Where Are the 1986 New York Mets Now?
The Mets have always been known as "The Other New York Team. "Even when the Mets won their first World Series in 1969, critics pointed out that the Yankees had already played in five World Series that decade, winning two of them.
But the Mets became the team in New York during the 1986 season. With the Yankees in the midst of a long playoff drought, the club from Flushing boasted some of the game’s greatest personalities, recognizable simply by their nicknames: "Doc," "Straw," "Nails" and "Kid," to name a few. Their overall success went far beyond the star players, though. This team was a "team" in every sense of the word.
Let's revisit the players that led the Mets to their second World Series title. Here are the 1986 New York Mets and where they are now.
Dwight Gooden, Starting Pitcher
MLB experience: 16 years (1984-94, 1996-2000)
Years with Mets: 11 years (1984-94)
Career stats: 194-112 (.634), 3.51 ERA, 2,293 K
1986 stats: 17-6 (.739), 2.84 ERA, 200 K
1986 postseason stats: 0-3 (.000), 3.46 ERA, 18 K
Dwight Gooden, Starting Pitcher
Bottom line: At just 21 years old, Dwight Gooden was the reigning Cy Young winner and Mets ace in 1986. He didn’t match his previous year’s numbers but still was named an All-Star and pitched like one through the NLCS.
However, he struggled in the World Series, and two of the Mets' three losses came in his starts. One reason for Gooden's struggles in the World Series could have been cocaine. He ended up missing the team’s championship parade because he was doing drugs in his dealer’s apartment, and addiction problems would follow him for the next 25 years.
Through therapy, counseling and interventions, Gooden became clean and revealed in 2016 that he had been clean for four years.
Today, Gooden is a grandfather of six and spends his time playing with his grandkids and spending time with kids battling cancer. He serves as a spokesperson for Hackensack University Medical Center, where he visits kids in the hospital, takes pictures, signs autographs and talks about life and baseball with them.
Ron Darling, Starting Pitcher
MLB experience: 13 years (1983-95)
Years with Mets: 9 years (1983-91)
Career stats: 136-116 (.540), 3.87 ERA, 1,148 K
1986 stats: 15-6 (.714), 2.81 ERA, 184 K
1986 postseason stats: 1-1 (.500), 2.78 ERA, 17 K
Ron Darling, Starting Pitcher
Bottom line: Just about the only blemish from Ron Darling’s 1986 season came midseason when he and three teammates got into a fight with off-duty police officers and were arrested. On the field, there were no such issues.
Darling posted the lowest ERA of his 13-year career and received Cy Young votes for the only time. He was even better in the postseason and started three games in the World Series. Darling had a 15-inning scoreless streak that stretched over the three games, and the Mets won two of his three starts.
Darling has been a Mets broadcaster since 2005 but had to leave the booth in 2019 after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer. He had a removal of a mass from his chest, but doctors say it is treatable, and he returned to the booth later in the season.
Also, in 2019, Darling had his latest book "108 Stitches" published. In it, he accused teammate Lenny Dykstra of using racial slurs in a game, but all of their teammates have come to Dykstra’s defense and denied the claims.
"I heard what I heard," said Darling.
Bob Ojeda, Starting pitcher
MLB experience: 15 years (1980-94)
Years with Mets: 5 years (1986-90)
Career stats: 115-98 (.540), 3.65 ERA, 1,128 K
1986 stats: 18-5 (.783), 2.57 ERA, 148 K
1986 postseason stats: 2-0 (1.000), 2.33 ERA, 15 K
Bob Ojeda, Starting Pitcher
Bottom line: Bob Ojeda was one of the few additions to the Mets in 1986. He was traded from the team New York met in the World Series, the Red Sox.
He posted career highs in virtually every meaningful pitching category and led the National League with a .783 win-loss percentage. He was masterful in the postseason and came up with the Mets' first World Series win against his former Red Sox teammates.
