All Time Mets Winningest Left Hander & 1969 World Series Hero: Jerry Koosman (1967-1978)

Jerome Martin Koosman was born December 23, 1942 on a farm in Appleton, Minnesota. As a child he left hander went ice fishing and played baseball in their family’s hay loft with his brother. He was drafted into the army in 1962, but there was no baseball team where he was stationed. Thank goodness for his dentist, who was a general in the same unit and helped Koosman get to El Paso Texas where they did have a baseball team. After a few warm up pitches at the try out, he was told he was a starter.

Koosman was serving at Ft. Bliss, Texas and made a friend who was from Queens & was the son of an usher at Shea Stadium. John Luchese wrote to his dad telling him the Mets team should check this Koosman guy out, he could sure throw. The scouts came and offered him a contract right away after seeing him pitch. Koosman said “It seemed every time we spoke they lowered the offer by a hundred dollars. I figured I better sign before I owed them money.” He was almost traded away, because he was struggling in the farm system.

On a road trip with two other guys named Jerry, their car was damaged in an accident in Georgia. They called for money to get a new car. Jerry sent word out to future Mets GM Joe McDonald who was working at the minor league level at the time, for an additional $500. The organization gave him the loan, and Club president George Weiss figured he’d trade the Koosman kid away once his loan was paid back. But soon, Koos began pitching well and his future with the Mets was secured.


In 1966 he was 12-7 at A ball Auburn in the New York/ Penn. League posting a 1.38 ERA. In 1967 the Mets staff in 1967 as one of it first pitching stars. He made his MLB debut in relief at Philadelphia on April 14, 1967, striking out two Phillies & walking two in 2.2 innings of work. He would make five appearances through the end of May, before going back down to AAA Jacksonville. There he was 11-10 leading International League in strikeouts & (183) while posting a 2.43 ERA. He came back to New York in September & went 0-2 in five games, making his first starts in Houston & at San Francisco.

In 1968 he pitched the second game of the season & was spectacular as he shut out the Dodgers on a four hitter in Los Angeles. He would go on to have an incredible rookie season, staring the year off with back to back shut outs and a 4-0 April. In his secind game he struck out ten Giants at Shea Stadium & in his third game he struck out eleven Astros. Right away, people took notice.

Koosman then went on a six game winning streak in May & June, keeping his ERA under 1.50 through June 24th. He was 12-4 by mid July with one of the league's best ERA’s at 1.82. He made his first All Star team, and earned the All Star game save in 1968, pitching a scoreless 9th inning, striking out Carl Yastremski for the final out in the 1-0 National League win.


He returned from the break in July to pitch back to back four hit shut outs, first against the Cardinals in St. Louis where struck out 12 & then against the Reds at Shea. On September 13th he threw a three hit shut out at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he also closed out the season with a three hit one run performance against the Philadelphia Phillies. He just missed out being a 20 game winner due to a 3-3 September, he finished up his rookie year going 19-10 leading the team in wins, (4th best in the NL).

He posted an incredible 2.08 ERA (4th in the NL) still the third best Mets single season mark in their history. He struck out 178 batters pitching in 262 innings, throwing 7 shut outs (3rd most in the NL) & 17 complete games, which is the second best mark in Mets history. He pitched seven shutouts which was third best in the NL. He set franchise records that year in wins, shutouts, ERA and those totals are still Mets rookie bests. Koosman was named to the Topps All-Star Rookie Team and finished runner-up to Johnny Bench for the Rookie of the Year honors by just one vote.

During a game that season, Jerry Grote fired a ball back at Koosman from behind the plate, tying him up around the belt area. Koos called him to the mound & said “if you ever throw a ball back at me like that, I’ll break your freaking’ neck”. Grote never did again, and Koos earned his catchers respect, that would last another decade.


He was generally the #2 starter for the Mets in the coming years behind Tom Seaver over the next decade. Seaver and Koosman became one of the league's top righty/lefty starting combos, sometimes known as “The Tom & Jerry Show”. Koosman as was the est of the Mets staffs, a victim of low run support many times in his career, but the good-natured Koosman never complained, and always went out & pitched his best.


In 1969 Koosman started out slowly taking losses in his first two starts before beating the Pittsburgh Pirates with a five hit shut out on April 23rd. He only made two starts in May but went 7-1 through June & July, including three straight complete games where he never allowed more than one run. He won eight of his last nine decisions down the stretch, including a five hitter & two hitter, both against the San Diego Padres.

