Mets Madness Recap: 1988 Mets Beat 2016 Mets

In the first round of our Mets Madness tournament, the 1988 New York Mets knocked off the 2016 New York Mets in a blowout series, 4-1. The 1988 team outscored the 2016 by a whopping 35-11 ratio, thanks to nine home runs in the series.

Six different players homered for the 1988 squad, with Keith Hernandez, Mookie Wilson, and Kevin McReynolds all hitting two a piece. Lefty Bob Ojeda pitched 17 2/3 innings, posting a 2.55 ERA and racking up 18 strikeouts compared to only two walks for the 1988 team.

Game 1

The 1988 team led most of the way thanks to an early home run by Kevin McReynolds off Noah Syndergaard. Syndergaard lasted only 1 2/3 innings and allowed four runs. Bobby Ojeda went 8 2/3 innings, running into a little ninth inning trouble as Jay Bruce hit a two-run homer to make it 6-4 with two outs. Yoenis Céspedes came up in the bottom of the ninth with the score 6-4 and the bases loaded, but manager Mets Daddy turned to Randy Myers to get the final out, defeating manager Mike Mayer and the 2016 Mets, 6-4 in Game 1.

Keith Hernandez chipped in three hits and two RBIs for the 1988 team, the start of a very good series for the first baseman.

Game 2

Down 1-0 in the series, the 2016 Mets turned to Jacob deGrom, and things did not go well. The right-hander gave up five runs in 4 2/3 innings, including home runs to Darryl Strawberry and McReynolds. Mookie Wilson and Howard Johnson homered later in the game off Erik Goeddel in the 11-4 win for the 1988 team.

David Cone struck out 10 in 7 2/3 innings, though he did allow four runs.

Céspedes was the lone bright spot for the 2016 Mets, with three hits, including a home run.

Game 3

Game 3 was more of the same for both teams, with the 1988 team winning 13-2 to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series. Tim Teufel and Keith Hernandez homered, with Keith picking up four hits in the game. Straw had a monster game as well, with four hits, four runs, a walk, and a stolen base.

On the pitching side, it was all about Doc Gooden. The right-hander struck out seven in eight scoreless innings. The starter for the 2016 team struggled yet again; Steven Matz allowed six runs in 3 1/3 innings.

Wilmer Flores knocked in both runs for the 2016 Mets with his first home run of the series.

Game 4

Too little, too late? Well, at least the 2016 squad showed up for one game, thanks in large part to the Dark Knight. Matt Harvey gave up only one run on two hits in six innings of work. The 2016 Mets took an early lead on a Neil Walker solo homer, and Céspedes stretched the lead to 4-1 with a bases-clearing double.

Sid Fernandez kept the 1988 team in the game with eight solid innings.

The 1988 Mets wouldn’t go away quietly, though, as Mookie Wilson hit a two-run home run to make it a 4-3 game with no outs in the ninth. Enter Addison Reed. The right-hander retired the next three batters, including two strikeouts, to end the game and give the 2016 Mets some hope.

Game 5

Game 5 was the story of Keith Hernandez and Bobby Ojeda. Hernandez gave the 1988 Mets an early 2-0 lead with a two-run homer in the second inning. Céspedes would hit a solo homer in the fourth before the bats went quiet for both teams.

The 2016 team got a solid start from Thor (5 IP, 2 ER) and three scoreless innings from Bartolo Colón, but the offense couldn’t solve Ojeda. The lefty pitched a complete game on 114 pitches with nine strikeouts as the 1988 Mets won 2-1 to clinch the series.

Flores has three hits on the losing side, and Straw chipped in two for the winners.

MVP

OOTP had a tough choice here between Ojeda and Hernandez, but they ultimately went with the sweet mustache of the lefty-hitting first baseman. Hernandez hit .450/.467/.850 with two home runs and five RBIs in the series. Catcher Mackey Sasser went 7-for-15 with six RBIs in the series as an unsung hero.

Ojeda finished with a 2.55 ERA over 17 2/3 innings in his two starts, including a complete game in the clincher.

On the losing side, Céspedes was impressive with a .409/.409/.818 slash line and three home runs for the 2016 team. Travis d’Arnaud and Wilmer Flores were tied for second on the team with seven hits a piece in the series. Big Sexy tossed five innings of scoreless ball out of the pen and might have made manager Mike Mayer second-guess not getting the right-hander a start.

On Deck

The 1988 Mets team will move on to face the World Champion 1969 Mets in a battle of two teams that won exactly 100 regular season games. Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, and Gary Gentry will look to cool down the bats of Keith Hernandez, Darryl Strawberry, and Howard Johnson. The 1988 rotation of Doc Gooden, Bobby Ojeda, Sid Fernandez, and David Cone is pretty good in its own right.

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