The 1986 New York Mets were known for their brawling, partying and wild cast of characters that made them one of the most memorable baseball teams in the sport's long history. They should also be remembered for their winning. They won 108 games, tied with the 1975 Cincinnati Reds for most in the National League since the 1909 Pirates, and then beat the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox in two of the most dramatic playoff series ever. ESPN Films' 30 for 30 documentary on the '86 Mets, "Once Upon a Time in Queens," covers the amazing story of the Mets, running over two nights, Sept. 14-15.
I thought it would be fun to compare the Mets to nine of the other best teams of the divisional era (since 1969) -- all teams that won at least 100 games (or, in the case of the 1995 Braves and 2020 Dodgers, were on pace to win 100 over a 162-game schedule) and won the World Series. So apologies to the 1972-74 A's, who won three straight World Series but didn't win 100 games in any of those three years. No 1995 Indians or 2001 Mariners, two of the best regular-season teams of the era, but who failed to win the World Series. And no more than one team per franchise.
The 10 teams, including their Pythagorean record and their league ranking in runs scored and runs allowed:
I'm going to compare each team at the eight positions, designated hitter/bench, four starting pitchers and relief ace. You get 10 points for ranking first at a position and one point for ranking 10th. I'm not interested just in the season in question. I'm looking for an evaluation of the player that avoids career seasons or fluke seasons, so I'll be looking at one-year WAR plus a three-year window to arrive at my admittedly subjective rankings.
Since we're doing this piece because of the film on the 1986 Mets, the write-ups will focus on the Mets. We'll save the expanded version for the book.
Catcher
1. Johnny Bench, Reds
2. Gary Carter, Mets
3. Lance Parrish, Tigers
4. Will Smith, Dodgers
5. Javy Lopez, Braves
6. Jorge Posada, Yankees
7. Willson Contreras, Cubs
8. Elrod Hendricks, Orioles
9. Brian McCann, Astros
10. Christian Vazquez, Red Sox
Bench and Carter are the two Hall of Famers and they finished fourth and third in the MVP voting in their respective seasons, but Bench is the easy call for No. 1. Bench leads in one-year WAR, 6.6 to 3.8, and crushes Carter in three-year WAR, 19.1 to 11.5. Really, Carter's last great season was 1985, and while still a productive player in 1986 -- he drove in 105 runs -- the MVP voting results were a little generous.
The Mets acquired Carter from the Expos after the 1984 season. In part, the Expos wanted to get rid of Carter's salary (he was the fourth-highest-paid player in the game), but there was a narrative at the time that teammates disliked Carter -- they derisively called him "Teeth" and "Camera Carter" behind his back for his media attention -- and it created problems in the Montreal clubhouse. Mets general manager Frank Cashen was happy to acquire Carter, trading four players (the best being Hubie Brooks). ... Note the offensive-minded nature of this group overall. Contreras was a rookie midseason call-up, while Smith, Lopez and Posada were all in their second seasons, but all four were offensive catchers.
First base
1. Anthony Rizzo, Cubs
2. Boog Powell, Orioles
3. Keith Hernandez, Mets
4. Tino Martinez, Yankees
5. Max Muncy, Dodgers
6. Tony Perez, Reds
7. Fred McGriff, Braves
8. Yuli Gurriel, Astros
9. Mitch Moreland, Red Sox
10. Dave Bergman, Tigers
As with the Carter deal, the Mets were happy to take on another team's problem when they acquired Hernandez from the Cardinals at the trade deadline in 1983, a deal regarded as one of the worst in Cardinals history -- but it's also understandable why Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog wanted to get rid of Hernandez. In his autobiography, Herzog wrote, "Keith Hernandez was dogging it. He's the best defensive first baseman I've ever seen. But on offense, he was loafing. He loafed down the line on ground balls and he wasn't aggressive on the bases. ... His practice habits were atrocious. He'd come out for batting practice, then head back to the clubhouse to smoke cigarettes and do crossword puzzles. It got to the point where I was fed up with him."
