system and maybe a couple would be ready to contribute in 1968. Other than Seaver, veteran Don Cardwell figured to fill one slot in the rotation. Dick Selma was still around, although he had been something of a disappointment so far. Tug McGraw and Jerry Koosman had been the best starters at AAA Jacksonville and maybe they were ready to contribute on the major league level. Another young pitcher, Dan Frisella would get a shot too. If all else failed, veterans Cal Koonce and the recently re-acquired original Met, Al Jackson might be pressed into service. Any of those guys might also wind up in the bullpen along with carry-overs Ron Taylor and Don Shaw. Veterans like Bob Hendley, Billy Short, and Hal Reniff would also get looks. Touted youngsters like Nolan Ryan, Les Rohr, Jon Matlack, and Gary Gentry were considered legitimate prospects, but didn’t figure to be ready for a couple of years, at least.
Behind the plate, Steve Chilcott and Greg Goossen were touted as future stars, but in the meantime, light-hitting (.195) Jerry Grote and J.C. Martin would have to suffice. Kranepool at first and Swoboda in right were still regarded as possible foundation players, but neither had lived up to their initial promise so far. Jerry Buchek was the incumbent at second base and was expected to be pushed by lefty hitting Ken Boswell who was regarded as a solid bat even though his minor league numbers didn’t reflect that. Defensively, Boswell was considered adequate at best. Shortstop Bud Harrelson had shown he could do the job in the field, but would he hit? Third base was a crap shoot with rookie Kevin Collins and ex-White Sox hopeful Dick Kenworthy likely to compete for the job. Buchek might play third if Boswell won the job at second or there was always veteran Ed Charles, a non-roster invitee whose play in 1967 led the Mets (and likely every other major league team) to believe that he might be at the end of the road.
Joining Swoboda and Agee in the outfield, Cleon Jones, once hailed as the best hitting prospect in the organization would get first crack at replacing Davis in left field. Defensively, Jones would certainly be an improvement, but his .246 average in 1967 while playing all over the outfield wouldn’t cut it. Art Shamsky, a lefty hitter with power had been acquired from the Reds, for whom he batted a woeful .197 the year before. Rookies like Amos Otis and Clyde Mashore also figured to get a look and Don Bosch was still around too if a defensive replacement was needed.
Could this team even make it out of last place ? Were the Mets really building a winner ?
Next up. A look at how 1968 turned out and the outlook for 1969.
About the Author: Barry Duchan
I've been following the Mets since 1962. Have to admit I was a Yankee fan as a kid, but I found it to be so much more interesting to see how a young team could build itself up rather than following a team where the season didn't really begin until October. I remember them all - Casey, Marv, ChooChoo, Don Bosch, The Stork, etc. As the years went on, I became more and more of a Mets fan, and a Yankee hater once Steinbrenner and Billy Martin entered the picture. After retiring, I relocated with my family from Long Island to Chapel Hill, NC in 2005. I spend a lot of my time now checking out all the various Mets blogs. Fortunately, I still get to watch almost all of the Mets games (except those that are blacked out here).
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 23 | 18 | .561 | - |
| Nationals | 23 | 19 | .548 | 0.5 |
| Phillies | 20 | 22 | .476 | 3.5 |
| Mets | 16 | 23 | .410 | 6.0 |
| Marlins | 11 | 31 | .262 | 12.5 |
Last updated: 05/18/2013
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This should probably wait till you get to the 1969 part but I would point out that YES the 69 team was built on pitching….
The question is where would it have been if we had given up in July when we were 8 games back or in August when we were 10 games back like we did in 2011 and 2012.
If we had traded Cleon and Agee for more kids or Traded Seaver after 69 because he was the guy worth the most in trade at that time too….
In the end we won with pitching…but only because we didn’t give up halfway through the season and used the fact we didn’t win that year or make the playoffs as a reason to fold the tent and rebuild again.
This team could use some determination like the kind showed back then we might be surprised at the results.
Sweet. 68′ the year I started following the Mets. Cal Koonce was the man!
Poor Danny Frisella. He was good swing man for us, pitching out of the pen, making emergency starts, closing out games. Even though he had already left the Mets after 72, I was stunned when they reported he died in that accident. When he first came up, we all had high expectations for him.
Thanks Barry, I always enjoy your hisorical looks at the Mets. I bet If a trade like the Agee trade were made today the GM would have been run out of town after the 1968 season.
Hey, Johnny Murphy – you are the worst GM in baseball, You traded away our best Hitter, Tommy Davis who could really rake for a kid who cant even hit his weight. I cant even stand you and anybody who disagrees is mindless cult member who knows nothing about baseball.
Hi Barry,
Great first installment – don’t give away the ending for your might ruin it for the rest of us LOL.
Some tidbits to add about 1967:
- The Mets got Tom Seaver because their name was pulled out of a hat competiting against two other clubs after Commissioner Eckert voided Tom’s original contract with Atlanta because his college team had played two exhibition games against a professional club.
- Jerry Koozman was brought to the attention of the Mets by a tip from an usher. He actually pitched about 20 innings at the end of the year and had an ERA I believe of around six.
- Ron Swoboda started off the season platooning with Ed Kranepool at first base, with the outfield being Tommy Davis, Don Bosch and Cleon Jones with Tommy Reynolds the fourth outfielder. Talk about bad fielding – Swoboda shortly proved he was not qualified to be a first baseman and I was at an April game sitting field level box by first base when Reynolds in right misplayed a fly ball by running in too far and then as he tried backing up fell right on his back as the ball dropped in behind him. Bosch was completely lost at the plate. Guess that is when Swoboda traded his first baseman’s mitt for a fielder’s glove.
- After the 1967 season, the Mets announced they had three “untouchables: Seaver (ROY), Swoboda (who hit .281 with 13 homers) and Harrelson (who did hit .254 though he had to work on his stolen base skills having been caught stealing 13 out of 25 attempts).
- Kranepool finally had a good overall season hitting .269 with ten home runs.
- Jerry Bucheck had six home runs in his first 34 games – he hit only three over his next 100.
- Bill Denehy (traded for Hodges) pitched all of three innings for the Senators.