How 1974 actually went.
The defending National League champions never found their rhythm. Injuries returned, the offense again struggled, and a poor start made the division race feel distant. The pitching staff still had quality, especially Jon Matlack, but the team could not keep asking its starters to win every game with almost no run support.
Rusty Staub and John Milner provided much of the power, while Seaver endured an uneven year affected by physical trouble. The magic of McGraw’s 1973 finish also disappeared. A roster that had stayed together for years was aging, and the organization had not added enough offense to extend the window.
The 71–91 record was the club’s first truly bad finish since 1968 and made the 1973 pennant look even stranger. It also signaled the end of the first great Mets group. Many important names remained, but the sense of forward motion was gone. From here, the franchise would spend several seasons trying to recover before management finally tore the heart out of it.
The fall from a Game 7 World Series to 91 losses showed how thin the margin had always been.