Jerry Koosman: All Time Mets Left Handed Pitcher (Part Two: 1970 - 1973)
In the off season he enjoyed the luxuries that come from being a World Champion & any member of the Amazing Mets would associate with that win forever.
1970: Koosman pitched the second game of the 1970 season taking a tough 2-1 loss to Doc Ellis & the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the bottom of the 1st, Kooz walked the first two Pirates, then Roberto Clemente reached on an infield single to third base.. Joe Foys two base throwing error allowed both runs to score unearned.
On April 14th, 1970, the Mets raised
the World Championship banner at Shea Stadium, before the home opener. Koosman started the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, giving up three runs, taking a no decision. In the top of the 10th Tug McGraw & Cal Koonce lost the game on RBI hits from Matty Alou & Richie Hebner.
the World Championship banner at Shea Stadium, before the home opener. Koosman started the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, giving up three runs, taking a no decision. In the top of the 10th Tug McGraw & Cal Koonce lost the game on RBI hits from Matty Alou & Richie Hebner.
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On April 19th, Kooz took another tough loss at home to the Phillies. He & Rick Wise pitched to 1-1 tie through nine innings. Koosman then gave up two runs in the 10th inning on RBI hits to Larry Hisle & Johnny Briggs taking the loss.On April 24th, he pitched nine innings of shutout ball at Dodger Stadium. That night the Mets bats were also shut down by Dodger pitching & they lost the game in the 15th inning. L.A.'s Tom Haller singled off Ron Taylor scoring Wes Parker with the walk off winning run. The hard luck Koosman was 0-2 with an ERA of 1.71.
On that West Coast road trip he then gave up five runs in San Francisco taking no decision in a 8-6 loss. In the first month of 1970, Koosman did not get a victory in five starts.
Finally on May 9th he earned his first win of the year, although he allowed five runs on ten hits the Mets put up 14 runs in the 14-5 win over the Giants at Shea.Shut Out: In his next start, coming at Philadelphia, he struck out a season best ten batters in a four hit shut out over the Phillies 6-0.
After taking a loss to the Cubs he made a relief appearance on May 31st, pitching four scoreless innings against the Astros in a 14 inning game where Duffy Dyer delivered the walk off RBI single.
Injury: On June 5th, while running in the out field during batting practice Koosman was hit in the mouth with a line drive off the bat of Mets pitcher Gary Gentry. He was knocked out & had to have his jaw wired shut for six weeks. Manager Gil Hodges had Koosman drink milk shakes & a beer every game while he was on the bench in order to keep his weight up.
On June 20th, Koosman returned making a start against the Phillies at Shea Stadium. He allowed two runs, one unearned as result of a rare Bud Harrelson error. Kooz pitched eight innings but took another tough loss as pitcher, as Chris Short held New York to one unearned run for the win.
Injury: On June 5th, while running in the out field during batting practice Koosman was hit in the mouth with a line drive off the bat of Mets pitcher Gary Gentry. He was knocked out & had to have his jaw wired shut for six weeks. Manager Gil Hodges had Koosman drink milk shakes & a beer every game while he was on the bench in order to keep his weight up.
On June 20th, Koosman returned making a start against the Phillies at Shea Stadium. He allowed two runs, one unearned as result of a rare Bud Harrelson error. Kooz pitched eight innings but took another tough loss as pitcher, as Chris Short held New York to one unearned run for the win.
RBI Hit: On June 30th, he gave up a season high six runs (five earned) but still took the win as the Mets put up seven runs over the Pirates. In that game in the 6th inning, Kooz hit a comebacker the mound that Orlando Pena booted & allowed two Mets runs to score.
On July 5th, he earned the third straight win at Philadelphia to get to 4-4.
In the month of July, Koosman had more bad luck as a result of no run support as he took three straight no decisions. On July 19th, in San Francisco he gave up one run in 7.1 innings leaving in a 1-1 tie which the Mets won in ten innings.
On July 24th at Shea, he went at it with the Dodgers Bill Singer, leaving in a 1-1 after nine innings. The Mets won the game in the 10th when Tommie Agee stole home.