Powell was the 1970 AL MVP after hitting .297/.412/.549 with 35 home runs and 112 RBIs, but Rizzo finished fourth in the NL MVP voting and was much better with the glove. He leads Powell in one-year WAR (5.8 to 5.1) and three-year WAR (16.7 to 14.5). It's probably a closer debate between Powell and Hernandez for No. 2. Hernandez hit .310/.413/.446, won his ninth of 11 consecutive Gold Glove Awards and finished fourth in the MVP voting. He didn't have the power of Powell or Rizzo but was a maestro in the field. Like Carter, he started slipping after 1986. ... Too low on McGriff? He was great in 1994, but his 1995 and 1996 numbers weren't anything special for a first baseman from that era.
Second base
1. Joe Morgan, Reds
2. Jose Altuve, Astros
3. Lou Whitaker, Tigers
4. Davey Johnson, Orioles
5. Chuck Knoblauch, Yankees
6. Ben Zobrist, Cubs
7. Wally Backman, Mets
8. Enrique Hernandez, Dodgers
9. Mark Lemke, Braves
10. Eduardo Nunez, Red Sox
Backman was a Davey Johnson favorite. The Mets had bounced him back and forth between the majors and minors, where he played for Johnson, focusing on what he couldn't do (no power, weak arm) and underrating the positives (hit, get on base, run). Johnson made him his second baseman in 1984. "Backman was a gamer -- always getting his uniform dirty -- and was driven by trying to find ways to beat you," Johnson wrote in his autobiography. Backman would platoon with Tim Teufel in 1986 and he'd have his best season, hitting .320/.376/.385.
At the top of the list, Joe Morgan is the easy call, even though he and Altuve both won MVP honors. Morgan's 1975 WAR of 11.0 is the highest of any player at any position here, a peak that only Rogers Hornsby has matched as a second baseman. ... Johnson himself was a solid two-way player for the Orioles. ... Knoblauch scored 117 runs in 1998 and 120 in 1999, but his throwing and defense had started becoming problematic. ... We list Zobrist here since he started 113 games in the regular season, but in the postseason he started in left field with Javier Baez at second. Baez would probably slot in the same position.
Standings update after three positions
The Big Red Machine rolls to the early lead while the Mets rank high behind their veteran stars Carter and Hernandez.
1975 Reds, 25 points
1986 Mets, 21
1970 Orioles, 19
2016 Cubs, 19
1998 Yankees, 18
1984 Tigers, 17
2020 Dodgers, 16
2017 Astros, 14
1995 Braves, 12
2018 Red Sox, 4
Third base
1. Kris Bryant, Cubs
2. Pete Rose, Reds
3. Chipper Jones, Braves
4. Alex Bregman, Astros
5. Brooks Robinson, Orioles
6. Justin Turner, Dodgers
7. Scott Brosius, Yankees
8. Ray Knight, Mets
9. Rafael Devers, Red Sox
10. Howard Johnson, Tigers
"Here comes Knight and the Mets win it!" Vin Scully's classic call made Knight a Mets legend, although he actually played only two-plus seasons in New York. The Mets acquired him from the Astros in 1984 and he struggled in 1985, hitting .218 while playing through a bum knee. The Mets tried to trade him in the offseason, but nobody wanted him. He started off hot in April of 1986, however, and retained his starting position, hitting .298/.351/.424, then hitting .391 in the World Series, including a big home run in Game 7 that helped him win World Series MVP.
This is one of the deeper positions, with two Hall of Famers, plus Rose, plus Bryant in his MVP season. Bryant leads in single-season WAR (7.3) and three-year WAR (18.3), so earns the top spot. Jones was a rookie and Bregman in his first full season. Both were instant stars, but would get even better moving forward. ... Brosius has the second-highest single-season WAR at 5.3, but it was a career season, so he moves down.
Shortstop
1. Derek Jeter, Yankees
2. Alan Trammell, Tigers
3. Carlos Correa, Astros
4. Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox
5. Dave Concepcion, Reds
6. Corey Seager, Dodgers
7. Mark Belanger, Orioles
8. Jeff Blauser, Braves
9. Addison Russell, Cubs
10. Rafael Santana, Mets
Shortstop was the Mets' one weakness, as Santana hit .218 with a .539 OPS. Johnson was so eager to get offense at the position that he not only started Howard Johnson there 22 times, but a big-boned rookie named Kevin Mitchell 20 times. While Johnson usually preferred offense over defense in his managerial career, Santana did start all 13 postseason games.
