30 Years Ago Today: Mets Score Club Record 23 Runs in a Game

The late Harry Caray probably wishes he hadn't been taken out to the ballgame on August 16, 1987.

The New York Mets are currently playing the crosstown rival Yankees in a four-game home-and-home series.  Thirty years ago today, the Mets were playing another of baseball's storied franchises, taking on the Chicago Cubs on a lazy Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field.  One year after winning the 1986 World Series, the Mets were battling the St. Louis Cardinals for the division title and needed to win the finale of their four-game set against the Cubs after dropping the first three games.  They were in the throes of a poor stretch that saw them lose six out of eight games after they had cut the Cardinals’ lead in the division from 10½ to 3½ games.  In that eight-game stretch, they had scored only 20 runs.  They needed to bust out of their slump quickly if they were going to continue to stay in the race with St. Louis.  Fortunately, the wind was blowing out at Wrigley Field on August 16, 1987 and the Mets’ bats were ready to take advantage.

The starting pitchers were Ron Darling for the Mets and a kid for the Cubs who had just been recalled from the minors after being sent down two weeks earlier due to a poor 6-10 start for the big club.  You may have heard of him.  He was a scrawny 21-year-old kid named Greg Maddux.

The Mets jumped out of the box quickly, scoring three runs in the first inning to take an early lead.  The lead had extended to 7-0 by the time the Cubs came up to bat in the bottom of the fourth inning.  However, Darling struggled in the fourth, giving up a grand slam to catcher Jody Davis.  That was followed up by a home run from the next batter, a rookie who was pinch-hitting for Cubs reliever (and former Met) Ed Lynch.  That neophyte was Rafael Palmeiro, who hit the tenth of his 569 career home runs to cut the Mets lead to 7-5.

Fortunately for Darling, manager Davey Johnson did not remove him from the game despite the poor inning.  He was allowed to put out the fire he started and pitch the minimum five innings required to qualify for the victory.  Because of that, Darling was able to stick around to reap the benefits of the additional fireworks displayed by his teammates as they continued to ride the jet stream out of Wrigley Field.

The Mets immediately responded to the Cubs’ five-run fourth by scoring three runs in the fifth inning and seven additional runs in the sixth.  They now had a commanding 17-5 lead, but the Cubbie carnage continued.  Not satisfied with a lead of a dozen runs, they scored three additional runs in both the seventh and eighth innings.  Jesse Orosco relieved Darling in the seventh and gave up four runs in his inning of work, but by then, the Mets had already put the game away.  A run by Chicago in the ninth inning off Jeff Innis produced the final tally in the Mets’ 23-10 shellacking of the Cubs.

The offense was powered by Lenny Dykstra and Darryl Strawberry.  Eights were wild for the two Met outfielders, as they combined for eight hits, eight runs scored and eight runs batted in.  Strawberry in particular smoked the Cubs’ pitchers, as all four of his hits went for extra bases (two doubles, a triple and a home run).

Dykstra and Strawberry - two smiling California kids who put lots of frowns on Cubs fans' faces on August 16, 1987.

In doing so, Strawberry became just the third Met to produce four extra-base hits in one game, joining Joe Christopher, who accomplished the feat in 1964, and Tim Teufel, who turned the trick just six weeks prior to Strawberry.  Strawberry added a stolen base in the second inning, making him the first Met to collect four extra-base hits and a stolen base in the same game.  The Straw Man was the only Met to accomplish this feat until Yoenis Céspedes matched him with four extra-base hits (three homers, one double) and a steal against the Colorado Rockies on August 21, 2015.

Strawberry also became just the third Met to score five runs in a game, after Lenny Randle in 1978 and Lee Mazzilli in 1979.  In addition, the Straw Man drove in five runs, making him the first Mets player to have a five-run, five-RBI game in franchise history.  The only other Mets to accomplish that rare feat since August 16, 1987 are Edgardo Alfonzo, who produced six runs and five RBI against the Houston Astros on August 30, 1999, and Céspedes in the aforementioned 2015 affair.  He had seven RBI to go with his five runs scored.

Dykstra also made Mets history in the game, becoming the first Met to collect seven at-bats in a nine-inning game.  The only Met to match Dykstra since then is Luis Hernandez, who went 3-for-7 in an 18-5 thrashing of the Cubs in 2010, which, just like Dykstra's record-setting effort 23 years earlier, took place on a lazy Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

Strawberry and Dykstra victimized several Cubs pitchers that day, including starting pitcher Greg Maddux.  Maddux collected almost 10% of his 355 career wins against the Mets.  His 35 victories (against 19 losses) are the most by any pitcher against New York.  However, one of his worst pitching performances against the Mets (or any other club) took place on that Sunday afternoon in the North Side of Chicago.

Throughout his major league career, which resulted in a much-deserved call to the Baseball Hall of Fame this year, Maddux was always known as a control pitcher, as he walked fewer than 1,000 batters in over 5,000 innings.  But on August 16, 1987 against the Mets, Maddux pitched 3⅔ innings and was charged with seven earned runs allowed.  He gave up six hits and a very un-Maddux-like five bases on balls.  Let's dissect Maddux's effort to see just how much of an anomaly this game was for him.