He threw five straight complete games in September, none bigger than on the night of September 8th at Shea Stadium. The Mets went up against the first place Cubs at crazy sold out Shea Stadium, the Chicago lead had dwindled down to just 2 1/2 games. Koosman went up against the Cubs ace, Hackensack New Jersey's own Bill Hands. Cubs manager Leo Durocher ordered Hands to knock down the Mets lad off hitter Tommie Agee, he did. Koosman was never one who let hit players get hit without retaliating back, the next inning the Cubs slugger Ron Santo came up & Koosman drilled him in the hand sending the message back. Later when Koos came up Hands threw at him as well & Koos shouted back at him.

In any event the Mets & Koos won the game 3-2 as he struck out 13 batters. The hitting hero was Tommie Agee who homered & drove in two runs in the 3-2 Met win. In the series the Mets got within a half game, it was the series that included the famous black cat running onto the field & in front of the Cub dug out as well as the Shea crown waving handkerchiefs singing "Goodnight Leo".

In his next start at Pittsburgh Koos pitched a three hit 1-0 shutout in the first game of a double header. He drove in the only run with a base hit off Pittsburgh's Bob Moose. In the second game Don Cardwell pitched a one run shut out & dove in the only run of that game.

Kooman then came out & threw a six hit shutout in Montreal & on the next to last outing of his season he pitched a four hit shut out in Philadelphia. In that stretch he only allowed five earned runs in 45 innings of work. He finished the year 17-9 with a 2.28 ERA (5TH in the NL), 180 strikeouts, 241 innings pitched, 16 complete games (9th in the NL) and six shutouts (4th in the league).

Post Season: In Game #2 of the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves, Koosman was shelled from the mound, giving up six runs in 4.2 innings of work, three of those runs coming on Hank Aaron’s fifth-inning home run. The Mets were already ahead 9-6; they added two more runs to win the game giving Ron Taylor the victory.


Koosman was the pitching star of the 1969 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles and certainly could have won the MVP award himself. In Game #2 he had a no hitter going until the 7th inning against the mighty O's line up at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Paul Blair led off the inning with a single, he stole second & would score the tying run 1-1. But the Amazing Mets went ahead in the 9th inning with two out singles from Ed Charles Jerry Groter & pinch hitter Al Weis who drove in the game winning run.

In the bottom of the 9th after getting the first two outs, Koosman walked Frank Robinson & Boog Powell. Gil Hodges removed him, and the Oriole fans gave him a huge ovation for his performance that afternoon. Ron Taylor came in getting Brooks Robinson to ground out to save the game.


Koosman got the win pitching 8.1 innings, allowing one run, on only two hits, with four strikeouts and two walks. The Mets won the next two games, and Koosman took the mound at Shea Stadium, for Game Five which could wrap up the whole series. He fell behind 3-0 giving up two HRs in the third inning one to the opposing pitcher Dave McNally & the other to Frank Robinson. He got back into the dugout angry and told his team, “I’ll hold them here, get me some runs”.

In the 6th inning Cleon Jones took a pitch that may have hit his foot, no call was made at first. The ball rolled into the dug out, next Gil Hodges comes out of the dug out with a ball with shoe polish on it as proff it hit Jones. Umpire Lou Dimuro agreed & gave him first base. The Orioles manager Earl Weaver went nuts, years later Koosman admitted Hodges had told him on the bench to rub the ball on his shoes so the polish would be visible.

Next Donn Clendenon & of all people Al Weis, both homered to give the Mets the lead. Koos went on to pitch a complete game five hit victory, walking only one while striking out five Orioles. One of the most memorable pictures in Mets history is Koosman leaping into catcher Jerry Grotes arms the Amazing Mets won the 1969 World Series against all the odds in the world.

In 1970 pitched the second game of the season taking a tough 2-1 loss to Doc Eliis & the Pittsburgh Pirates. Also in April he had a another tough loss against the Philadelphia Phillies when he pitched against Rick Wise to 1-1 tie through nin innings. Koos allowed two runs inthe tenth taking the loss. In his next start he pitched another nine innings, this time allowing no runs but the Me bats also didn't score & he earned no decision. The Mets would lose the game to the Dodgers in the 15th inning.

Finally on May 9th he earned his first win, although he allowed five runs on ten hits in the game. In his next start at Philadelphia he struck out ten and four hit the Phillies, throwing his first shutout of the year. On June 5th he was hit in the mouth with a line drive off the bat of Gary Gentry during batting practice. He was knocked out & had to have his jaw wired shut for six weeks. Mananger Gil Hodges had Koosman drink milk shakes & as well as a beer every game he was on the bech in order to keep his weight up. Koosman struggled to remain at .500 through the end of July although his ERA was just at 2.82.