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Five Straight Winning Decisions: From August 8th through September 5th, Koosman went 5-0 as the Mets offense helped him with better run support. On August 8th, he matched his season high giving up six runs, in six innings but still got the victory in a crazy 12-9 Mets win at Pittsburgh. The Mets collected 17 hits in the game & the Pirates collected 15 hits. Kooz collected two hits in the game as well for his only multi-hit game of the year.
On August 14th, in the nightcap of a twin bill split in Atlanta, he earned a 4-2 win over Pat Jarvis to get over the .500 mark at 7-6. On August 21st, he beat the Reds at Shea giving up an unearned run on a complete game seven hitter. It was the first time since May 31st that he had not allowed an earned run.
In his next two starts he allowed five earned runs each time, taking a no decision to the Braves at home then on August 31st, in St. Louis earned the victory as the Mets scored eleven runs.
On September 5th in Chicago, Kooz pitched eight innings to beat Ken Holtzman & the rival Cubs 5-3 in the heat of a tight pennant race. The win put the Mets just two games back of the first place Pirates & a half game behind the second place Cubs.
On September 9th, Koosman & the Phillies Jim Bunning dueled it out to a 2-2 tie, he exited to no decision in which the Mets won on Cleon Jones walk off RBI triple in the 14th inning.
The Mets got to within a half game of first place but a four game win streak set them back to 3.5 games.
Complete Game Two-Hitter: On September 20th, in a double header matchup with the first place Pirates at Shea, Koosman beat Bob Moose in the first game tossing a complete game two hit, one run victory. It was his 11th win of the year & his fourth complete game. The win kept New York just 3 1/2 games back of the Pirates. But they lost three of four in that series & would fade away from the race during the last two weeks. The Pirates won the Eastern Division losing the NLCS to the Cincinnati Reds.
In the 1970 season, Koosman posted the second most wins on the Mets staff to Tom Seaver, with a 12-7 record posting a 3.14 ERA (5th best in the league). He struck out 118 batters, walking 71 batters in 212 innings pitched. That year he pitched one shut out with five complete games.
innings allowing just one run to the 1970 NL Champion Cincinnati Reds.
In his next start he took a loss to the Pirates Steve Blass who shut out the Mets on a five hitter.
On April 27th in St. Louis, Jerry got his first win of the year pitching eight innings allowing one run, in a 2-1 win over Steve Carlton.
On April 27th in St. Louis, Jerry got his first win of the year pitching eight innings allowing one run, in a 2-1 win over Steve Carlton.
On May 2nd, Kooz gave up two runs getting no decision in an extra inning win at Houston. He ended the night with his ERA still under two at 1.83.
On Mothers Day May 9th at Shea, he beat Steve Carlton & the Cards for the second time on the season.
On Mothers Day May 9th at Shea, he beat Steve Carlton & the Cards for the second time on the season.
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Complete Game: On May 14th, Koosman beat the Pirates with his first complete game win of the season. He gave up two runs striking out five, although he gave up nine hits & walked four. He was now 3-1 with a 2.17 ERA. He then lost two straight decisions, taking a heartbreaking loss on May 31st in San Francisco where he gave up two runs in ten innings. In the bottom of the 11th he walked Willie Mays then was taken out of the game but Danny Frisella allowed Mays to score with Koosman getting the loss.
Back Injury: That day Koosman pulled a muscle in his back, due to pitching in the cold weather at Candlestick Park. The problem would affect him for the rest of his season.
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In June he took two losses, earning his only win in his last start of the month.
In July he suffered two straight losses, although his ERA was just at 3.05 his record fell to 4-7. Next he went down with another injury & would not return until mid-August, missing over a month of action.
On August 14th, Jerry returned pitching six innings, giving up four unearned runs in San Francisco taking no decision in the 6-5 loss. In his next start,, he gave up an 8th inning two run double to the Padres Ollie Brown taking a 3-2 loss to Clay Kirby at Shea.
