Remembering Mets History (1988) Mets Clinch NL East Title
The Mets had been in first place all season, coming on strong down the stretch, winning seven in a row, with 12 wins in their last 13 games. Dating back to August 28th, Mets had won 17 of their last 22 games.
45,274 fans came out to Shea Stadium, to see the Mets clinch their second NL Eastern Title in three years. The Shea Faithful, cheered loudly from the first pitch onward through the night.
Security levels Heightened: NYPD had 80 mounted policemen on horses with 800 plus Police officers in total, on hand to make sure no one got onto the field. Shea was not about to repeat the 1986 clinching celebration, where the fans stormed the field & ripped up the field.
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Ron Darling (15-9) got the start tonight & found a little extra in his arm determined to finish the game no matter what.
45,274 fans came out to Shea Stadium, to see the Mets clinch their second NL Eastern Title in three years. The Shea Faithful, cheered loudly from the first pitch onward through the night.
Security levels Heightened: NYPD had 80 mounted policemen on horses with 800 plus Police officers in total, on hand to make sure no one got onto the field. Shea was not about to repeat the 1986 clinching celebration, where the fans stormed the field & ripped up the field.
The public address announcer welcomed the Police presence in the 8th inning as the crowd greeted them with boos. The fans of course wanted to repeat with an '86 type like celebration.
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Ron Darling (15-9) got the start tonight & found a little extra in his arm determined to finish the game no matter what. Darling shut out the Phils with one hit over the first three innings.
In the top of the 4th, he hit Phil Bradley with a pitch to start the inning. He then walked Ron Jones. Bradley advanced on a force play at second base. Von Hayes then lined a shot to center field that was caught by Mookie Wilson but allowed Bradley to score the game's first run.
In the home 5th, down 1-0, Kevin Elster led off with a double. Mookie followed with a one out single, his first of the night advancing Elster to third base. Greg Jeffries then grounded out to third, allowing Kevin Elster to score tying the game 1-1.
In the home 6th inning, Daryl Strawberry singled & reached third on a Kevin McReynolds single. Straw then scored when Don Carman threw a wild pitch, giving the Mets a 2-1 lead.
In the home 6th inning, Daryl Strawberry singled & reached third on a Kevin McReynolds single. Straw then scored when Don Carman threw a wild pitch, giving the Mets a 2-1 lead.
In the bottom of the 7th, Mookie Wilson collected his third hit of the night. Mookie would have nine multi-hit games with three or more hits on the year. Mookie was batting over .300 on the year as well.
Mookie advanced to second on Keith Hernandez's ground out. Kevin McReynolds then reached on an infield single as the speedy Mookie Wilson scored for the 3-1 Mets lead.
In the top of the 9th inning, Darling struck out Von Hayes, then got Juan Samuel to ground out to the mound.
Darling then struck out Lance Parrish to end the game. Darling was met on the mound by catcher Gary Carter in celebration.
The rest of the team joined them with no pressure from the fans, as the mounted police stopped anyone from storming the field. The Mets celebration moved on to the clubhouse.
Darling went the distance allowing only one run, on six hits, walking one & striking out four. It
was his 16th win of the year; he would end up third on the 1988 team with 17 wins & a 3.25 ERA.
was his 16th win of the year; he would end up third on the 1988 team with 17 wins & a 3.25 ERA.
Bobby O Trivia: The night before, the Mets received bad news when pitcher; Bobby Ojeda injured himself at home trimming his hedges.
Ojeda had severed his left index finger and had to undergo nearly five hours of surgery to repair it. He was lost for the rest of the year & more importantly, the post season.
Although the staff had Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling & David Cone, Bobby Ojeda's absence was certainly missed as the Mets lost the NLCS to the Los Angeles Dodgers.