From August 8th through September 5th he went 5-0 as the Mets helped him with better run support. On that date he beat Ken Holtzman & the rival Chicago Cubs putting the Mets just two games back of the first place Pirates & a half game behind the second place Cubs. On September 20th Koosman beat the first place Pirates in the first game of a double header, throwing a complete game two hit one run victory. The win placed New York just 3 1/2 back of the Pirates but they would fade away during the next two weeks as the Pirates won the Eastern Division.

On the year Koosman posted the second most wins on the Mets staff to Tom Seaver, with a 12-7 record with a 3.14 ERA (5th best in the league), striking out 118 batters with 71 walks in 212 innings pitched. He pitched one shut out with five complete games.

In 1971 he began the year at 3-1 but then lost two straight decisons including a ten inning performance in San Francisco. That day he pulled a muscle in his back pitching in the cold weather at Candelstick Park & it affected the rest of his season. In July he went down until mid August with another injury and went 2-4 upon his return. He finished the year at 6-11 with a 3,04 ERA 96 strike outs & 51 walks, in 165 innings pitched.


In Spring Training 1972 the Mets team flew North ready to start the season. Koosman stayed behind wondering if the season would start on time due to a possible players strike. He found Minnesota Viking's center Mick Tingelhoff at the hotel pool & became friends. Tinglhoff had been a catcher in high school & offered to catch as Koosman pitched to him.

Afterward as he went to his room he heard sirens 7 rushed to the lobby of the hotel. He had found out Gil Hodges was rushed to the hospital after suffering a heart attack. When he got to the hospital he found out from his pitching coach Rube Walker that Hodges had passed away. Koosman as well as the rest of the team was devastated. When the season got under way, Koosman had trouble with his wind up. He was soon 0-3 and new manager Yogi Berra put him in the bullpen to work out his issues. Things got better & on May 25th he earned his first career save against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.


He got back into the rotation & won four straight decisions including a four hit shutout in Montreal. He was 6-3 at that point but would then lose eight of his next ten decisions. A rough August had him go 1-4 with two complete games losses as well as three outings where he didn't get past the fourth inning.

He did better in September but the Mets finsihed third (83-73) never quite recovering from the shock of Gil Hodges death. On the year Koosman went 11-12, tied for third on the staff in wins with Jim McAndrew. 1972 saw the emerence of Rookie of the Year Pitcher Jon Matlack who went 15-10 with 1 2.32 ERA. Koos struck out 147 batters in 163 innings pitched.

In 1973 Koosman started out the year better tahn anyone on the staff or in the National League for that matter. He started out 5-0 in his first six starts, with an ERA under two while throwing four complete games. He won Player of the week & Player of the month awards that April.

Then things went sour for him as he suffered two different five game losing streaks through the end of July by which time his record was 8-14. In that stretch though, the Mets were shut out three times, and Koos allowed two runs or less seven times. The Mets team suffered from offense & run support all year.

In August he was back to being himself and would win eight of his last nine decisions helping the Mets capture the NL Eastern title. It began on August 19th when he allowed just one run and six hits at Shea Stadium against the Mets eventual NLCS opponent the Cincinnati Reds. In his next start he shut out Juan Marichal & the San Francisco Giants for ten innings, before Felix Millan singled home Kenny Boswell with the walk off game winning run. On September 3rd he shut out the Phillies at Shea scattering seven hits in the Mets 5-0 win.

On the next to last game of the season he beat the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field pitching a complete game allowing only two runs, both unearned. The win guaranteed the Mets at least a tie for first place. He finished the season 14-15, with a 2.84 ERA (9th best in the NL) 156 strikeouts, 263 innings pitched and three shutouts (both 7th best in the NL). At the plate he had 15 sacrifice hits (4th in the NL) batted .103 & drove in three runs.


Post Season: He got the start in Game #3 of the NLCS at Shea Stadium against the Cincinnati Reds. The series was tied at one game each & it was the second NLCS held at Shea Stadium in the past four years.

This was the classic game in which Bud Harrelson & Pete had their famous bench clearing brawl in the fourth inning. Earlier in the game Koosman claims Rose was cursing him from the dugout after he had thrown nothing but off speed pitches to get him to pop up.

In his next at bat he tried to hit Rose but he singles, by that time the Mets had taken a 7-2 lead and Koosman had got Joe Morgan to ground into an inning ending double play. Rose slid hard into second with a cheap shot pop up slide into second base, Harrelson told him that he didn't like it & a fight broke out. Rose was trying to get his team fired up, but instead it fired up the Mets & the Shea Crowd.