Like his rotation-mate Ron Darling, Ojeda also was a broadcaster for the Mets until quitting in 2015 after being denied a raise. Even though he is no longer an employee of the team, he is still outspoken and said the team should trade both star pitcher Jacob deGrom and fellow starter Steven Matz.
Just as the Mets rejected Ojeda’s contract demands, they also rejected his personnel opinion as the team signed deGrom to a long-term deal in 2019.
Sid Fernandez, Starting pitcher
MLB experience: 15 years (1983-97)
Years with Mets: 10 years (1984-93)
Career stats: 114-96 (.543), 3.36 ERA, 1,743 K
1986 stats: 16-6 (.727), 3.52 ERA, 200 K
1986 postseason stats: 0-1 (.000), 2.84 ERA, 15 K
Sid Fernandez, Starting Pitcher
Bottom line: There’s nothing quite like home cooking, and Sid Fernandez is a perfect example of that.
His home/road splits during the 1986 season were so dramatic that you wonder if the Mets considered only pitching him in Shea Stadium. Fernandez posted matching 8-3 records at home and on the road, but his home ERA was 2.17 while his road ERA was 5.03.
A native Hawaiian, Fernandez retreated back home after he retired and coached his son in high school. He and his wife, Noelani, also started the Sid Fernandez Foundation, which awarded college scholarships to students from their alma mater of Kaiser High.
Rick Aguilera, Starting/Relief pitcher
MLB experience: 16 years (1985-2000)
Years with Mets: 5 years (1985-89)
Career stats: 86-81 (.515), 318 saves, 3.57 ERA, 1,030 K
1986 stats: 10-7 (.588), 0 saves, 3.88 ERA, 104 K
1986 postseason stats: 1-0 (1.000), 0 saves, 4.50 ERA, 6 K
Rick Aguilera, Starting/Relief Pitcher
Bottom line: It was an up and down 1986 season for Rick Aguilera, who began as the No. 5 starter in the rotation before heading to a relief role out of the bullpen.
He was then promoted back to a starter before being demoted to the pen again before returning as a starter to finish the regular season and pitching out of the bullpen in the postseason.
Aguilera was the winning pitcher in Game 6 of the World Series, aka the Bill Buckner game.
A native of Los Angeles, Aguilera retired back to Southern California, where he served as a high school coach for a while. He also is a partner in several Dunkin' Donuts franchises in the area and the part-owner of a car wash franchise.
Aguilera also has several real estate investments that keep him busy.
Roger McDowell, Relief Pitcher
MLB experience: 12 years (1985-96)
Years with Mets: 5 years (1985-89)
Career stats: 70-70 (.500), 159 saves, 3.30 ERA, 524 K
1986 stats: 14-9 (.609), 22 saves, 3.02 ERA, 65 K
1986 postseason stats: 1-0 (1.000), 0 saves, 2.51 ERA, 5 K
Roger McDowell, Relief Pitcher
Bottom line: The Mets employed two closers during the 1986 season, and Roger McDowell was the team’s right-handed closer.
Statistically, McDowell had a weird season. He ranked 11th in the NL with 14 wins and eighth in the league with 22 saves. Despite giving up two earned runs in just one inning pitched in Game 7 of the World Series, McDowell earned the victory in the decisive game thanks to the Mets' offense scoring three runs during his one inning of work.
The 2019 season marked McDowell’s first without a job in baseball in 37 years. He was not retained as pitching coach of the Orioles following two down years for the club, and he previously spent 11 years as a coach for the Braves.
"For the first time since 1982, I did not report anywhere for spring training," said McDowell. "It is nice spending time with my family, and I look forward to helping my daughter get ready for college."