Back to Back Complete Game Win: On August 25th, his first start at Shea in over a month & a half, he tossed his third complete game of the season beating the Giants at Shea Stadium, giving up just one run, a HR to rookie Dave Kingman. On August 25th, he beat the Giants at Shea Stadium, allowing just one run in the complete game 5-1 Mets win. He struck out eight which was his season high until September.
On September 10th at Shea Stadium, Koosman earned his final win of the year collecting a season high 11 strike outs. He pitched into the 9th inning giving up three runs on eight hits. The Mets won 86 games but finished third that year.
Koosman went 6-11 with a 3.04 ERA in 26 starts. He had 96 strike outs with 51 walks, in 165 innings pitched, tossing four complete games. At bat he batted .160 going 8-60.
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Gil Hodges Passing: After Spring Training 1972 the Mets team flew North ready to start the season. Koosman stayed behind wondering if the season would start on time as a possible players strike was looming.He found Minnesota Viking's center Mick Tingelhoff at the hotel pool & the two became friends. Tingelhoff had been a catcher playing baseball in high school & offered to catch as Koosman pitched to him to keep his arm in shape.
Afterward when Jerry went to his room, he heard sirens outside his window & rushed to the lobby of the hotel. He had found out manager Gil Hodges had been rushed to the hospital after suffering a heart attack.
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When he got to the hospital, he found out from his pitching coach Rube Walker, receiving the bad news that Hodges had passed away. Koosman was devastated. Quotes- Jerry Koosman: "It was like a stone fell & hit your heart. I don't even remember what happened after that. I don't remember too much of the funeral, we were all still in shock".
1972: The first MLB Players strike did happen & when the season finally got under way, the Mets had a new manager in Yogi Berra. Berra was the popular choice for the job but the Mets head of Minor League Player Development, Whitey Herzog was probably the better choice. As for the team, they were still in shock & it affected their whole season.
Koosman was having trouble with his wind up & delivery. In early May he found himself 0-3 with a 10.57 ERA having given up four or more runs in each start.
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Koosman was having trouble with his wind up & delivery. In early May he found himself 0-3 with a 10.57 ERA having given up four or more runs in each start.
Manager Yogi Berra, put him in the bullpen to work out his issues. Things got better as he earned two wins in relief.
From May 20th to July 1st, Koosman went 6-0 with a save & a 1.52 ERA striking out 48 batters in 47.1 innings.First Career Save: On May 25th, Koosman earned his first career save, it came against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field where Willie Mays provided the game winning run with a 14th inning RBI single.
He got back into the rotation by mid June. On June 10th, he pitched six innings over the Astros at Shea, allowing two runs in the 5-3 win, earning his third victory to get to .500 at 3-3. In the Mets five run 5th inning, Koosman added an RBI double for his only RBI of the year.
Scoreless Innings Streak: On July 1st, he won his sixth straight decision, a four-hit 2-0 shutout over the Expos in Montreal. In the game, he walked just one & struck out six getting to 6-3 on the season. It was his first shut out of the season & his first since 1970.
On July 6th, at Shea Stadium, Koos pitched ten shutout innings against the Padres notching a season high 12 strike outs. This got him to a 22 consecutive scoreless innings streak. Unfortunately he got no decision as Gary Ross shut out the Mets 1-0. In the 14th inning, Tug McGraw walked in the winning run. In his next start he gave up six runs to the Giants at Shea. Then in two of his three starts he had his two worst outings of the year, first giving up a season high seven runs to the Padres in San Diego then another seven runs to the Pirates in Pittsburgh. In between those starts he did earn a win, giving up just one run in 7.1 innings at San Francisco.
In September the Mets were already out of contention, having never recovered from Gil Hodges
death. They would finish 82-79 in third place.
death. They would finish 82-79 in third place.
Quotes- Jerry Koosman: "Oh man it was a huge void. Everybody went through the motions, trying to do what we thought Gil wanted us to do".
Koosman made two more relief appearances before getting back into the starting rotation. He finished out the season winning his last two decisions but still ended with a losing record.
