Do You Believe In Curses?

When the 1984 Major League Baseball season began the New York Mets were coming off of seven straight losing seasons. The 1983 season showed more promise than any of the previous six seasons with the arrival of Darryl Strawberry (OF) and the acquisition of Keith Hernandez (1B). The 1984 season was still a question mark but with the likes of Dwight Gooden (RHP), Ron Darling (RHP), Sid Fernandez (LHP), and Wally Backman (2B) ready to contribute at the big league level and with Hernandez, Strawberry, Mookie Wilson (OF), and Jesse Orosco (LHP) things were beginning to look much brighter for the Mets. The Mets would finish the 1984 season with a 90-72 record and would start moving in the right direction. Gooden was tremendous and Darling and Fernandez started to come into their own as bonafide big league pitchers.

Coming off of a much improved 1984 season the anticipation and expectations for the 1985 season was growing especially when the Mets acquired Gary Carter (C) and also had Roger McDowell (RHP) ready to help at the big league level with Lenny Dyskstra (OF) not far behind. The Mets would finish 98-64 and three games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in 1985. So with the success of the 1984-1985 seasons big things were expected from the Mets in 1986. With a few tweaks here and there and the Mets would be a world championship contending caliber team.

The Mets would acquire Bobby Ojeda (LHP) to fill out their already strong pitching rotation and the Mets had another youngster ready to contribute in Kevin Mitchell (INF/OF). The roster was set and everyone knew the Mets were the team to beat right from the first pitch of the 1986 season. They would dominate the regular season and finish with a 108-54 record and 21.5 games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Mets would dispatch the Houston Astros in the League Championship Series (LCS) in six games. Many pundits and fans alike regard this as the greatest LCS ever played. The Mets would now be facing the Boston Red Sox in the Fall Classic.

The Red Sox were coming to Shea Stadium after a thrilling LCS of their own as they defeated the California Angels in seven games to advance to the 1986 World Series. They would surprisingly jump out to a two games to none lead as they swept the Mets at Shea Stadium in the first two games of the series. The Mets would return the favor in the first two games at Fenway Park to tie the series at two games a piece. The Red Sox would win Game 5 putting them one win away from being world champions for the first time since 1918. The Red Sox would have to travel back to New York for Games 6 and 7.

On that fateful day of October 25, 1986 the Red Sox and the Mets would play “Game 6” of the 1986 World Series. The Mets would be facing the eventual American League MVP and Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens (RHP). The Mets would battle back from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to tie the game and eventually send it to extra innings. The Red Sox would get a leadoff home run from Dave Henderson (OF) in the tenth inning and would tack on another run to put them up 5-3 heading into the bottom half of the inning. Calvin Schiraldi (RHP) was on the mound to start the bottom half of the tenth inning for the Red Sox…

…Backman and Hernandez would make two quick outs on flyballs to left field and center field respectively. Carter would single to left. Mitchell singled to center. Carter to second. Mitchell to first. Ray Knight (3B) singled to center. Carter scored. Red Sox 5 Mets 4. Mitchell to third. Knight to first. Bob Stanley (RHP) relieved Schiraldi. Wilson bats. Stanley throws wild pitch (miracle #1). Mitchell scores. Red Sox 5 Mets 5. Knight to second. Wilson reaches on E-3 (miracle #2). Knight scores. Mets 6 Red Sox 5. Game Over.

The Mets would win Game 7 …8-5… to finish off the Red Sox and win the 1986 World Series.

The bad karma and trouble would begin immediately in 1987 when Gooden tested positive for cocaine during spring training. He entered a rehabilitation center on April 1, 1987 to avoid being suspended and did not make his first start of the season until June 5, 1987. The Mets would finish three games behind the St. Louis Cardinals and Gooden’s two month absence may have been the difference.

Also in 1987 in a game on September 11 against the Cardinals, who the Mets were just 1.5 games behind in the division, at Shea Stadium the Mets entered the ninth inning with a 4-1 lead. McDowell would eventually give up a game-tying two run home run off the bat of Terry Pendleton (3B) to send the game to extra innings. The Mets would lose 6-4 and they would never recover to challenge the Cardinals for the NL East title.

In 1988 the Mets again dominated the regular season and won the NL East with a 100-60 record, 15 games ahead of the second place Pittsburgh Pirates. The Mets would then take on the Los Angeles Dodgers who they had beaten 10 out of 11 times during the season. The Mets would take a two games to one lead and be on the verge of taking a commanding three games to one advantage when they had a 4-2 lead in the ninth inning and Gooden vying for a complete game victory. John Shelby (OF) led off with a walk and Mike Scioscia (C) hit a game tying, series changing, two run home run. The Mets would lose the series in 7 games. This proved to be the deathblow to a team that should have been a dynasty. The team was prepared to make many changes and in essence their run with this group of players was over.

In 1989 the Mets traded fan favorites Dykstra and McDowell to the Phillies for Juan Samuel (2B/OF). Dykstra would lead the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies to the NL Pennant. Samuel would do nothing for the Mets. Immediately following the 1989 season the Mets released Carter and Hernandez left as a free-agent when he signed with the Cleveland Indians on December 7, 1989.

