3 NY Mets players who become franchise icons if the team wins the 1988 World Series

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The 1988 New York Mets were possibly the best team in club history to not win a World Series. Only the 2022 Mets won more games without a parade at the end. This 100-win ball club won the National League East then fell short in the NLCS with a Game 7 loss versus the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Instead of creating a dynasty, the 1988 Mets season ended in sorrow. What if things went differently?

A championship in 1988 would have undoubtedly created a whole new batch of Mets icons. The fallout would have expanded further. At the very least, we’d think of these three players differently.

1) David Cone

Nobody had a better year on the mound for the 1988 Mets. David Cone’s breakout season remains one of the best in franchise history. Awarded a third-place finish in the Cy Young and tenth in the MVP for his 1988 performance, Cone a budding superstar pitcher whose 20-3 record and 2.22 ERA stood tall.

Cone would never quite match some of those numbers while still leading the league in strikeouts twice more during his time in Queens. If not for a .500 record in 1991, he probably would have received some more significant Cy Young consideration. He would’ve had another chance in 1992 if not traded to the American League where he’d help the Toronto Blue Jays win a World Series.

Cone's time with the Mets was brief and because of how much he accomplished later in his career, particularly with the New York Yankees, he's not thought of as a pure Met through and through. He played quite a bit more with the Mets than Yankees but the multiple championships and perfect game changed the perception. The fact that he is a broadcaster for them as well seems to lead to the same conclusion.

Things could’ve been very different if the 1988 Mets were a championship club.

2) Kevin McReynolds

How do Mets fans view Kevin McReynolds all of these years later? Three and a half decades from his third-place MVP finishing season, us youngsters not old enough to remember him only have what others tell us or what we read online.

McReynolds was quiet and didn’t enjoy the spotlight like many of his teammates and was sometimes perceived as aloof by fans. Some even thought of him as lazy.

The numbers tell a far different story. In a lot of ways, he felt like a perfect piece the team needed out in left field during the beginning stage of a transitional period. Gary Carter and Keith Hernandez were now leaders in the locker room in 1988 and less so in the box score.

Consistent numbers from McReynolds in his first four years with the Mets included 20+ home runs and 80+ RBI. He ran, too, especially in 1988 when he swiped 21 bases in as many attempts.

Instead of champion, McReynolds is remembered with different labels. Among the best left fielders to ever suit up for the orange and blue, he’d be up there with others if only he was able to win a World Series with the team.

3) Howard Johnson

Unlike Cone and McReynolds, Howard Johnson actually did win a World Series with the Mets. He was right there in 1986 except he wasn’t nearly as hooked into the core of the roster as he would be by 1988.

The Mets picked Johnson up in a trade with the Detroit Tigers following the 1984 season—a year where HoJo won his first World Series ring. However, with only one playoff at-bat for the Tigers, he undoubtedly was hoping for a bigger role for the Mets’ next run.

Johnson would only see limited action for the 1986 team, batting twice in the NLCS and five more times in the World Series. By 1988, he was the starting third baseman. Unfortunately, he had one of the worst series imaginable going 1 for 18.

The 1988 regular season wasn’t one of Johnson’s best. It came a year after his breakout campaign in 1987 which saw him blast 36 home runs and drive in 99. He was an “every other year” type of player during this period. The 1987, 1989, and 1991 seasons all included 30+ home runs and 99+ RBI. The seasons sandwiched between were less productive.

Johnson is still considered one of the better Mets players thanks to his innate ability to slug home runs and steal bases. Those odd-numbered years during his peak all included 30/30 seasons with home runs and stolen bases.

Highly-regarded, Johnson reaches the next threshold with a Mets championship in 1988. Maybe it’s he who hits an iconic home run off of Dennis Eckersley in the World Series instead.

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3 Mets who are bigger franchise icons if the team wins the 1988 World Series

1) David Cone

2) Kevin McReynolds

3) Howard Johnson

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