The 1972 season saw the addition of that year's Rookie of the Year Jon Matlack (15-10 /2.32 ERA) to the Mets staff. In the coming years Koosman, Tom Seaver & Jon Matlack would be make up one the best pitching trio's in baseball.
Player of the Month Award: He got the start in the third Mets game of the season, beating Reggie Cleveland & the Cardinals in St. Louis.
Three Straight Complete Game Wins: In his second start he pitched a complete game, one run (unearned) five hit victory at Shea Stadium over the Cubs. On April 25th, Koosman allowed two runs with a 5-2 victory over the Astros in the Astrodome. He followed that with an exciting 1-0 four hit shutout in Atlanta beating Carl Morton. The only run coming on Jerry Grote's sac fly.
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Overall, in April he was 4-0 with 1.06 ERA allowing four earned runs in 34 innings. He collected 14 strike outs with seven walks in 34 innings pitched. He won both a Player of the Week & the Player of the Month Awards to start out the 1973 season.
On May 5th, Koosman gave up five runs in a no decision loss to the Astros at Shea. In that game he collected his first RBI.
On May 9th, he beat the Braves for a second time, allowing just one run in an 8-1 win & his fourth complete game. He drove in a run for the second straight game as well. In his two starts against Atlanta he only gave up one run in 18 innings. Koosman went to 5-0 with a 1.79 ERA.
From May 15th thru June 10th, Jerry went 0-5 as he suffered poor run support from a weak offense & an injury ridden team. In the six games he gave up 19 runs in 43.1 innings for a decent 3.74 ERA. Koosman would go through two different five game losing streaks through the end of August.
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Going further into the season, from May 15th to August 15th, in 19 starts he allowed two earned runs or less eight times equaling half those outings. In that time he went 3-14. By August 15th he was 8-14 with an ERA of 3.37 as the Mets were floundering in last place.On June 16th, he broke his losing streak in a win at Shea over the Padres, he struck out a season high nine batters, giving up just two runs in his fifth complete game win. The win got him back over .500 to 6-5.
On July 1st, after giving up five earned runs to the Cubs at Wrigley Field he but still got the win, as Wayne Garrett drove in three of the Mets five runs beating Fergie Jenkins.
Jerry lost his next three starts, the first two at home to the Braves & Astros. On July 16th, he had his worst outing of the year giving up seven earned runs on nine hits, in an 8-6 loss to the Braves in Atlanta. In the 6th inning, he collected his only double of the year with an RBI two bagger off Phil Neikro.
From August 19th through the end of the regular season, Koosman was in top form, as he would win six of his last seven decisions going 6-1 with a 1.30 ERA.
Mets Scoreless Innings Record: In his next four games Koosman would allow just one earned run setting a franchise record with 31.2 consecutive scoreless innings. The record stood 29 years until R.A. Dickey broke it with 32.2 scoreless innings.
On August 19th at Shea, he allowed just one run on six hits to the Mets eventual NLCS opponent Big Red Machine. The Mets beat Ross Grimsley, With the score tied 1-1 in the 8th inning, Bud Harrelson's RBI double scored Don Hahn in the eventual 2-1 win over Ross Grimsley. Koosman struck out seven winning his 9th game of the year (9-14).
On August 19th at Shea, he allowed just one run on six hits to the Mets eventual NLCS opponent Big Red Machine. The Mets beat Ross Grimsley, With the score tied 1-1 in the 8th inning, Bud Harrelson's RBI double scored Don Hahn in the eventual 2-1 win over Ross Grimsley. Koosman struck out seven winning his 9th game of the year (9-14).
On August 29th, he pitched seven shut out innings striking out seven Padres at Shea getting relieved in the 7th inning by Buzz Capra. The Mets won it 3-0 on RBI hits from Felix Millan, Willie Mays & Cleon Jones as Koosman reached double figures in wins for the fifth time in six seasons.
You Gotta Believe: From this point on the Mets had an incredible pennant drive going 19-8 in September. Their regular players were back from injuries, their staff was healthy & Tug McGraw who had struggled, started the rally cry of "You Gotta Believe" becoming one of the best relievers in the game.
