# List of New York Mets Opening Day starting pitchers

The New York Mets are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Flushing, Queens, in New York City. They play in the National League East division. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season, though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day. The New York Mets have used 27 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 59 seasons. The 27 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 29 wins, 13 losses (29–13) and 17 no decisions. No decisions are only awarded to the starting pitcher if the game is won or lost after the starting pitcher has left the game.
Tom Seaver holds the Mets' record for most Opening Day starts with 11, and has an Opening Day record of 6–0. He also has the most starts in Shea Stadium, the Mets' home ballpark from 1964 through 2008. Seaver and Dwight Gooden hold the Mets' record for most Opening Day wins with six each. Al Jackson and Roger Craig share the worst winning percentage as the Opening Day starting pitcher with a record of 0–2.
From 1968 through 1983, Mets' Opening Day starting pitchers went 16 consecutive years without a loss. During this period, Tom Seaver won six starts with five no decisions, Craig Swan won two starts, and Jerry Koosman, Pat Zachry and Randy Jones won one start apiece. Furthermore, in the 31-year period from 1968 through 1998, Mets' Opening Day starting pitchers only lost two games. During that period, they won 19 games with 10 no decisions. The only losses during this period were by Mike Torrez in 1984 and by Dwight Gooden in 1990.
Overall, Mets Opening Day starting pitchers have a record of 0–1 at the Polo Grounds, a 12–5 record with five no decisions at Shea Stadium and a 3–0 record with three no decisions at Citi Field. In addition, although the Mets were nominally the home team in 2000, the game was played in Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. Mike Hampton started the game in Tokyo and lost, making the Mets' Opening Day starting pitchers' combined home record 15–7, and their away record 14–6. The Mets went on to play in the World Series in 1969, 1973, 1986, 2000 and 2015, and won the 1969 and 1986 World Series championship games. Tom Seaver (1969 and 1973), Dwight Gooden (1986), Mike Hampton (2000) and Bartolo Colón (2015) were the Opening Day starting pitchers when the Mets played in the World Series, and they had a combined Opening Day record of 3–1 with one no decision.

## Key

| Season | Each year is linked to an article about that particular Mets season. |
| W | Win |
| L | Loss |
| ND (W) | No decision by starting pitcher; Mets won game |
| ND (L) | No decision by starting pitcher; Mets lost game |
| Location | Stadium in italics for home game |
| Pitcher (#) | Number of appearances as Opening Day starter with the Mets |
| * | Advanced to the post-season |
| ** | NL Champions |
| † | World Series Champions |

