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#18 Days ‘Til Opening Day

Mar 18, 2010 By 3 Comments

We are rapidly approaching Opening Day, now just 18 days away! With that being said, I continue my countdown by looking at the greatest number 18 in Met history, my favorite baseball player of all-time Darryl Strawberry!

Darryl was the number 1 pick overall in 1980 out of Crenshaw High School in LA. Darryl took the league by storm by hitting 26 homers in his Rookie of the Year Campaign in 1983. Darryl teamed up with Keith Hernandez that season to give Met fans their first glimmer of hope since the 1973 NLCS. In 1984, more pieces of the puzzle were brought in as Davey Johnson came up from the minors with his prized right hander, Dwight Gooden. When Davey, Doc, Darryl and Mex teamed up, it was pretty clear that the Mets were going to be a dominant force very soon. It happened even faster then they knew, as they finished in 2nd with 90 wins in 1984.

In 1985, Kid Carter was brought on and the Mets narrowly lost the division to the eventually World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals. In 1986, Davey Johnson proclaimed the Mets team to beat and the Mets eventually claimed their World Series title. Darryl’s best individual years occurred in ’87 (where he joined HoJo in the 30-30 club) and in ’89, in both years he belted 39 dongs. Darryl would however make the biggest mistake of his career( as he’s admitted), when after helping the Mets earn either 1st or 2nd place from ’84-’90, he would leave New York for his hometown of Los Angeles, California. Not only would the Mets drop off the radar for almost the entire decade of the 90′s but Darryl would only put together one good season in California.

Darryl battled his drug problems and finally resurfaced with the Yanks, where he helped contribute to the 96, 98 and 99 World Series titles. In part time work with the 98 Yanks, Darryl showed his form as he blasted 24 bombs, his second and final twenty homer season since he had left the Mets.

Darryl still holds the Met club records for most offensive catagories. I always loved at Shea when they would put the offensive records up and they were literally all Darryl’s except steals and triples which were Mookie’s. Darryl is still first in runs, homers, RBI’s and walks. Darryl will get his just due when he is put in the Mets Hall of Fame this season.

Darryl currently appears a guest coach, guest announcer and a team spokesman throughout the year. Darryl also released a book last season which I really need to pick up. My favorite Darryl memory is when he hit the roof of the old Montreal Olympic Stadium on Opening Day. This guy could hit the ball forever it seemed, I could never be the athlete he was but I always dreamt I could play the game the way the Straw Man could! I am glad Darryl is doing well these days and I hope to seem him take on more of a Met role in the future.

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Opening Day Countdown: #19

Mar 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

As we continue our countdown to Opening Day at Shea on April 5th, each day we are reflecting on a Mets player, former or current, who wears the number of how many days are left. With 19 days left to go, I first think of Bob Ojeda as my all-time great at #19.

Bobby was acquired by the Mets in 1986 after playing for the Red Sox since 1980, he also pitched for the Dodgers, the Indians and the Yankees before retiring in 1994.  He finished with career record of 115-98 and an ERA of 3.65.

After retiring, Bobby spent time as a coach in the Mets farm system and of course was hired by SNY last season to be a pre- and post- game host. Ojeda really grew last season as an analyst and really was quite enjoyable to watch as well,as it is very interesting to listen to him talk pitching.

Bobby was an off-season pic-up before the 1986 season. He was a key addition that bolstered a rotation of Doc Gooden, Ron Darling and Sid Fernandez. Ojeda pitched like an ace posting a 18-5 record with a 2.88 ERA in ’86. Which was by far and away his best season ever as a pro. Ojeda only had 6 winning seasons in 15 years, what a time to pick to have a career year. Ojeda also saved the his best for last as he again dominated in the playoffs.Down 1-0 to the Astros, Ojeda pitched a complete game to even the NLCS. As well, when the Mets headed to Boston down 2-0, his 7 to 1 win in game three put the Mets back on the winning track.