Greg Maddux would have preferred starting at Shea Stadium on August 16, 1987.

Greg Maddux made 740 starts in his big league career.  He issued five bases on balls or more in just 20 of those starts.  But in 14 of those 20 starts, he lasted at least six innings, giving him more time to issue those free passes.  Maddux wouldn't have another game in which he lasted fewer than four innings and allowed five or more walks until 2004, a year in which he produced his first ERA above 4.00 since - you guessed it - 1987.

Maddux also allowed seven earned runs in the game, which was the first time he had ever allowed that many runs in one of his starts.  Maddux would go on to allow seven or more earned runs in a start a total of 27 times in his career, including three more times against the Mets, but he never walked more than three batters in any of his other seven-run efforts.  The game on August 16, 1987 was the only time in his 23-year career that Maddux allowed seven or more runs and walked more than three batters.  And that was from a future Hall of Famer who beat the Mets more than any other pitcher in the 56-year history of the club.

Going into their series finale against the Cubs on August 16, 1987, the Mets were in a hitting slump and got out of it in a major way at Wrigley Field.  They scored more runs in that one game than they did in their previous eight contests combined.  By doing so, the Mets established a new franchise record with their 23-run outburst in Chicago and were able to use that game as a stepping stone that carried them all the way until the last week of the season, when they were eliminated from playoff contention by the Cardinals.  And it all happened exactly 30 years ago today.



 

The Most With The Least: Tim Teufel (1987)

Sometimes a baseball player gets benched because he's not performing well.  This occasionally leads to the benched player asking how he's supposed to prove himself on the field if he's not allowed to take the field.  However, for some players, spending time on the bench helps them become more productive when they are given the opportunity to start.  Take, for example, the case of a former Mets player and current Mets coach who was an everyday player before coming to New York and then found himself as part of a platoon just as he was entering the prime years of his playing career.

For two seasons in Minnesota, he was the team's starting second baseman.  In his first full season with the Twins, he showed uncharacteristic power potential for a middle infielder, smacking 30 doubles and 14 homers in 652 plate appearances.  His efforts did not go unnoticed, as he placed fourth in that year's American League Rookie of the Year vote.

The following season saw a slight dropoff in his extra-base hit numbers (24 doubles, 10 homers), but nothing too serious to suggest that he was expendable.  However, the Twins struggled tremendously with their pitchers, finishing near the bottom of the American League in that department.  They needed to upgrade the team's pitching if they wanted to compete in their division and so they traded their young second baseman to the New York Mets for two minor league pitching prospects and a former first round draft pick.  The Mets now had a right-handed hitting platoon partner for Wally Backman at second base to take the place of Kelvin Chapman, who batted .174 in the role the year before.  Before long, it was clear that this former Twin wasn't going to be Chapman's twin in the hitting department.

Tim Teufel had many opposing pitchers on their knees in 1987.  (Barry Colla Photography)

Timothy Shawn Teufel had over 1,000 at-bats as the Twins starting second baseman in 1984 and 1985.  But as a second baseman for the Mets playing mostly against left-handed pitchers, he amassed just 279 at-bats in 1986, starting in 70 of the team's 162 games.  Despite the decreased workload, Teufel still managed 24 extra-base hits and 31 RBI for the Mets in 1986, which represented a tremendous upgrade from Kelvin Chapman's 1985 numbers against southpaws (.172 batting average, two extra-base hits, seven RBI in 128 at-bats).

In 1984 and 1985, Wally Backman was forced to hit against left-handed pitching more often than manager Davey Johnson would have liked because of Chapman's inability to produce much of anything against them.  Backman ended up averaging close to 500 at-bats in each season and batted .280 and .273 in the two years before Teufel's acquisition.  However, the switch-hitting Backman was even more futile than Chapman was against left-handed pitching, batting an anemic .122 (16-for-131) versus southpaws in 1985.  The trade for Teufel immediately allowed Backman to play exclusively against right-handed pitching and resulted in Backman's most productive season at the plate in 1986 - a year in which he batted .320 and struck out just 32 times in 440 plate appearances, an average of one strikeout every 13.8 plate appearances.  (Batting more often against left-handed pitchers in 1984 and 1985, Backman fanned 135 times in 1,073 plate appearances, averaging one whiff every 7.9 plate appearances in those seasons.)

While the two pitching prospects (Bill Latham, Joe Klink) and former first round draft pick (future Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane) struggled in Minnesota, Teufel found a home in New York.  The Connecticut native thrived in his new role as the team's part-time second baseman, and his arrival also brought out the best in his platoon partner.  Teufel's first season in New York ended with a World Series victory, one in which he was a healthy contributor at the plate, posting an impressive .444/.500/.889 slash line in the three games he started against Boston lefty Bruce Hurst.  Hurst allowed just two extra-base hits in the series, with both of them (a double and a homer) coming off the bat of Tim Teufel.

