The 5 biggest "what ifs" in Mets history

3) What if the Mets won the 1988 NLCS?

The 1986 New York Mets are one of the best teams Major League Baseball has ever seen. Well, similarly to the 1973 team, New York was looking to repeat history just a couple of years later. In 1988, New York won 100 games and was the clear favorite heading into the NLCS against the 94-win Dodgers. 

The Amazins grabbed a 2-1 series lead but Los Angeles would steal Game 4, and win Game 5 the next day, to flip the series in their favor. Then in Game 7 at Dodger Stadium, NLCS MVP Orel Hershiser shut down the Amazins’ offense, throwing a complete game shutout to win the series.

The Dodgers went on to the Fall Classic and Kirk Gibson would create one of the greatest moments in MLB History. The Silver Slugger Award winner that season was dealing with injuries, keeping him out of the lineup in Game 1 against the Oakland Athletics. That didn’t stop him from getting a chance as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 9th against one of the game's best closers, Dennis Eckersley. Gibson hit a walk-off 2-run HR that changed the outlook of that series. The Dodgers went on to win the World Series in five games. 

So, had the Mets beaten Los Angeles in the NLCS we would have never seen that famous Kirk Gibson home run. Would the Mets have defeated the Athletics in the 1988 World Series? It would have been fascinating to see them try and get revenge for 1973.