No East Coast bias here in placing Jeter at No. 1. He had one of his best seasons in 1998, hitting .324 with 19 home runs, 30 steals and a league-leading 127 runs, worth 7.5 WAR and finishing third in the MVP voting. Trammell and Correa were next best at 6.7 WAR and Jeter also leads those two in three-year WAR (20.5 to 16.7 to 15.8). ... Bogaerts and Seager are offense-first shortstops, while Concepcion and Belanger were the defensive wizards of the 1970s.
Left field
1. George Foster, Reds
2. Don Buford, Orioles
3. Andrew Benintendi, Red Sox
4. Mookie Wilson, Mets
5. Marwin Gonzalez, Astros
6. Ryan Klesko, Braves
7. AJ Pollock, Dodgers
8. Chad Curtis, Yankees
9. Larry Herndon, Tigers
10. Jorge Soler, Cubs
We cheated a bit here for the Mets in listing Wilson. An older, washed-up Foster started the most games in left for the Mets (62), with Wilson, Danny Heep and Mitchell all starting at least 26 games. With Foster struggling, Johnson started platooning Wilson and Mitchell, prompting Foster to call Johnson a racist (even though all three players were Black). The Mets decided to release Foster in early August and Wilson and Mitchell shared left-field duties in the postseason (with Mookie sliding over to center field when a left-hander started).
Oddly, almost all of these teams had problems fielding a full-time left fielder. The only players to start 100 games in left field were Buford (125), Benintendi (123) and Klesko (100). The Cubs had six different players start at least 11 games and four teams had nobody start even 40% of the games. ... Even the Reds began 1975 with Rose as the left fielder and Foster as a backup, but when the Reds received no production from third base, Sparky Anderson shifted Rose to third and started playing Foster, who would hit .300/.356/.518 (and then lead the NL in RBIs the next three seasons).
Standings update after six positions
The Reds have a commanding lead, but it's a tight battle for second place and beyond.
1975 Reds, 50 points
1970 Orioles, 38
1998 Yankees, 35
2017 Astros, 35
1986 Mets, 32
2016 Cubs, 32
2020 Dodgers, 30
1984 Tigers, 29
1995 Braves, 28
2018 Red Sox, 21
Center field
1. Chet Lemon, Tigers
2. Bernie Williams, Yankees
3. Paul Blair, Orioles
4. George Springer, Astros
5. Cody Bellinger, Dodgers
6. Lenny Dykstra, Mets
7. Marquis Grissom, Braves
8. Cesar Geronimo, Reds
9. Dexter Fowler, Cubs
10. Jackie Bradley Jr., Red Sox
Dykstra was in his first full season in 1986 and hit .295/.377/.445 with eight home runs and 31 steals in just under 500 plate appearances. He was a spark plug at the top of the lineup with his speed, energy and chaw of tobacco. He hit .300 in the postseason with three home runs, one of those a two-run walk-off home run in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series that gave the Mets a 6-5 victory. Many believe the downfall for the Mets came in June of 1989, when the club traded Dykstra (and Roger McDowell) to the Phillies for Juan Samuel, not only a lesser player than Dykstra, but somebody who hadn't played center field before.
Your baseball tip of the week: If you want to build an all-time great team, find yourself a Gold Glove center fielder. Five of these guys won Gold Gloves in the year in question -- Williams, Blair, Grissom, Geronimo and Bradley. Bellinger won the season before. Lemon never won a Gold Glove, but his defensive metrics are outstanding. So, Lemon over Williams? Lemon in 1984 hit .287/.357/.495, a 135 OPS+. From 1983 to 1985, his OPS+ was 124. Williams was the better hitter, with a 160 OPS+ in 1998 (although in just 128 games) and 152 from 1997 to 1999. The difference on defense is where Baseball-Reference rates Lemon at plus-20 runs in 1984 and plus-50 over three seasons and Williams at minus-14 runs in 1998 and minus-37 over three seasons. Lemon ends up leading in one-year WAR (6.2 to 5.3) and three-year WAR (16.4 to 16.2). It's close, and since Williams did win Gold Gloves all three seasons, it's possible the metrics are simply misevaluating (although he had a famously weak arm). If you want to put Williams No. 1, I won't argue. ... Given Bradley ranks No. 10, you can see the overall depth here is impressive.
