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5 unbelievable NY Mets statistics from the 1986 World Series team

Some of the stats were great. Some were just weird.
ByTim Boyle
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Mets' Ray Knight, Gary Carter, Keith Hernandez and Daryl Strawberry stretch in the outfield before Game 6 against the Red Sox at Shea Stadium Oct. 25, 1986. Mets Vs Red Sox 1986 World Series
Mets' Ray Knight, Gary Carter, Keith Hernandez and Daryl Strawberry stretch in the outfield before Game 6 against the Red Sox at Shea Stadium Oct. 25, 1986. Mets Vs Red Sox 1986 World Series | Frank Becerra Jr/USA TODAY / USA TODAY NETWORK

40 years ago, the New York Mets won a championship and fans have continued their love affair with the 1986 team. That’s what happens when four decades go by without another World Series. Those who were around to celebrate continue the party. Those who weren’t look at old images, videos, and listen to tales of those victorious days in awe.

We know who the heroes were. What about the actual numbers behind it? These five unbelievable stats from the last World Series-winning Mets club are some of the best (and unusual) events on the field that year.

Five impressive, outstanding, or maybe unique stats from the 1986 Mets season

1) Only two pitchers had an ERA over 4.00

Talk about consistency across the board. Forget about sample size. Only two pitchers had an ERA above 4.00 in 1986. Bruce Berenyi at 6.35 in his 39.2 innings was an incredible outlier from everyone else. Randy Myers with a 4.22 ERA was the runner-up for the worst. He logged only 10.2 innings.

2) Nobody lost or saved more games than Roger McDowell

Roger McDowell led the Mets with 22 saves while sharing the closer duties with Jesse Orosco. He also lost more games than anyone else, 9. Rick Aguilera, a starter/reliever that year for the Mets had the second most with 7.

3) Four pitchers with Cy Young votes

No Mets pitcher won the Cy Young, but five had votes. Bob Ojeda finished fourth, Ron Darling was fifth, and we had a tie for seventh-place between Dwight Gooden and Sid Fernandez. Roger McDowell didn’t have any Cy Young votes, but had a 17th place finish in the MVP race. Throwing 128 innings in relief was appreciated even back then.

4) Almost 4 regulars with more walks than strikeouts

Keith Hernandez led the NL with 94 walks and he did it with only 69 strikeouts. He wasn’t alone in walking more than he struck out. Wally Backman had 36 walks vs. 32 strikeouts. Lenny Dykstra was issued 58 free passes and had 55 punchouts charged against him. Gary Carter nearly joined them with 62 walks and 63 strikeouts.

5) Rick Aguilera hit as many home runs as Wally Backman and Rafael Santana combined

Power up the middle wasn’t prevalent for the two regulars at second base and shortstop. Wally Backman and Rafael Santana each only hit one home run. Rick Aguilera hit two. More unusual than anything else, this more represented the Mets’ philosophy of glove-first at second base and shortstop than anything else.

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