The turning point of his career happened in 1988 when he severed his left middle finger (see Disco Pauly), Ojeda would miss the ’88 NLCS and the Mets would lose to the Dodgers. After struggling and pitching out the pen, he was shipped to LA for Hubie Brooks after the 1990 season.

Not a stellar career, but he definitely was a huge member in bringing us our 2nd and last title. We can only thank Frank Cashen for bringing in the guy to bring it all together. Number #19 Bob Ojeda!

Filed Under: Mets History

Opening Day Countdown:#20

Mar 16, 2010 By 1 Comment

Opening Day is just 20 days away, I thought a good way to countdown these days would be to profile someone with that number each day until the big day. With twenty days remaining, the #20 that first comes to mind is former 3rd baseman and current hitting coach Howard “HoJo” “Haji” Johnson.

HoJo was credited with turning around Jeff Francoeur’s season last year. He is also considered a second father to David Wright which makes me feel despite rumor’s last season it would take something huge for “Haji” to get fired. We also have heard that Murph and Wright spent time with HoJo over the winter to work on hitting and for some good ole’ male bonding time.

I think sometimes we forget about how great of a player HoJo was. This guy was Mr. 30-30 and before David Wright was easily the best third baseman in Met history. I think a lot of people including myself focus their memories of the 80′s/90′s Mets on Doc, Darryl, Mex and the kid but HoJo was the one guy that stayed after those 80′s teams and was the heart and soul of this team until his departure after the 1993 season.

HoJo’s top two seasons were his 30-30 years in 1987 and 1989. In 1987, his first full time year, he hit 36 homers, with 99 RBI’s and 32 steals. In 1989, HoJo hit 36 bombs with 101 RBI’s and 41 steals. HoJo was a two-time all star, two-time Silver Slugger and two-time World Series champ.

It is great that HoJo is still in the Mets organization and to know how he feels about the Mets, one go no further then the Shea Goodbye Ceremony, where a distraught HoJo was crying on the field after the Mets loss to the Fish.

There you go my all-favorite number 20, Howard Johnson, let the countdown to Opening Day continue!!!

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Eddie Vegas’ All Time Mets Moments

Mar 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

On Sunday, MLB Network debuted their Prime 9 All-Time Mets Moments. Since I am one to disagree with others from time to time, I thought I would come up with my own Top 9 Moments. However, I am going to only list moments that have occurred in my lifetime as a Met fan (1985 to present)

9- The Catch (shout out to @NYJets13fan for pointing out this should be on the list). Endy Chavez’ catch even in defeat was an all-time play. 2006 was a magical year and everyone including the team thought they had the pennant after this play. Even though after the game, I would be at one of my all time lows with the Mets, the excitement that I felt after Endy’s catch will be hard to match.

8- Superman Santana- Johan Santana’s performance will forever be marked in Met history, right up there with Seaver’s near perfect game. Injured and on 3 days rest Santana kept the Mets alive for the Wild Card on the last weekend at Shea. We once again got our hopes up for no reason.

7-Floyd closes out 06 Division. After watching Atlanta win every division for more then a decade, the excitement I felt when Cliff Floyd squeezed that final out against the Fish has been rare for me as a Met fan. I had the champagne out and ordered all the division shirts and hats shortly after. 2006 was such a great year for us, which sometimes is hard to remember after game 7 of the NLCS.

6-Ventura’s Grand Slam Single: Great game, 15 innings in the rain, felt like this one wouldn’t end. Clutch moment from a clutch underrated fan favorite. Also, this game occurred against our hated rivals, however it also led to the Kenny Rogers debacle.

5-NLCS 1986, Game 6…16 innings, 7-6 win. Solving the mystery of Knepper in the 9th, taking the lead in the 14th and blowing it, taking the lead in the 16th and almost blowing it. Let’s not forget the party afterwards, classic Mets game.

