Mookie Wilson will forever be remembered for one World Series at-bat lasting ten
pitches. With the Red Sox one strike away from clinching the 1986 WS in the bottom
of the tenth inning of Game Six, Wilson fouled off pitch after pitch with last-second
swings. With a 2-2 count, he fouled off two pitches. Then, reliever Bob Stanley threw
one in the dirt at Wilson's feet, and the long-time Met favorite skipped rope to
avoid being hit. The wild pitch allowed Kevin Mitchell to score, tying the game,
and moved Ray Knight to second base. Wilson fouled off two more pitches and then
hit a slow grounder to first baseman Bill Buckner, playing well behind the bag. The
speedy Wilson would have been safe anyway, but Buckner let the ball go between his
legs, allowing Knight to score the winning run. With drama quite different from a
game-winning home run, the accumulated excitement of the slowly building rally capped
by the tension of Wilson's at-bat made the game one of the most exciting in Series
history.
For most of his career, Wilson was a hustling fan favorite whose at-bats
were greeted at home with cries of Moooooo-kie. However, he had serious flaws as
a leadoff man. He struck out more than 100 times in two of his three seasons as an
everyday player, and when he led the NL with 638 at-bats in 1983, he drew only 18
walks, giving him a career-low .300 on-base average. Not until 1985 did he have an
on-base average above .330, which is roughly the NL average, including pitchers,
in a normal year. With the arrival of the more patient Lennie Dykstra in 1985, Wilson
had to walk more to keep even a platoon job, and to his credit he did get his OBA
as high as .360 (1987). He was a good basestealer, with highs of 58 in 1982 and 54
in 1983. And although he had wild swings between hot and cold during the season,
from year to year he was a model of
consistency. He hit .276 three years in a row
(1983-85) and, after hitting .248 in his first call-up, hit between .271 and .299
from 1981 through 1988.
Wilson's speed helped him outrun mistakes in the outfield
and compensated for a weak arm; he led NL outfielders with six double plays in 1984.
Arm surgery in 1985 weakened his arm even further and gave Dykstra the playing time
that reduced the streaky, switch-hitting Wilson to a platoon player. His career was
threatened by a freak eye injury suffered in spring training in 1986, when he was
hit in the glasses by a Rafael Santana throw during an infielders' rundown drill.
When he came back after five weeks on the DL, he had trouble judging fly balls, especially
during day games, that persisted for the rest of his career.
As the senior member
of the team in the second half of the 1980s, Wilson was an important clubhouse influence.
His hustle, even when the Mets had been notorious non-contenders, set an example
for younger players. He grumbled about his reduced playing time, but continued to
be an unselfish team leader until he was traded to Toronto in the second half of
1989. He sparked the Blue Jays to the 1989 division title and fittingly scored the
run that clinched first place.
(SH)
FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»June 22, 1978: Mookie Wilson, of the Jackson Generals, and his wife Rosa are married at home plate in Jackson, Mississippi.
»April 28, 1982:
Bob Bailor's sacrifice fly in the top of the 15th inning scores Mookie Wilson with the winning run as the Mets beat the Padres 5–4, ending San Diego's winning streak at 11 games. It is the 3rd winning streak of 10 or more games in the National League this year.
»April 28, 1985:
Darryl Strawberry hits a grand slam in the first inning at New York but it takes another five hours before the Mets score again. Mookie Wilson scores from 3B when Clint Hurdle's grounder went through the legs of Pittsburgh first baseman Jason Thompson for an error in the 18th inning to give the Mets a 5-4 victory in a game that lasts five hours 21 minutes. Lee Tunnell, the Bucs 7th pitcher, takes the loss. A defensive gem by Rusty Staub, robs the Pirates of at least one run in the top of the 18th. Staub, 41, who weighs 230 is pressed into service when the Mets ran out of players in the 12th inning. Staub played right field when right-handed batters came up and left field when left-handed hitters batted. He was playing right in the top of the 18th. With Tunnell on second and two out, pinch hitter Rick Rhoden hits a looping fly ball down the RF line and Staub makes a running catch to save a run. In the bottom of the 18th Gary Carter draws a walk and Wilson, running for him, goes to third on Strawberry's single to right. When Hurdle's grounder went through Thompson, it ends the longest game in three years. Through one stretch in the marathon, in which 43 players were used, Pirate pitchers hold the Mets hitless for 10 innings.
»July 22, 1986:
The Mets win a crazy five-hour marathon with the Reds in 14 innings, winning 6–3 (as recalled by Bill Deane). Setting the tone, Darryl Strawberry is ejected after arguing a called 3rd strike in the 5th. In the 9th, Howard Johnson inadvertently kicks the ball after Reds C Bo Diaz drops a third strike. Johnson runs out of the baseline and is hit in the back with the throw from pitcher Ron Robinson. Reds coach Billy DeMars is ejected for arguing the safe call. The Mets, down 3–1, with two out, tie the game when Dave Parker who drops a routine fly ball. In the 10th, Davey Johnson sends in pitcher Rick Aguilera to hit for pitcher Doug Sisk. Aguilera walks, but is stranded. In the Reds 10th, pinch-runner Eric Davis steals 2B and 3B, bumping into Ray Knight. Knight decks Davis and both benches empty. Knight, Davis, Kevin Mitchell and Mario Soto are ejected. Gary Carter moves to 3B, McDowell comes in to pitch, and Orosco moves from the mound to RF. With two out and a runner on 2B in the 11th, Orosco returns to pitch, McDowell moves to LF, and Mookie Wilson shifts to right. Rose protests when Orosco is permitted eight warm-up pitches. Orosco whiffs Max Venable to end the inning. In the 12th, The Mets are forced to lead off the inning with Orosco and McDowell, and go down in order. McDowell returns to pitch in the 13th and gets Tony Perez to fly to Orosco in right. Howard Johnson belts a three-run homer in the 14th and McDowell retires the side in order.
»October 25, 1986: Trailing 5–3 with two out and no one on base in the bottom of the 10th inning, New York rallies to win game six of the World Series 6–5 and force a deciding 7th game. After Gary Carter, Kevin Mitchell, and Ray Knight single, Bob Stanley uncorks a wild pitch that permits the tying run to score, and a hobbled Bill Buckner lets Mookie Wilson's slow bouncer skip through his legs, allowing Knight to score the winning run. Reliever Calvin Schiraldi absorbs the loss.
»August 1, 1989:
The Mets trade popular OF Mookie Wilson to the Blue Jays for P Jeff Musselman and minor leaguer Mike Brady.
»August 4, 1992: An unidentified buyer purchases a toothpick once used by Mets Hall of Fame P Tom Seaver at a memorabilia auction in New York for $400. At the same auction, actor Charlie Sheen pays $85,000 for the ball hit by Mookie Wilson which went through Bill Buckner’s legs to end Game Six of the 1986 WS.
BALLPLAYERS | TEAMS | CHRONOLOGY | TODAY | BOOKS | NEWSLETTER | ERRATA | FAQ
