1987 Fleer 1986 World Series Ray Knight Packed a Punch

When you think of the 1986 New York Mets, what do you think of?

Is it the superstars that lit up the baseball firmament all summer — Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Gary Carter, Keith Hernandez, Lenny Dykstra, Wally Backman, Jesse Orosco, and all the rest?

Or maybe it’s the Mets’ six-game victory in the NLCS, where they dispatched the Astros despite Houston ace Mike Scott giving up just one run and allowing only nine baserunners while striking out 19 in two complete-game victories — good enough to cop series MVP honors?

Maybe.

But I’ll bet your memories of those Mets also spill over into the World Series, where they defeated the Boston Red Sox in one of the most thrilling seven-game Fall Classics ever.

Right?

And the enduring memories from that Series?

Mookie and Buckner and Carter and Hendu, and Orosco striking out little Marty Barrett to end the whole thing.

But … do you remember this?

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That’s right, even among a team with more stars than the night sky over Shea Stadium, and despite all the drama and heroics that led the Mets to a title, it was third baseman Ray Knight who captured World Series MVP honors.

The back of that 1987 Fleer card up there tells the story of how he managed it:

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So, it was Knight’s seventh-inning heroics in Game 7 that earned him the award, though he hit a robust .391 over the course of the entire Series.

Me … well, I don’t remember much about Knight’s 1986 season other than this:https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/jQLZaVIXFJM?rel=0&autoplay=0&showinfo=0&enablejsapi=0

Nobody puts baby in the corner.

Nobody punches Eric Davis in the face.

Not even a World Series MVP … and especially not a former Red.

So, the way I remember it is …

Gary Carter drove in nine runs.

Nails matched Carter’s two home runs.

Orosco didn’t give up a run in 5.2 innings and recorded two saves.

Ron Darling posted a 1.53 ERA in three starts.

And Ray Knight was there, too, until he wasn’t, gone to the Orioles that offseason as a free agent, making way for Howard Johnson at third base in Shea Stadium.

And, most surely of all, Knight did NOT return to the Reds to manage, among others, ED, in 1996.