84 scorecardWhat a difference a week makes.

Exactly seven days ago, the 2015 New York Mets baseball season appeared to be at its lowest ebb. The team had just lost a soul-crushing, gut-punching, spirit-killing — and whatever other adjectives have been driven into the ground by this beleaguered fan base – loss to the egregious San Diego Padres. Fans were still reeling from the debacle the scuttled Carlos Gomez trade appeared to be, and were despairing of any significant pieces being added to the roster. We were resigned to trudging through August and September relying on Daniel Muno, Darrell Ceciliani, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and the like. Yes, GM Sandy Alderson had picked up a couple of useful pieces in Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson, but useful for what, exactly? We all knew that without a major offensive upgrade, this squad was going nowhere fast. Oh, and the division-leading Washington Nationals – Met-tormentors ever since 2007 – were due to arrive at Citi Field, presumably to close the lid on the 2015 season.

Then, Friday, July 31, 3:52 PM EDT happened. Word came down – real, official, medically sanctioned word, rather than Twitter speculation – that Alderson had acquired Yoenis Cespedes from the Detroit Tigers. Cespedes is a more powerful outfielder, with a better arm and was added at a lesser cost than Gomez would have required. Suddenly the Mets were relevant, suddenly they looked for real, suddenly we could all hear the front office’s message. The Mets are actually going for it! The afternoon giddiness spilled over onto the field. Cespedes wouldn’t arrive until Saturday, so we’d just have to make do with a life-affirming walk-off homer by instant folk hero Wilmer Flores on Friday. Cespedes was a contributor to an exuberant, unlikely win on Saturday and he gleefully joined in a power show on Sunday – on national TV, no less – for the sweep and a piece of the division lead. The Mets had turned the narrative completely around in the space of three nights. The fact that they subsequently went down to Miami and flayed the lowly Marlins for a second sweep and a two-game lead in the NL East has raised the confidence level of the team and its fans exponentially. The feeling around here is akin to a similar summer and a similar surprise-contending Mets team from 31 years ago.

In 1983, the term “same ol’ Mets” was getting a good workout. Yes, many acknowledged they had good young pitching on the way and the mid-year acquisition of Keith Hernandez, as well as Darryl Strawberry’s Rookie of the Year campaign had buoyed frail hopes, but the ’83 Mets had still lost 94 games. As a callow youth of 19 at the time, your intrepid columnist didn’t think he would ever see his Mets in the postseason, let alone take a title in his lifetime. But 1984 dawned differently. The young pitching really was pretty good – a bunch of guys you may have heard of: Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, Walt Terrell. Hernandez turned out to be the leader we all wanted him to be, especially with a bat in his hands and Strawberry built on the foundation he’d laid in ‘83. The team bumped along for the first two months, clocking in at 22-22 on June 1. But June and July was when it all came together for the boys from Queens. From June 2 through July 27, the Mets went 37-15. On July 27, the Mets beat Chicago 2-1 behind a Gooden four-hitter, running their record to 59-37 and a four-and-a-half game NL East lead over those Cubs. August would be their undoing, though, as they wilted during the dog days, going 14-22 in a month that included four doubleheaders. But during that glorious mid-summer, the fans came back, the atmosphere was electric – especially when Gooden was on the mound – and New York City was swathed in orange and blue.

There’s a similar feeling around town these days. Sandy Alderson – after months, years of being slagged as a do-nothing puppet of the Wilpons’ stumbling ownership – has finally made the bold moves that have energized his constituents. The architect of that 1984 team, the late Frank Cashen, had suffered similar slings and arrows during his first four years at the helm before his patience was rewarded. Both men said, “Just wait. Wait until you see what’s coming from the farm. Wait until you see what moves we’ll make. Wait until it all comes together in one big, giggly swoop. Just wait.” For Cashen, the waiting paid off in a World Series championship two years hence and the pride in having built a fierce contender for a good seven year stretch. In Alderson’s case, we’ll just have to wait a little bit more to see how it all plays out, but right now, it’s looking pretty hopeful.

Meanwhile, let’s play Trivial Pursuit and put on our Duran Duran records: this feels a lot like 1984.

Follow me on Twitter @CharlieHangley.

11 comments on “Mets fans are starting to party like it’s 1984

  • Eric

    Except this year we have 3 Goodens (the 1984 version). Just get us in the playoffs and then watch out.

    I’m thinking it’s Harvey, deGrom, Niese with Syndergaard and Matz in the pen. Holy smokes.

  • Metsense

    “Darken the city, night is a wire
    Steam in the subway, the Mets are afire
    and their hungry like the wolf”

  • Jim OMalley

    The unfortunate difference is that Doubleday and Wilpon wanted the team to be relavent and it was a sure thing that Hernandez would be around for a while. Now, Wilpon makes no such statements about the long term plans on Cespedes. Like Staub in the 70’s and Hernandez (and later Carter) in the 80’s, the current team needs a steady dominating offensive force to build the line-up around.

    • Patrick Albanesius

      Different game. You don’t sign guys like Cespedes to the 9-figure deal he’s going to get anymore. That’s bad baseball.

  • Ian

    I have been comparing this team to the 84 team since the beginning. However, had the 84 team sustained the same injuries that we have had in 2015, it would have been over for them long before September. Which just goes to show you that depth in a team is just as important as the front line.

    Also, the 84 team was stellar in 1-run games, and even had a negative run differential (652 runs scored versus 676 given up – which is not the case of the 2015 team). The 84 Mets pythagorean record was actually 78-84, an insane 12-game swing from their actual record.

    The feeling of 1984 is definitely back. Citi-field has felt more like a mausoleum since it has opened… except for this year. It’s impressive to see the turnaround and witness its rebirth

  • Patrick Albanesius

    Ya did good Sandy.

  • Matt Netter

    Great read. Thanks, Charlie. That team had Ed Lynch and Doug Sisk and Bruce Berenyi!

  • Rob Rogan

    It’s a surreal feeling having such supreme confidence in the team. Even knowing that post season chances are somewhere in the realm of 50/50, it’s good to watch exciting baseball again. Great article, Charlie!

  • Brian Joura

    The Alderson rebuild appears to be on the same timeline as the Cashen one.

    • Charlie Hangley

      Exactly. There are 2 differences: 1 – Alderson has the advantage of having Cashen’s blueprint to work from; but 2 – Cashen had more readily available financial resources at his disposal.

  • fletcher rabbit

    thanx for this article charlie. it fascinates me that when i think of those glory daze of a generation ago so many of my thoughts turn to the 84 and 85 squads, rather than 86 or 88. the 1984 team was that classic young group that wakes up in august and gulps: “what are we doing here?” the 1985 team was the best in baseball but ran into a very good but hotter cardinals team, reminiscent of 2006.

    oh how i wish the wild card had been around back then; we wouldve made 7 post-seasons rather than 2, and with our pitching staff would have certainly won more than that sole glorious championship!

    great article.

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