1986 New York Mets

 New York has always been a divided sports city. With the exception of 1958-1961, there has always been at least two teams in the city always fighting for the headlines in the NY papers. Yankees and Mets fans very rarely agree on much, but every so often something comes along that both sides can come together and toast...the humiliation of Boston with "It gets through Buckner!" is definitely one of those things.

Tired of falling just short of the playoffs, the Mets entered 1986 ready to take names, and take names they did as they ran away with the NL East with a 108-54 record and a big 21.5 game lead over 2nd place St. Louis. Manager Davey Johnson and company were back in the playoffs for the first time since 1973.

The NLCS would be a bit of a challenge, though. The Houston Astros were their opponent and their Cy Young act Mike Scott was dealing. Scott shut down the Mets in a 1-0 shutout to give first blood to the Astros. The Mets responded with back-to-back wins, but Scott was back in Game 4 to pitch another complete game victory. Game 5 went into extra innings, where Gary Carter shook off what had been to that point a miserable series at the plate with a walk off single to put the Mets one win away from the pennant.

It would later turn out that the Mets gripes about Mike Scott cheating were justified, as he would eventually admit to scuffing the ball in his starts, but at the time all the Mets really knew was that they could not risk facing the NLCS MVP in a Game 7. Game 6 saw the Astros take a 3-0 lead early, but the Mets rallied with their backs against the wall in the 9th to tie it up. Then in the 14th, the Mets took a 1 run lead, but Bob Ojeda surrendered a tying homer and the game would continue. Finally, the Mets scrambled three runs home in the 16th, and Jesse Orosco held off another Houston rally to win the game 7-6 and put the Mets in the World Series.

The Boston Red Sox opened the World Series sweeping the first couple games at Shea Stadium. The Mets were able to fight back in Boston, but returning for Game 6, the Red Sox had a 3-2 lead and their ace Roger Clemens ready to finish the job. The Red Sox were able to take a couple leads in the game, but each time the Mets were able to push back and the game went to the 10th inning tied 3-3. The Red Sox scored twice in the top of the inning, then got two quick outs to open the bottom. Then...

Gary Carter singled.
Kevin Mitchell singled.
Ray Knight had two strikes on him, battled, then also singled. Carter scored and Mitchell went to third.
With the score 5-4, and still winning, the Red Sox switched pitchers with Mookie Wilson coming to hit.
Wilson worked a 2-2 count, and on pitch number 6, Catcher Rich Gedman couldn't handle the wild pitch, allowing Mitchell to score the tying run and Knight to take 2nd Base.
Pitch #10, Wilson hit a roller up the line towards 1st Base...Bill Buckner tried to field it, but came up empty as the ball continued to slowly roll into the outfield where Dwight Evans failed to back up the play and Knight easily scored to win the game and tie the series up.

Game 7 had to be delayed a day over rain, but while it offered the Red Sox a chance to catch their breath after choking away Game 6, it did little to quell the magic the Mets were feeling. The Red Sox took a 3-0 lead early, but the Mets tied it up with a 3-run 6th inning rally, doubled it up with another 3-run rally in the 7th, and added a couple more runs in the 8th for good measure as they put down the BoSox and claimed the '86 title.

A timeless image for Mets fans as Jesse Orosco dropped to his knees to celebrate what felt was impossible not too long before. He pulled off 21 Saves for the champions, but he shined brightest in the playoffs where he became the first Reliever to win 3 games in a postseason series, winning 3 against the Astros, then closed out 2 Met victories against the Red Sox, including the clincher.

The incredible Dwight Gooden that wowed the world in 1984 and '85 was not seen in '86, but Gooden still put up ace numbers for the Mets. He paced the staff with 250.1 Innings and he co-led with 200 Strikeouts while managing 17 Wins. He also became the youngest pitcher to start an all star game.

Ojeda paced the team with 18 Wins in '86, plus winning Game 2 of the NLCS and Game 3 of the World Series, both times stopping a losing skid and putting New York on the board against their respective opponents. His 2.57 ERA also led the team as he finished 4th in Cy Young voting.

Other regular Starters. Fernandez tied Gooden with a team high 200 Strikeouts, and joined him at the all star game. Ron Darling finished 5th for the Cy Young and pitched a victory in Game 4 against Boston to even the series up after Boston had taken the early 2-0 lead.

The other Closer on staff, McDowell did Orosco 1 Save better at 22 as he garnered some MVP votes after the season. While he didn't get any Saves in October, his was the arm the Mets relied on in Game 7 of the World Series when he entered the tie game and held the Red Sox scoreless, making him the winning pitcher of the clincher when the team poured on more runs and took the lead.

Relievers and other pitching role players during the pennant push.

The future Hall of Famer had another standout season on 1986 where he won the Silver Slugger, went to the all star game and finished 3rd in MVP voting while leading the Mets with 105 RBI. And while he had a bit of trouble with the Astros in the NLCS, he brought his bat for the big moments in the WS against Boston, going deep twice and driving in 9 runs.

Who does this guy think he is? He's Keith Hernandez, winning his 2nd World Series, going to the all star game, finishing 4th in MVP voting, leading the team with a .310 Average with 171 Hits and winning yet another Gold Glove.

Strawberry slugged a team high 27 Home Runs, but none bigger than the knock out blow he launched in Game 7. With Boston cutting the Mets lead to 6-5, Strawberry led off the bottom of the 8th with a homer to extend the lead and keep New York's offensive rally going.

Other regulars. Dykstra ran his way to a team leading 31 Stolen Bases. Wilson, of course, had the famous swing that knocked the ball up the 1st Base line where Buckner had his most infamous moment.

Other featured hitters. Foster began the year as the team's starting outfielder, but his diminished skill led to his release, where Lee Mazzilli took his roster spot. Before he was an NL MVP, Kevin Mitchell was the guy who left Game 6 against Boston early, then came sprinting out getting dressed again to pinch-hit, single, then go on to score the tying run in that wild game.

Ray Knight found himself in the middle of every big moment in the World Series. He registered 9 Hits, including 1 Home Run and 5 RBI to take home World Series MVP honors. His immortal moment was sprinting home to win the game after Bucker's error.