Dipping Into The Archives Vol. 17

1988

Before digging into 1988, a quick reminder that I’m doing it without the benefit of that season’s yearbook, as I don’t have a copy of that edition. Without remembering this for a fact, it’s certainly possible that I didn’t attend any games that year and didn’t get a chance to pick up a yearbook. One byproduct of the team being so good is that tickets weren’t as easy to come by. Additionally, 1988 was the year that I both graduated from college and also temporarily moved away from Queens, so it wasn’t as easy to make it to Shea. My loss.

After taking a step back in 1987, the Mets made a major rebound in 1988, winning 100 games and easily taking the division. They fell short of the pennant, losing to the Dodgers in the NLCS. Does that make the season a disappointment? That was a magical season for LA - it was the year of Hershiser and Gibson after all. At the time it still felt like this was a team with a chance of becoming a dynasty, but it would be more than a decade until they reached the postseason again, so in retrospect the end of the season feels like even more of a bummer than it seemed at the time.

This was a transitional season for the roster. Age and injuries were starting to take their toll on both Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter. Carter in particular struggled through a frustrating season. He hit his 299th career home run in May, but #300 would not come until August, more than 200 at bats later. The major departure that offseason was Jesse Orosco. In one sense his trade was understandable. He was 31 years old, with Randy Myers ready to take his place. The club probably figured his best days were behind him; who could have foreseen that the era of the LOOGY was on the way and that he would be an effective pitcher well into his forties?

It was another big season for Darryl Strawberry, as well as for Kevin McReynolds. In a bizarre way, McReynolds may have actually ruined things. The Mets have still never had a regular season MVP, but Straw could have had a legitimate shot in 1988 had he & McReynolds not siphoned votes from each other, helping Kirk Gibson win the trophy. But the biggest breakout star of this season was David Cone. After missing a huge chunk of ‘87, he showed what he could do and was spectacular, winning 20 games. If not for Orel Hershiser (damn, those Dodgers were the bane of our existence that year) he could have won the Cy Young Award that year.

One of the biggest highlights of the year took place off the field. That summer the Mets retired Tom Seaver’s #41 in a very emotional ceremony. It took a few years to repair the relationship after he left the club when the White Sox selected him as free agent compensation. The thaw began when the Mets gave him a shot at a comeback in ‘87. The comeback was unsuccessful, but that brought both parties back on good terms with each other and he was once again The Franchise. Now, if they had only commissioned his statue while he was still alive…

Two notable prospects got their first real taste of big league action this year. Hernandez’s injuries allowed the Mets to give a lot of at bats to Dave Magadan, and he proved that he would be a solid eventual replacement for Hernandez down the road. And the Mets promoted the much ballyhooed Gregg Jefferies in September, going so far as to give him regular playing time in the playoffs. More to discuss about him next season, but suffice it to say that the poor kid was a central figure in the further dismantling of the ‘86 champs.

Not much to add about the playoffs. I hate to use the phrase Team Of Destiny, but if that applies to anyone it did to those Dodgers. History has shown that Mike Scioscia’s shocking home run off of Dwight Gooden would be the exact moment that the greatest run of success the team has ever had came to its end. But at the time there was no reason to think the good times were just about over.

The 1989 yearbook is another one that’s missing from my collection, but once again I’ll give that season its just due next week. That season was a traumatic one for multiple reasons.

Coco

This sounds simplistic, but a player can’t win a Grand Slam title until they win a Grand Slam title. In other words, it’s a whole another beast to win 7 matches over a two week period. A player needs to learn what it takes to accomplish that feat. Once it happens, the future is almost unlimited. There’s no better example than Andre Agassi. In his younger, brasher, image is everything days, he won a lot of matches but didn’t seem to have it in him to win a major. Until he finally did. And that opened the floodgates; he was a tough opponent for the remainder of his career and went on to be one of the few to win each of the 4 majors.

Which is why Coco Gauff’s triumph at the U.S. Open felt like a game changer. Ever since she first began to gain notice 4 years ago many have felt that it’s only a matter of time before she makes the leap. Some were starting to get a bit impatient, forgetting that she’s still only 19 years old. Not only did she win, but she proved herself by needing to dig deep to do so, losing the first set. But once she found her footing, she practically steamrolled the rest of the way. It’s only one title, but you clearly got the sense that now that she has broken the seal, this will only be the first of many to come. There has been concern about the future of tennis, as many of the players from the recent golden era have either retired or are on the verge of doing so. Coco Gauff shows that the sport is still in good hands.

