The Dominant Season of the 1986 New York Mets

After winning the World Series in 1969 and the National League Pennant in 1973, the Mets fell on hard times, posting just two winning seasons between 1974 and 1983. Part of the problem was the Mets’ front office making bad personnel decisions, most notably trading away two future Hall of Fame pitchers, Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver.

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Learning from past mistakes, management began making better decisions in 1983, trading with the Cardinals for Gold Glove first baseman Keith Hernandez. Outfielder Darryl Strawberry, whom the Mets drafted in 1980, also joined the team in 1983 and won the Rookie of the Year Award. At season’s end, Davey Johnson was hired as the new Mets Manager, and one month later, Mel Stottlemyre was hired as the pitching coach.

1986 New York Mets' Roster

In 1984, pitchers Ron Darling and Dwight Gooden made their Major League debut, with Gooden winning the Rookie of the Year. Shortstop Kevin Elster was called up from the Minors in May, and outfielder Kevin Mitchell joined the team in September.

Pitcher Sid Fernandez was acquired in a trade with the Dodgers, and infielder Ray Knight came over from the Houston Astros. Shortstop Rafael Santana joined the Mets after getting released by the Cardinals. The 1984 Mets finished the season with a 90-72 record, fourth-best in the Majors and their first winning season since 1976.

Joining an already solid pitching staff in 1985 were Rick Aguilera, Randy Myers, and reliever Roger McDowell. Outfielder Lenny Dykstra made his major league debut in May, and infielder Howard Johnson was acquired in a trade with the Tigers. Future Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter was acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Montreal Expos.

High Hopes For 1986

New York baseball fans had high hopes of seeing a Subway Series as the Mets finished the season 98-64 and the Yankees finished 97-64. But in 1985, each league had only two divisions, and only the first-place teams made the playoffs. The Yankees had the second-best record in the American League but finished two games behind the division-leading Blue Jays. The Mets had the second-best record in the National League but finished three games behind the division-leading Cardinals. Mets fans had high hopes for 1986.

The 1986 Mets were solid at every position, but added one more pitcher, Bob Ojeda, acquired from the Red Sox in November 1985. The Mets started the 1986 season 2-3 before winning 13 consecutive games. They took over first place in their division after only 10 games and held it for the rest of the season. By the end of May, the Mets were 31-12.

Despite Howard Johnson and Darryl Strawberry missing playing time due to injuries, the Mets were 50-21 by the end of June, 9 ½ games ahead of the second-place Cardinals. By mid-July, the Mets extended their lead to 13 ½ games. The All-Star Game was played in Houston on July 15, with Dwight Gooden, Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter, and Darryl Strawberry named as starters, and Sid Fernandez named as a backup.

After The All-Star Break

The night after the All-Star Game, the Mets defeated the Astros 13-2, and several Mets players got into an altercation later that evening at a Houston nightclub. The altercation made headlines and raised concerns that the Mets might self-destruct due to their penchant for excessive partying. But by the end of July, the team had a 15½-game lead in their division with a 66-32 record.

The division race was all but over by the middle of August, and the Mets finished the month with an 87-43 record. Despite the huge lead they had over the second-place Phillies, the Mets didn’t clinch the division title until September 16. They finished the season 108-54, their best record in team history.

Wally Backman finished the season with a .320 batting average, while Keith Hernandez batted .310. Darryl Strawberry belted 27 home runs and drove in 93 runs. Gary Carter drove in 105 runs and hit 24 home runs. Lenny Dykstra led the team in stolen bases with 31.

Dwight Gooden went 17-6 with a 2.84 ERA. Sid Fernandez went 16-6 with a 3.52 ERA. Both he and Gooden recorded 200 strikeouts. Ron Darling had a 2.81 ERA and a 15-6 record, while Bob Ojeda had a 2.57 ERA with an 18-5 record. Roger McDowell led the relief pitchers with 23 saves, while Jesse Orosco had an impressive 2.33 ERA.

1986 MLB Playoffs

The Mets’ opponent in the NL Championship Series was the Houston Astros. Game one was a pitcher’s duel, with 1985 Cy Young Award winner Dwight Gooden getting the start for the Mets and 1986 Cy Young Award winner Mike Scott going for the Astros. Scott pitched a complete game, allowing only five hits and no runs, while striking out 14 batters. Gooden pitched seven innings, allowing only one run, a solo home run. The Mets had a chance to tie the game in the top of the ninth inning. But with one out and Strawberry on second base, Scott retired the next two batters.

Bob Ojeda got the start for the Mets in game two and pitched a complete game. Ojeda allowed ten hits but only one run. The Mets scored five runs off of starter Nolan Ryan. Wally Backman, Strawberry, Carter, and Hernandez were responsible for all five runs batted in.

In game three, starter Ron Darling got roughed up in the first two innings, allowing four runs, but he settled down to pitch three scoreless innings. Still, the Mets trailed 4-0 after five complete innings. The Mets finally scored a run in the bottom of the sixth, and then Strawberry blasted a three-run shot to tie the game.