Teufel's fielding wasn't always the best, as evidenced by his costly error in Game One of the Fall Classic, but his hitting usually overshadowed his shortcomings on defense and allowed the Mets to be deeper on the bench, as seen in a game during the Mets' dominant summer run in 1986, when Teufel's pinch-hit grand slam off Philadelphia's Tom Hume gave the Mets a thrilling extra-inning victory.

The Mets followed up their historic 1986 campaign with a disappointing 1987 season.  In 1986, the quartet of Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez and Bob Ojeda combined to start 128 games, with each starter making at least 30 starts.  A year later, the post-championship hangover affected the entire staff, with the four hurlers making just 91 starts between them and only Darling taking the ball more than 27 times.  Injuries and substance abuse curtailed the seasons of the once-dominant starting rotation, with each starter, including Darling, spending time on the disabled list in 1987.

With pitchers such as John Mitchell, Terry Leach, Don Schulze, John Candelaria and Tom Edens making unexpected starts for the Mets, it behooved the offense to carry the team even more in 1987.  Darryl Strawberry and Howard Johnson contributed greatly, becoming the first pair of teammates to produce a season with 30+ homers and 30+ stolen bases.  The newly acquired Kevin McReynolds also had a fine season, missing a 30 HR, 100 RBI campaign by just one blast and five ribbies.  But an unheralded hitting star of the 1987 season was not one of the big boppers, as Tim Teufel had one of the most productive campaigns ever produced by a part-time player in team history, shuffling his way into the hearts of Mets fans with his phenomenal performance.

YouTube video courtesy of CourtsideTweets

Once again, Teufel started in less than half of the team's games, as his name was in Davey Johnson's starting lineup just 71 times in 1987, but despite not reaching 300 at-bats for the second straight year (he had 299), Teufel managed to have the type of season he produced when he was an everyday player for the Twins.

Nine players had more at-bats than Teufel did for the Mets in 1987, including fellow second baseman Wally Backman, but Teufel still managed to finish fourth on the team in doubles (29), sixth in homers (14), sixth in RBI (61) and fifth in WAR (3.5).  He also led the team in batting average (.308), on-base percentage (.398 - tied for the team lead with Strawberry) and was runner-up to Strawberry in slugging percentage (.545), OPS (.943) and OPS+ (153).  In doing so, Teufel made team history by becoming just the third player with at least 350 plate appearances (he had 351) to produce an OPS+ higher than 150, joining Cleon Jones - who produced a 151 OPS+ in 1969 - and Strawberry.  Teufel also became the third Mets player with that many plate appearances to produce an OPS higher than .900, also joining Jones and Strawberry.

At no point of the season was Teufel hotter than he was during a two-month stretch from June to August, when the Mets went from being a fourth-place team with a .500 record to a second-place team, knocking on the door of the first-place Cardinals.  From June 9 to August 6, Teufel played in 25 games (22 starts), missing two weeks in late June with a strained right hamstring.  Teufel helped the Mets win 16 of those 25 games, reaching base 43 times and batting .348 with a lofty 1.118 OPS.  More than half of Teufel's 31 hits during his hot streak went for extra bases (10 doubles, 7 HR) and he drove in 22 runs in 89 at-bats, averaging nearly one RBI every four at-bats.

Perhaps the most incredible stat about Teufel's 1987 campaign is the following.  A total of 20 players with at least 350 plate appearances in a single season have batted higher than .308 for the Mets.  Likewise, ten Mets players have produced an OBP higher than .398 and ten players have surpassed a .545 slugging percentage.  But prior to 1987, no Mets player had ever produced a .308/.398/.545 slash line and only John Olerud (1998), Mike Piazza (1998, 2000) and David Wright (2007) have been able to match or surpass Teufel in all three categories since his spectacular 1987 campaign.

Betcha never thought you'd see Tim Teufel's name mentioned in the same sentence as these three Mets all-time greats.

Tim Teufel had 29 doubles and 61 RBI in a limited number of plate appearances in 1987.  Out of all the Mets players with fewer than 400 plate appearances in a single season through the 2015 campaign, no one has produced as many doubles as Teufel did in '87.  (Desi Relaford had 27 doubles in 340 plate appearances in 2001.)  And the only player in the franchise's first 50-plus years to surpass the 61 RBI produced by Teufel in under 400 plate appearances was Steve Henderson, who had 65 RBI in 398 plate appearances in 1977.  (Teufel still had a higher RBI/PA ratio, driving in a run every 5.75 plate appearances while Henderson had an RBI every 6.12 PA.)

Unfortunately, Teufel's amazing 1987 campaign has been mostly overlooked because that season is mostly remembered for the plethora of unexpected visits to the disabled list by the team's pitchers.  Teufel's campaign also occurred in a non-playoff year, as it took place in between the team's 1986 championship season and their 1988 division title.