Right field
1. Mookie Betts, Red Sox
2. Mookie Betts, Dodgers
3. Frank Robinson, Orioles
4. Darryl Strawberry, Mets
5. Kirk Gibson, Tigers
6. Paul O'Neill, Yankees
7. David Justice, Braves
8. Ken Griffey Sr., Reds
9. Josh Reddick, Astros
10. Jason Heyward, Cubs
It is right field, however, that ranks as the best overall position, in both single-season combined WAR and three-year WAR. Betts leads the way here with a 10.7-WAR season for the Red Sox in 2018 and a prorated 9.7 for the Dodgers in 2020. ... The Strawberry/Gibson/O'Neill/Justice group can really go in any order. O'Neill and Gibson had the best seasons, while Strawberry was the best over a three-year span. Strawberry hit .259/.358/.507 with 27 home runs in 1986, good for a 139 OPS+, but was over 160 in 1985 and 1987. He also stole 28 bases, a reminder that the Mets had some good speed in Strawberry, Dykstra, Wilson and Backman, ranking second in the NL that year in the percentage of extra bases taken on the basepaths. ... Since Reddick hit .314 with 82 RBIs, the only down year at the position came from Heyward, but even he was a Gold Glove winner.
Bench/designated hitter
1. J.D. Martinez/Steve Pearce/Brock Holt, Red Sox
2. Chris Taylor/Joc Pederson/Austin Barnes, Dodgers
3. Darrell Evans/Ruppert Jones/Barbaro Garbey, Tigers
4. Kevin Mitchell/Howard Johnson/Danny Heep, Mets
5. Jake Marisnick/Carlos Beltran/Evan Gattis, Astros
6. Merv Rettenmund/Terry Crowley/Andy Etchebarren, Orioles
7. Javier Baez/David Ross/Miguel Montero, Cubs
8. Darryl Strawberry/Tim Raines/Joe Girardi, Yankees
9. Dan Driessen/Merv Rettenmund/Doug Flynn, Reds
10. Charlie O'Brien/Rafael Belliard/Dwight Smith, Braves
The Mets had a quality bench and Johnson used it liberally. No position player appeared in 150 games and only Hernandez and Dykstra played in 140. Compare that to, say, the 1998 Yankees, who had four players appear in 150-plus games and six in 140. Johnson wrote that one of the most difficult aspects of managing the Mets in 1986 was keeping everyone happy since they all wanted to play more. Mitchell had a 124 OPS+ while starting at six different positions. Howard Johnson had a 118 OPS+ filling in at third base and shortstop. Heep had a .379 OBP and 123 OPS+. Tim Teufel platooned at second base and even backup catcher Ed Hearn had a 98 OPS+.
Still, I give the Red Sox the top spot as Martinez had a monster season at DH (1.031 OPS), Holt was a quality super-utility guy and Pearce came over in a trade deadline deal and ended up winning World Series MVP honors. ... With the exception of the Reds and Braves, all these benches were pretty solid (the Yankees just didn't have to use theirs much).
Standings update before pitching
The underrated Orioles catch the Big Machine, but this now looks wide open with seven teams bunched between 50 and 59 points.
1970 Orioles, 59 points
1975 Reds, 58
2020 Dodgers, 54
1984 Tigers, 53
1998 Yankees, 52
1986 Mets, 51
2017 Astros, 50
2018 Red Sox, 42
2016 Cubs, 39
1995 Braves, 37
No. 1 starter
1. Greg Maddux, Braves
2. Justin Verlander, Astros
3. Chris Sale, Red Sox
4. Jim Palmer, Orioles
5. Dwight Gooden, Mets
6. Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
7. Jon Lester, Cubs
8. David Wells, Yankees
9. Jack Morris, Tigers
10. Don Gullett, Reds
Some big names here. Heck, the No. 9 guy is a Hall of Famer. Gullett, the No. 10 guy, went 15-4 with a 2.42 ERA, and rates low only because he pitched a relatively modest 159.2 innings. ... Maddux is the clear No. 1 as this was peak Maddux, the fourth of his four straight Cy Young seasons, when he went 19-2 with a 1.63 ERA in the heart of steroids era. ... Verlander, Sale and Palmer are all in tight group, between 6.4 and 6.9 WAR in the season in question (Verlander didn't join the Astros until that Aug. 31 trade, but we're counting his entire season here).
