It wasn’t a matter of if, but when. The Mets left the rest of their division in the dust, opening up an astounding 22-game lead by September 10. It was total domination of their competition, just like their manager predicted before the season.

But New York couldn’t have picked a better time for its second four-game losing streak. By dropping three straight in Philadelphia and one of two in St. Louis, the Mets delayed their inevitable crowning as National League East champions—ensuring that victory party would be held in Queens. Come to think of it, the Shea Stadium grounds crew in retrospect wished they clinched it elsewhere.

Dwight Gooden was given the ball against the Chicago Cubs with the opportunity to lock up what had been inevitable since May.

He fed off the air of anticipation — tossing a complete game by striking out eight in a 4-2 victory.

While Gooden was solid on the mound, the Mets first baseman led the way at the plate. Well, not that first baseman.

Keith Hernandez had come down with a bout of the flu. In his place was Dave Magadan, called up from Triple-A to make his first big-league start. All he did was go 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs.

“I had a pretty good year at Tidewater,” Magadan said, “but didn’t even know if I’d come up. I was out there trying not to think about my other times at-bat. So I didn’t have a chance to think back on the game. I was trying to relax.”

Hernandez was well enough to convince manager Davey Johnson to allow him to take his customary position in the ninth inning as a packed house eagerly awaited to celebrate beyond the confines of the stands.

With two outs and a two-run lead, Gooden got Chico Walker to ground slowly to Wally Backman at second. Even before Backman completed his toss to Hernandez at first for the final out, hundreds of fans streamed onto the field.

Seconds later, a sea of humanity had engulfed the Mets players.

“I could see the wave coming, but I ran into the pile,” said Hernandez. “I’m not going to run for my life. Somebody stole my cap, my gamer, and they tried to take my glove right off my hand, but they didn’t realize how strong my hand is.”

As members of the team sifted through the mob scene and made their way into the clubhouse, fans chewed up the turf — taking grass (and even bases) as souvenirs.

The Mets triumphed and Shea Stadium survived.