October 27, 1986: The Mets Win the World Series

October 27, 1986: The New York Mets win the World Series. I was not happy about this.

They have not done so since. I am very happy about that.

After escaping from the nether regions of the National League with a 2nd-place finish in the Eastern Division in 1984, and nearly winning the Division in 1985, Met fans began to treat the winning of the 1986 World Series as inevitable: They bragged to Yankee fans that the would win the '86 Series, even before the '85 Pennants were decided.

The Mets, celebrating their 25th season with an anniversary patch, began the 1986 regular season 2-3, then rattled off an 11-game winning streak to the end of April, lost 1, then won another 7 in a row. So they went 17-1 from April 18 to May 10, at which point they already led the NL East by 5 games over the Montreal Expos. Already, anybody who couldn't stand the Mets was sick of the commercials used to drum up ticket sales, with the "Baseball Like It Oughta Be" and "We got the teamwork to make the dream work" songs.

A 10-1 run from June 6 to 16 put them up by 11 1/2 games over the Expos. Around this time, I was at the Woodbridge Center Mall in Woodbridge, Middlesex County, New Jersey, and The Sports Corner, a store that sold sports memorabilia, and also served as a Ticketron outlet (Ticketmaster bought them out in 1991). One of the items they were selling was a T-shirt that read, "New York Mets, 1986 World Series Champions." The World Series was still 4 months away.

Come the All-Star Break on July 13, they were 13 1/2 in front of the Expos. Pitcher Dwight Gooden, catcher Gary Carter, 1st baseman Keith Hernandez and right fielder Darryl Strawberry were all voted in as starters for the National League in the All-Star Game at the Astrodome in Houston. Pitcher Sid Fernandez was selected as a reserve. But the game turned out to be a minor embarrassment for the Mets: Lou Whitaker of the Detroit Tigers hit a home run off Gooden, and the American League won, 3-2.

By August 23, the Mets were 20 games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies. On September 6, I had been invited to attend a game at Shea Stadium, my 1st live National League game. The Mets trailed the San Diego Padres, 3-2 going into the bottom of the 8th, but Carter hit his 2nd home run of the game, and the Mets won, 4-3. They led the Phillies by 20 1/2.

"The inevitable" began to take shape on September 17. The Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 4-2 at Shea, and clinched the Division title with 17 games to go. It was their 1st postseason berth in 13 years. Gooden went the distance for the win. The fans rushed the field, and one was already in fair territory before the final out reached Hernandez's 1st baseman's mitt. The field was ripped to shreds, and the Mets had a day game scheduled for just 16 hours later. Somehow, the grounds crew got the field in playable shape, not that a forfeit would have mattered.

After what the British would call "pitch invasions" at Met clinchers in 1969, 1973, and this night, and Yankee clinchers in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1981, Mayor Ed Koch, invoking the City's ownership of both ballclubs' stadiums, ordered mounted police to come on the field and surround the field at each clincher, and announced that punishments for charging the field would be more severe.

The Mets needed a walkoff home run from Lenny Dykstra to win Game 3 of the NL Championship Series. They led the series, 3 games to 2, but the 2 losses were to Mike Scott, an ex-Met who found success with the split-fingered fastball, and they had to avoid facing him in Game 7 in the Astrodome. So Game 6 was a death struggle, going back and forth for 16 innings before the Mets finally won it to take the Pennant. It was on the road, so fans charging the field was not an issue.

The World Series was against the Boston Red Sox. There were 3 men in uniform who had been in uniform for the Mets' previous World Series win, in 1969: Manager Davey Johnson had been the 2nd baseman for the Baltimore Orioles, and had made the last out; '69 shortstop Bud Harrelson was now the Mets' 3rd base coach; and former Met ace Tom Seaver was playing out the string with the Red Sox, unable to pitch in this Series due to injury, but got a huge ovation when introduced before Game 1.

