The Real Miracle Mets?
1986 New York MetsHome Fields: Shea Stadium
World ChampionsHit: #1 R, BA
W - 108 L - 54Pitch: #2 OR, #1 ERA
Manager: Davey JohnsonDef: #5t FA

1986 was a magical season in Flushing Meadows. During the regular season, it seemed that the Mets could do no wrong. The post season, as it turned out, would be another story. In the end, however, fate smiled on the Mets who won the second World Championship in the team's history.

New York ran away from the pack in 1986, winning 108 games and capturing the division by 21 1/2 games. They were solid all around, leading the National League in both runs scored and ERA. As dominating as the Mets were, the team had no overpowering individual seasons. The only Met to place in the top three in a triple crown category, runs, or hits was catcher Gary Carter who placed third with 105 RBIs. First baseman Keith Hernandez was solid, hitting .310 and scoring 94 runs. Outfielder Darryl Strawberry chipped in with 27 round trippers while knocking in 93.

The pitching was balanced and boasted three of the top five ERA men in the league in Bob Ojeda, Ron Darling, and Dwight Gooden. Ojeda, acquired from Boston during the offseason, was 18-5 to lead the way. Gooden, Darling, and Sid Fernandez all reached the 15 victory level. The Mets also owned a solid bullpen led by Roger McDowell's 22 saves from the right side and Jesse Orosco's 21 from the left.

1986's post season was one of the most memorable in baseball history. It was though it had been written in Hollywood. The Mets first encountered Houston and its ace Mike Scott. The Astros gave New York all it could handle before falling in six games. Then came the real drama. The Boston Red Sox were trying to win their first World Championship since 1918, and almost achieved it. Trailing three games to two, the Mets were two runs down and down to their last strike. Through some clutch hitting, and Bill Buckner's famous error, the Mets scored three times to win. Two nights later, they overcame an early 3-0 deficit before rallying to win.



Pos Player Bats AB H R HR RBI BA    NL Rank
C-1B Gary Carter R 490 125 81 24 105 .255    #3 RBI
1B Keith Hernandez L 551 171 94 13 86 .310    #5 BA, #2 OBA
2B Wally Backman B 387 124 67 1 27 .320  
SS Rafael Santana R 394 86 38 1 28 .218  
3B Ray Knight R 486 145 51 11 76 .298  
LF Mookie Wilson B 587 162 88 9 54 .276  
CF Len Dykstra L 431 127 77 8 45 .295  
RF Darryl Strawberry L 475 123 76 27 93 .259    #2 SA
                   
OF-SS Kevin Mitchell R 328 91 51 12 43 .277  
2B Tim Teufel R 279 69 35 4 31 .247  
3B-SS Howard Johnson B 220 54 30 10 39 .245  
OF George Foster R 233 53 28 13 38 .227  
OF Danny Heep L 195 55 24 5 33 .282  
C Ed Hearn R 136 36 16 4 10 .265  
                   
Total: Team   5558 1462 783 148 730 .263  
  League Average   65730 16643 8096 1523 7557 .253  


Pitcher Throw G IP W L ERA PCT    NL Rank
  Bob Ojeda L 32 217 18 5 2.57 .783    #3t W, #2 ERA
  Dwight Gooden R 33 250 17 6 2.84 .739    #5t W, #5 ERA, #4t K
  Ron Darling R 34 237 15 6 2.81 .714    #3 ERA
  Sid Fernandez L 32 204 16 6 3.52 .727    #4t K
  Rick Aguilera R 28 142 10 7 3.88 .588  
  Doug Sisk R 41 71 4 2 3.06 .667  
  Roger McDowell R 75 128 14 9 3.02 .609  
  Jesse Orosco L 58 81 8 6 2.33 .571  
                   
Total:  Team       108 54 3.11    
  League Average           3.72    

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