Catch the Rising Stars: A New York Mets Retro Podcast

On the Third of July in 1986, the Mets played what many consider their most exciting regular season game of the year.  Down 5-3 in the tenth inning, home runs by Darryl Strawberry and Ray Knight give them a walk-off win on Fireworks Night at Shea.  Also this week, the Mets once again sweep the Cardinals, burying their 1985 rival.  And the team says goodbye to the second-longest tenured Met, Ed Lyn...

What is wrong with Dwight Gooden? That is the question that everyone is asking in June of 1986 as the Mets ace continues to struggle.  And elsewhere in the starting rotation, Bruce Berenyi is given one last chance to prove himself as the fifth starter, with Rick Aguilera waiting in the wings.  Listen on in!

With a 10 and a half game lead in the NL East, the Mets face off with the second place Montreal Expos in an opportunity to blow the division wide open.  One game features Doc Gooden going up against childhood friend and high school baseball teammate, Floyd Youmans.  But this is not the Gooden of 1984 and 1985.  And in movie theaters, “The Karate Kid, Part II” opens.  Tune on in!

This week’s episode highlights some major moments from some lesser-known ‘86 Mets.  Rick Anderson finally makes his major league debut, after SEVEN seasons at Tidewater.  Ed Hearn hits his first major league home run… in front of his father, on Father’s Day.  And Tim Teufel has his finest career moment yet by hitting a walk-off, extra-inning, pinch-hit grand slam.  Tune in for all this and more!

The Mets get into their second fight in two weeks!  This time it’s Mets first base coach Bill Robinson in one corner and Pirates pitcher Rick Rhoden in the other corner.  But plenty of others get involved too!  And in this episode, the Mets get their first look at a new, young rookie by the name of Barry Bonds.

FIGHT!  Fighting out of one corner, for the Mets, Ray Knight.  And fighting out of the other corner, for the Dodgers, Tom Niedenfuer.  Hear about the first of several bench-clearing brawls the Mets got into in 1986, and a whole lot more in our newest episode!

This week, the Mets continue their West Coast swing against San Francisco and San Diego.  Among this week’s storylines: Dwight Gooden has his worst outing yet, Davey Johnson rips into Ron Darling, Doug Sisk is recalled from the minors, Jesse Orosco has a redemptive weekend, and Darryl Strawberry’s thumb starts to hurt again.  Happy Memorial Day weekend!

This week, a battle begins to brew in left field as George Foster, Danny Heep and Mookie Wilson vie for playing time.  After Rick Aguilera gets demoted to the bullpen, Bruce Berenyi makes his case as the team’s fifth starter.  And in a tougher week than usual, the Mets lose more games than they win, and the Expos narrow the gap in the NL East.  Check it out!

The 1986 Mets keep on winning, putting together a 7-game win streak, on the heels of their 11-game win streak.  The starting pitching keeps rolling and Mookie Wilson returns from the disabled list!  Tune in for our Mother’s Day episode!

The Mets win their 11th game in a row - tying a franchise record.  And when the winning streak ends…another begins!  Tune on in to hear how the Mets begin pulling away from the pack.

Hear about the most important series sweep in Mets history as the Mets take out the Cardinals in four games in St. Louis, vanquishing their 1985 rivals, and putting them in first place in the NL East… a position they would remain in for the rest of the 1986 season.  

It’s Opening Day at Shea for the ‘86 Mets and while the Mets would suffer a tough loss against the Cards, they’d begin to turn their season around beginning with a weekend series against the Phillies.  Also tune in to hear about a concerning incident with Dwight Gooden, his family, and Hertz rental car rep at LaGuardia Airport, as Dr. K continues to find off the field struggles. 

The 1986 Mets season gets underway with games on the road in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.  In between, several Mets join up to record a rap song… Get Metsmerized!  Hear all about it as our deep dive of the 40th anniversary of the 1986 season begins. 

Before we begin our 40th anniversary deep dive of the Mets’ 1986 championship season, get ready by catching up on the happenings that prior winter and spring.  The acquisitions of Bobby Ojeda and Tim Teufel.  How Dwight Gooden discovered cocaine.  How Keith Hernandez and other players were punished as a result of the ‘85 cocaine trials.  And hear about a nasty eye injury that Mookie Wilson suffers...

The Top 10 Relief Pitchers in New York Mets history are revealed! Who will be number one? Edwin Diaz? John Franco? Tug McGraw? Jesse Orosco? Listen in and find out!

The Top 10 Starting Pitchers in New York Mets history are revealed! Who will be number one? Jacob deGrom? Dwight Gooden? Jerry Koosman? Tom Seaver? Listen in and find out!

The Top 10 Catchers in New York Mets history are revealed! Who will be number one? Gary Carter? Jerry Grote? Todd Hundley? Mike Piazza? Listen in and find out!

The Top 10 Right Fielders in New York Mets history are revealed! Who will be number one? Michael Conforto? Rusty Staub? Darryl Strawberry? Ron Swoboda? Listen in and find out!

The Top 10 Center Fielders in New York Mets history are revealed! Who will be number one? Carlos Beltran? Lee Mazzilli? Brandon Nimmo? Mookie Wilson? Listen in and find out!

The Top 10 Left Fielders in New York Mets history are revealed! Who will be number one? Yoenis Cespedes? Cliff Floyd? Cleon Jones? Kevin McReynolds? Listen in and find out. Plus, a very special guest, my 7-year-old son, joins us!

The Top 10 Third Basemen in New York Mets history are revealed! Who will be number one? Wayne Garrett? Howard Johnson? Robin Ventura? David Wright? Listen in and find out!

The Top 10 Shortstops in New York Mets history are revealed! Who will be number one? Bud Harrelson? Francisco Lindor? Rey Ordonez? Jose Reyes? Listen in and find out!

The Top 10 Second Basemen in New York Mets history are revealed!  Who will be number one?  Edgardo Alfonzo?  Wally Backman?  Jeff McNeil?  Daniel Murphy?  Listen in and find out!

The Top 10 First Basemen in New York Mets history are revealed!  Who will be number one?  Pete Alonso?  Keith Hernandez?  Ed Kranepool?  John Olerud?  Listen in and find out!

Our look-back at the 1985 baseball season concludes with an episode discussing the exciting World Series between the Kansas City Royals and the St. Louis Cardinals.  Listen in as KC triumphs, coming back from an 3-1 series deficit, and St. Louis completely melts down, instigated by a botched umpire call.   The podcast will then return in two weeks when we start a biweekly series of episodes talkin...