A super post: Kansas City, Philadelphia and tenuous Mets connections

OK, so it’s not 1980.

Kansas City is playing Philadelphia for a championship this evening, but it will have nothing to do with bats or gloves. Back in those heady days of ’80, it took six games for Philly to vanquish KC. This one is a one game, winner-take-all proposition, in a neutral setting, in a far more violent sport. The teams are about as evenly matched as those World Series opponents and the game should be a good one, as was that Series.

What might this have to do with the Mets, you ask? Well, let’s take a look.

First of all, we’ll start with the present day and the obvious: Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the son of former Mets pitcher, Pat Mahomes. Mahomes, the Elder was one of the key pieces of the team’s postseason runs of 1999 and 2000. A valuable bullpen swingman, he logged 63 innings in 1999 and pitched in four playoff games, once against the Arizona Diamondbacks in that year’s NLDS, then three games against the Atlanta Braves in the heartbreaking League Championship Series. He fell off a bit the following year, not getting a nod in the playoffs or World Series. Mahomes, the Younger, of course is a player with otherworldly instincts as a quarterback and the ability to bring some baseball skills to the gridiron. It has been generally marveled at how he can generate pinpoint passes from multiple arm angles, mostly gaining positive yardage from plays that normally would look undeveloped – “like a shortstop!” as many broadcasters breathlessly enthuse. You could say he learned well, at his father’s knee. And of course, it always does a Mets fan proud when he will sometimes appear at a postgame press conference wearing his dad’s old orange and blue jersey.

Now let’s head back to 1980. It was a really good year for baseball and for the Mets. The National League sported two exciting pennant races, with the Phillies winning the NL East, obviously and the upstart Houston Astros taking the West, ach by one bare game. On the American League side, the New York Yankees fought off a hard-charging Baltimore Orioles team to take the East, while the Royals had a relatively easy time of it in the West, finishing 14 games ahead of Billy Martin’s surprising Oakland A’s. Both Championship Series were thrilling, with the NL featuring four extra-inning contests out of the five games. In the AL, the Royals shocked the Yankees, sweeping that 100-win team right out of the playoffs.

But what of the Mets? For the Mets that year, well, for a brief time, the Magic Was Back. After 3 seasons in the wilderness, new ownership and intelligent management sent a jolt through the organization and the flirted with contention in mid-summer. In the end, of course, injuries and a massive talent gap couldn’t be counteracted by nerve and grit, and the team ended up losing 95 and finishing 24 games behind Philly. But, it sure was fun while it lasted and it was the dawn of the Queens glory days of the mid-‘80s. And there was a definite Metsian flavor to the two World Series participants – it wasn’t all George Brett, Steve Carlton, Mike Schmidt and Dan Quisenberry. Both teams sported former Mets in key roles. For the Phillies, Tug McGraw was their bullpen mainstay, ever since being acquired from the Mets for Del Unser and John Stearns. And Unser himself, ended up back on the Phils in ’80, just in time to provide a few crucial postseason at bats. For the Royals, their starting centerfielder was Amos Otis, acquired back in 1970 in one the Mets’ more shortsighted transactions – costing Kansas City disappointing third baseman Joe Foy. Also, making some pinch-hitting appearances for KC was Jose Cardenal, signed as a free agent after the Mets cut him loose in mid-August. In fact, Cardenal started in right field in game 6, garnering hits off Hall-of-Famer Steve Carlton and McGraw in the late innings.

So, will Kansas City get its revenge tonight?

I’m rooting for Mahomes, naturally.