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Remembering Mets History (1985) Gary Carter Hits Walk Off HR in a Triumphant Mets Debut in Home Opener

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Thursday April 9th, 1985: The New York Mets had just come off one of their best seasons in years. 1984 was their first winning season since 1976. Their 90 wins were the most since the 1969 Championship season, when they won 100 games.   There was a lot to be excited about coming into the new season. The Mets had a lot of young talented players, mixed in with some solid veterans. They had great starting pitching & a deep bullpen.  The Mets had the games most exciting pitcher in 19-year-old Dwight Gooden, who's blazing fastball burned rookie strike out records all across the league the previous year.  A young Ron Darling was the number two man behind Gooden & the bullpen that featured Jesse Orosco & Roger McDowell who would both save 17 games each. The line up had power; speed & good bench players ready to fill in. T he lineup was highlighted by young slugger Darryl Strawberry who had won the Rookie of the Year Award two seasons ear...
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Gary Carter: Hall of Fame Catcher (The Mets Years Part Two: 1987 - 1989)

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  After the Championship:  In 1987 Gary Carter was 33 years old, age as well as a dozen years in the major leagues behind the plate began catching up to him. This would be his last productive season. His average fell to .235 on the season & he wasn’t leading the team in power numbers anymore. Carter did hit 20 HRs (4th on the club) with 18 doubles while driving in 83 runs (5th best on the club). He was behind the plate for 135 games, posting a .991 fielding % (4th best in the league) with 874 put outs (2nd in the league) throwing out 27% of base runners.  On Opening Day, he began the year with two hits, in the Mets 3-2 win over the Pirates. On April 12th, he hit his first HR of the season, a two-run shot off the Braves Randy O'Neal in the Mets loss. Two days later he homered in the Mets 4-1 win at Philadelphia, starting a stretch where he drove in runs in three straight games. He would do that twice in the month. Four RBI Game: On April 20th, Carter had the...
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Remembering Mets History (1986) The Start of the Mets Championship Season

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Tuesday April 8th, 1986:  In 1985 the Mets won 98 games finishing three games behind the St. Louis Cardinals, getting eliminated on the final days of the season. After the disappointment of not making the playoffs the Mets & their fans went into 1986 looking to win it all. With all the Mets talent, the feeling was nothing else but a championship would be acceptable. In the off season, the Mets had traded for starting pitcher Bobby Ojeda & infielder Tim Teufel. Ojeda would go on to lead the talented staff in victories going 185 with a 2.57 ERA.  Tim Teufel would platoon with Wally Backman at second base. He would bat .247 with 4 HRs & 1 RBIs in 93 games. Early in Spring Training, Mookie Wilson was struck in the right eye by a ball thrown by Rafael Santana during a rundown drill. Mookie  would miss the start of the season, opening the door of opportunity for Lenny Dykstra who would prove to be a big part of the Mets outfield. Lenny would ba...
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