Johnson was given the Mets’ managerial reins in 1984 by general manager Frank Cashen, who had built the Orioles into perennial contenders from the mid-1960s through the mid-1970s in the general manager and head of baseball operations roles. On the day Johnson was introduced as manager, he wore cowboys boots and talked about using computers (he held a degree the mathematics) to help determine optimal lineups. Both of these things caused a stir, and set the tone for how Johnson would approach his job. He went about his work in an audacious and  unapologetic manner, with an air of confidence that permeated into his team on the field.

Johnson posted a managerial record of 595-417 in Queens over six-plus seasons. In his six full seasons, the Mets finished first twice and second four times. He went on to manage the Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Washington Nationals. Over ten seasons with those teams, Davey finished in first place four times.

As a player, Johnson had 13 major league seasons with a slash line of .261/.340/.404. He slugged 136 home runs and had an OPS+ of 110 in his time with the Orioles, Braves, Phillies and Cubs. In one season with the Braves, he was one of three teammates to hit 40 or more home runs, joining Hank Aaron and Darrell Johnson with the long-ball heroics.

To understand the impact Johnson had on the Mets, it’s important to look at context. The Mets were in the abyss from 1977-1983. The Mets took the field each year with little hope, while the cross-town Yankees won two World Series titles and three pennants in that time period. Young talent had started to appear in 1983, with the promise of more coming. The Mets needed a manger with fresh ideas to take over after two seasons of George Bamberger and Frank Howard.

In came Johnson, whose ideas were not unprecedented, but definitely progressive for the time. He talked about getting the most out of a position by using “analytics” to determine who was the best fit for that day, rather than going with a set lineup. This was clearly his Orioles/Earl Weaver influence.

For example, in 1986, Johnson would play Kevin Mitchell at shortstop when Sid Fernandez was pitching. Johnson recognized that Fernandez induced a lot of contact in the air, which meant that he could weaken the infield defense a bit (Mitchell over Rafael Santana) to get Mitchell’s superior bat in the lineup. Davey also platooned his outfielders (Lenny Dykstra/Mookie Wilson/ Mitchell, occasionally Danny Heep) depending upon matchups, much more so than was common in that time.

Johnson’s brashness was a hallmark of his time in New York. The Mets had fallen short in 1985, losing a hard-fought division battle to the Cardinals. Going into 1986, he announced that not only were the Mets going to win, they were going to dominate. They did, putting up a 108-54 record.

After the Mets defeated the Astros in the National League Championship Series, the team partied hard, causing significant damage to the plane that brought them back to New York. Cashen wanted the players to pay for the damage. Johnson told the team that he was proud of them, that they deserved to celebrate, and that he would pay the bill, because their rambunctious nature was going to win the World Series. He was right. They got down two games to none and had to go on the road. We all know what happened in Game 6, then they rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win Game 7.

Johnson was fired in May of 1990 with the Mets struggling at 20-22. He left behind a legacy, doing something that only Gil Hodges had done before him. Tributes have poured in from former players, such as Darryl Strawberry, Keith Hernandez, and Dwight Gooden.

Rest in peace, Davey Johnson. Thank you for turning the Mets around in the 1980s, bringing them to a place that we hope to see again soon.

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Mets Madness Bracket.

2022 Mets

The ninth seed in the 16-team tournament got by the eighth-seeded 1999 team in six games. Led by MVP Jeff McNeil, the most recent team in this tournament, punched their ticket to the second round. To read an in-depth recap of how the Round 1 matchup went, click here.

Of course, in reality, it was a disappointing ending to one of the most successful regular seasons in franchise history in 2022. The 2022 Mets posted the second-most wins (101) of any team across the 62-year history of the Mets. However, it all culminated in a Wild Card round loss to the San Diego Padres.

The 2022 Mets were led by manager Buck Showalter and posted the second-highest batting average in the league. Five key cogs in the lineup posted a season OPS over .800, with the offense mainly being led by Pete Alonso (40 home runs and 131 RBIs), Francisco Lindor (26 home runs and 107 RBIs), and Jeff McNeil (.836 OPS). The offense was the main reason the 2022 Mets were able to get past the 1999 Mets in their aforementioned Round 1 matchup.

On the mound, the Mets owned a team ERA of 3.57 which was seventh-best in the majors. The rotation saw six main contributors, all posting season ERAs below 4.00. Of the best were Max Scherzer (2.29 ERA), Chris Bassitt 3.42 ERA), and Taijuan Walker (3.49 ERA). Not to mention, one of the best seasons in relief pitcher history, Edwin Díaz who posted 118 strikeouts and a 1.31 ERA over 62 innings.

1986 Mets

Meanwhile, the 1986 Mets, No. 1 seeded team in the tournament, rolled by the 1976 Mets in only five games. Outside of a Game 2 blemish, the 1986 team rolled into the second round of the tournament. To read a full in-depth recap, click here.

It is no secret, the 1986 Mets was arguably the best Mets’ team of all time. Not only that, there is a strong argument that they were one of the best World Series-winning teams ever. New York finished that season with the highest-team OPS+ in the National League (106), led by veterans Gary Carter (115 OPS+) and Keith Hernandez (140 OPS+), and rounded out by the youthful Darryl Strawberry (139 OPS+), Lenny Dykstra (129 OPS+), and Kevin Mitchell (124 OPS+).

Behind their great offense was the best rotation in baseball that year. The Mets finished with the best ERA and ERA+ in the majors, with Dwight Gooden (2.84), Ron Darling (2.81), and Bob Ojeda (2.57) all finishing with ERAs under 3. Their bullpen was also a plus in 1986, led by Roger McDowell (3.02) and Jesse Orosco (2.33), who split the closer role that season and both finished with 20-plus saves.

Seeded No. 1 for a reason, the 1986 Mets project to continue to be a force in this tournament.

Let us know your predicts below!

The post Mets Madness Second Round Preview: 2022 Mets vs. 1986 Mets appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The ballot is made up of former managers, executives, and umpires whose primary contributions to the game came since 1980 were eligible for consideration. This year’s ballot included the aforementioned Davey Johnson as well as Cito Gaston, Jim Leyland, Ed Montague, Hank Peters, Lou Piniella, Joe West, and Bill White.

After a solid 13-year major league career, Davey became an MLB manager in short order as he became the Mets skipper for the beginning of the 1984 season. He did a marvelous job as he turned a 68-win 1983 Mets team into a winning ball club in his first season in Queens, which was just the beginning of his tremendous stint in Flushing. Under Davey’s tenure, the Mets would go to the playoffs twice in his seven years there and won the franchise’s second World Series trophy in 1986. 

After his time in New York, Johnson would go on to manage four different ball clubs: the Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, and finally the Washington Nationals. Davey finished his career with 1,372 wins, two Manager of the Year awards, one pennant, and one World Series title while only managing one season from start to finish, where his team finished under .500. 

The Contemporary Era Committee will meet on Dec. 3 at baseball’s Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tennessee, and the vote will be announced live on MLB Network later that same day at 7:30 p.m. ET. In order to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, a recipient needs to achieve 75% of votes cast among the committee. 

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