Jesse Orosco, Relief Pitcher
MLB experience: 24 years (1979, 1980-2003)
Years with Mets: 8 years (1979, 1981-87)
Career stats: 87-80 (.521), 144 saves, 3.16 ERA, 1,179 K
1986 stats: 8-6 (.571), 21 saves, 2.33 ERA, 62 K
1986 postseason stats: 3-0 (1.000), 2 saves, 1.98 ERA, 16 K
Jesse Orosco, Relief Pitcher
Bottom line: The other half of the two-headed closer-by-committee for the Mets, Jesse Orosco was a lefty, and he posted the lowest ERA on the whole team.
As a closer, Orosco rarely got to bat but he had an opportunity in Game 7 of the World Series no less. He recorded both a hit and an RBI in the game, which is amazing, considering he had just 10 hits and 4 RBI during his 24-year major league career.
Orosco also recorded the last out of the World Series and notched the save after striking out Marty Barrett.
Orosco threw in more games(1,252) than any player in major league history and pitched until he was 46, so it feels like he retired just yesterday.
He helped coach his son, Jesse Jr., who was drafted in 2008 and played some in the minors. Orosco, along with his son, also is working on a baseball mobile app that to assist pitchers so that they can have a pro career as long as he did.
Randy Myers, Relief Pitcher
MLB experience: 14 years (1985-98)
Years with Mets: 5 years (1985-89)
Career stats: 44-63 (.411), 347 saves, 3.19 ERA, 884 K
1986 stats: 0-0 (.000), 0 saves, 4.22 ERA, 13 K
1986 postseason stats: Did not play
Randy Myers, Relief Pitcher
Bottom line: Randy Myers was a rookie who was called up in the second half of the season and used as a late-inning reliever. He finished five of the 10 games he played in, but they were all either blowout wins or losses so he didn’t accumulate any saves.
Myers was not a part of the Mets’ postseason roster, and because of that, he didn’t initially get a ring. But he was awarded one some nine years later after constantly pushing for one from Joe McIlvaine, who was the Mets' general manager at the time and was the Mets assistant GM in 1986.
Myers' time in New York was just the beginning of an impressive major league career that consisted of another World Series ring, four All-Star appearances and leading the league in saves three times.
Despite ranking second all-time in saves among lefties at the time of his last game in 1998, Myers received just one vote for the Hall of Fame and was removed from the ballot.
Myers has returned to his home in the Pacific Northwest and has been heavily involved with his alma mater, Clark College in Vancouver, Washington. Myers helped revive the school’s baseball program, which had been dormant for nearly 20 years and resumed playing in 2011.
Gary Carter, Catcher
MLB experience: 19 years (1974-92)
Years with Mets: 5 years (1985-89)
Career stats: .262 AVG, 324 HR, 1,225 RBI, 39 SB
1986 stats: .255 AVG, 24 HR, 105 RBI, 1 SB
1986 postseason stats: .214 AVG, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 0 SB
Gary Carter, Catcher
Bottom line: Nicknamed "Kid," Gary Carter was a 12-year veteran by the time he joined the Mets in 1985, brought over from Montreal for his experience as much as his bat. He provided both as he was a steadying influence for the Mets' young pitchers, and he also finished third in NL MVP voting.
Carter, playing in his first World Series, smacked two home runs in Game 4 to make him the only player in major league history to hit two home runs in a World Series game and an All-Star game (1981).
Carter is the only member of the ’=1986 Mets to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, enshrined in 2003. He coached in both the minor leagues and in Division II of the NCAA while holding out hope for a major league managerial position.
In 2011, Carter was diagnosed with multiple malignant and inoperable brain tumors, and he died a year later at the age of 57.
Keith Hernandez, First Baseman
MLB experience: 17 years (1974-90)
Years with Mets: 7 years (1983-89)
Career stats: .296 AVG, 162 HR, 1,071 RBI, 98 SB
1986 stats: .310 AVG, 13 HR, 83 RBI, 2 SB
1986 postseason stats: .250 AVG, 0 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB
Keith Hernandez, First Baseman
Bottom line: There may have been bigger stars and more popular players on the 1986 Mets, but Keith Hernandez was the team’s best player and led them in WAR. He hit over .300, led the NL in walks and won the ninth of his 11 Gold Gloves at first base.
