1968

Mets Rewind

The youth movement bears first fruit

The following is a summary of events and memorable moments throughout the season. This is no an exhaustive reflection of this season, For more details of games, players and events from this season we encourage you to explore the sub sections — team roster, vault and timeline — listed below and throughout this section. In addition, as we continue to develop the Mets Rewind website new features and content will be added as they become available.

1968. McDonalds sells its first Big Mac. CBS debuts a news magazine program called 60 Minutes. The Graduate and The Odd Couple hit the big screen. Radio stations were filled with the sounds of The Supremes, Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Doors and Jimi Hendrix. A gallon of gas cost 34 cents and a ticket to the movies was a modest $1.50.

Meanwhile in Flushing, the New York Mets were on the rise. Aging, more household names were being replaced with a talented core of young ballplayers including pitchers Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Cleon Jones, Ed Kranepool, Tommie Agee and Jerry Grote.

The Mets improved from 61-101 in 1967 to 73-89 in 1968, a 12-win difference.

The season recap published above is written by David Russell and published in his book, Fabulous to Futile in Flushing: A Year-by-Year History of the Mets. Do you love Mets history? Pick up this book online at your favorite bookseller and enjoy season-by-season historical recaps, Mets highlights and challenging trivia that will send you on a fun journey through the Mets rich franchise history.