Although Teufel remained on the team until 1991, his plate appearances dwindled following his breakout 1987 season.  He came up to the plate 309 times in 1988, had 254 plate appearances in 1989 and came up to bat just 192 times in 1990.  His 1990 campaign was reminiscent of his spectacular 1987 season as Teufel had 21 extra-base hits (11 doubles, 10 homers) despite not reaching 200 plate appearances.  But Teufel had just four hits in 34 at-bats through late May in 1991, and as a result, he was traded to the San Diego Padres for shortstop Garry Templeton, playing the final three seasons of his career as a part-time player with the Padres.

Teufel returned to the Mets after a few years away from the game and has served as an instructor, coach and minor league manager within the organization.  Since 2012, he has worked at the major league level, serving as the Mets' third base coach.  Just as his former manager, Buddy Harrelson, was the only man to be in uniform for the 1969 and 1986 World Series championship teams (Harrelson was the team's third base coach in 1986), Teufel is the only person to be in uniform for the 1986 and 2015 Mets teams that reached the Fall Classic.

(Getty Images)

"I'm so happy for these guys to get this feeling as a player.  Not everybody gets this chance.  I had it as a player, but as a coach I'm happy for these guys and I'm happy for the coaching staff."
 
--Tim Teufel, on reaching the 2015 World Series.




Tim Teufel's six-year tenure as a part-time second baseman with the Mets was solid, but unspectacular.  He never played 100 games in any of his half-dozen seasons in New York and only managed 35 homers and 164 RBI in nearly 1,500 plate appearances with the team.  But his acquisition solidified the second base position, providing the team with a high-average, base-stealing threat against right-handed pitchers in Wally Backman and a power-hitting presence versus left-handers in Teufel.  Whereas southpaws relished facing the Mets' second basemen whenever Backman or Kelvin Chapman came up to the plate in 1984 and 1985, they had to pitch more carefully against Teufel, who collected 83 extra-base hits in 810 at-bats against left-handers as a Met from 1986 to 1991.

Teufel reached the postseason twice in 1986 and 1988, but what he did in the year between his playoff appearances was the highlight of his career.  He turned a part-time job into a full-time nightmare for opposing pitchers.  And in doing so, he was responsible for one of the quietest career years by a Mets player and one of the most impressive full-season performances by a platoon player in franchise history.  Teufel made his way to the majors as an everyday player with the Minnesota Twins.  He stayed in the majors by accepting a role as a part-time player for the New York Mets who made the most of his sporadic playing opportunities.

And more than three decades after the trade for Teufel was consummated, he remains a part of the Mets on-field family.  Not bad for a player who spent a good chunk of his playing career on the bench.


Note:  The Most With The Least is a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting those Mets players who performed at a high level without receiving the accolades or playing time their more established teammates got, due to injuries, executive decisions or other factors.  For previous installments, please click on the players' names below:

January 4, 2016: Benny Agbayani
January 11, 2016: Donn Clendenon

The 2015 Mets Are Going Where Few Mets Teams Have Gone Before

Cespe-date good times, come on!  (Photo by Tommy Gilligan/USA TODAY Sports)

On Friday, the Mets won their fifth consecutive game, taking a 5-1 decision over the Atlanta Braves.  The win, coupled with the Nationals' 2-1 loss to the Miami Marlins, increased the Mets' lead over Washington to a season-high 8½ games.

The season is not over yet, even with the Mets' magic number down to 14.  If you look hard enough, you will find a pessimistic Mets fan who will remind you that when the team had a seven-game lead with 17 to play in 2007, the magic number had already been shaved down to 11 at that point.  However, with Washington seemingly on a collision course with the .500 mark and the Mets winning 31 of their last 44 games, the club's coronation as division champions appears to be inevitable.

Since the N.L. East crown is still officially up for grabs (barely), let's look at one thing that has already become certain.  This tweet by a stalker of this site says it all.

The Mets have led the NL East by at least 8 1/2 games in five seasons - 1969, 1986, 1988, 2006 and 2015.

— Ed Leyro (@Studi_Metsimus) September 12, 2015

The first four times the Mets took an 8½-game lead, they won division titles in each season.  The 1969 squad did not lead the N.L. East by at least 8½ games until the next-to-last day of the regular season, when it held a nine-game lead over the Chicago Cubs.  That team lost the regular season finale to win the division by eight games.  Therefore, should the Mets defeat the Braves tonight and the Nationals drop another decision to the Marlins, New York would have a division lead greater than nine games for just the fourth time in team history, matching the accomplishment of the 1986, 1988 and 2006 squads.  Those teams once led their respective divisions by 22 games, 15 games and 16½ games, respectively.

One of the main reasons why the Mets have built a seemingly comfortable lead in the N.L. East is because they have beaten up on their division rivals.  New York has gone 14-2 versus Philadelphia, 10-6 against both Miami and Washington and 8-6 when taking on Atlanta.  That gives the Mets a total of 42 victories against the foes they see the most.  Now let's consider this tweet by that stalker I can't seem to get rid of.

