Howard Johnson’s 1986 Time Machine — Episode 22

August 18–24, 1986

Welcome back to the Howard Johnson 1986 Time Machine on KinersKorner.com, where we travel back 40 years to relive one week at a time from the unforgettable 1986 New York Mets season.

This week, the Mets were beginning to make the National League East standings look like a typo.

Starting the week 78-41 and 17 games ahead the Mets swept the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, taking down **Orel Hershiser, Fernando Valenzuela and Dennis Powell** on three consecutive nights.

Then they headed to San Francisco and won the first two games against the Giants, including a **5-3 victory behind Dwight Gooden** and a **3-2 win behind Bob Ojeda**.

Five straight wins later, the Mets were **82-41 with a staggering 20-game lead**.

Then came Sunday.

The Giants jumped all over Rick Aguilera, beating the Mets **10-1** and handing them one of their worst losses of the season.

Final tally for the week: **5 wins, 1 loss, an 82-42 record and a 19-game lead.**

Joining us to break it all down are two members of that legendary team:

⚾ **Howard Johnson** — two-time World Champion, two-time All-Star, three-time 30-30 Club member and one of the most exciting players of the 1980s.

And joining HoJo this week:

🔥 **Jesse Orosco** — All-Star, World Series champion and one of the most important pieces of the 1986 Mets bullpen. Orosco would eventually set the Major League record for pitching appearances, but in 1986, his job was simple: **get three outs.**

We talk with Howard and Jesse about:

• Facing Orel Hershiser and Fernando Valenzuela in Dodger Stadium

• Why the Mets were so difficult to beat in so many different ways

• The confidence inside the pitching staff

• Bob Ojeda's brilliant 3-2 victory over San Francisco

• The different pressure of pitching in close, low-scoring games

• How the bullpen handled a 10-1 blowout

• Whether a 19-game lead changed the clubhouse mentality

• The defined roles that made the Mets bullpen so effective

• When the players began thinking about October

• And the moment Jesse and Howard realized the 1986 Mets might be something truly special

Because the 1986 Mets weren't great because they never lost.

They were great because **one bad day never made them forget just how good they were.**

And with the Mets sitting at **82-42, 19 games ahead**, there was still plenty of baseball — and one unforgettable October — still to come.

**Subscribe to KinersKorner.com** and follow along every week as Howard Johnson takes us back inside the 1986 Mets season, one week at a time.

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