Hernandez hit just .250 in the postseason, but "Mex" came up clutch in Game 7 of the World Series, driving in a game-high three runs.
Just like pitcher Ron Darling, Hernandez is also a Mets analyst for their television broadcasts. He’s also appeared in several "Just For Men" commercials with another legendary New York athlete, Walt "Clyde" Frazier.
In 2018, Hernandez released a memoir titled "I’m Keith Hernandez," and it details his entire baseball life from Little League to the minors to his 17 years in the big leagues.
Wally Backman, Second Baseman
MLB experience: 14 years (1980-93)
Years with Mets: 9 years (1980-88)
Career stats: .275 AVG, 10 HR, 240 RBI, 117 SB
1986 stats: .320 AVG, 1 HR, 27 RBI, 13 SB
1986 postseason stats: .282 AVG, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 2 SB
Wally Backman, Second Baseman
Bottom line: A career .275 hitter, Wally Backman led the Mets by hitting .320 in the 1986 season, which would have finished fourth in the league had he accumulated enough at-bats.
He hit just one home run all regular season and postseason, but always found himself on base during critical moments in the NLCS. In Game 3 and with the Mets trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth, Backman was on base when Lenny Dykstra hit a two-run homer to give New York the win. Then in Game 5, Backman scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning after a Gary Carter single.
Backman has turned to coaching and managing since retiring in 1993, including several stops with Mets minor league teams. In 2016, he had a falling out with the Mets and resigned after pressure from the organization. Afterward, he said that the Mets' general manager had blackballed him from the MLB and MiLB.
Backman has managed five different teams since 2016 and is currently the manager of the Long Island Ducks, an independent team that is not affiliated with MLB.
In 2019, he was arrested on domestic violence charges.
Rafael Santana, Shortstop
MLB experience: 7 years (1983-88, 1990)
Years with Mets: 4 years (1984-87)
Career stats: .246 AVG, 13 HR, 156 RBI, 3 SB
1986 stats: .218 AVG, 1 HR, 28 RBI, 0 SB
1986 postseason stats: .216 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB
Rafael Santana, Shortstop
Bottom line: Known for his glove, Rafael Santana had just 12 extra-base hits in over 400 at-bats during the regular season and postseason. But his bat wasn’t why he was on the field.
Santana finished third in the National League in fielding percentage among shortstops. Santana also was sure-handed when it mattered most as he committed just one error while starting all 13 games during the postseason.
A native of the Dominican Republic, Santana currently serves as the scouting and player development supervisor for the Chicago White Sox. That follows several coaching and managerial stops in retirement for Santana.
He’s been with the White Sox organization for 20 years and has worked with their big league team as well as Single-A and Double-A teams.
Ray Knight, Third Baseman
MLB experience: 13 years (1974, 1977-88)
Years with Mets: 3 years (1984-86)
Career stats: .271 AVG, 84 HR, 595 RBI, 14 SB
1986 stats: .298 AVG, 11 HR, 76 RBI, 2 SB
1986 postseason stats: .277 AVG, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB
Ray Knight, Third Baseman
Bottom line: The oldest player on the 1986 Mets to receive a ring, Ray Knight turned back the clock and had one of the best seasons of his career. The 33-year-old had hit just .229 over the prior two seasons combined but hit nearly .300 in 1986 while batting primarily out of the No. 7 spot in the lineup.
But he saved his best for last, winning the World Series MVP after hitting .391, including a tiebreaking home run in the seventh and deciding game.
Knight was a pretty good player and a two-time All-Star, but he wasn’t even the most accomplished athlete in his own household for a while. He was married to Hall of Fame golfer Nancy Lopez before they divorced.
Knight stayed affiliated with baseball for a while and last served as a Washington Nationals broadcaster through the 2018 season. He attracted the wrong kind of attention in 2017 when he was arrested and charged with assault and battery after a fight with a man half his age. The charges against Knight were subsequently dropped.
