1986 champion Mets players weigh in on 2023 team's struggles

The 1986 championship season will live forever in the minds of Mets fans who were around to see it — all the big personalities and talent, the 108 wins, surviving the NLCS vs. Houston, Mookie and Buckner and the Game 6 World Series comeback for the ages against Boston.

“Very special group,” Darryl Strawberry said Monday, flashing back at his Glen Head Country Club golf tournament that benefited the Strawberry Ministries and reunited about 15 members of that group. “We were never out of a game, no matter what it looked like.”

Now flash forward to the 2023 Mets. They were also supposed to be a special group, a group with championship-contending expectations. But the first half of the season for the team with baseball’s highest payroll has been an epic failure. 

These Mets showed up at Citi Field Tuesday night for their game against Milwaukee at 35-43 and a distant 16 games back of first-place Atlanta. They were 8 1/2 back to draw a wild card.

So what do some of the 1986 Mets think has gone wrong with the 2023 Mets? 

“It’s a little bit of a square peg into a round hole at this point,” new Mets Hall of Famer Howard Johnson said. “Just due to injury or just guys not performing, you put them out there and you just hope that they’re going to do what they’ve always done. In some cases, they will and then in some cases, it’s not working out.

“So you’ve got to figure out what your next strategy is going to be. It’s going to take them all year to get it right. I remember going through periods like this as a player and a coach even, and we would say because you have a good team, basically a good team, that it will figure itself out at some point. But sometimes the more you wait, the further backward you go.”

Is Mookie Wilson, now in an ambassador role with the Mets, surprised at the struggles so far by a team that made the playoffs in 2022?

“No, I’m not surprised,” Wilson said. “I’m a little, I don’t know what to call it. They won a 100-something ballgames (101) last year. I mean, come on, that was a surprise to me. You have talent, but usually after you have a really good season like that, there’s usually a little hangover from that.”

Jesse Orosco flung his glove high above. He went down to his knees and threw his arms in the air before disappearing under a happy pile of Mets in front of the mound after getting Marty Barrett swinging for the final out in Game 7 of the World Series. Shea Stadium erupted in sheer joy.

The 1986 closer hasn’t given up on the 2023 Mets just yet.

“Let’s hope that it's not over,” Orosco said. “It’s been a struggling period of time, and they’re going to have to regroup and find a way to make a surge from here on.”

Mitchell golfs after health issue

Kevin Mitchell came all the way from California to support Strawberry and was even out there playing golf. That’s something this 1986 Mets rookie infielder/outfielder couldn’t have imagined about 8 1/2 years ago. 

The former 13-year major leaguer and 1989 NL MVP with San Francisco said he had a bulging disc in his neck. It was pressing on his spinal cord, and he couldn’t walk. He used the word “paralyzed” and said the problem was caused by “wear and tear” or “torque.”

“They told me I would never walk again,” Mitchell said.

But he underwent neck surgery and eventually recovered to walk unaided. He said he still needs more rehab for one leg.

“I went from wheelchair to walker to cane,” Mitchell said. “ . . . I’m fused in the neck now. I’ve got plates now on each side.”

Mitchell played in seven games for the 1984 Mets and then batted .277 with 12 homers and 43 RBIs for the ’86 team before being traded to San Diego. But he and Strawberry, who are both 61, have remained close.

“He’s always been a blessing in my life since I played with him,” Mitchell said. “ . . . I love what he’s doing. I’ve always loved him. I call him. We talk all the time. Just to hear his voice, I know he’s all right.”