Mets are 42-20 vs. NL East teams. No other team has more than 35 wins against teams in its own division. (Royals and Dodgers have 35 each.)

— Ed Leyro (@Studi_Metsimus) September 12, 2015

The Mets feast on division rivals more than any other team in baseball and appear poised to lead the majors in wins within their own division - a feat that's been even rarer in team history than the 8½-game division lead.

As stated before, prior to this season, only four Mets teams had ever led the division by as many as 8½ games.  But only three teams in club annals have ever led the majors in division victories, and it has hasn't happened in over a quarter century.

The 1986, 1987 and 1988 Mets are the only squads in franchise history to win more games within their division than any other team in baseball.  The 1986 World Champion Mets won 59 games against their N.L. East rivals, which was three more than the 56 wins their NLCS opponent - the Houston Astros - posted against N.L. West teams.

The following season, key disabled list stints for the entire starting rotation kept the Mets from returning to the postseason, but didn't prevent them from leading the majors in wins within their division.  The second-place Mets went 53-37 in the N.L. East, which was one game better than the second-place Reds, who were 52-38 in the N.L. West.

In 1988, the Mets won their second division title in three seasons, a crown that was fueled by the team's domination of the N.L. East.  New York finished with a 57-33 record against its division rivals.  No American League team won more than 47 games within its division and only the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League were able to join the Mets in winning more than 50 division games - they were 53-37 against the N.L. West.  That was the last time a Mets team won more games in its own division than any other club in baseball.

Incredibly, the 1969 and 2006 Mets - who posted the third and fifth-best records in franchise history, respectively, and both won division titles - did not lead the majors in wins within their divisions.

The Miracle Mets of 1969, who were 57-33 against the N.L. East, actually had three teams finish ahead of them in the race for superiority within a division, and all three teams were the division champions that didn't win the World Series that year.  The N.L. West champion Atlanta Braves finished 58-32 in its division, while the two American League division winners - the Baltimore Orioles and Minnesota Twins - finished 58-32 and 59-31, respectively, against their division rivals.

In 2006, the Mets went 45-29 versus the N.L. East, which was one win fewer than the crosstown Yankees and the Cincinnati Reds posted against their division rivals.  Both teams finished 46-28 against their hated foes.

The 2015 Mets have surprised many experts by not only leading the division this late in the season, but by holding a commanding advantage over the heavily favored Washington Nationals.  In doing so, they are accomplishing things that very few Mets teams in the past have accomplished.

Their 8½ (and growing) game lead in the N.L. East is only the fifth time a Mets team has ever led a division by that many games.  The previous four times it happened, the Mets won division titles.  And their 42 wins within the N.L. East could potentially make this year's Mets squad only the fourth in team history - and the first since 1988 - to lead the majors in division victories.  The 2015 Mets have seven more wins in their division than any other team has in theirs.  No Mets club has ever had more than a four-game advantage over all other teams in games played within the division.

The classic TV show, Star Trek, attempted to boldly go where no man had gone before.  The stars on the 2015 Mets are approaching the end of their 162-game trek, hoping to advance to the postseason for only the eighth time in the team's 54-season history.  But along the way to the promised land, the current team is doing things that few Mets teams have done before.  And if they continue to do so, the Mets might reach the final frontier around late October or early November.
   

August 16, 1987: Mets Score Club-Record 23 Runs

The late Harry Caray probably wishes he hadn't been taken out to the ballgame on August 16, 1987.

Note:  I originally published this piece five years ago on Mets Merized Online, but this Mets game from 1987 has always fascinated me, and I have since uncovered some more oddities about this game.  Therefore, I felt compelled to make some quick edits and share this piece once again with you.  Enjoy!


The New York Mets are currently playing a three-game set against the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field.  Twenty-seven years ago today, the Mets were also playing the Cubs, although the venue on that lazy Sunday afternoon was Wrigley Field in Chicago.  One year after winning the 1986 World Series, the Mets were battling the St. Louis Cardinals for the division title and needed to win the finale of their four-game series against the Cubs after dropping the first three games.  They were in the throes of a poor stretch that saw them lose six out of eight games after they had cut the Cardinals’ lead in the division from 10½ to 3½ games.  In that eight-game stretch, they had scored only 20 runs.  They needed to bust out of their slump quickly if they were going to continue to stay in the race with St. Louis.  Fortunately, the wind was blowing out at Wrigley Field on August 16 and the Mets’ bats were ready to take advantage.

The starting pitchers were Ron Darling for the Mets and a kid for the Cubs who had just been recalled from the minors after being sent down two weeks earlier due to a poor 6-10 start for the big club.  You may have heard of him.  He was a scrawny 21-year-old kid named Greg Maddux.