Gooden is tough to rate. He went 17-6 with a 2.84 ERA (4.5 WAR, 126 ERA+), pitched 250 innings and had two great starts in the NLCS (including a 10-inning no-decision). His three-year window includes his historic 1985 season, so his three-season WAR ends up third highest behind Maddux and Verlander. It seems reasonable to move him down at least a couple of spots given he wasn't as dominant in 1986 -- and maybe even behind Kershaw (4.6 prorated WAR, 200 ERA+), Lester (5.6 WAR, 171 ERA+) and Wells (4.8 WAR, 127 ERA+).
No. 2 starter
1. Tom Glavine, Braves
2. Jake Arrieta, Cubs
3. Andy Pettitte, Yankees
4. Bob Ojeda, Mets
5. Mike Cuellar, Orioles
6. Walker Buehler, Dodgers
7. David Price, Red Sox
8. Dallas Keuchel, Astros
9. Dan Petry, Tigers
10. Gary Nolan, Reds
Ojeda was another of Cashen's great trades, coming over from the Red Sox prior to the 1986 season for the ill-fated Calvin Schiraldi and others. He had his career season, going 18-5 with a 2.57, a 4.7-WAR season that ranks second only to Glavine's 5.4. Ojeda had an excellent postseason as well, going 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA in his four starts.
It's an impressive group of No. 2 starters, including one Hall of Famer in Glavine, four other Cy Young winners in Arrieta, Cuellar, Price and Keuchel, plus a 256-game winner in Pettitte. Overall, it's pretty close in value and you could fudge here and there on the rankings. Arrieta's great run was from mid-2015 through mid-2016, but he still went 18-8, 3.10. A No. 9 ranking feels like a bit of a disservice to Petry, who went 18-8, 3.24, a lower ERA than Morris had that season.
No. 3 starter
1. John Smoltz, Braves
2. David Cone, Yankees
3. Kyle Hendricks, Cubs
4. Ron Darling, Mets
5. Dave McNally, Orioles
6. Charlie Morton, Astros
7. Julio Urias, Dodgers
8. Nathan Eovaldi, Red Sox
9. Jack Billingham, Reds
10. Milt Wilcox, Tigers
Darling had been a touted prospect coming out of Yale when the Rangers drafted him ninth overall in 1981. For some reason, they traded him and Walt Terrell to the Mets for Lee Mazzilli, another Cashen stroke of genius (Terrell would later bring in Howard Johnson). Darling had an excellent two-year run in 1985-86, with two sub-3.00 ERAs seasons, and his 4.5-WAR season in 1986 ranks him third behind Hendricks (5.4) and Smoltz (4.6). He wasn't as good after 1986, but his peak warrants a high placement here.
The Braves lock up another top spot behind Smoltz, who went 12-7 with a 3.18 ERA in 1995 and then won the Cy Young Award the following season. The Reds and Tigers again come at the bottom, although it should be noted that Billingham was an excellent postseason pitcher, with a 1.93 ERA in his playoff career, including 0.33 in 25.1 innings in the World Series.
No. 4 starter
1. Orlando Hernandez, Yankees
2. John Lackey, Cubs
3. Sid Fernandez, Mets
4. Rick Porcello, Red Sox
5. Lance McCullers Jr., Astros
6. Tony Gonsolin, Dodgers
7. Fred Norman, Reds
8. Steve Avery, Braves
9. Juan Berenguer, Tigers
10. Tom Phoebus, Orioles
The Mets once again rank high, as Fernandez went 16-6 with a 3.52 ERA and was the fourth Mets starter to top 200 innings. He was the unsung hero of Game 7 against the Red Sox, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings in relief of Darling. I can't think of any starter like him in today's game. He was a portly southpaw with a unique delivery where he dipped down with his upper body and delivered the pitch from a low slot, not quite sidearm, but below three-quarters. He didn't throw hard, but batters just couldn't pick up the ball. Even now, his career .209 batting average allowed ranks fourth lowest since 1920 among pitchers with at least 1,500 career innings -- behind three guys named Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax and Clayton Kershaw. He was another Cashen steal, acquired from the Dodgers as a minor leaguer for two guys who never helped the Dodgers.