George Foster, Left Fielder
MLB experience: 18 years (1969-86)
Years with Mets: 5 years (1982-86)
Career stats: .274 AVG, 348 HR, 1,239 RBI, 51 SB
1986 stats: .225 AVG, 14 HR, 42 RBI, 1 SB
1986 postseason stats: DNP
George Foster, Left Field
Bottom line: The only position player on this list to not partake in the World Series, George Foster began the season as the Mets' starting left fielder but ended the season on the Chicago White Sox.
He was released midseason for a myriad of issues, including subpar production and staying in the dugout during a benches-clearing brawl. Nevertheless, the Mets still awarded him a World Series ring for being on the roster during the regular season.
Even though he’s now in his 70s, Foster maintains his physical fitness by playing golf and tennis. He speaks to kids and young athletes about the importance of physical fitness in prolonging your playing career.
He’s also heavily involved in instructing the next generation of baseball players and has held a camp called Foster Force in which he relays the techniques that allowed him to last 18 years in the majors.
Lenny Dykstra, Center Fielder
MLB experience: 12 years (1985-96)
Years with Mets: 5 years (1985-89)
Career stats: .285 AVG, 81 HR, 404 RBI, 285 SB
1986 stats: .295 AVG, 8 HR, 45 RBI, 31 SB
1986 postseason stats: .300 AVG, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 1 SB
Lenny Dykstra, Center Fielder
Bottom line: One of the Mets' most prized prospects ever, Lenny Dykstra got the call-up in 1985 and was the everyday center fielder a year later.
Dykstra was the Mets’ primary leadoff hitter and would have fit in with any era. He had good speed (31 stolen bases) and a good on-base percentage (.377).
He hit a walkoff homer to end Game 3 of the NLCS and then smacked homers in both Games 3 and 4 of the World Series, each of them being a Mets victory.
Dykstra’s son, Cutter, played in the minors for nine seasons but never got the call to the majors. He did, however, bless Lenny with two grandkids and is married to actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler.
Dykstra, who previously served time in prison for fraud, ran afoul of the law again in 2018 when he was indicted on drug charges and for making terroristic threats against an Uber driver in New Jersey.
Darryl Strawberry, Right Fielder
MLB experience: 17 years (1983-99)
Years with Mets: 8 years (1983-90)
Career stats: .259 AVG, 335 HR, 1,000 RBI, 221 SB
1986 stats: .259 AVG, 27 HR, 93 RBI, 28 SB
1986 postseason stats: .217 AVG, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 4 SB
Darryl Strawberry, Right Fielder
Bottom line: The 1986 season was Darryl Strawberry’s third of eight straight All-Star game appearances, and he led the Mets in home runs.
Strawberry and Gary Carter often flipped between the No. 4 and No. 5 spots in the lineup. Together, they had more homers than the rest of the starting lineup combined.
Strawberry hit just .217 in the postseason, but half of his 10 hits went for extra bases.
After decades of addiction problems, Strawberry is clean and trying to help others from following down his path. He is an ordained minister and runs a rehab recovery center in Florida.
He also recently authored a book called "Don’t Give Up On Me,: which chronicles his addiction problems and details his recovery.
Mookie Wilson, Outfielder
MLB experience: 12 years (1980-91)
Years with Mets: 10 years (1980-89)
Career stats: .274 AVG, 67 HR, 438 RBI, 327 SB
1986 stats: .289 AVG, 9 HR, 45 RBI, 25 SB
1986 postseason stats: .192 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 4 SB
Mookie Wilson, Outfielder
Bottom line: The Mets' center fielder before Lenny Dykstra supplanted him, Mookie Wilson started the 1986 season on the injured list before then becoming a platoon player.