## Pitchers

| Season | Pitcher | Decision | Opponent | Location |
| 1962 | Roger Craig | L | St. Louis Cardinals | Sportsman's Park |
| 1963 | Roger Craig (2) | L | St. Louis Cardinals | Polo Grounds |
| 1964 | Al Jackson | L | Philadelphia Phillies | Connie Mack Stadium |
| 1965 | Al Jackson (2) | L | Los Angeles Dodgers | Shea Stadium |
| 1966 | Jack Fisher | L | Atlanta Braves | Shea Stadium |
| 1967 | Don Cardwell | L | Pittsburgh Pirates | Shea Stadium |
| 1968 | Tom Seaver | ND (L) | San Francisco Giants | Candlestick Park |
| 1969† | Tom Seaver (2) | ND (L) | Montreal Expos | Shea Stadium |
| 1970 | Tom Seaver (3) | ND (W) | Pittsburgh Pirates | Forbes Field |
| 1971 | Tom Seaver (4) | W | Montreal Expos | Shea Stadium |
| 1972 | Tom Seaver (5) | W | Pittsburgh Pirates | Shea Stadium |
| 1973** | Tom Seaver (6) | W | Philadelphia Phillies | Shea Stadium |
| 1974 | Tom Seaver (7) | ND (L) | Philadelphia Phillies | Veterans Stadium |
| 1975 | Tom Seaver (8) | W | Philadelphia Phillies | Shea Stadium |
| 1976 | Tom Seaver (9) | W | Montreal Expos | Jarry Park Stadium |
| 1977 | Tom Seaver (10) | W | Chicago Cubs | Wrigley Field |
| 1978 | Jerry Koosman | W | Montreal Expos | Shea Stadium |
| 1979 | Craig Swan | W | Chicago Cubs | Wrigley Field |
| 1980 | Craig Swan (2) | W | Chicago Cubs | Shea Stadium |
| 1981 | Pat Zachry | W | Chicago Cubs | Wrigley Field |
| 1982 | Randy Jones | W | Philadelphia Phillies | Veterans Stadium |
| 1983 | Tom Seaver (11) | ND (W) | Philadelphia Phillies | Shea Stadium |
| 1984 | Mike Torrez | L | Cincinnati Reds | Riverfront Stadium |
| 1985 | Dwight Gooden | ND (W) | St. Louis Cardinals | Shea Stadium |
| 1986† | Dwight Gooden (2) | W | Pittsburgh Pirates | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 1987 | Bobby Ojeda | W | Pittsburgh Pirates | Shea Stadium |
| 1988* | Dwight Gooden (3) | W | Montreal Expos | Olympic Stadium |
| 1989 | Dwight Gooden (4) | W | St. Louis Cardinals | Shea Stadium |
| 1990 | Dwight Gooden (5) | L | Pittsburgh Pirates | Shea Stadium |
| 1991 | Dwight Gooden (6) | W | Philadelphia Phillies | Shea Stadium |
| 1992 | David Cone | ND (W) | St. Louis Cardinals | Busch Memorial Stadium |
| 1993 | Dwight Gooden (7) | W | Colorado Rockies | Shea Stadium |
| 1994 | Dwight Gooden (8) | W | Chicago Cubs | Wrigley Field |
| 1995 | Bobby Jones | ND (L) | Colorado Rockies | Coors Field |
| 1996 | Bobby Jones (2) | ND (W) | St. Louis Cardinals | Shea Stadium |
| 1997 | Pete Harnisch | ND (L) | San Diego Padres | Qualcomm Stadium |
| 1998 | Bobby Jones (3) | ND (W) | Philadelphia Phillies | Shea Stadium |
| 1999* | Al Leiter | L | Florida Marlins | Pro Player Stadium |
| 2000** | Mike Hampton | L | Chicago Cubs | Tokyo Dome |
| 2001 | Al Leiter (2) | ND (W) | Atlanta Braves | Turner Field |
| 2002 | Al Leiter (3) | W | Pittsburgh Pirates | Shea Stadium |
| 2003 | Tom Glavine | L | Chicago Cubs | Shea Stadium |
| 2004 | Tom Glavine (2) | W | Atlanta Braves | Turner Field |
| 2005 | Pedro Martinez | ND (L) | Cincinnati Reds | Great American Ball Park |
| 2006* | Tom Glavine (3) | W | Washington Nationals | Shea Stadium |
| 2007 | Tom Glavine (4) | W | St. Louis Cardinals | Busch Stadium |
| 2008 | Johan Santana | W | Florida Marlins | Dolphin Stadium |
| 2009 | Johan Santana (2) | W | Cincinnati Reds | Great American Ball Park |
| 2010 | Johan Santana (3) | W | Florida Marlins | Citi Field |
| 2011 | Mike Pelfrey | L | Florida Marlins | Sun Life Stadium |
| 2012 | Johan Santana (4) | ND (W) | Atlanta Braves | Citi Field |
| 2013 | Jon Niese | W | San Diego Padres | Citi Field |
| 2014 | Dillon Gee | ND (L) | Washington Nationals | Citi Field |
| 2015** | Bartolo Colón | W | Washington Nationals | Nationals Park |
| 2016* | Matt Harvey | L | Kansas City Royals | Kauffman Stadium |
| 2017 | Noah Syndergaard | ND (W) | Atlanta Braves | Citi Field |
| 2018 | Noah Syndergaard (2) | W | St. Louis Cardinals | Citi Field |
| 2019 | Jacob deGrom | W | Washington Nationals | Nationals Park |
| 2020 | Jacob deGrom (2) | ND (W) | Atlanta Braves | Citi Field |
| 2021 | Jacob deGrom (3) | ND (L) | Philadelphia Phillies | Citizens Bank Park |
| 2022* | Tylor Megill | W | Washington Nationals | Nationals Park |
| 2023 | Max Scherzer | W | Miami Marlins | LoanDepot Park |
| 2024* | José Quintana | L | Milwaukee Brewers | Citi Field |
| 2025 | Clay Holmes | | Houston Astros | Daikin Park |