Call to the pen
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MLB: 1986 Postseason Retrospective Filled with Triumph and Tragedy

By Bobby Mueller

Mar 7, 2015; Sarasota, FL, USA; A general view of Boston Red Sox hat and glove laying in the dugout at a spring training baseball game at Ed Smith Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 7, 2015; Sarasota, FL, USA; A general view of Boston Red Sox hat and glove laying in the dugout at a spring training baseball game at Ed Smith Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

The 1986 MLB postseason was an incredible mix of tension, triumph and tragedy that culminated with a heartbreaking loss by one of baseball’s longest-suffering franchises.

Thirty years ago, the best team in MLB was the New York Mets. They had steadily improved from 68 wins in 1983 to 108 wins in 1986. This was the team of Darryl Strawberry, Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter, Lenny Dykstra, and Mookie Wilson. The top four starting pitchers—Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Bob Ojeda, and Sid Fernandez—combined to go 66-23, with a 2.92 ERA (league average ERA was 3.72). The Mets won the NL East by 21 ½ games.

The 1986 Houston Astros were a surprise division winner. They had come into existence as an expansion team in 1962 and had made the playoffs just twice in 24 years. The 1986 Astros won 96 games and finished 10 games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds in the NL West and had the league’s best ERA.

Starting pitcher Mike Scott was a phenomenon in 1986. Scott was a below-average pitcher for the first six years of his career. Heading into the 1985 season, Scott had a lifetime record of 29-44, with a 4.45 ERA. As the story goes, Scott was taught the split-finger fastball by legendary pitching coach Roger Craig and his career blossomed. He was 18-8 with a 3.29 ERA in 1985, then went 18-10 with a league-leading 2.22 ERA in 1986. He also led the league in innings pitched and strikeouts and earned the NL Cy Young Award.

One of the more amazing statistics for Mike Scott was that he more than doubled his career strikeout rate in that 1986 season. In 885 1/3 innings before 1986, Scott struck out 4.5 batters per nine innings. In 1986, he struck out 10 batters per nine. Of course, there were rumors at the time that Scott’s sudden rise to brilliance was not the split-finger fastball, but was one of the oldest tricks in the book—scuffed baseballs. Years later, the MLB Network took a look back at the 1986 postseason and Scott said of the accusations that he cheated, “They can believe what they want to believe. Every ball that hits the ground has something on it . . . I’ve thrown balls that were scuffed but I haven’t scuffed every ball that I’ve thrown.”

With a 108-win season under their belts, the New York Mets were the favorite to win the NLCS, but they would have to face Mike Scott in Games One, Four, and Seven, should the series go that far. There was no guarantee they could beat him three times.

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