Shut Out: On September 3rd at Shea Stadium, Kooz pitched his second shut out & 11th complete game of the season beating Steve Carlton & the Phillies 5-0. He scattered seven hits fanning three & walking four getting his record to 12-14.In his next start, he allowed just one run in six innings of work, taking a no decisions in a 4-2 win over the Expos.
On September 11th, Koosman was hammered for six runs by the Phillies. It was the third time he allowed six runs or more on the year. It was his first loss since August 15th & the only loss he would have thru the end of the regular season. The Mets were now three games out of first place in a tight five team race.
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On September 25th, with the Mets now just 1.5 games out of first place, behind the Pirates, Kooz beat Steve Rogers & the Expos at Shea Stadium in a 2-1 classic. He pitched 6.2 innings allowing a run giving way to Tug McGraw who came on for the save.
Koosman's next start came in what turned out to be the next to last game of the season. Two days of rain in Chicago made for two postponed games & another had game been rescheduled from May 10th due to weather. A Sunday double header was scheduled at Wrigley Field to start at 11:00 am.
Koosman's next start came in what turned out to be the next to last game of the season. Two days of rain in Chicago made for two postponed games & another had game been rescheduled from May 10th due to weather. A Sunday double header was scheduled at Wrigley Field to start at 11:00 am.
Another twin bill was scheduled for the next day as well, with the whole season coming down to this weekend series. The Mets lost the first game 1-0 getting shut out by Rick Reushel & Bob Locker (two innings).
In the night cap, Kooz gave up a pair of singles in the 2nd inning, then a Wayne Garrett error led to two the two runs scoring unearned. Kooz went the distance collecting his 14th victory & his 12th complete game of the year, in the 9-2 win.
The Mets took over first place & the win guaranteed them at least a tie for first place of the NL East.
They clinched the division the next day after winning the first game behind Tom Seaver & Tug McGraw, with no need to play the second game. It was an amazing finish for the Mets & onto the playoffs.
Koosman finished the 1973 Mets Pennant season at 14-15, with a 2.84 ERA (9th best in the NL) 156 strikeouts & 76 walks in 263 innings pitched (7th in the NL).
Koosman finished the 1973 Mets Pennant season at 14-15, with a 2.84 ERA (9th best in the NL) 156 strikeouts & 76 walks in 263 innings pitched (7th in the NL).
He threw three shutouts (7th best in the NL) with 12 complete games (8th most in the NL). His teammate Tom Seaver won that year's Cy Young Award. At the plate he had 15 sacrifice hits (4th in the NL) & batted .103 & driving in three runs.
1973 Post Season- NLCS:
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In the NLCS win over the Cincinnati Reds Koosman got the start in Game #3 at Shea Stadium. It was the second NLCS held at Shea Stadium in the past four years. The Big Red Machine were heavily favored to win the series but the series was tied 1-1 after Jon Matlack threw a two hitter in Cincinnati.
This classic game featured the Bud Harrelson - Pete Rose bench clearing brawl in the 5th inning.
In the bottom of the 1st Rusty Staub put the Mets on the board with a solo HR off Ross Grimsley. In the bottom of the 2nd, New York put up five more runs with Staub hitting his second HR of the game a three run shot making it 6-0.
In the top of the 3rd, Koosmn gave up a lead off HR to Dennis Menke. Koosman said he heard Pete Rose cursing him from the dugout after he had thrown nothing but off-speed pitches to get him to pop up in his first at bat.
In Rose's next at bat, Koosman tried to hit Rose but he singled to left field. Joe Morgan added an RBI single for the Reds second run.
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Multi-Hit RBI Game: In the bottom of the 3rd, with Jerry Grote on second base & one out, Koosman singled into center field off Dave Tomlin scoring Grote with the Mets seventh run 7-2. It was his second hit of the game as he had singled to center in the previous inning.In the 4th the Mets put up two more runs taking a commanding 9-2 lead.