The Red Sox stunned the Mets in the 1st 2 games of the World Series, leading the New York Daily News to reference Boston's nickname of "Beantown" with the headline "BEANS!" The Mets won Games 3 and 4 in Fenway Park, but lost Game 5 there. So they had to win Games 6 and 7 at Shea to win. Game 6 was an epic, with the Red Sox taking a 5-3 lead in the top of the 10th inning. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th, a message on the Shea scoreboard congratulated the Sox. Sox pitcher Bruce Hurst was named the Series' Most Valuable Player. Then came the comeback/collapse of all time, and the Mets won, 6-5.

Game 7 was pushed back a day by rain. In its place, NBC aired the baseball-themed movie The Natural, as part of its usual NBC Sunday Night Movie show. Despite airing on a Monday night, when another New York team, the Giants, were playing on ABC Monday Night Football at the same time, this game got more TV viewers than any Major League Baseball game ever: 60 million people.

The Red Sox actually seemed to be shaking off the historical, hysterical Game 6 loss. They led the Mets, 3-0 in the bottom of the 6th inning. Hurst, with an extra day's rest, was doing just fine. The Sox chased Ron Darling. Sid Fernandez relieved him. The Sox were just 12 outs away from their 1st World Championship in 68 years after all.

But these were the pre-steroid Boston Red Sox, and they couldn't hold it. The Mets tied it up in the 6th. Manager John McNamara brought in Calvin Schiraldi, who choked in the 10th the night before, to pitch the 7th, and Ray Knight led off with a home run. The Mets made it 6-3 by the inning's end.

The Sox made it 6-5 in the top of the 8th, so there was still hope. But Al Nipper served one up to Strawberry, and he hit it out, and took a leisurely stroll around the bases. NBC could have run a commercial.

The Mets let reliever Jesse Orosco bat for himself, and he drove in another run, and he got the last out by striking out Marty Barrett. Mets 8, Red Sox 5. Orosco hurled his glove high into the Flushing air.

The bullpen gate was opened, and mounted policemen came onto the field. The fans stayed in the stands. They had obeyed the Mayor. No New York clincher since has seen a pitch invasion. So I guess we should thank Koch for that.

The Mets had won their 1st World Championship on October 16, 1969. It took them 17 years and 11 days, but they had now won their 2nd World Championship. Anyone then thinking that they wouldn't win their 3rd World Championship for at least another 36 years would have been asked what he was smoking.

But, tonight, exactly 36 years later, more than one-third of a century, the Mets are still looking for that 3rd World Championship. They've won just 2 more Pennants and just 2 more World Series games since that night -- 1 in 2000, and 1 in 2015. To make matters worse, following the 1st of those Pennants, they went on to lose to the Yankees in the World Series, 1 of 5 the Yankees have won since 1986.

UPDATE: The Red Sox have a team Hall of Fame. From their 1986 Pennant, they have inducted left fielder Jim Rice, right fielder Dwight Evans, 2nd baseman Marty Barrett, 3rd baseman Wade Boggs, left fielder Mike Greenwell, catcher Rich Gedman; pitchers Roger Clemens, Bruce Hurst and Bob Stanley; owner Jean Yawkey, general manager Lou Gorman, executive Haywood Sullivan, scout George Digby, executives Edward Kenney and Dick Bresciani, farm system director Ben Mondor, groundskeeper Joe Mooney, guest relations director Al Green, public address announcer Sherm Feller; broadcasters Ken Coleman, Ned Martin, Jerry Remy and Joe Castiglione; and longtime vendor Arthur D'Angelo. They have not, as yet, inducted manager John McNamara.

From between their 1986 Pennant and their 1999 ALCS appearance, they have inducted manager Joe Morgan, 1st baseman Mo Vaughn and left fielder Ellis Burks.

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October 27, 1986 was a Monday. And another New York Tri-State Area team won: On ABC Monday Night Football, the New York Giants beat the team then known as the Washington Redskins, 27-20 at Giants Stadium, in the Meadowlands of East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The NBA season wouldn't start for another 4 days. And only 1 NHL game was scheduled for that night: The Montreal Canadiens beat the Los Angeles Kings, 6-5 at the Montreal Forum. Chris Nilan, better known as an enforcer, scored the winner for Les Habitantes with 7:36 left in regulation.

And Jon Niese, who would pitch for the Mets from 2008 to 2016, including in the 2015 World Series, was born on this day.