On a related note, the other day I saw an old post of mine during an earlier U.S. Open pop up in Facebook Memories. I said that if Federer and Nadal are Mays and Aaron, then Djokovic is Frank Robinson. That seemed reasonable at the time. If 2 legitimate GOAT candidates are contemporaries of yours, there’s nothing wrong with falling just a bit short of their accomplishments. Because he will always suffer in comparison I’m not sure how many people appreciate how great of a player Frank Robinson was. I figured that would turn out to be Djokovic’s fate as well. I was just a tad off on that observation/prediction.

Father Time Remains Undefeated

We understandably like nice, round numbers. We understand that there’s no real difference between hitting 29 home runs or 30, but doesn’t a 30 HR season just feel a lot different? 2 respected veteran players are on the verge of hitting significant career milestones, but the aging curve has a way of putting a monkey wrench in one’s plans.

Rather than retire after last season along with his longtime teammates Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright came back for a final season. This wasn’t the sole reason he did, but with 195 career victories, going for #200 had to have been enticing. Unfortunately little has gone right. He’s had exactly the types of physical issues you would expect from a 42 year old pitcher, he’s pitched extremely poorly (an ERA over 8!), and the Cardinals have suffered such a terrible year that there haven’t even been opportunities for him to rake up a few cheap wins. His most recent start further added insult to injury. Having been born and raised in Georgia, his start was pushed back so that he could pitch near his hometown one last time. But to have 2023 Adam Wainwright face THIS Braves lineup was practically a hate crime and he was predictably rocked. As we face the home stretch, he’s still sitting at 198 career wins. Does he have any hope of getting those last 2?

After bouncing around across several teams the last few seasons, Andrew McCutchen returned to the scene of his greatest glory and signed with Pittsburgh. The hope was that he would provide leadership for the young team, and any production he would supply would be gravy. The Pirates have still had trouble climbing out of the quagmire, but Cutch has had a fairly solid season, passing the 2000 career hit mark. Sadly, his season ended prematurely last week as he suffered a partial Achilles tear. To make it worse, his year ended with 299 career home runs. Double ouch. Because it’s only a partial tear, he intends to come back next season, but he’ll be 37 next season. There are no guarantees. At his peak he was a pure joy to watch, so here’s hoping he’s able to reach that milestone.

Germany - Basketball Nation

Germany wins the FIBA World Cup - just as everyone expected. Not only did Team USA fall short, but they lost the third place game to Canada, so they leave Manila with no hardware. My understanding is that with that loss to our neighbours to the north, that means we have to start incorporating that superfluous “u” into words. Them’s the rules.

The tournament wasn’t a complete loss. The United States did qualify for next year’s Olympics, so they don’t need to worry about playing in any qualifying tournaments and can concentrate on putting together the correct combination of players to earn Olympic gold. It’s worth noting that the overwhelming majority of star players sat out this year’s tournament, so the roster next summer will look vastly different and let’s be honest will be much stronger. It is still true, however, that the last month has provided further evidence that the world had caught up to us. A basketball championship is not our natural birthright.

More On Real Sports

Following up on the announcement that Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel will soon end its run, I enjoyed this piece which ran in Awful Announcing listing some of the more noteworthy segments that the show has run. With 29 years worth of material to choose from it’s difficult to narrow it down to only 15, but the writer gave it the old college try. Off the top of my head the big omission is the story concerning the 7 year old boy with one arm who was a golf prodigy with a perfect swing. I hope that in the final run of episodes that they do a final followup on this story, among others.

Fare Thee Well, Helio

Yesterday was the final race of the season for the Indy Car series. There was little suspense, as Alex Palou had already wrapped up the season title following last weekend’s penultimate race. But the end of the season has also come with the end of the full-time career for one of the most honored drivers in motorsports history. This was the final goaround for Helio Castroneves.

Castroneves will go down in history as one of only 4 men to have won the Indianapolis 500 4 times. In addition to his success on the track, he has also been one of the few Indy Car drivers to have achieved crossover fame. He was a past champion in Dancing With the Stars, which made him one of the few drivers whom non-racing fans could identify. As he has aged, he hasn’t run in the front of the field much in recent years, but he was always a huge fan favorite and one of the more respected drivers in the garage. Also, his story is not completely done yet. Although he will no longer race full time, he still intends to come back to Indy next May to make an attempt for a historic fifth victory. Congrats for a magnificent career.

Down The Stretch They Come

Only 3 weeks to go in the MLB season, and there’s so much still TBD. Looking forward to the drama even if my team has long been out of the playoff picture. Let’s ride this journey together. Why not invite some friends to join us? See you on Wednesday.