#12- 1986 Mets Rewatch- Congratulations, Lee Mazzilli!
Remembering his career and a trade that wasn't made
The 1986 Mets Rewatch Newsletter is a newsletter for Mets fans with “Nuclear Vision” (you’ll have to read to get the reference).
When we think of Lee Mazzilli one of the first things we think of is how he netted the Mets Ron Darling and Walt Terrell in a trade with the Texas Rangers in April 1982. It is one of the all-time heists in Mets history, more so by the Mets getting Howard Johnson in a deal for Terrell a couple of years later.
What’s funny looking back is that Frank Cashen settled for Darling and Terrell. Per Mets beat writer Dan Castellano, he tried to trade Mazzilli for Dave Stieb (Blue Jays), Lee Smith (Cubs), Floyd Bannister (Mariners), and Danny Darwin and Rick Honeycutt (Rangers). Sometimes your sixth option works out just fine.
It was also a deal that crushed Mazzilli, who very much liked being a Met, even though the team stunk throughout his time there.
“I thought I’d die a Met,” he’d said. Mazzilli cried at his goodbye press conference.
Sometimes in life you get a second chance. And we should remember Mazzilli for getting one and making the most of it. We should also remember Mazzilli for a trade that was not made that would have severely impacted the 1986 team.
In March of 1986, Mets and Pirates executives had a conversation, per a notebook item from Jack O'Connell then of The Bergen Record. The Mets were interested in bringing back Mazzilli and offered the Pirates third baseman Ray Knight in return. The Pirates said “no thanks.”
It's important to remember that Knight had a brutal 1985, hitting.218 with a.580 OPS in 90 games. He played at below replacement level. It’s understandable that the Pirates didn’t want him.
Had that deal been made it would have felt reasonable at the time given how bad Knight was. But it's a good thing that it wasn't, given what Knight did in 1986 (we just wrote about how he fought a pitcher, and in a few weeks will have a more complete recap of his season).
Mazzilli made it clear during the 1986 season that he wanted to be a Met again. He had no desire to play for a last place team. On July 23, he was released by the Pirates. The Mets signed him less than two weeks later, after Mazzilli turned down multiple major league and minor league offers from other teams.
"Sometimes you have to take one step back in order to go two steps forward," Mazzilli said.
Saturday, Mazzilli will step forward as an inductee to the Mets Hall of Fame. I view Mazzilli's election as an acknowledgement of greater inclusivity for the franchise's top honor. The Mets could have inducted Mazzilli far earlier than they're doing so now. He's not necessarily an inner-circle Hall-of-Famer and it's a stretch to call him an all-time great Met.
What Mazzilli was was the best player during some of the team's most miserable seasons, from 1978 to 1980. He had a high on-base percentage, 15-homer power, and good speed. He also played every day. And he was popular among the female fans. He's legitimately a second-tier Mets standout with a positive intangible in his popularity.
Statistically, Mazzilli ranks 15th all-time in Mets history in the offensive component of Wins Above Replacement, but 26th in overall WAR among position players because of defense or lack thereof. You could certainly make a case that the Mets have been around long enough that their Top 15 hitters should be in the team's Hall of Fame.
Mazzilli's biggest 1986 contribution in the regular season was a game-tying home run in the Saturday afternoon game against the Cardinals in mid-August in which Gary Carter got hurt. I was there and it was a really cool moment. His more vital contributions were singling and scoring the tying run in the eighth-inning of Game 6 of the World Series, and then singling with one out to start the game-tying three-run rally in the sixth inning of Game 7.
The Mets took the lead, of course, on a home run by none other than Ray Knight. Funny how everything comes full circle. Good thing you had to wait a little bit to make your return.
Congratulations on the induction, Maz! (and you too Bobby V!)