The game had to be stopped and the Reds were removed from the field after the fans pelted Rose & the field with anything they could find. Koosman rolled along after order had been restored, he pitched a complete game, 9-2 victory, allowing eight hits, while striking out nine Reds. The victory gave the Mets a 2-1 lead in the Series.

In the World Series vs. the defending champion Oakland A’s Koosman started Game #2 at the Oakland Coliseum against Vida Blue. He had a rough outing only lasting into the 3rd inning, giving up three runs on six hits. He got a no decision as the Mets went on to an extra inning 10-7 win.

He came back to pitch a gem in Game #5 at Shea Stadium. He held Oakland scoreless for 6 1/3 innings only allowing only three hits along the way, striking out four A's. The Mets won the game on RBI hits from John Milner & Don Hahn, as Koos & Tug McGraw combined for the 2-0 shutout. This victory gave the Mets a 3-2 lead in the Series heading back to sunny Oakland California.

Yogi Berra will forever be questioned as to why he did not pitch George Stone who had gone 12-3 on the season in any of the two final games of the Series. Yes, he did choose to go with Seaver (the Cy Young winner that year) & Matlack but they were both on three days rest. Koosman was ready to go in Game #7 telling pitching coach Rube Walker to let Yogi know.

He was never called upon & the Mets lost the Series three games to two. Overall in his Post season career, Koosman never lost a decision, in six starts he was 4-0 striking out 31 batters in 40 innings, posting a 3.79 ERA with two complete game wins. He may very well be the best All Time Mets Post season pitcher.

In 1974 he started out the year pitching into the 9th inning in the third game of the season beating the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2. He was 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA & two complete games by mid May. In two of those outings he struck out 11 batters, allowing only two runs in each game.

In June he had a three game win streak, and they were all complete games. His best outing may have been a four hit one run, performance at Wrigley Field during that stretch besting his record to 8-4. The Mets struggled on the year not able to defend their NL Champion title, falling to 71-91 in fifth place.

Koosman finished the year at 15-11, leading the Mets staff in wins mostly due to Tom Seaver struggling with mechanics & back issues. Koosman posted a 3.36 ERA, with 35 starts, 13 complete games (7th in the NL), 265 innings pitched (8th in the NL) and 188 strikeouts (7th in the NL). His strikeout totals over the next five seasons would put him in the top eight in the league each season.


In the third game of the 1975 season Koosmans first start went eight innings allowing three runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates, he earned no decision in the Mets 4-2 loss. His next start was horrible as he was removed in the second inning after. After the two no decisions, it took two straight complete games to get him his first two victories. The second of those was a four hit 2-0 shutout against the Montreal Expos at Shea Stadium on May 2nd.

He would toss three five hit victories at home from mid May through June, including a shut out against the Houston Astros. On July 3rd Koosman had a another four hit shutout at Shea Stadium coming against the Chicago Cubs. At the All Star break he was 8-7 with an ERA of 3.60. The Mets were hanging at .500 and no one had any more respect or faith in manager Yogi Berra.

In the days of Hodges there were one set of rules, his. With Berra if a mental error was made he'd say "next time it will cost ya", usually it was forgotten about, the inmates were running the asylum. After a publicized battle with Cleon Jones leading to his release, tw weeks later Berra was fired. Coach Roy McMillan became the interim manager as the team finished third at 82-80.

After three straight losses Koosman made two relief appearances, earning two saves. The first was against the Giants at Shea in relief of Tom Seaver & the next two days later in Houston. He finished the year with a 14-13 record behind Tom Seaver who won his third Cy Young that season, a 3.42 ERA, 173 strike outs (7th in the NL) with four shut outs (7th in the NL), eleven complete games in 239 innings pitched.

Just before the start of the 1976 season, Koosman's father passed away. He felt the sprit of his dad was with him all year & he said he never felt that level of concentration again. He want on to have arguably his best season. It began in May where he won all five starts he made and was 6-1 at the end of the month. In June he had a rough time going 1-5 with five straight losses.

But from July on he was 14-4, doing everything right. His new manager Joe Frazier just gave him the ball & told him to take care of things. On July 2nd, Koos pitched a three hitter against the Cubs where he struck out 12 batters. In the middle of the month after the break he threw two straight five hitters allowing a run each time. He closed out July with a four hitter at Shea against the Phillies.