4-Piazza’s 9/11 Homer- Piazza’s homer during the first game played after 9/11 gave all New Yorkers hope and told us no matter how bad things were, that we must move on. Baseball, yes the game of baseball, was able to take out minds off the terrible tradegy for several hours and Mike come through as he usually did and gave New York the dramatic win.

3-Pratt’s NLDS Homer- I don’t know how this wasn’t on their list, if this ball doesn’t just get over Steve Finley’s glove then Ventura’s grand slam single never occurs. The excitement of Pratt and Gary Cohen make this is an all time moment, not too mention it was our first playoff series win since 1986.

2- “86 World Series Game 7, Ray Knight Homer. With only one World Series win in my lifetime, I need to dedicate the top 2 moments to that year. Clinching the series always a big moment but….

1- Bill Buckner. Game 7 may have never occurred if Billy Buck’s wasn’t on the field. My belief is that it was destiny so they would’ve won even without Billy but we will never know. I will never, ever get tired of seeing this highlight and one day hope to add that Buckner, Wilson autographed photo to my collection.

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Mets Memories: Reyes Cycle ’06

Mar 14, 2010 By 1 Comment

The Met fan has gotten used to be negative these days. Even in Spring Training it is hard to stay positive when Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran go down before Opening Day. With all the negativity around these days, I thought it neccessary to point out some positive moments in Met history in my new weekend blog series.

The moment I want to first reflect on was one of the most magical nights that I have ever had at Shea Stadium. The day was June 21, 2006 and the Mets were taking on the Reds. It was my first night back in New York for the summer. My first move was to get to Shea Stadium and after a year hiatus from being in New York, I was very excited to get back. Of course, the Mets too were having a magical ride, and I was anxious to get my first look in person at the ’06 Mets at Shea.

The night started off with me getting a Jose Reyes autograph on my Mets cap, a sure sign of good things to come. The excitement would continue as Jose led off the Mets first inning with a home run. In the third inning, Jose lined a double to give him a 2 for 2 night. Then the cycle started to take shape a Jose hit a triple in the fifth. After a sixth inning K, Jose lined a single to the outfield for the cycle. The crowd at this point exploded, in a highlight tape, Keith Hernandez says “that he has never seen Shea this excited.” Wow, my first game back in town and I see Shea at its maximum volume for a regular season game.

It was the ninth cycle in history and still the last one by a Met, here are the other Met cycles:

Eric Valent,  07-29-2004
John Olerud,  09-11-1997
Alex Ochoa,  07-03-1996
Kevin McReynolds,  08-01-1989
Keith Hernandez,  07-04-1985
Mike Phillips,  06-25-1976
Tommie Agee,  07-06-1970
Jim Hickman,  08-07-1963

Unfortunately, we did not go home happy as Billy Wagner blew the game and the Mets lost 6 to 5. I still own the paper from this game and as the back page says “Billy Gagner” still makes me laugh. Besides the autograph my buddy JP also caught a Reyes foul ball and I got a ball from a batboy which Reyes later signed for me. Certaintly, a night I will never forget for the number reason it was the loudest I ever got to see Shea Stadium. I only hope that I can be in attendance at CitiField for a magical night like this one.

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The Numbers Game: Retire 17

Mar 9, 2010 By 2 Comments

This seems like the tenth time that I’ve had to write about the disconnect between the Wilpon’s and their fans. This disconnect can not be any more evident in the case of should the Mets retire number 17 or not? As a Mets fan and a student of their history, certain eras are much more memorable then others. For the good times, one would first think of Tom Terrific and the Amazins, the era includes the 1969 World Series title and the 1973 National League Pennant.

The second successful era people would think of is the era from 1984-1990, when the Mets even advertised over that period that they had the best overall record in baseball. No one person catagorizes that era of Met history than Keith Hernandez. The Mets were going nowhere fast (as usual) in the early 80′s. Frank Cashen had taken over in 1980 and was brought in to take the Mets to the same place he had brought the Baltimore Orioles in the 60′s and 70′s.

