|
|
|
In an interview with Wayne Coffey of the Daily News, former Mets manager and 
current U.S. Olympic team skipper Davey Johnson discusses, amongst other things, his team’s chances in Beijing, his playing days, and the 1986 Mets.
…Johnson, on the 1986 World Series…
“Everyone talks about the (Bill) Buckner deal, but the biggest play was the wild pitch (by Bob Stanley) that let the tying run score right before that. The game was over from that point on. It didn’t matter whether it was the next at-bat. Coming back from two outs and two strikes down, we weren’t going to lose. The mentality of that club was you don’t take anything for granted. Nothing. They called us names, they hated us all around the league, called us arrogant. How can we be arrogant when we haven’t won anything?”
…on if his team would win the gold medal…
“I’d trade one of my World Series rings right now for a gold medal and I think anybody would feel that way. It’s one thing when it says Mets or Orioles across your chest, and it’s another when it says U.S.A.”
…davey was the perfect leader for that ‘86 team, fiery,confident, and he held their respect which must have been hard to do with a team full of egos…it’s great to see he’s still enjoying a life in baseball…personally, i wouldn’t trade that ‘86 championship for anything other than world peace, but that’s just me…
 |
 |
 |
RSS 2.0 Both comments and pings are currently closed.
That team had one of the best rotations of the last 50 years, and a solid, balanced lineup. Davey could have won 5 Series with them if he had paid any attention to what the kids were getting into.
YAWN. The character failures of man-children aren’t the responsibility of a baseball manager. If anything, it’s Cashen who should be looked at in that regard.
I think the only year you can say they should’ve won the World Series but didn’t is 1988. They were clearly vastly superior to L.A., but just couldn’t get it done. In ‘84 and ‘85 they weren’t quite there as a team yet, in ‘87 they were decimated by injuries, and in ‘89 and ‘90 they were pretty much over the hill and done in by some really bad trades by Cashen. So, 1988 is the only year you can really point to.
yeah i’m not noble enough to make that trade
Would Davey consider returning to MLB or has that ship already sailed?
*cough-cough* ;)
is it just me, or does davey look drunk here?
There could not have been a more perfect manager for that team. Handled egos perfectly, nurtured young pitchers, emphasized fundamentals, and really molded the whole team in his image. Only real black mark is when he let Mel Stottlemyre mess with Gooden’s mechanics.
Good point ToastyJoe. He handled the clubhouse like a stern taskmaster. He recieved respect. Those ego’s were checked at the door. They loved him and he loved them back. He even went out of his way to pay for the damages the players made on the plane trip back to NY following the NLCS title win. It would be great to have a manager like him back on the Mets. *SIGH*
Well, reading the interview, it wasn’t Mel. The orders came from somewhere else. But then again, he wouldn’t name who it came from.
I always thought Mel acknowledged it was his idea. Maybe I’m wrong.
At the time Mel defended it, and it was sold as his idea, to lenghten Gooden’s career. Supposedly he would get more ground ball outs and throw fewer pitches. And the shorter motion would also help counter the Cardinals base stealers.
All around a really stupid idea.
I recall a Mets announcer (I think it was McCarver — he was very good then) saying that hitters aren’t stupid and that if he doesn’t make the same pitches he won’t get the same results.
I recall talking about this with Bill Mazer and he mentioned that Channel 5 had this great new equipment for doing super slow motion, which the Mets didn’t have at the time. He said that at some baseball function he had told Davy about the equipment and that it could be used to see what was wrong with Gooden’s mechancs (this was after Gooden was clearly not himselfl).
Davy was enthusiastic, and said to Mazer why don’t you mention it to Mel. So Bill did, and Mel cursed him out and walked away.
I’ve joked since then that Mel was working undercover for the Yankees, and his assignment was to mess up the Mets.
Maybe Willie is too.
The 86 Mets were the absolute best team I’ve ever seen…they deserved to be arrogant.