The Mets jumped out of the box quickly, scoring three runs in the first inning to take an early lead.  The lead had extended to 7-0 by the time the Cubs came up to bat in the bottom of the fourth inning.  However, Ron Darling struggled in the fourth, giving up a grand slam to catcher Jody Davis.  That was followed up by a home run from the next batter, a rookie who was pinch-hitting for Cubs reliever (and former Met) Ed Lynch.  That rookie was Rafael Palmeiro, who hit the tenth of his 569 career home runs to cut the Mets lead to 7-5.

Fortunately for Darling, manager Davey Johnson did not remove him from the game despite the poor inning.  He was allowed to put out the fire he started and pitch the minimum five innings required to qualify for the victory.  Because of that, Darling was able to stick around to reap the benefits of the additional fireworks displayed by his teammates as they continued to ride the jet stream out of Wrigley Field.

The Mets immediately responded to the Cubs’ five-run fourth by scoring three runs in the fifth inning and seven additional runs in the sixth.  They now had a commanding 17-5 lead, but the Cubbie carnage continued.  Not satisfied with a lead of a dozen runs, they scored three additional runs in both the seventh and eighth innings.  Jesse Orosco relieved Darling in the seventh and gave up four runs in his inning of work, but by then, the Mets had already put the game away.  A run by Chicago in the ninth inning off Jeff Innis produced the final tally in the Mets’ 23-10 shellacking of the Cubs.

The offense was powered by Lenny Dykstra and Darryl Strawberry.  Eights were wild for the two Met outfielders, as they combined for eight hits, eight runs scored and eight runs batted in.  Strawberry in particular smoked the Cubs’ pitchers, as all four of his hits went for extra bases (two doubles, a triple and a home run).

Dykstra and Strawberry - two smiling California kids who put lots of frowns on Cubs fans' faces on August 16, 1987.

In doing so, Strawberry became just the third Met to produce four extra-base hits in one game, joining Joe Christopher, who accomplished the feat in 1964, and Tim Teufel, who turned the trick just six weeks prior to Strawberry.  Strawberry added a stolen base in the second inning, making him the first and only Met to collect four extra-base hits and a stolen base in the same game.

Strawberry also became just the third Met to score five runs in a game, after Lenny Randle in 1978 and Lee Mazzilli in 1979.  In addition, the Straw Man drove in five runs, making him the first Mets player to have a five-run, five-RBI game in franchise history.  The only other Met to accomplish that rare feat since August 16, 1987 is Edgardo Alfonzo, who produced six runs and five RBI against the Houston Astros on August 30, 1999.

Dykstra also made Mets history in the game, becoming the first Met to collect seven at-bats in a nine-inning game.  The only Met to match Dykstra since then is Luis Hernandez, who went 3-for-7 in an 18-5 thrashing of the Cubs in 2010, which, just like Dykstra's record-setting effort 23 years earlier, took place on a lazy Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

Strawberry and Dykstra victimized several Cubs pitchers that day, including starting pitcher Greg Maddux.  Maddux collected almost 10% of his 355 career wins against the Mets.  His 35 victories (against 19 losses) are the most by any pitcher against New York.  However, one of his worst pitching performances against the Mets (or any other club) took place on that Sunday afternoon in the North Side of Chicago.

Throughout his major league career, which resulted in a much-deserved call to the Baseball Hall of Fame this year, Maddux was always known as a control pitcher, as he walked fewer than 1,000 batters in over 5,000 innings.  But on August 16, 1987 against the Mets, Maddux pitched 3⅔ innings and was charged with seven earned runs allowed.  He gave up six hits and a very un-Maddux-like five bases on balls.  Let's dissect Maddux's effort to see just how much of an anomaly this game was for him.

Greg Maddux would have preferred starting at Shea Stadium on August 16, 1987.

Greg Maddux made 740 starts in his big league career.  He issued five bases on balls or more in just 20 of those starts.  But in 14 of those 20 starts, he lasted at least six innings, giving him more time to issue those free passes.  Maddux wouldn't have another game in which he lasted fewer than four innings and allowed five or more walks until 2004, a year in which he produced his first ERA above 4.00 since - you guessed it - 1987.

Maddux also allowed seven earned runs in the game, which was the first time he had ever allowed that many runs in one of his starts.  Maddux would go on to allow seven or more earned runs in a start a total of 27 times in his career, including three more times against the Mets, but he never walked more than three batters in any of his other seven-run efforts.  The game on August 16, 1987 was the only time in his 23-year career that Maddux allowed seven or more runs and walked more than three batters.  And that was from a future Hall of Famer who beat the Mets more than any other pitcher in the 53-year history of the club.

Going into their series finale against the Cubs on August 16, 1987, the Mets were in a hitting slump and got out of it in a major way at Wrigley Field.  They scored more runs in that one game than they did in their previous eight contests.  By doing so, the Mets established a new franchise record with their 23-run outburst in Chicago and were able to use that game as a stepping stone that carried them all the way until the last week of the season, when they were eliminated from playoff contention by the Cardinals.  And it all happened 27 years ago today.
 