Cashen knew the job would take some time as he needed to replenish the farm system. His first pick was a right fielder named Darryl Strawberry, he later drafted Doc Gooden and traded Lee Mazzilli for Ron Darling. But no move was as important as the move Cashen made on June 15, 1983 when he sent Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey to the Cardinals for Keith Hernandez. Keith was the leader to take all of the young guys under his wings. Keith was the guy that lit the fire for the 1986 season. Flat out, Keith and Whitey Herzog disliked each other which only fueled the Met-Cardinal rivalry and brought the best both out of Keith and the team. It is in my opinion, that if Keith Hernandez does not become a Met, then we would still be waiting for a follow up to 1969.

Not only do I feel Keith is the man who led this team to the title with his leadership skills but he was also one hell of a player. Keith is arguably the greatest defensive first baseman of all time. Keith won 11 consecutive gold gloves which is a record for first basemen, which would pretty much tell you that he is the best of all time. As a kid, who played first base and modeled his game after Keith Hernandez, I can tell you that he brought pride to the position. He also made me work hard on things that I would see him do. I wanted to get down and dirty like Keith and I wanted the other team to never think of laying a bunt down my way. It’s hard to remember how a true first baseman should play the bag because after Keith retired, I have yet to see anyone play the way he did. First base is now a position where people just get thrown because they are fat or can’t run or are old but Keith showed that having a good defensive first baseman can make the difference.

Not only was Keith a Hall of Fame defensive player, he was an All-Star at the plate. Before steroids inflated offensive numbers, Keith put up strong numbers every season. Keith averaged about a .300 average with homers in the teens and 90 “Rib Eye Steaks” in his time with the Mets. He was a Silver Slugger in ’84 and made the All-Star teams in ’84, ’86 and ’87. Keith was also known for being clutch. One need go no further then the ’86 NLCS Game 6 or the ’86 World Series Game 7 to see that. Keith was a player who rose to the top in those big moments. Once again I will reiterate, there is no way the 1986 team wins without him.

When you have almost 50 years as a team and have just 2 World Series titles, I feel that you need to honor those that brought you to that glory. For the 80′s Mets, it was Keith Hernandez who brought it all together. I think for all time, people should be able to come into CitiField and take a look at that outfield fence and remember what a huge piece he was to the puzzle.

This move just makes too much sense for it not to happen, Keith is on good terms with the team as he is an announcer. Keith is loved by fans alike and he is one of our all time players. However, as much as Keith gives this organization he is still disrespected. As it is assumed that Carter’s 8, Mays’ 24 and Piazza’s 31 are not handed out to anyone, Keith’s 17 is repeatedly given out to inferior players.

Thanks to MBTN.net for help with this info: Players to wear 17 since Keith left.

David Cone, Jeff McKnight, Bret Saberhagen, Brent Mayne, Luis Lopez, Mike Bordick, Kevin Appier, Satoru Komiyama, Graeme Lloyd, Jason Anderson, Wilson Delgado, Mr. Koo, Jose Lima, David Newhan and Fernando Tatis.

I believe Coney switched to honor Keith and with the exception of the Cy Young award winner Saberhagen, this looks like a lineup of the worst ever players to suit up for the Mets. Is this a joke? Pull the number from Tatis and honor Keith like he deserves!!!

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Top Ten: All Time Farm Busts

Mar 8, 2010 By 3 Comments

 With all the hype building in spring training with such players as Jenrry Mejia, Ike Davis and even after Saturday’s 2 homers, K-Mart, I can barely contain myself thinking about what could be. However, as a Met fan for every David Wright and Jose Reyes there are 10 Aaron Heilman’s. Guys that were can’t miss and going to lead this club to the promised land. So this week’s top ten is designed to remind us that until you see Davis, Mejia et. al in the All-Star game, don’t get too excited.

