Mets Madness Recap: 1988 Upsets 1969 in Six Games

In an unprecedented move, the GM of the 1988 Mets, Frank Cashen, dismissed the team’s manager right before playing the 1969 Mets and appointed Dilip to take over the team. Dilip decided to go unconventional when setting the Mets lineup. Keith Hernandez would lead off, Darryl Strawberry hit second, Kevin McReynolds went third, Howard Johnson fourth, and Gregg Jefferies fifth. Kevin Elster took a seat on the bench in order to get both Johnson’s and Jefferies’ bat on the bench. Dave Magadan served as DH, while Wally Backman, Lenny Dykstra, and Gary Carter rounded out the lineup.

Armed with a World Champion pitching staff, Mike Lloyd still had control of his 1969 Mets. Fresh off beating the 1997 Mets, Mike was tasked with beating arguably the best Mets team to never win a World Series.

Game 1

Tom Seaver vs David Cone. Round 1 went to David Cone. Cone went seven innings, allowed only one run, and struck out 12 batters. Seaver gave up a pair of homers to Howard Johnson and also gave up a big two-run double to Keith Hernandez. The ’69 Mets made a run late in the eighth, but Roger McDowell ended Game 1 with a win for the ’88 squad.

1988: 8, 1969: 4

Game 2

Dwight Gooden vs Gary Gentry. Mike went bold and used Gentry instead of Jerry Koosman, and the move paid off. Gentry went 8 1/3 scoreless innings in a 1-0 win for the ’69 club. Gooden gave up an RBI single to Art Shamsky in the sixth, and that was all Gentry needed. Tug McGraw got the final two outs for the ’69 Mets, and Mike, emboldened by his decisions to start Gentry over Koosman, threw out a “Ya Gotta Believe.” The series was tied 1-1.

1969: 1, 1988: 0

Game 3

Koosman vs Bobby Ojeda. Ojeda bent but never broke, giving up one run over six innings. Koosman, on the other hand, gave up six, including a homer to Howard Johnson and one to Kevin McReynolds. McReynolds added another later in the game to make it 10-1. The 1988 Mets took a 2-1 series lead.

1988: 10, 1969: 1

Game 4

Nolan Ryan vs Sid Fernandez. A bad inning by Fernandez, and that was all Ryan needed. Sid gave up four in the third, thanks in part to a two-run double by Bobby Pfeil. He managed to pull together six innings but also had six walks along the way. Nolan Ryan had 6 2/3 innings, surrendering just one-run and nine strikeouts. Despite that, it was a 4-2 game, and Mike, taking no chances and staring at a 4-2 deficit, brought Tug in for a five-out save. With the young arms being his savior, Mike Lloyd told reporters after the game that the ’69 Mets would take it to 7.

The series was tied again, this time at 2-2.

1969: 4, 1988: 2

Game 5

Cone vs Seaver, 2.0. Cone wins again. Cone put up another 6 1/3 scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts. Series total of 13 1/3 innings, one run, and 23 strikeouts. Dilip tells reporters that he would have been ready for a Game 7. Seaver surrendered just one on a wild pitch, but a late two-run double by Lenny Dykstra put the game out of hand. Cone gave way to Ron Darling, who took the role of relief ace this series, put up 1 2/3 scoreless innings himself, and then gave way to Randy Myers for a 3-2 series lead.

1988: 3, 1969: 0

Game 6

Gooden vs Gentry again. Gooden was bending but not breaking, but he finally broke by giving up an RBI triple to Cleon Jones. Despite it being a 1-0 game, Gentry’s 14 2/3 innings-scoreless streak put a dent in the team morale. Dilip stuck with Doc with the intent of saving everyone for a Game 7. Suddenly, though, Kevin McReynolds led off the seventh with a homer, and it was a tied game. Ron Darling got up and Mike rushed to get Nolan Ryan up. Ryan and Gentry managed to get through the seventh but with Ryan on fumes, Mike went to Tug McGraw after Ryan walked Mookie Wilson to start the eighth. McGraw got Keith and Straw, but McReynolds decided then to make himself the MVP of the series (at least tying himself with Cone). McReynolds hit his second homer in as many innings to give the ’88 Mets a 3-1 lead.

After pitching a scoreless seventh, Ron Darling pitched a scoreless eighth, and it went to the ninth, where Mike had to bring in Ron Taylor. Taylor got some outs but met Gary Carter with a man-on and two-outs. Carter said the series was is, though, and homered off Taylor for a 5-1 Mets lead, which had Mike conceding the series in the Zoom call. Randy Myers got the last three outs; Dilip doused in champagne, smiled wide but saw the 2006 Mets waiting for him next week.

1988: 5, 1969: 1

MVP

Tough to pick. Gary Carter hit .450/.455/.600, Kevin McReynolds hit .280/.303/.760(!), and even Ron Darling had 5 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever. That said, I think Cone’s performance is too good to pass up on. Cone’s final line for the series: 13.1 IP, 8 H, ER, 4 BB, and 23 Ks.