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October 25, 1986

Fman99 Oct 26 2018 08:58 AM

Yesterday was the 32nd anniversary of Game 6. The Mets twitter feed shared this - the entire game broadcast of that game. I just watched the bottom frame again and it gave me all the goose bumps. Enjoy. [youtube:3jrjj1cd]B0jV_kNs2p0&sf94129907[/youtube:3jrjj1cd]

smg58 Oct 26 2018 09:10 AM Re: October 25, 1986

I remember it like it was yesterday. I remember yesterday like it was 32 years ago.

Benjamin Grimm Oct 26 2018 09:13 AM Re: October 25, 1986

I've seen the video of that ground ball so many times, but when I remember the moment I remember it as I saw it the first time, from high above first base in the Upper Deck at Shea. It's funny, because I saw it from that angle once and only once, but that's the one that sticks with me.

RealityChuck Oct 26 2018 02:28 PM Re: October 25, 1986

YES! Finally confirmed it! Vin Scully spent the last several innings obsessing about the fact that Howard Johnson had come up in the 9th and had swung away instead of bunting. He mentioned this several times. But I always remembered one of his comments. It was faint and probably was made after he shut off his mic, but before the other guy in the booth had turned off his. Scully said, very faintly "If Howard Johnson is good enough to swing, how come he's not good enough [to start]?" I finally found it, though the last words were cut off. Been trying to confirm my memory for a long time.

Centerfield Oct 26 2018 02:46 PM Re: October 25, 1986

RealityChuck wrote: YES! Finally confirmed it! Vin Scully spent the last several innings obsessing about the fact that Howard Johnson had come up in the 9th and had swung away instead of bunting. He mentioned this several times. But I always remembered one of his comments. It was faint and probably was made after he shut off his mic, but before the other guy in the booth had turned off his. Scully said, very faintly "If Howard Johnson is good enough to swing, how come he's not good enough [to start]?" I finally found it, though the last words were cut off. Been trying to confirm my memory for a long time. I remember Scully mentioning that too. And the camera showing shots of Davey Johnson and something along the lines of "He'll think about that decision all winter." I was furious. I think it was Mazzilli? That his a ball that would have been SF right after that. But you know, it worked out.

Frayed Knot Oct 26 2018 03:19 PM Re: October 25, 1986

But never mentioned by Scully (or Garagiola) was that HoJo DID TRY TO BUNT ... on the very first pitch (don't remember if he fouled it off or missed it completely). The constant argument by the 'pro bunt' caucus has always been 'well if this then that'; if you had bunted then [this good thing] would have followed. But of course that presumes two things, the main one being that the bunt was going to be successful, as if that was a pre-determined given. And Scully's argument -- argumentS really because, as mentioned, he kept making them -- never included even the possibility that the bunt might not achieve its intended end [K, pop-out, foul-out, bunt into force play, bunt into DP, etc.]. He just kept harping on how IF Davey had called for a bunt then X WOULD have been the result. The second presumption is that everything which happened afterward would have happened exactly the same: same batters, same PH'ers, same pitcher, same pitches, same results. That doesn't mean it was wrong to discuss the topic but he set it up as a one-sided debate.

RealityChuck Oct 26 2018 04:59 PM Re: October 25, 1986

The other issue was that HoJo was certainly good enough to start, since he started the next year and joined the 30-30 club and finished 10th in MVP voting. He also didn't seem to be a particularly good bunter. Also, Rick Aguilera probably put in the worst performance of any winning pitcher of a world series game. Two runs in two innings -- and those two runs came in the tenth, putting the team in a terrible hole.

HahnSolo Oct 26 2018 05:04 PM Re: October 25, 1986

If they really needed a bunt there they should have just let Elster bat (bunt) for himself.