1986 New York Mets

Best and Worst Teams 4.01 (91 votes) Invite Your Friends to Rate Contents 1 The Players 1.1 Building the Team 1.2 One Vet In, One Vet Out 2 Regular Season Highlights 2.1 Opening Day 2.2 April 2.3 May 2.4 June 2.5 July 2.6 August 2.7 September/October 3 Post-Season Highlights 3.1 NLCS 3.2 World Series 4 Team Data 4.1 Salaries 4.2 Team Photo 4.3 Uniform Numbers 5 See Also:

world series winner This team won the World Series.

The 1986 New York Mets were a fun-loving band of misfits which entered the season as favorites -- and by the skin of their teeth, ended it champions.

The Mets finished the regular season in first place of the National League East, with a record of 108-54. They beat the Houston Astros, 4 games to 2, in the NLCS; the first-ever best-of-7 NLCS. And in the World Series, the Mets were victorious over the Boston Red Sox, 4 games to 3.

[edit] The Players

[edit] Building the Team

The key cogs of the 1986 Mets were put in place starting in 1983. On June 15, 1983, the Mets acquired former NL MVP Keith Hernandez from the St. Louis Cardinals for pitchers Neil Allen and Rick Owenby. That same year, right fielder Darryl Strawberry won the NL Rookie of the Year award. Combined with veteran George Foster and young (or "young-ish") guys like Wally Backman, Hubie Brooks, and Mookie Wilson, the Mets were beginning to put together a team that could score runs.

It would take another year before they could prevent them. 38 year old Tom Seaver was effective but no longer great, and the rest of the rotation was nothing special.

But 1984 held promise. 19 year old Dwight Gooden made his Major League debut, with stunning success, winning the Rookie of the Year award and coming second in Cy Young Award voting. 23 year old Ron Darling and 21 year old Sid Fernandez both made their way into the starting rotation, and both were about league-average pitchers with upside. The Mets finished in second.

Looking to make the final push, the Mets traded Brooks and others to the Montreal Expos for perennial All-Star catcher Gary Carter. Closer Jesse Orosco was paired with rookie Roger McDowell to make for an excellent shut-down tandem. And the trio of young pitchers improved across the board, with Gooden taking the Cy. They were joined by Rick Aguilera, another young pitcher; and Ed Lynch, a still-young vet at 29. Yet the Mets finished in second again.

Before the '86 season, the Mets made two major moves. Seeing the need for a lefty veteran, the Mets acquired 29 year old Bobby Ojeda from the Red Sox. He immediately took Lynch's slot in the rotation. (Lynch, arguably the better pitcher, would be traded in mid-season having pitched just 1 and two-thirds innings for the team that year.) The Mets also added Tim Teufel via trade, and platooned him with Backman. Light-hitting Rafael Santana was not replaced, leaving him as the lone dull spot on an otherwise strong offensive team.

Rounding out the Mets bench were Kevin Mitchell, Danny Heap, and Ed Hearn. Only third base and one outfield slot were left open. When Mookie Wilson was injured in spring training, Lenny Dykstra stepped in.

The bullpen was a mostly familiar one, anchored by the McDowell/Orosco tandem and the usually dependable (although often scary) Doug Sisk.

[edit] One Vet In, One Vet Out

During the 1984 season, the Mets acquired Ray Knight from Houston. Knight's acquisition made Hubie Brooks expendable, but Ray struggled mightily in 1985, and ended up splitting time -- if not outright losing the job in the mind of many -- to Howard Johnson. HoJo failed at his first chance to win the job, and in 1985, Knight and he platooned. Mets batting coach Bill Richardson allegedly convinced Knight to go with a more upright batting style, and it proved effective, with Knight winning Comeback Player of the Year honors as his offensive production increased. Knight was rewarded with the lion's share of 3B time.

One vet did not fare as well. George Foster, in the last year of a highly lucrative five year deal with the Mets, was underperforming -- par for the course during his Mets tenure. With Mookie Wilson and Lenny Dykstra both needing playing time, Foster, the former MVP, was the odd-man out. The Mets released him on August 7th. Taking his place was Lee Mazzilli, the former local fan-favorite, who signed with the Mets four days before Foster was given his walking papers. (Maz had been recently released by the Pittsburgh Pirates).

[edit] Regular Season Highlights

[edit] Opening Day

The Mets traveled to Pittsburgh with a formidable lineup:

1. Dykstra (CF)
2. Backman (2B)
3. Hernandez (1B)
4. Carter (C)
5. Strawberry (RF)
6. Foster (LF)
7. Johnson (3B)
8. Santana (SS)
9. Gooden (P)

The season got off to a great start for the Mets, with Dykstra walking. After Backman flew out, Hernandez drove Lenny in with a deep double, going to third on the throw. Moments later, the Mets were up 2-0 on a Gary Carter sacrifice fly.

But the Pirates struck right back. R.J. Reynolds lead off with a homer against Gooden, and two batters later, Johnny Ray chimed in with a base knock. Gooden regained his composure, though, and went the distance. He'd give up only four more hits and one walk for the duration of the game, ending up with a 9 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 2 ER, 6 K day.

The Mets started their championship run with a 4-2 win.

[edit] April

[edit] May

[edit] June

[edit] July

[edit] August

[edit] September/October

[edit] Post-Season Highlights

[edit] NLCS

[edit] World Series

• Because this was the first World Series in which the teams used the DH in the AL park, Danny Heap became the first ever DH for an NL team.

[edit] Team Data

[edit] Salaries

[edit] Team Photo

[edit] Uniform Numbers

[edit] See Also:

• 1986 New York Mets Multimedia Library