Top 10 All Time Mets Farm System Busts:

10. Jeromy Burnitz: Was supposed to be next the Straw. He did nothing for us, then left and did well then came back and did terrible again.

9. Alex Escobar: These guy was can’t miss and was expected to be a huge superstar, did absolutely nothing with his career.

8. Alex Ochoa: See Alex Escobar

7. Jay Payton: had a few good seasons but never lived up to the hype, I have a tape where Bob Murphy declares he is going to be a superstar, that never happened. Decent career but not spectacular.

6. Butch Huskey: Was supposed to be next big power hitter, only thing he was, was big and lots of K’s and low BA.

5. Aaron Heilman: Supposed to be a top of the line starter, a role he never even filled with the Mets, boy I hate this guy.

4. Lastings Milledge: Was supposed to follow Reyes and Wright as the next Mets superstar, hasn’t even become a star with Nats or Bucs, much happier with Francoeur instead.

3. Generation K (Bill Pulsipher, Jason Isringhausen, Paul Wilson): The next Seaver, Koosman and Ryan, injuries derailed those hopes and only one even had a good career.

2. Gregg Jefferies: I love this guy and he showed flashes but he was definitely the golden boy and did not achieve anything close to what was thought.

1. Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden: Yes, I love these guys too, and they had all-star careers but I think if you asked them not getting to the Hall Of Fame meant that they did not live up to the hype. Unlike, others on this list who failed just because they weren’t good these guys failed due to their own personal demons.

Time will tell: Mike Pelfrey, F-Mart, Eddie Kunz: I could definitely see these guys being added to this top 10 list one day, if they don’t pan out.

I know many people will have arguments with this list but as MLB Networks says I am here to start debates not end them.

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Top 5 Mets Rivals

Mar 2, 2010 By 3 Comments

As the season fast approaches I wanted to take a look at the pulse of the Mets fanbase and see how people feel about the competition out there. Rivalry is such an overused word by most sports broadcasts that it tends to get watered down. In the case of the Mets I wanted to take a look at who I felt were their top rivals. I’d love to see how you stack them up cause I know some people are gonna disagree with me!

1) Philadelphia Phillies: Most of you are doing “Duh!” but this top spot is really fluid. Of course for the last few seasons it’s been the Phils in the top spot. But for years before that the same position of distinction was held by the Braves. I think it goes up a notch though when it’s Philly. There is just a lot more animosity between the two cities. Both towns just do not like each other. A lot of it carries over from other sports like football, hockey, and even basketball. We despise the Phillies and especially their fans.

2) Atlanta Braves: These days this is more a residual hatred then an active distaste. The Braves have had a down few years but the rivalry is still there. You still hear “Laaaaaaaarry” chants at Citi Field so you know the hated is strong (the guy named his god damned kid after OUR stadium, ughhhhh). These guys just had such a run you could’t help but dislike them. And they did it in such an arrogant way. It certainly didn’t help that Tom Glavine continued to be a great asset for the Braves, even when he was wearing a Mets uniform.

3) New York Yankees: Ok so the first non-division opponent. This isn’t so much a Yankees vs Mets rivarly, it’s really all about the fans. It’s about Yankees fans, particularly those under the age of 30, that just think their Yanks have always been great and their overall sense of entitlement, and lack of reality. I am not sure if the dislike is mutual, but I know Mets fans can’t stand Yankee fans. Even if your not a Yankee hater, you can’t help but get a smirk on your face when they lose in some agonizing way because inside you hope that maybe, just maybe this will put some pause in Yankee fans and wake them up. It never does.

