 "Revealing" | 2009-07-10 |
| - Reviewed By 1054371227 |
| Definitely not what I expected. The author brilliantly mixes the action of the New York Mets' Champion World Series 1986 Season and the behind-the-scenes doings that the fans generally don't see. The book is a great review of the entire season, and brings back lots of memories. Hearing what Gary Carter, Kevin Mitchell, and Ray Knight said to first-base coach Bill Robinson after getting on base in the sixth game of the World Series was amusing. But some of the other revelations, particularly regarding the players' social behavior, were more startling. For the most part, the book is a look-back at the 1986 season, which any true Mets fan will love. Just be prepared for the unexpected. |
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 "These guys weren't robots" | 2009-05-13 |
| - Reviewed By salnudo |
According to former Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez, who played on the 1986 New York Mets squad, today's baseball players are "robots" who dress nicely and lack emotion. Jeff Pearlman, author of "The Bad Guys Won!", goes even further, claiming athletes in the major leagues these days are mostly dullards who listen to their iPods, play their video games and hole up in their hotel rooms on the road as if the outside world doesn't exist. Though it's probably not as cut and dry as that, it is true that the 1980s and the decades that preceded it were periods when professional athletes were considerably more rough around the edges, less exposed by the media and less influenced by the almighty dollar and the marketing bonanza that follows big-money contracts. To be sure, players like Dwight Gooden and Daryl Strawberry capitalized big-time on the endorsements that came their way, but as Pearlman points out, the `86 Mets symbolize a more free-for-all time period for athletes that is refreshing to recall and all but extinct nowadays.
The `86 Mets might not have been as crazy as, say, 1980s-era Motley Crue, but they were definitely a wild bunch of in-your-face ruffians. During the season team brawls took place on the field and in bars; planes got trashed; ridiculous team rap songs got recorded; peppy drugs erased yesterday's hangover; womanizing took place on the road; crazy, intricate pranks happened during games; and an all-for-one cocky mentality defined this never-say-die team -- those were the things that made this group of Mets so interesting, memorable and despised by many. Amazingly, manager Davey Johnson, himself no teetotaler and a very bright man with a wide range of interests outside of baseball, let his players do their thing off the field. As long as the Mets were winning, which they did with consistency nearly the entire season, Johnson let the "boys will be boys" mentality reign supreme. Undoubtedly, Johnson was the right manager at the right time for the right team.
Some of the players' shenanigans were serious and had consequences, however. The drug use by Gooden, for example, though slyly hidden from the public and even from team members, was very real and a sobering reminder of how the mighty can slowly descend to addict oblivion hell. Yes, Gooden may have had several more solid years with the Mets after `86, but his longevity, star power and overall performance faded bad as his substance abuse problems continued. Unfortunately, Gooden's downward spiral seemed to start in earnest during the `86 season. And Strawberry, Gooden's seemingly on-and-off buddy, was hardly better in the "just say no" department. In fact, he may have been worse.
This was a team of diverse, offbeat characters -- not all of them complete party animals, either -- and Pearlman does a good job of relating what went on during the unforgettable `86 season. Unfortunately, the author inserts his sarcastic opinions and unfunny comments a bit too much, and his overly enthusiastic descriptions of the mayhem at times sound fawning, envious and a bit adolescent, no different from the grown men he's covering. On the field, though, it's great to read about the Mets' willful trek through the playoffs, where the National League Championship Series with the Houston Astros was almost as fascinating to read about as the classic seven-game World Series against the forever cursed Boston Red Sox (at least at the time). All in all, if you want the dishy scoop on this colorful Mets team, Pearlman's book is a great place to find it. |
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 "Interesting account of the dynasty that never was" | 2009-04-15 |
| - Reviewed By gn68121 |
The 1986 Mets will go down in history as the team that had it all, won it all, and just as quickly lost it all. Jeff Pearlman's book, while containing material that had been previously discussed, hashed and rehashed, really shines when it gets into the dynamics and characters behind the 1986 team. Whether it's talking about the infamous "Scum Bunch", or Bobby Ojeda's seething hatred toward the Red Sox, or the entire league's hatred of Gary Carter, Pearlman's book opens some doors and shines some light on stories that were not previously discussed (for obvious reasons).