In the top of the 5th, Koosman struck out Roger Nelson to start the inning. Pete Rose then collected his second hit of the game with a single to center field. Next Koosman got Joe Morgan to ground into an inning ending double play with a grounder to John Milner at first who threw to Bud Harrelson at second then back to Milner at first.
Rose was trying to get his team fired up, but instead it fired up the Mets & the Shea Crowd. When Rose went to his position in left field the angry fans pelted him with anything they could find. When a whiskey bottle came whizzing by Rose's head, manager Sparky Anderson removed his team from the field.
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Quotes- Sparky Anderson: "Pete Rose has given to much to baseball to die in the outfield at Shea Stadium".Play was stopped & the umpires threatened to forfeit the game unless the fans calmed down. A Mets contingent of Yogi Berra, Tom Seaver, Willie Mays, Cleon Jones & Rusty Staub went to left field pleading for order to be restored.
Things calmed down & play resumed. Koosman rolled along, pitching the complete game, earning the 9-2 victory. He gave up two runs on eight hits, while striking out nine Reds matching his regular season high.
Kooz Trivia: Although Koosman would have four career post season wins this was his only NLCS victory.
The victory gave the Mets a 2-1 lead in the Series. They would win it in five games winning the NL Pennant advancing to their second World Series in five years.
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1973 World Series: In the World Series the Mets faced the defending World Champion Oakland A’s. Once again they were the heavy underdogs. Koosman got his first start in Game #2 at the Oakland Coliseum against twenty game winner, Vida Blue. The A's had taken Game #1 with a 2-1 win.
In the bottom of the 1st inning, Joe Rudi doubled then scored on Sal Bando's triple. Koosman struck out Reggie Jackson but then walked Gene Tenace & gave up a run scoring double to Jesus Alou making it 2-0. In the bottom of the inning the Mets got a run back when Cleon Jones homered.
In the bottom of the 2nd, Bert Campaneris tripled & scored on Joe Rudi's base hit. Koosman exited in the next inning down 3-0 with two men on in the 3rd inning. He got a no decision in the Mets 12 inning, 10-7 win that evened up the Series.
1973 World Series Game #5: With the Series tied up at two games each, Koosman came back to pitch a gem in Game #5 at Shea Stadium in front of 54,817 on cool fall Thursday night. In the top of the 1st, he struck out Reggie Jackson with one man on to end the inning. In the top of the 3rd inning, he picked off the speedy base stealer Bert Campaneris at first base.
In the top of the 6th inning, He walked Bert Campaneris & an error at third by Wayne Garrett put two men on. Koosman got Reggie Jackson to ground out to Bud Harrelson at short to end the inning.
In the 7th inning, Koos tired as he walking Gene Tenace & gave up a one out double to Ray Fosse. Yogi Berra took him out of the game bringing in Tug McGraw. Kooz held the mighty Oakland bats scoreless for 6.2 innings giving up just three hits along the way. He walked four & struck out four A's.
Tug McGraw kept the A's down the rest of the way, as they combined for the 2-0 shut out.
Yogi Berra will forever be held accountable for not starting a rested George Stone who had gone 12-3 on the season in any of the two final games of the Series. The manager did choose to go with Tom Seaver, that years Cy Young winner but he was on just three days rest. Jon Matlack started Game #7 also on three days rest.
Koosman was ready to go in Game #7 either to start or come in relief, telling pitching coach Rube Walker, to let Yogi know "I'm available". He was never called upon & the Mets lost the Game #7 & the Series four games to three.
Post Season Career: Overall in his Mets Post season career, Koosman was 4-0 with a 3.79 ERA in six starts. He threw two complete games, struck out 31 batters & walked 15 in 40 innings. Kooz is arguably the Mets best Post season pitcher in team history.
Post Season Career: Overall in his Mets Post season career, Koosman was 4-0 with a 3.79 ERA in six starts. He threw two complete games, struck out 31 batters & walked 15 in 40 innings. Kooz is arguably the Mets best Post season pitcher in team history.