The Ultimate New York Mets Time Machine Book by Martin Gitlin

Author:Martin Gitlin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lyons Press
Published: 2021-07-13T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Goodbye Davey, Hello Misery

THE AX FELL ON JOHNSON IN 1990. HIS CLUB HAD FALLEN UNDER .500 at the end of May for the first time since 1983 when Cashen replaced him with third-base coach and former Mets shortstop Bud Harrelson. Johnson was deemed too lax in his discipline, though few complained about him when his players were running around at all hours of the night four years earlier. But what is fine when winning is not fine when losing, and Cashen perceived the team as an undriven underachiever. Harrelson promised to instill a sense of passion.

Among those applauding the move was veteran pitcher Ron Darling, who had bickered with Johnson in 1990 about stints in the bullpen and had been angered a few days previous when the manager refused to order retaliation after Mets batter Kevin Elster had been plunked against San Diego. Some players felt they had let Johnson down. Darling spoke about the respect he and his teammates had for Johnson. But he also hoped Harrelson would lay down the law. “The rules have been there,” he said. “What Buddy is going to do is what the government would call a strict interpretation of the rules. I think he is really going to hold to curfew. There will be no more golf and no more playing cards. There will be a tightening of the reins. On the field. Off the field. Everywhere.”1

The Mets responded—but it took some time. They lost four of five and then caught fire. Their white-hot bats fueled a 25-4 stretch in which they averaged an incredible 6.9 runs per game and vaulted from 8½ games back to a half-game out of first place. They allowed a mere 28 runs during an 11-game winning streak in which Gooden, Cone, and Viola combined to win all seven of their decisions. Among the highlights of the tear was a comeback walk-off win over old friend Roger McDowell and the Phillies that completed a sweep in front of nearly 50,000 fans at Shea Stadium.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.