Gary Carter, Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry: 1 Year Before 1986 World Series

There used to be a time when the New York Mets could be counted on to lose on opening day. Then along came Jerry Koosman and Tom Seaver. In their seventh season of existence, the Mets stopped being a "joke."

There were some bad years during the late 1970s and early 1980s, but after winning only 68 games in 1983, the Mets won 90 games the following season.

In 1985, a Mets team that had become a dangerous contender won its first five games of the year.

After sweeping the opening two-game series at home against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Mets took the first two games of a three-game set against the Cincinnati Reds.

Dwight Gooden, who had a no-decision in the home opener and would have one of the greatest seasons ever (24-4, 1.53 ERA) faced the Reds' Jay Tibbs in the Mets' fifth game.

The 20-year-old Gooden and 23-year-old Tibbs were the two youngest pitchers in the league. A Mets win would break the 1973 team record for the best start in their history.

Newly acquired Gary Carter, the catcher that many believed was the final piece needed for a championship team, had won the home opener with a solo home run.  He followed that with another solo home run in the fourth game for the Mets' only run in a 1-0 win.

Gooden and Tibbs matched zeroes until Carter led off the sixth inning with his third home run of the season. It was all that Gooden would need, although the Mets scored another run that inning.

The Reds could manage only four hits as Gooden struck out 10 in a 4-0 win.

Gooden, Carter and Darryl Strawberry led the Mets to an excellent yet disappointing season. In the current era of mediocrity, it's hard to believe that the 1985 Mets won 98 games and still finished three games behind the St. Louis Cardinals.

After winning 17 games as a rookie, Gooden became the best pitcher in baseball. Yes, he was better than young Roger Clemens.

I saw all of Tom Seaver's career, and I feared Gooden more, which is quite a statement.

Gooden threw just as hard as Seaver, but he kept the ball lower in the strike zone than Seaver, who had a fastball that seemed to be a strike but that rose out of the strike zone as the batter swung.

Carter had one of the best seasons of any catcher ever in 1985, batting .281/.365/.488 with 32 home runs and 100 RBI.

Strawberry hit .277/.389/.557 with 29 home runs.

Gooden and Strawberry eventually became New York Yankees. I wish that Carter had done the same.

Source Citation

"Mets 4, Reds 0." Globe & Mail [Toronto, Canada] 15 Apr. 1985: S4. Infotrac Newsstand. Web. 16 Feb. 2012.