But the Astros came back in the top of the seventh inning to regain the lead 5-4. Jesse Orosco pitched the final two innings for the Mets and allowed no runs. The Mets were down to their last two outs in the bottom of the ninth when Lenny Dykstra hit a two-run home run to give the Mets a hard-fought 6-5 victory.

Mike Scott was dominant again in game four, pitching another complete game while allowing just three hits and one run. Mets starter Sid Fernandez allowed only four hits but gave up two home runs, as the Astros won 3-1, tying the series two games apiece.

Game five was a classic pitcher’s duel. In the top of the second inning, the Astros had a man on first and third with no outs, but Dwight Gooden got out of the jam, allowing no runs. Astros starter Nolan Ryan was pitching equally well, and the game was scoreless after four full innings.

The Astros took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth, but Darryl Strawberry tied it with a solo home run. Ryan and Gooden pitched scoreless baseball for the next four innings, and the game went into extra innings. Ryan was finally relieved while Gooden continued to pitch through the tenth inning.

The Mets had a man on first and second with one out in the 12th inning. Gary Carter, who was in a bad slump, going 1 for 21 in the series, was the next batter, and he came through, singling to center to drive in the winning run.

With the Mets leading the series three games to two, they traveled back to Houston. The Mets needed to win this game to avoid facing Mike Scott in game seven. Scott had dominated the Mets all season, and most of the Mets players admitted they didn’t want to face him again.

Bob Ojeda got the start for the Mets and the Astros got to him early, scoring three runs in the first inning. But the unshaken Ojeda pitched the next five innings, allowing no additional runs. Astros starter Bob Knepper pitched brilliantly, allowing no runs through eight full innings. The Mets finally got to him in the top of the ninth.

First, Lenny Dykstra tripled off him, and then Mookie Wilson drove him in with a single. Next, Hernandez doubled to score Wilson, knocking Knepper out of the game. After Strawberry and Carter drew walks, Ray Knight hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game.

The game went into extra innings with neither team scoring until the 14th inning. Roger McDowell pitched five scoreless innings for the Mets. The Mets scored a run in the top of the 14th to take a 4-3 lead, but Billy Hatcher hit a solo homer for the Astros to tie the game again. Neither team scored in the 15th inning. In the top of the 16th, Strawberry doubled and was driven in by Ray Knight, and then Knight scored after two wild pitches.

The Mets added another run to take a seemingly comfortable 7-4 lead. But the Astros would not go down without a fight, scoring two runs to tighten the gap to 7-6. With the winning run on first base and two outs, Jesse Orosco struck out the final batter to send the Mets to their first World Series since 1973.

In an interview, Orosco stated that Keith Hernandez went out to the mound before the last at-bat and told him, if you throw another fastball, we are going to fight. The game took 4 hours and 42 minutes to complete and is still regarded as one of the greatest games in MLB history.

1986 World Series

Win or lose the World Series, it had been a magnificent season for the Mets, but as had happened too many other times during the season, the Mets crossed the line when it came to rowdy behavior. On the flight back home to New York, the Mets partied to excess and were billed $7,500 for damages by United Airlines.

Game one of the World Series was played at Shea Stadium, and Red Sox pitcher Bruce Hurst silenced the Mets bats, pitching eight innings and allowing only four hits. Ron Darling got the start for the Mets and pitched equally well, allowing only an unearned run on an infield error. The final score was Boston 1, New York 0.

Game two was expected to be a classic pitcher’s duel between Dwight Gooden and Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, but it didn’t turn out that way. After two scoreless innings, the Red Sox got to Gooden, scoring three runs, but the Mets came back with two runs of their own. In the top of the fourth inning, Dave Henderson hit a solo shot to give Boston a 4-2 lead. In the top of the fifth inning, Dwight Evans hit a two-run blast, and the Red Sox had a comfortable 6-2 lead. After giving up two hits in the bottom half of the fifth inning, Roger Clemens was pulled in favor of Steve Crawford. Gary Carter drove in one run to cut the deficit to 6-3. Gooden was removed in the sixth inning in favor of Rick Aguilera, which didnt help, as the Red Sox added two more runs. Boston added one more run in the ninth inning and cruised to a 9-3 victory.

Down two games to zero and headed to Boston for the next three games, it didnt look promising for the Mets. But the Mets had been a comeback team all season, and today would be no different. Lenny Dykstra got things started with a solo home run. Gary Carter and Danny Heep combined to drive in three more runs, and Boston was down 4-0 before they knew what hit them. The Sox managed to score one run off of Mets starter Bob Ojeda in the third inning, and Boston starter Oil Can Boyd held the Mets scoreless for the next five innings. Gary Carter drove in two more runs in the 7th inning, and Ray Knight drove in another run in the 8th inning. The final score was New York 7, Boston 1.

Ron Darling, who had pitched well in a game one loss, got the start for the Mets, and he pitched seven scoreless innings. Gary Carter got the Mets on the board first with a two-run shot over the Green Monster in the 4th inning. Then Strawberry doubled and was driven in by Ray Knight. In the top of the seventh, Lenny Dykstra hit a two-run homer to give the Mets a commanding 5-0 lead. Carter added a solo home run in the 8th inning to increase the lead. In the bottom of the 8th, the Sox scored two runs but failed to add any in the 9th, and the Mets won 6-2.