4) Florida Marlins: Ok so this might be the first spot I veer off course for a lot of you reading this. Why the Marlins? Cause it made me sick to my stomach to watch them play spoilers and beat us in our own building two seasons in a row to knock us out of the playoffs. On top of that my Grandmother is a huge Marlin fan, and anytime they do anything remotely interesting I have to hear about it. Let alone if they knock the Mets out of the playoffs … again. The fact that since their inception this team has been basically abysmal and yet still has twice as many titles as the Mets do in that time is staggering. When the Florida Marlins are a better run organization then you are, over a fifteen year period, something is really wrong.

5) St. Louis Cardinals: Another one people might not agree with. I still have nightmares about that 12-to-6 boomerang curveball by Adam Wainwright that left Carlos Beltran’s bat on his shoulder. This still causes me pain. Not to metion having to watch a guy who has hit 35 home runs in 6 seasons jack one out against Billy Wagner in the 9th inning of Game 7 of the NLCS. Can you tell I am scarred? Deeply.

Honorable Mentions:
LA Dodgers: Not so much for the baseball played, but because of the fact that when our owner goes to bed at night I know he secretly dreams that he actually owns the Dodgers, and not the Mets. That’s ok though because at times I have the same dream about the Wilpons!

Pittsburg Pirates: this is a nod to back in the days of Bobby Bo and Barry Bonds. I remember as a kid rooting so hard for the Mets to beat the Pirates. Man they just seemed invincible back then. Of course they quickly fell off the map of baseball and into the land of obscurity. Quite sad really.

There is a quick run down on how I feel about the Mets rivals. I’d love to hear how you rank them!

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The Numbers Game: Mike Piazza

Feb 23, 2010 By 3 Comments

While looking over the Mets spring training roster, I looked at what numbers were not handed out and discovered that good ol’ number 31 is not being used again this season. I am glad that the Mets have not disgraced Mike Piazza’s 31 the way Keith Hernandez’ 17 has been given to just about anyone from Jose Lima to Fernando Tatis. I have read over and over again how it seems like all Met fans are dying to have Piazza’s 31 put on the wall at Citi for good. I could not be in more agreement with that idea. To me, Mike Piazza envisions all that is the 90′s and early 00′s. The rivalry that developed with the Yankees and Braves, the 9/11 game, the 99 and 00 playoffs. This guy was the heart and soul of a successful team. I have never seen one player singlehandledly carry a team over and over again. Mike Piazza is a king of a great era in this teams’ history and has not been given his due from the club. Mike has now been out of Flushing for 5 years and retired completely for 2 years.

One of the greatest games I ever came to was Mike’s return to Shea with the Padres in ’06. Mike hit 2 homers off Pedro Martinez that night and came up inches short of a third one. I have never heard a louder reception at Shea then I did that night for Mike. The Mets have honored him by having him catch the last pitch at Shea and first pitch at Citi. These ceremonies clearly showed the two biggest faces of the team’s history. Wouldn’t it now make sense for Mike to be honored in the same way Tom Terrific was with a retirement ceremony?

First off, this shows the total disconnect between The Wilpon’s and us the fans. What was the biggest complaint from the fans at the Citi opening? Not enough love for our teams history. Hmmmm, a fan favorite, a sure fire hall of famer and we do not honor him, bogus in in my mind. There have been pleas from fans to retire his number since he last left. The Met fan loves Mike Piazza, why not do what we all want???

The are several reasons I feel that they have not retired the number aside from being clueless. I feel they are using this as a bribe to make sure he goes into the hall of fame as a Met. If you want your number retired then be a Met in the hall, I can see management doing something like that. They probably have reservations about steroid use, but can we be honest about the late 90′s, we know most players were doing it. I cannot erase all of the memories of MLB from the 80′s A’s to Bonds 73 homers. They happened, they are all in the record books. I hope Mike is innocent, but I am not gullible either.

I think the Mets are quick to not do things the “yankee way.” If the Yanks have been criticized for retiring too many numbers then of course we won’t retire anyones number. I mean what does it say for a team with 5 decades of history that we have one position player with a retired number. I think it says we have a pretty crappy history in their opinion.

