Mets fans are starting to party like it’s 1984

What 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.