Once Upon A Time in Queens- 1986 New York Mets

 As the premiere for the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on the 1986 Mets is debuting tonight, I figured lets look at them in Showdown form, thanks to our wonderful friend over at the Showdown bot. While they were a great team on the field, off of the field is where the drama really comes from this team. This Mets team finished first in the National League with a record of 108-54 on their way to a World Series Championship. I made this team a long time ago with a post, but no with the bot I thought I would revisit some of these classic teams. 

Lineup: When I think of the 80s baseball lineup this comes to mind, not a ton of pop through the lineup and a very consistent on base through out, especially if you dip into the bench, you can have a lineup with an 8 ob base as the lowest on base through the lineup. Two 9OB speed As leading to Keith Hernandez is a nice way to start a lineup, and the great pop on the chart of Strawberry is a great set up for this team. 

Bench: Two great utility players, and most likely if you were just playing a game with this team, the two of them are in your starting lineup. This team could be a really fun team to manage with all the moving pieces in NL rules. 

Rotation: Three tier 2 and two tier 3 pitchers round out a really good rotation which should keep most games close if not allow them to build a lead throughout the game. Led by Dwight Gooden, you get 8IP and no doubles on his chart. The rest of the rotation is nothing to sneeze at either, having two other pitchers that aren't allowing doubles.

Bullpen: The bullpen is only 3 pitchers but in most scenarios Aguilera can come out of the pen as well. A 2IP closer is something I am not used to seeing but most games you should be seeing McDowell and Orosco finishing of games once the starters come out.  

I really enjoy the style of this team, they may not be as loaded as some of the newer style championship teams, but I think they can hang with some of the other World Series teams. What do you think of this Mets team? What throwback team would you like to see next?