One Season Wonders: Terry Leach

Many players have dreams of making it to the major leagues.  Some go through many years of minor league seasoning before getting their first call to the big show.  Others bounce around from team to team in the hopes of getting a small taste of big league baseball.  Those who do both rarely get to stay in the majors for very long, usually getting a cup of coffee with the parent club before being relegated to the bench or back to the minors.

One former Met fit the criteria for all of the above scenarios, as Terry Leach was originally selected by the Boston Red Sox in the seventh round of the 1976 MLB January draft.  Soon after, that pick was voided and Leach became a free agent.  In 1977, Leach signed with the Atlanta Braves, toiling in their minor league system for four years before being released midway through the 1980 season.  New Mets GM Frank Cashen, always on the lookout for fresh young talent, scooped up Leach four days after his release from the Braves.

Leach had two brief stints with the Mets in 1981 and 1982 as a spot starter and reliever.  In 1981, he went 1-1 with a 2.55 ERA in 21 games (one start).  Leach regressed in 1982, posting a 5.35 ERA over his first 20 appearances, all in relief, before finally getting a start during the last weekend of the season against the Philadelphia Phillies.  In that start, Leach gave the Mets one of the best pitching performances in franchise history.  He threw ten shutout innings while allowing only one hit, a fifth inning triple to Luis Aguayo.  The Mets, who themselves had only one hit through the first nine innings, won the game for Leach by manufacturing a run in the tenth inning.  It was Leach's first career victory as a starter.

The dominating start by Leach to close out the 1982 season didn't translate into future success with the Mets, as Leach began the 1983 season at AAA-Tidewater and fared poorly, going 5-7 with a 4.46 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in 113 innings.  He was traded to the Chicago Cubs that summer for two minor leaguers and it was believed that his once promising career with the Mets had come to a close.  However, this was not the case, as a few short years later, Leach turned in one of the most unexpected seasons in Mets' history.

It took many years and organizations for Terry Leach to become a one-season wonder for the Mets.

Terry Hester Leach had thrown his last pitch for the Mets following the 1982 season, or so he thought.  The 1982 season only turned out to be the final chapter in Act One of Terry Leach's career with the Mets.  After his trade to the Cubs in 1983, Leach was dealt back to the Atlanta Braves, the team for which he began his professional career in 1977.  A month later, Leach was released a second time by the Braves and was re-signed the next day by Frank Cashen.  Given a new lease on his baseball life by the Mets, Leach was not going to disappoint the team.

Leach, now in his 30s, began the 1985 season in the Mets' minor league system, but didn't stay there very long.  In 24 relief appearances for Tidewater, Leach was dominant, posting a 1.59 ERA and 0.90 WHIP.  His performance for the Tides got Leach a call to the majors in June, where he once again pitched in relief with an occasional spot start when needed.  Leach performed well in his first extended stay in the majors, going 3-4 with a 2.91 ERA in 55.2 innings of work.  However, it was his work as a spot starter that got the most attention.  In four starts, Leach went 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA and 1.05 WHIP.  Opposing batters were confounded by Leach's submarine delivery and when they did get on base, they didn't hit the ball very hard.  Leach held hitters to a .221 batting average in those four starts, to go with a .272 on-base percentage and a lilliputian .295 slugging percentage.

Judging by his performance in four starts during the 1985 season, Leach appeared to be on his way to becoming a successful starting pitcher in the major leagues.  But then came the 1986 season, a season in which Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, Bobby Ojeda and Rick Aguilera made 148 of the team's 162 starts and combined to go 76-30.  With Gooden, Darling, Fernandez and Ojeda all pitching over 200 innings each, and Roger McDowell and Jesse Orosco combining to throw over 200 more, it was difficult for Leach to pitch in any role for the 1986 Mets.  As a result, Leach pitched mostly at Tidewater, going 4-4 with a 2.49 ERA in 34 appearances (15 starts), while only making six appearances (all in relief) for the 1986 Mets.

The 1987 season appeared to be no different for Leach, as the same five starters who took over the 1986 season were scheduled to begin the '87 season in the rotation.  Then Gooden missed the first two months of the season to check himself into rehab for cocaine abuse, giving Leach a spot on the major league roster.  It was an opportunity that Leach had been looking forward to for the better part of a decade.

At the age of 33, Leach was finally part of an Opening Day roster for the first time in his professional career.  Although he began the season pitching out of the bullpen, Leach performed extremely well in that role.  Leach made 18 relief appearances in April and May, going 3-0 with a 2.37 ERA and 1.19 WHIP.  But once Rick Aguilera was placed on the disabled list in late May with a strained elbow ligament, joining the rehabbing Dwight Gooden and the injured Bobby Ojeda, another spot opened up in the starting rotation.  Leach was tabbed by manager Davey Johnson to face Fernando Valenzuela and the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 1.  It would become the most important start in Terry Leach's career.

Leach pitched well against the Dodgers, besting Valenzuela with six strong innings.  He allowed one unearned run on four hits while walking one batter in the 5-2 Mets victory.  It was the first of 12 starts Leach would make during the 1987 season and each one appeared to come after another starter got hurt.

