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3 strange coincidences from the two Mets World Series victories

Is it a strange coincidence or something more?

By Tim Boyle |
New York Mets
New York Mets / Focus On Sport/GettyImages
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Discovering patterns is a large part of being human. It’s how we learn about the world around us. Touch something hot, it hurts. Eat something delicious, you feel guilty after. The New York Mets have only won two World Series and yet there are three strange coincidences that are impossible to deny.

1) NY Mets World Series coincidence: Both MVPs wore 22

If you love numbers, the fact that both Mets World Series MVPs wore the same number is something to raise an eyebrow at. What are the odds? Mathematically, it’s less than 1 out of 100 because not every number is taken. Nevertheless, it’s strange for the number 22 to have such significance in Mets history from a pair of players who weren’t even the best ones on the roster.

Donn Clendenon got it started in 1969 when he came over to the Mets midseason. With number 22 on his back, he helped the Mets overtake the World Series-favorite Baltimore Orioles. 

When we got to 1986, it was another trade addition who managed to win the honor with the same repeating digit on his back. This time it was Ray Knight. While he wasn’t acquired in the same year when he won the World Series MVP, it adds another layer to this strange coincidence.

At the start of every Mets season it’s important to know who has number 22 on their back. That’s the player that has the best chance at winning the World Series MVP, but only if the team actually comes away victorious.

Hank Webb wore it in 1973 and in 2000, Al Leiter had the number 22 on his back. The number belonged to Kevin Plawecki in 2015 and it’s Brett Baty who has worn it most recently.

2) NY Mets World Series coincidence: Davey Johnson was on both sides

Not too many people were in attendance for the 1969 World Series and the 1986 one. Even fewer wore a uniform. Tom Seaver won with the Mets in 1969. In 1986, he was a member of the Boston Red Sox but didn’t pitch in the postseason.

More significant of a coincidence goes back to the final out of the first Mets championship. It was a Davey Johnson fly ball into the glove of Cleon Jones to end the series. Nobody knew at the time that in 1986 it would be Johnson who’d be the manager for the next Mets team to win a championship.

The odds of this happening feel far greater than a shared number. There is only one player to make a final out in each World Series. How many of them ever become big league managers and for the team they made the last out against?

This is a “glitch in the matrix” sort of coincidence. It’s so completely random yet fascinating all at the same time.

3) NY Mets World Series coincidence: The pitcher to throw the final pitch was traded for each other

This is the best World Series coincidence of all. The guy who threw the last pitch in the 1969 World Series would end up traded for the guy who threw it in the 1986 World Series. It’s the kind of coincidence you could put into motion first by trading Jerry Koosman.

Koosman finished what he started in Game 5 of the 1969 World Series. He delivered the ball to Davey Johnson and gave the future Mets manager the courtesy of making the final out. It was one of the many highpoints of his stay in New York.

That stay came to an end on December 8, 1978 when the team sent him to the Minnesota Twins. In return, the Mets received Greg Field and a player to be named later. It wasn’t until February when Jesse Orosco became a member of the Mets organization.

Baseball was a much different sport even by 1986 when it took far more than one pitcher to close out a World Series clincher. Orosco was the Mets closer for the season and the guy who’d strike out Marty Barrett to conclude one of the most famous championship series in all of sports.

Barrett never did go on to become a big league manager. Maybe that explains the drought we’re in.

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