Ken MacKenzie, Rare 1962 Mets Winner, Dies at 89

Ken MacKenzie, a left-handed reliever who was the only pitcher with a winning record on the famously hapless 1962 New York Mets, died Thursday at his home in Guilford, Conn. He was 89.

His death was announced by Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz.

The Mets were one of two expansion franchises preparing to join the National League (the other was the Houston Colt 45s, now the Astros) when they acquired McKenzie from the Milwaukee Braves in October 1961. He had a 5-4 record and an earned grade of 4.95. averaged walks in 41 relief appearances and one start in 1962 – the only winning record among the Mets’ 17 pitchers, who went 40-120 and set a modern record for losses. The only team in baseball history with a worse record was the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, who were 20-134.

MacKenzie was 3-1 with a 4.84 ERA in 31 games for the Mets in 1963 before being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. He went on to pitch for the San Francisco Giants and Houston before retiring in 1965.

Following his playing career, MacKenzie, a Yale graduate, coached the Yale baseball team from 1969 to 1978.

Kenneth Purvis MacKenzie was born on March 10, 1934 in Gore Bay, Ontario. He was the captain of the Yale baseball team and All-Ivy League second team in hockey.

“His contract with us,” Mets manager Casey Stengel joked, “makes him the lowest-paid member of Yale’s class of ’56.”

MacKenzie signed with the Braves in September 1956, shortly after graduating from Yale. He made his big league debut in San Francisco in 1960.

He returned to Yale in 1967 as freshman baseball coach and freshman hockey coach and two years later succeeded Ethan Allen as varsity baseball coach.

He was among those who helped recruit future Mets pitcher Ron Darling to Yale, although he resigned as coach before Darling’s first college season, in 1979. He worked in the Yale alumni office until his retirement in 1984.

MacKenzie is survived by two sons, Ken and Geoffrey.

The Mets said nine players from the 1962 team are still alive.