The book is basically a chronological history of the Mets' rise to prominence in the early to mid-80's, beginning with Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday's purchase of the club, to the hiring of Frank Cashen as the club's General Manager, to the jettisoning of of malcontents and has-beens and acquisitions of Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter, all the way through the 1986 season and the dismantling of the championship team. And while it could have been another treatise on "how NOT to run a ballclub", Pearlman for the most part avoids that and delves into the interpersonal relationships between the players and the dominating baseball team that it created.
It is THIS aspect of the book that drives the narrative, and turns it from merely a decent book to a good one. Everyone knows who the players on that 1986 team were. But not everyone knows who they WERE. And that is, a collection of ragtag men who gelled at the right time and at the right place. Which is not to say that it was perfect. For every nice guy on the team, like an Ed Hearn or Tim Teufel, you had a guy like Darryl Strawberry, who is described by one teammate as the nicest guy on the ballfield, but when liquored up, perhaps the most miserable SOB on the planet. In one anecdote, Pearlman describes a scene between Strawberry and pitcher Bruce Berenyi that is sure to make some cringe at the ruthlessness and disrespect with which Strawbery treats a teammate and fellow human being. You had guys like Kevin Mitchell, who came from a rough gang-infested neighborhood, and who had no problem bringing that rough attitude on the field and nearly killing a player during one of the team's (many) bench-clearing brawls. You had guys like Bob Ojeda, whose brashness and outspokenness put him on bad terms with ownership and his fellow teammates in Boston in 1985, who gets traded to the Mets in the offseason and literally foams at the mouth at the prospect of facing the Red Sox in the World Series. And who could ever forget Gary Carter? To the casual observer "The Kid" was the driving force behind the 1986 Mets, but to his teammates he was as phony as a $3 bill, a shameless self-promoter who didn't see a camera he didn't like and a guy who was the main reason behind at least one of the bench-clearing brawls.
These character studies are what REALLY get to the heart of the team, and reveal why, however unstoppable they were in 1986, by 1987 they were already a team on the decline and, despite their return to the playoffs in 1988, the Mets were a franchise on the verge of collapse heading into the 1990's. Whether it was the ill-advised trade of Kevin Mitchell (shipped out because management feared that he would be a bad influence on Dwight Gooden and Strawberry, despite the fact that those two were already heavily into drugs and alcohol) or the constant tinkering with Gooden's mechanics and pitch selection in order to make him a "better" pitcher (despite his coming off a 1985 in which he dominated NL hitters en route to the Cy Young Award), you get a firsthand view of just how the 1986 Mets were destined to be a team for the ages and then fizzle out just as quickly.
Some fans may be shocked when they hear some of the stories and realize just how flawed those Mets were (and how some STILL are), but for anyone who lived through the summer and fall of 1986, this book is required reading. |
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| "One of my Favorite Books!" | 2009-04-07 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3H6KI5TLXPLH9 |
As a NY Mets fan that was a kid in the 80s this is one of my favorite books. Pearlman is a very good writer and he does a great job taking you inside the 1986 World Series Champ NY Mets.
THis is an enjoyable book for Mets fans, baseball fans, or anyone who just wants to hear about what one of the hardest partying championship teams did on-and off the field. |
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| "A decadent stroll down memory lane" | 2009-01-13 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2FY05XRZTVBYC |
| A must read for any NY Mets fan with a vivid memory of their 1986 championship season. The 4-star rating I've given is probably a greater reflection of my fond memories than my opinion of the skill of the writer. Then again, this book did make for a lightning fast read so no doubt it was written adequately and perhaps even quite well. On the field of play they were amazing to watch and root for. As this book taught me, off the field they were even more entertaining. Apparently they managed to win almost in spite of themselves as their talent overrode team harmony. It seems like it was only yesterday but somehow more than 20 years have passed from now to then. |
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| "Nice insight...had me kinda liking the Mets....God forbid!" | 2008-11-23 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2TEOZHWNI6IEP |
| Some scandalous stories and some insight to the '86 Mets. It was a quick read and interesting. |
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