Sept. 30, 1962 - At Wrigley Field today, the New York Mets lost their final game of the season to the Chicago Cubs, 5-1. It was their 120th defeat, and it left them in the National League cellar, 60 games from the top. The season was concluded after the Mets had been victimized by a triple play in the eighth inning. Had the season been fun? “I would have to say no to that one,” said manager Casey Stengel (right). “It was a rough season for me. I had to get used to losing all over again. It was saddening and shocking, saddening because we won only 40 games, shocking because we didn’t win at least 50. There were at least 10 we lost that we should have won. Imagine, 40 games! I won with this club what I used to lose [with the Yankees].” “But we’ll do better in 1963,” the 72-year-old manager promised. “For one thing, we’ll know more about each other. This year, everything was new, including the manager and coaches. We’ll do better, all right — just wait and see.”