The great El Duque tops the list, with the best single-season WAR, even though he didn't debut that season until early June, and best three-year WAR (Gonsolin would have a higher prorated single-season WAR after posting a 2.31 ERA for the Dodgers). Avery's best seasons came in 1991-93, so he rates low here.
Relief ace
1. Mariano Rivera, Yankees
2. Willie Hernandez, Tigers
3. Aroldis Chapman, Cubs
4. Craig Kimbrel, Red Sox
5. Jesse Orosco, Mets
6. Mark Wohlers, Braves
7. Rawly Eastwick, Reds
8. Pete Richert, Orioles
9. Kenley Jansen, Dodgers
10. Ken Giles, Astros
We're rating just the closers here, not entire bullpens, but all these teams had good-to-excellent bullpens, with the exception of the Astros, who were mediocre. The Tigers, Yankees and Dodgers led their leagues in bullpen ERA while the Reds and Mets ranked second. Bullpen usage in the 1980s was much different from now and Johnson rode a one-two punch in Orosco and McDowell. McDowell, a sidearmer with a rubber arm, handled the heavier workload. He pitched in 75 games and threw 128 innings, going 14-9 with a 3.02 ERA and 22 saves. Orosco was the lefty, going 8-6 with a 2.33 ERA and 21 saves over 81 innings. Those two alone accounted for more than half the Mets' relief innings. McDowell tossed five scoreless innings in Game 6 of the NLCS, one of the great forgotten postseason relief performances of all time, while Orosco won three games in the NLCS and saved two more in the World Series.
There is an argument for Hernandez over Rivera, given Hernandez's 1984 is one of the best seasons ever for a reliever: 9-3, 1.92 ERA, 80 appearances, 140.1 innings, 32 saves in 33 chances. He won the Cy Young and MVP awards. Still, Mariano is Mariano and his three-year WAR is easily the best here. Interestingly, three of the closers struggled in the postseason and ended up on the bench when their teams closed out the World Series (Kimbrel, Jansen and Giles).
Final standings
1998 Yankees, 92 points
1986 Mets, 85
1970 Orioles 82
2016 Cubs, 77
1995 Braves, 75
2020 Dodgers, 75
2017 Astros, 74
2018 Red Sox, 71
1975 Reds, 70
1984 Tigers, 69
The 1998 Yankees surge to the top -- no surprise, perhaps, since many do consider that 114-win juggernaut the greatest team of all time. This analysis just confirms that belief. The Reds collapse due to their weak starting rotation in comparison to the other teams. I'm a little surprised the Mets finished second, as I would have predicted a middle-of-the-pack finish for them. They did have a deep rotation, however, with four quality starters (and fifth starter Rick Aguilera was pretty good as well) and this method did seem to favor the teams with strong rotations. The Braves and Astros would have fared a little better if one of their slightly stronger teams had won it all (the 1998 Braves won 106 games and the 2019 Astros, with Gerrit Cole, won 107). As for the Mets, Darryl Strawberry played on both the Mets and Yankees and has always contended the '86 Mets were the better team.
"There's no question. You cannot beat the '86 Mets," Strawberry said on ESPN New York Radio's "The Michael Kay Show" in 2011. "The Yankees teams I played on were great teams with great personalities, but they were good guys. The '86 Mets would've been drilling those guys; I just know how our pitching staff was: Hit this guy, hit that guy. And those were the kind of guys we were. We were mad, we wanted them to get outside themselves. That's the kind of group we had that year, so the '86 Mets were a very difficult team to play against."
The Mets were fortunate to win the World Series, escaping Game 6 of the NLCS with a ninth-inning rally and 16-inning victory (and thus avoiding the seemingly unbeatable Mike Scott in Game 7) and then forcing Game 7 in the World Series with the improbable rally and ground ball through Bill Buckner's legs. On the other hand, the Yankees had a little good fortune as well, avoiding that powerhouse Braves team in the World Series after the Padres upset them in the NLCS. I'll stick with the '98 Yankees as the best team of the divisional era ... but understand fans of all these teams might disagree.