On November 5, 1990 Strawberry was granted free-agency and on November 8, 1990 he would sign a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers and he would never be anything close to the player he once was for the Mets.

In the early 1990s the Mets chose to put together a group of happy campers such as Bobby Bonilla (3B/OF), Vince Coleman (OF), and Eddie Murray (1B). The 1992 team is commonly referred to as “the worst team money could buy.”

The middle 1990s brought us “Generation K,” the young pitching trio of Jason Isringhausen (RHP), Bill Pulsipher (LHP), and Paul Wilson (RHP). The highly touted and regarded trio would turn out to be a huge disappointment and sooner rather than later found themselves in different organizations. Isringhausen would become a quality closer for the Oakland Athletics and then the St. Louis Cardinals.

In 1998 the Mets acquired Mike Piazza (C) which would immediately bring respect back to the orgainzation and in 1999 the Mets would win the Wild Card and return to the postseason for the first time since 1988. They would defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first round of the playoffs three games to one. The Mets then faced off against their nemesis the Atlanta Braves and Chipper Jones (3B/OF) in the LCS. The Mets would fall behind in the series three games to zero but would fight and claw to get to a Game 6. In Game 6 Kenny Rogers (LHP) walked in the winning run in the 11th inning to end the Mets World Series dreams.

In 2000 the Mets reached the postseason again via the Wild Card and defeated the San Francisco Giants in the Division Series and then the St. Louis Cardinals in the LCS to reach the World Series for the first time since 1986 and setup a Subway Series with the New York Yankees only to have a gut-wrenching loss in Game 1 in which Timo Perez (OF) made a baserunning blunder and Mets’ closer Armando Benitez (RHP) blew the game. The Mets would never recover as they would lose the series in five games and watch the Yankees celebrate on the field at Shea Stadium.

In 2001 the Mets would make a late run to try and make the postseason but Benitez would have none of that as he blew crucial games down the stretch.

From 2002-2004 the Mets brought the likes of Roberto Alomar (2B), Mo Vaughn (1B), Tom Glavine (LHP), and others in and watched all of them fail miserably.

In 2005 the Mets signed free-agents Carlos Beltran (OF) and Pedro Martinez (RHP) to again bring respect back to the organization.

In 2006 the Mets reached the postseason but just prior to the beginning of the playoffs the Mets learned that Orlando Hernandez (RHP) and Martinez would be unavailable which greatly reduced their chances. The Mets still defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Division Series to advance to the LCS but lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games as Beltran took a knee-buckling curveball for strike three with the bases loaded to end the game and the season.

In 2007 the Mets had a 7 game lead with 17 games to play in September. The Mets played horrible uninspired baseball and manager Willie Randolph was incapable of rallying his team as they blew the 7 game lead and had the worst collapse in baseball history.

In August of 2008 the Mets learned that their closer Billy Wagner (LHP) was lost for the season. With 17 games left the Mets had a 3.5 game lead but were not able to overcome their inability to get a big hit or the inability for anyone in their bullpen to get anyone out as they, for the second straight year, failed to win the divison after having a comfortable lead in the middle of September.

In 2009 the Mets faced a multitude of issues such as the realization of the foolish signing Oliver Perez (LHP) but were ultimately overcome by a freakish rash of injuries to the stars and backups to the backups alike and poor basic fundamental play in what proved to be a wasted season in the inaugural year of their new ballpark.

In 2010 the Mets had more of the same compared to the 2009 season with more injuries and the addition of free-agent pickup Jason Bay’s (OF) lackluster performance and season ending concussion, Francisco Rodriguez’s (RHP) anger-management issues off the field, GM Omar Minaya being fired, manager Jerry Manuel let go, and persistent rumors abound of the Mets financial struggles due to the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme.

In 2011 the Mets dealt with constant off the field issues concerning Madoff and the club’s financial state, the financial downfall of releasing Luis Castillo (2B) and O. Perez, and on the field, yet again, major injuries to key players as well as another horrendous season from Bay in finishing in 4th place in the NL East with a sub-.500 record for the third consecutive season.

Since that fateful moment in 1986 that helped the Mets win their 2nd World Series title the Mets have had to endure the poor decision making by Gooden off the field, Pendleton’s HR, Scioscia’s HR, some bad decision making by the front office, the worst team money could buy, Generation K, Rogers, T. Perez, Benitez, Alomar, Vaughn, Glavine, Hernandez, Martinez, an historic collapse, Randolph, Wagner, the 2008 bullpen, an “injured” 2009 season in more ways than one, O. Perez, Bay, Rodriguez, Minaya, Manuel, Castillo and Ownership/Madoff.

All just tough luck and bad play? Maybe, but maybe there is something else at work here. Maybe it is karma. Did Wilson set off a string of bad fortune at the expense of a positive outcome to his atbat in 1986 in which not one but two miracles took place? Are the Mets still paying their dues for those miracles? Are the Mets cursed like the fans of the Red Sox used to think they were and the fans of the Cubs still do? How many years 25, 50…75? How about 86 years, that would be fitting, right? Baseball Gods, I deplore you to show some pity.