He then threw four straight complete games with a four hit shutout in Montreal striking out eight Expos. In September he won four straight beginning with a three hit shut out against the Giants. Then on September 16th at Shea Stadium with his wife & mother in attendance Koosman beat the St. Louis Cardinals pitching another complete game, for his twentieth win of the year.

Although he had won 19 games in 1968 it was the only time in his long Mets career he ever had a twenty win season. The joyous event got him the front cover of the 1977 Mets yearbook.


Koosman finished runner up to San Diego's Randy Jones for the Cy Young Award, although many feel it should have gone to Koosman. He went 21-10 (2nd in the league in wins) striking out 200 batters (3rd in the league). His strikeout per nine inning ratio was second best in the league at 7.2. He posted a 2.69 ERA (4th best in the league) with 17 complete games (2nd in the league) & three shutouts. Randy Jones was 22-14 with a 2.70 ERA pitching a league leading 315 innings & 25 complete games.

In 1977 there were many changes in the organization, the Mets traded Tom Seaver and the whole team fell apart. Koosman struggled with the bad ball club, falling to 8-20, tied with Phil Niekro for most losses in the league. His ERA was a still respectable at 3.42 and he still threw four shut outs and completed eleven games. He never pitched well through the year, allowing earned runs in all but two of his 32 starts, while allowing just one earned run only four times. He entered August 8-11 but then lost all nine of his final decisions including eight straight games.


In 1978 Koosman beat the Expos on Opening Day at Shea, striking out seven batters in the Mets 3-1 win. He then won his next game at the start of June in Atlanta, another complete game win putting him at 2-3. But from there he would win just one more games all year going, 1-12 from that point. In 38 starts n the year he allowed two earned runs or less 16 times giving him a 3.75 ERA. In September he mostly pitched out of the bullpen, and Koosman was now very happy in New York too. Koosman was 3-15 in 1978 with 160 strikeouts, 84 walks in 235 innings pitched.

The Mets finished last that year 66-96 under manager Joe Torre. He was one of the final players left since the miracle of 1969 & the pennant of 1973. Koosman, saw no signs of improvement for the team, and demanded to be traded. His wishes came through and he was dealt to his home state of Minnesota to pitch for the Twins in 1979. Interestingly the Mets received another pitcher who would get a final out in a World Series (1986), a youngster named Jesse Orosco.


In his first year back in his home state of Minnesota, Koosman regained form, once again winning twenty games going 20-13 (3rd most wins in the AL) . He posted a 3.38 ERA (8th in the AL) with 157 strikeouts (5th in the league) and two shutouts.

He was sixth in the Cy Young voting. Jerry came back to win 16 more games in 1980 (10th best in the league) going 16-13 with 149 strikeouts. He signed with the Chicago White sox as free agent in 1981 winning eleven games two seasons in a row, before being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1984.


He made his return to Shea Stadium on April 29, 1984 pitching against the New York Mets who were now contenders once again in a new era. That night Koos allowed RBI singles to George Foster (1st inning), Mookie Wilson & his old team mate Rusty Staub. He also was called for a balk allowing a run to score, as he took the loss to Walt Terrell allowing four runs on seven hits pitching into the 6th inning. He came back in June, this time beating the Mets & Ed Lynch 6-4, pitching seven innings. He then took another loss against the Mets at the end of the season. In 1984 with the Phillies he went 14-15 (5th most losses in the NL) with a 3.25 ERA. He retired after going 6-4 in 1985 at the age of 42.

Honors: Koosman still ranks high on the Mets all time pitching list; second in wins (140) second in starts (346) innings pitched (2544) and complete games, (108). He is tied for second in shutouts (26) third in strike outs (1799) and fourth in ERA (3.09). Koosman was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1989.

He was at the closing ceremonies at Shea Stadium in 2008 and on hand for the 40th anniversary of the 1969 Championship team. Jerry’s number 36 should be retired by the Mets and hopefully the many voices that agree will one day be heard.

Overall in his nineteen year career he is at #73 on the all-time win list with a 222-209 record (37th all time in losses). He had 2556 strikeouts (28th All time) with 33 shut outs (87th all time) with a 3.36 ERA pitching in 3839 innings (48th all time) in 612 games (179th all time).

Koos made 527 starts (36th all time) with 1198 walks (53rd all time) 71 hit batsmen (192 all time) 290 HRs allowed (56th all time) & a 2.134 strike out / walk ratio (210th all time).

He served as a minor league pitching coach for the Mets in the late 1980’s before retiring from baseball. He had the ball from the final out of the 1969 World Series locked away in a safe at his home until the 1990's when he sold it. In 2009 he was sentenced to six months time for tax evasion.