Bob Ojeda - New York and A Championship

New York and A Championship

In 1986, Ojeda was fantastic for the Mets almost from day one. Despite starting in the bullpen and then being only the fourth starter, he finished with an 18-5 record, 2.57 ERA (second-best in the league) and 148 strikeouts – all career-bests. He got through the fifth inning in all but two of his starts and allowed zero earned runs in eight different starts. His lone blemish occurred off the field when, on July 19, he and teammates Ron Darling, Rick Aguilera, and Tim Teufel were arrested outside a bar in Houston, Texas for fighting with security guards (who were also off-duty police officers). All four were released in time for the following game and the worst results were $200 fines but the incident fed into the Mets' reputation as a rowdy crew that season.

The Mets cruised through the 1986 regular season building a double-digit lead before July that only widened in the second half of the season. They lost the first game to the Houston Astros in the 1986 National League Championship Series but Ojeda pitched a complete game to easily win Game 2. He also started Game 6 but quickly gave up three runs in the first inning. The Mets didn't recover until the ninth but won the game in an epic sixteen innings to earn a trip to the World Series. Coincidentally for Ojeda, the Mets' opponents in the World Series were Ojeda's old team, the Boston Red Sox.

The Mets had easily won their division with 108 wins – by far the most in the majors – and won the NLCS in six games. In contrast, the Red Sox won their division by only five-and-a-half games and then had to overcome a three-games-to-one deficit to squeak by the California Angels in the 1986 American League Championship Series. Despite the apparent disparity, the Red Sox shocked the Mets by winning the first two games of the World Series at Shea Stadium. With the Mets back in Boston staring at disaster, Bob Ojeda pitched in Game 3 and cruised to a Series-saving 7-1 victory.

When the Mets' ace, Dwight Gooden, again faltered in Game 5, they needed another big performance in Game 6. They turned to Ojeda again but, this time, he was less than perfect, giving up two early runs. The Mets recovered later to tie and Ojeda left the game with a no-decision. When the Red Sox scored again to take the lead, they turned to the pitcher they traded Ojeda for, Calvin Schiraldi, to close out the World Series. Instead, Schiraldi gave up the lead after just five batters. With another chance to close out the first Boston championship since 1918, Schiraldi let the tenth inning turn into a legendary comeback and nightmare for Bill Buckner and the Red Sox.

Ojeda had surgery in May 1987 and missed most of that season. He pitched well in 1988 and in September The Mets clinched the NL East. This victory marked a point where Ojeda's luck would change as he was involved in a bizarre incident where the tip of his left middle finger was severed when it was slammed in the door of a bar during The Mets pennant celebration. To avoid the embarrassment of one of their star pitchers suffering such a serious injury right before the playoffs due to being inebriated, The Mets concocted a story where Ojeda severed the finger cutting his hedges. After microsurgery to reattach his fingertip (and save his career), he missed the playoffs and the Mets lost the NLCS. Ojeda did not recover well, declining in 1989 and spending most of 1990 pitching out of the bullpen. After 1990, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Hubie Brooks.