1986 New York Mets

1986 New York Mets / Franchise: New York Mets / BR Team Page

Record: 108-54, Finished 1st in NL Eastern Division (1986 NL)

Clinched Division: September 17, 1986, vs. Chicago Cubs

World Series Champs

Managed by Davey Johnson

Coaches: Bud Harrelson, Vern Hoscheit, Greg Pavlick, Bill Robinson and Mel Stottlemyre

Ballpark: Shea Stadium

Season highlights

The 1986 New York Mets were built to win. After their 98-win season in 1985, the pressure was on. The team was built upon Dwight Gooden, the National League's best pitcher, and Darryl Strawberry, arguably the National League's most feared home run hitter. Bob Ojeda and Tim Teufel were picked up in trades in the off-season from the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins, respectively. In an interesting footnote, Teufel was traded in part for Billy Beane, the future Moneyball General Manager of the Oakland A's.

The Mets ran away with the NL Eastern Division, never looking back after April 20th. They went on to win the National League Championship Series and the World Series.

Awards and Honors

• All-Stars: Gary Carter, Sid Fernandez, Dwight Gooden, Keith Hernandez and Darryl Strawberry
• NL Comeback Player of the Year: Ray Knight
• NL Gold Glove: Keith Hernandez (1B)
• NL Silver Slugger Award: Gary Carter (C)

Further Reading

• 2022 New York Mets Media Guide, pg. 379
• Howard Burman: Season of Ghosts: The '86 Mets and the Red Sox, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2013. ISBN 978-0-7864-7042-6
• Leslie Heaphy and Bill Nowlin, eds.: The 1986 New York Mets: There Was More Than Game 6, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2016. ISBN 978-1-943816-13-2
• Matt Kelly: "The wildest on-field moments for '86 Mets: ESPN doc 'Once Upon a Time in Queens' premieres Tuesday (8 p.m. ET)", mlb.com, September 14, 2021. [1]
• Jeff Pearlman: The Bad Guys Won: A Season of Brawling, Boozing, Bimbo Chasing, and Championship Baseball with Straw, Doc, Mookie, Nails, the Kid, and the Rest of the 1986 Mets, the Rowdiest Team Ever to Put on a New York Uniform - and Maybe the Best, Harper Collins, New York, NY, 2004. ISBN 0060507330
• Eric Sherman: Kings of Queens: Life Beyond Baseball with '86 Mets, Berkley Publishing Group, Penguin Books, New York, NY, 2016. ISBN 978-0-425-28197-0
• Mookie Wilson and Eric Sherman: Mookie: Life, Baseball, and the '86 Mets, Berkley Publishing Group, Penguin Books, New York, NY, 2014. ISBN 978-0425271322
• Saul Wisnia: "September 4, 1986: New York Mets 7, Boston Red Sox 6, at Fenway Park - Prelude to a classic (Charity game for Jimmy Fund of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute)", in Bill Nowlin and Leslie Heaphy, ed.: The 1986 Boston Red Sox: There Was More Than Game 6, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2016. pp. 332-335. ISBN 978-1-943816-19-4

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