Once George Foster was released, Wilson began receiving more regular playing time, and he was a starter during the postseason. He hit just .192 in the playoffs, but it was Wilson who reached base on the famous Bill Buckner play during Game 6 of the World Series.
Wilson has moved back to his hometown of Columbia, South Carolina, where he is currently a minister. In addition to that, he has speaking engagements all across the country where he talks to athletes about baseball, health and wellness and God.
He also does some work for the Mets, who hold an annual "Grandparent’s Day" with Wilson talking to seniors about how to age actively.
Kevin Mitchell, Utility Man
MLB experience: 13 years (1984, 1986-94, 1996-98)
Years with Mets: 2 years (1984, 1986)
Career stats: .284 AVG, 234 HR, 760 RBI, 30 SB
1986 stats: .277 AVG, 12 HR, 43 RBI, 3 SB
1986 postseason stats: .250 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Kevin Mitchell, Utility Man
Bottom line: A future NL MVP, Kevin Mitchell was a do-it-all rookie for the Mets who played six different positions.
Gary Carter nicknamed him "World" for his ability to do everything, and he finished third in Rookie of the Year voting despite receiving roughly 50 percent playing time.
Mitchell mostly played off the bench during the postseason but scored the game-tying run right before Bill Buckner’s error allowed the game-winning run in Game 6 of the World Series.
Once the picture of health, Mitchell recently had a scary health issue, which resulted in him having neck surgery and spending a month in the hospital. He had a severe disk injury that nearly left him paralyzed, and he’s grateful just to be alive.
"It’s a blessing, man. I have to thank that man upstairs where I’m at now because they told me I shouldn’t even be walking right now," said Mitchell. "I should have been paralyzed from the neck down. Forever. It’s a miracle."
Howard Johnson, Infielder
MLB experience: 14 years (1982-95)
Years with Mets: 9 years (1985-93)
Career stats: .249 AVG, 228 HR, 760 RBI, 231 SB
1986 stats: .245 AVG, 10 HR, 39 RBI, 8 SB
1986 postseason stats: .000 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Howard Johnson, Infielder
Bottom line: A future home run champion, Howard Johnson was a reserve in 1986 and shuffled between third base and shortstop. He showed a glimpse of his future power with 10 home runs in just 220 at-bats.
Johnson received just one start during the postseason and was used as a pinch hitter in three other games, but he failed to record a hit in his seven at-bats.
Johnson was just a .249 hitter throughout his career, but he showed that you don’t have to be a great hitter in order to be a great teacher. He has held many batting coaching positions in retirement, including with a couple of Mets minor league teams.
Today, Johnson is the hitting instructor for the Nashville Sounds, a Triple-A team that is an affiliate of the Texas Rangers.
Davey Johnson, Manager
MLB experience: 17 years (1984-90, 1993-97, 1999-2000, 2011-13)
Years with Mets: 7 years (1984-90)
Career record: 1,372-1,071-2 (.562 winning percentage)
1986 record: 108-54 (.667)
1986 postseason record: 8-5 (.615)
Davey Johnson, Manager
Bottom line: Mets fans were quite familiar with Davey Johnson when he was hired in 1984. While playing for the Orioles, he was the last out in the Mets' first World Series win in 1969. He contributed in an even bigger way to the franchise’s other World Series title, and Johnson made several strategic decisions to get the Mets over the hump.
The biggest of those was promoting Lenny Dysktra to the starting lineup after being originally set for a platoon role as Dykstra would become an MVP candidate and the catalyst for the Mets' lineup.
After managing five teams, Johnson retired in 2014 and admits that because of the prominence of sabermetrics, he couldn’t manage today.
"I don’t like guys putting garbage in a computer and garbage coming out and telling the field manager how dumb he is. … I wouldn't have lasted a month," Johnson said.
As a two-time manager of the year, who also won a World Series, Johnson has garnered Hall of Fame consideration and was recently included on the ballot by the Today's Game Era committee. If elected, he would join Gary Carter as the only member of the 1986 Mets to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.