1977

The 1977 baseball season is the most forgettable in franchise history.

After losing 30 of their first 45 games, the Mets fired manager Joe Frazier and replaced him with player-manager Joe Torre.

But the most devastating blow of the season — and years to come — came two weeks after the managerial change on June 15 when the Mets shocked baseball by trading Tom Seaver, the face of the franchise, and outfielder Dave Kingman.  The Mets sent Seaver to the Cincinnati Reds for Pat Zachry, Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson and Dan Norman and Kingman was dealt to the Padres for minor league pitcher Paul Siebert and Bobby Valentine. In a third deal, the Mets acquired Joel Youngblood from the St. Louis Cardinals for Mike Phillips. The Seaver deal would go down in team history as the “The Midnight Massacre.”

Seaver returned to Shea Stadium in August, beating the Mets 5-1.

Torre managed the remainder of the season, recording a 49–68 record. The Mets finished the 1977 season 64-98 and 37 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East.