With the series now tied two games a piece, the Mets felt good about winning game five with Dwight Gooden on the mound. But after giving up three runs and getting no run support from the Mets bats, Gooden was removed in the fifth inning. Reliever Sid Fernandez let up another run to make the score 4-0. Red Sox starter Bruce Hurst did not let up a run until Tim Tueful hit a solo home run in the 8th inning. Mookie Wilson drove in a run in the ninth, but it was too little, too late, as the Red Sox went on to win 4-2.

In game six, Bob Ojeda got the start for the Mets, while Roger Clemens got the nod for the Red Sox. The game barely began before a fan parachuted onto the field wearing a flag that read “Go Mets.” The Sox scored one run in the first inning and one in the second, but Ojeda allowed no more for the next four innings.

The Mets tied the game in the 5th inning, but the Sox retook the lead in the top of the seventh, scoring a run off of reliever Roger McDowell. In the top of the eighth, with the bases loaded, the Red Sox had a chance to extend their lead, but Jesse Orosco came in to get the final out. With Clemens now out of the game, the Mets felt better about their chances to at least tie the game, and they did just that. With the bases loaded and only one out, Gary Carter hit a sacrifice fly to make the score 3-3.

With Strawberry up next, the Mets had a good chance to take the lead, but Strawberry flied out to end the inning. Rick Aguilera shut the Red Sox out in the top of the ninth, and the Mets had one last chance before the game went into extra innings. With a runner on second base and no outs, the Mets’ next three batters failed to get a hit.

The first batter up for the Sox was Dave Henderson, and he silenced the Shea Stadium faithful with a home run. Boston added an insurance run to take a 5-3 lead.

In the bottom half of the tenth inning, the Mets’ first two batters went down quietly. For a brief moment, the words “Congratulations Boston Red Sox, 1986 World Champions” appeared on the scoreboard. Gary Carter came up next and drove in a run to keep the Mets alive. Kevin Mitchell advanced Carter to second base with a single. Ray Knight was the next batter and fell behind 0 and 2 on the count. One more strike and the scoreboard would read “Congratulations, Boston Red Sox, for real this time. Instead, Knight singled, Carter scored, and Mitchell bolted to third base. Next up for the Mets was Mookie Wilson, who signaled to Mitchell to race home after a wild pitch got past the catcher.

Knight advanced to second base, and the never-say-die Mets tied the game 5-5. On the tenth pitch, Wilson grounded to first, and the game would go into the 11th inning, but wait, the ball went through first baseman Bill Buckner’s legs, and Knight scored to give the Mets an improbable 6-5 victory.

Game seven was postponed for one day due to rain. Ron Darling, who had pitched brilliantly in his other two starts, got roughed up early. Dwight Evans and Rich Gedman hit back-to-back home runs off Darling in the top of the second, and Wade Boggs drove in another run to give Boston a 3-0 lead.

Bruce Hurst, who was already voted MVP of the series if the Red Sox had held on to win game six, held the Mets to just one hit through three innings. Darling was removed in the fourth inning in favor of Sid Fernandez. With a runner on second base, El Sid got the final out of the inning. Hurst continued to shut down the Mets batters, and after five full innings the Sox still led 3-0.

Thankfully for the Mets batters, Fernandez was shutting down the Red Sox, who had not scored since the second inning. In the bottom of the sixth, the Mets bats finally came alive. With the bases loaded, Keith Hernandez drove in two runs, and Gary Carter drove in one. Roger McDowell came in to relieve Fernandez in the top of the 7th and retired the Red Sox in order. With Hurst now out of the game, Ray Knight stepped up to the plate and hit a solo home run to give the Mets their first lead of the game.

Then Rafael Santana drove in Lenny Dykstra to extend the lead, and Hernandez drove in Santana to increase the lead to 6-3. But the Red Sox rallied in the top of the 8th to close the gap to 6-5. With a runner on second and no outs, Jesse Orosco came in to relieve McDowell and retired the next three batters.

Darryl Strawberry led off the bottom half of the 8th inning with a solo home run to give the Mets a little breathing room. Pitcher Jesse Orosco faked a bunt and hit away, driving in another run. Orosco pitched the final inning and retired the Red Sox in order. For the second time in their 25-year history, the New York Mets were World Champions! Ray Knight, who batted .391, drove in five runs, and hit one home run, was voted the World Series MVP. Many years later, ESPN voted the 1986 World Series as the fourth greatest series of all time.

The Mets would not win another National League Pennant until 2000. In 2015, they won their fifth Pennant, but they have not won the World Series Trophy since that glorious 1986 season.

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Mark Morthier is the host of Yesterday’s Sports, a podcast dedicated to reliving memorable sports moments from his childhood days and beyond. He grew up in New Jersey just across from New York City, so many of his episodes revolve around the great sport’s teams of the 70s for the New York area.

He is also an author of No Nonsense, Old School Weight Training (Second Edition): A Guide for People with Limited Time and Running Wild: (Growing Up in the 1970s)