I hope that this blog along with many other fans beliefs that the Mets will one do the right thing and pay hommage to the greatest Met player of the 1990′s, Michael “Pepperoni” Piazza.

Filed Under: Blogging, Mets History

The Year The Bad Guys Won

Feb 22, 2010 By 2 Comments

When Brian asked me to be part of this site I was truly honored and excited.  Someone has asked me to do what I do best and that’s shoot off at the mouth about the Mets.  I mean it’s really a dream come true.  But then I started to worry, I mean how many times are we going to post that Ollie Perez was probably the worst signing since Mo Vaughn or does Omar Minaya have a Spanish player themed dart board to pick and choose his bench from?  I’m sure all year Brian, Eddie, JP, myself and any other die hard Mets fan will be posting about this upcoming year and the things that are going on, so what the hell am I going to focus on?  Then it hit me….. being the elder statesmen of the crew I decided to take a look back at the greatest year of my life as a Mets fan and focus on the “brawling, boozing, bimbo chasing and championship baseball with Straw, Doc, Mookie, Nails, the Kid, and the rest of the 1986 Mets, the rowdiest team to ever put on a New York uniform – and maybe the best”

So we are going to do this documentary style on each player on the Amazin’s squad.  Give a little background before the season, highlights from the season and maybe a little where are they now.  But then here is the best part….. my friend James was a bartender at the Sly Fox in Queens which was located across the campus of St. Johns.  Needless to say this was a hotspot for those hard partying Mets and James has seen more than his fair share of debauchery from those guys.  Let’s just say remember when Bobby Ojeda got injured “trimming hedges?”  Well that is certainly one way to put it.  Another way to put it is that he was banging out some meat-heads chick and got thrown through the plate glass window at the Sly Fox.  Allegedly……..

So lets begin shall we…..

1986 New York Mets

World Champions

W-108 L – 54

Manager: Davey Johnson

In 1986 God smiled down on Flushing Meadows.  Okay maybe Frank Cashen made a deal with the devil, either way it was a magical year at the old Shea.  The Mets mowed through the National League East winning 108 games with a 21 1/2 game lead by seasons end.  The Mets led the league in both runs scored (783) and ERA (3.11).  The Mets big three offensively had a stellar season with the Kid Gary Carter knocking in 105 RBI’s, Kieth Hernandez chimed in with a .310 BA and 94 runs and Straw hit 27 dingers with 92 ribbies.  The pitching was outstanding with three pitchers in the top five in ERA, Bobby Ojeda, Ron Darling and Dwight Gooden.  Ojeda led the squad after coming over from Boston the year before with 18 wins and Doc, Ronnie and El Sid each hit the 15 win level.  And something you don’t see too often anymore in baseball we had a double headed monster at the closer spot with Roger McDowell ringing in 22 saves from the right side and Jesse Orosco pumping in 21 from the left.

The Mets entered the National League Championship Series against the hated Houston Astros and their ace Mike Scott.  The Mets took that series four games to two capped off by a thrilling 16 inning Game 6 that set the Amazin’s up to face the Boston Red Sox who had not won a championship since 1918.  (Quick aside: we will get into all these games in depth I just want to do a quick overview for the first article)  The Mets were able to emerge victorious four games to three after the famous Buckner play in game six and coming back from a 3-0 deficit in game seven.

1986 New York Mets were the second championship team in their then 24 year existance.  But that was not some of the things they ended up being most noted for.  For example, on one rowdy flight back to New York, United Airlines billed the team an additional $7,500 for damage resulting from food fights and other unruly antics and said the team couldn’t fly the airline again.  There was also the rampant drug use that was clearly accepted but not exactly acknowledged by players, management and the media alike.

All this and more will be broken down, focused on and rehashed as we look back at one of the greatest teams that has ever played Major League Baseball.  Next post focus: Davey Johnson.

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