Managed Mets in Turbulent Time

Joe Frazier, the manager of the Mets in the turbulent period between the tenures of Yogi Berra and Joe Torre, died Tuesday in Broken Arrow, Okla. He was 88 and a longtime Broken Arrow resident.

The team was getting bad in those days, and would become abysmal.

In Frazier’s only full year as manager, the Mets won 86 games and finished third in the East Division of the National League. With a rotation that included Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and Jon Matlack, the team had excellent pitchers but few good hitters. Frazier’s ship listed in 1977. The Mets’ owners were unwilling to bid for newly minted free agents, prompting Seaver, Matlack and the slugging outfielder-first baseman Dave Kingman to criticize management. Frazier was fired at the end of May after the Mets won only 15 of their first 45 games. A few weeks later, Seaver and Kingman were traded. Matlack was traded after the season. The Mets finished in last place in 1977 and in the next two years. Attendance fell sharply just as the Yankees turned into a powerhouse. Frazier was succeeded as manager by Torre and never managed in the majors again.