As players continued to succumb to injuries, Leach continue to thrive with his increased workload and responsibility.  Eight days after making his first start of the season,  Leach made his second.  He pitched well again, allowing two earned runs to the Chicago Cubs in six innings of work.  But the bullpen failed that afternoon at Wrigley Field, as Randy Myers and Roger McDowell combined to give up the go-ahead runs in the eighth inning of the Mets' 6-5 loss.  With the loss, the Mets dropped to 28-28 on the season.  They were in fourth place in the NL East and hopes of repeating as World Series champions were fading fast.  It was then that Terry Leach went on an unprecedented run of success for the Mets.

Following the bullpen meltdown on June 9, the team went on a major roll, going 35-18 over the next 53 games to move into second place in the NL East and within striking distance of the first place St. Louis Cardinals.  By the time the run ended in mid-August, the Mets had added Sid Fernandez to the long list of players who spent time on the disabled list.  But by then, Terry Leach had done what no one had expected him to do and what no other Mets pitcher had ever done before him.

From mid-June to mid-August, Leach made eight more starts.  The Mets won all eight of those starts.  Over that magical two-month stretch, Leach went 6-0 with two no-decisions.  He allowed two runs or less in six of those eight starts, which included his second career shutout, a two-hit masterpiece over the Cincinnati Reds on July 2.  When his streak of excellence ended, Leach's record stood at a perfect 10-0, making him the first pitcher in Mets history to win his first ten decisions in a single season.

Leach finally suffered his first loss of the season on August 15, allowing four runs in a 7-3 loss to the Cubs.  He made one more start after that loss, receiving a no-decision in the Mets' 7-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants on August 20, then returned to the bullpen for the rest of the season once the injured starters returned to the land of the healthy.  As a reliever, Leach won his 11th game of the year on September 8, earning the victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.  That win, followed by the following night's victory, pulled the Mets to within 1½ games of the division-leading Cardinals.  It was the closest the Mets would get to first place in 1987.  However, the Mets would never have found themselves in such close proximity to the division lead had it not been for Herculean effort of Terry Leach.

With injuries no longer a problem following the 1987 season, Terry Leach went back into the Mets bullpen for good.   Leach made 52 appearances in 1988, all in relief, en route to a 7-2 record and 2.54 ERA.  In 1989, Leach made 10 relief appearances for the Mets, but saw his ERA rise to 4.22.  On June 9, the Mets traded Leach to the Kansas City Royals for minor league pitcher Aguedo Vasquez.  Vasquez never pitched for the Mets and was out of professional baseball by age 24.  Leach's trade began a flurry of activity for the Mets, as a number of mainstays from the 1986 World Series champions such as Lenny Dykstra, Roger McDowell, Mookie Wilson, Lee Mazzilli and Rick Aguilera were either waived or traded.

Once traded by the Mets, Leach's career resembled his early days in professional baseball.  He was released by the Royals in 1990 and was signed by the Minnesota Twins.  He pitched two seasons in Minnesota, appearing in 105 games (all in relief) and winning a World Series ring in 1991.  He then signed with Montreal as a free agent in 1992 before being released by the Expos prior to Opening Day.  One day after his release, he was signed by the Chicago White Sox, pitching the final two seasons of his career (1992-1993) as a member of the Pale Hose.

Terry Leach was not a typical pitcher.  He didn't overpower opposing batters with a blazing fastball or possess a standard out pitch.  But for one incredible season, he was as dominant as any pitcher in the Mets' rotation.  In 1987, Leach was 11-1 for the Mets in a season where each member of the starting rotation spent time on the disabled list.  Leach pitched in six other seasons for the Mets but only managed to win 13 games in those other half-dozen campaigns.

Terry Leach's overall numbers in New York were very good.  He was 24-9 with a 3.11 ERA in 176 career appearances.  Of those 176 appearances, all but 18 came in relief.  But what he did in those 18 starts was more crucial than anything he did in his plethora of relief appearances.  Terry Leach did everything he could to save the Mets' season in 1987, but couldn't do it all on his own.  Despite his best efforts, the Mets still finished three games behind the pennant-winning St. Louis Cardinals in the NL East.  But the season could have been over well before Terry Pendleton effectively ended it on that infamous night in September at Shea Stadium.

From his beginnings in Selma, Alabama to the bright lights of New York, Terry Leach did nothing but fight his way to get to the big leagues.  He could have given up on his dream every time he was released or traded, but instead chose to use the rejection as motivation to continue to be the best pitcher he could be, regardless of the role he was used in.  Terry Leach had a dream season for the Mets in 1987 and although it was his only year in the spotlight, it was one of the most important seasons by a pitcher in club history.  Not bad for the kid from the small town in Alabama.

Note: One Season Wonders is a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting those Mets who had one and only one memorable season in New York.  For previous installments, please click on the players' names below:
 
January 2, 2012: Bernard Gilkey