The 1986 Mets Rewatch Newsletter is a newsletter for Mets fans for whom every day is Valentin’s day
Taking a break from rewatches this week. I wanted to talk to at least one future major leaguer who grew up rooting for the 1986 Mets and I was able to connect with John Valentin. John, a Long Island native who grew up in New Jersey, played 11 seasons in the majors, the first 10 with the Red Sox and then the last one a respectable year with the 2002 Mets. He later coached and managed in the minors and majors (including with the Binghamton Mets) and was the Dodgers assistant hitting coach from 2013 to 2015.
John was one of MLB’s top middle infielders from 1995 to 1998 and rated well by both new- and old-school stats. I talked to him about his Mets fandom, hitting against Dwight Gooden and Ron Darling, and a few other topics.
What is the origin of your Mets fandom?
My mom and dad were very big Mets fans. And we used to go to Shea Stadium and the first experience that I ever had of going into a big stadium like Shea Stadium was when I was probably five or six.
As a little kid, when you're playing T-ball and you're playing amongst your friends at such a young age, the field is so small. So, when I went to Shea Stadium and I watched, the major leaguers, I was just so amazed how green the grass was and how big the stadium was and how the adults were playing and how the uniforms fit the baseball players, and how the players would sign autographs, and so on and so forth.
Through that whole process when I was six, seven, eight (1973 to 1975) all I knew was, the New York Mets. And we used to go to Shea Stadium and watch the games, and we used to sit down the right field line, and we used to watch batting practice, and I ended up getting a home run ball from Richie Hebner in batting practice.
I always thought that it would be cool to actually do that someday.
I didn't really know a whole lot about the Yankees at that time since we obviously lived in Long Island, closer to Queens, and closer to Shea Stadium and the airport- As a little kid, you got so excited because you could see this big monstrosity of a building of a stadium and you couldn't wait to get in.
From '77 to '83, you're 10 through 16 those years. And those are the years generally, you start to understand what's going on and you saw a lot of crap. What do you remember about the bad Mets?
They took a beating from the fans and the media basically. In 1977 and 1978 the Yankees were good. It's so funny that you say that because I had an older brother and I basically competed with him playing stickball and wiffle ball and things of that nature. He always wanted to be the Mets. I had to be the Yankees.
I really didn't care for the Yankees, because I didn't know anything about the Yankees. I don't even know what station they were on at that time. All my friends that played were all Yankee fans. So, I turned into an evil person wanting to be a Yankee at that time. I jumped on the bandwagon is what I'm trying to say.
How about 1986?
I was a sophomore in college at Seton Hall. I watched the '86 series, from my home and I could not help but root for the Mets. I had a girlfriend at the time, and my brother had his girlfriend and we were all watching, hoping they would win.
I do remember watching the ball go through Buckner's legs.
My parents probably experienced a lot of heartache watching them grow. They were happier than I was.
Which 1986 Met do you most remember?
The person that stands out to me the most is Gary Carter because he was so excited when he played. He was a leader. He was boisterous. He was loud. He was, he came from, the Expos to make a difference. You could see that he was not only a good catcher and a leader, but also a guy who showed his emotions very much.
Was there a player that you patterned your game after?
Not necessarily. As I grew up, I was a fan of Ozzie Smith when I got older, watching him on This Week in Baseball. And Johnny Bench.
You were 17 when Dwight Gooden debuted and you got to watch him. Then, 12 years later you were facing him. You went 7-for-15 against older Dwight. What was it like to face him?
Mark: It was pretty exciting. He was still throwing hard. He was still throwing close to 95 mph, but he wasn't throwing the 98 or 99 that he was throwing early in his career. I was proud to be able to do that against him.
You did well against the 1986 Mets, 4-for-14 vs Rick Aguilera, 2-for-5 vs Bob Ojeda, 4-for-10 vs Jesse Orosco. You faced Ron Darling and went 8-for-24 against him. What do you remember about facing him?
I hit his split. He didn't really throw that hard. He knew how to pitch. But he threw a lot of split-finger fastballs and that's something that I looked for. I knew he was a finesse pitcher. I was hitting his secondary stuff.
Remember that when I hit No. 2 in the lineup, I was hitting in front of three, four, and five, so I knew pitchers didn't want to walk me, so I knew I would get good pitches to hit.
What other Mets players did you like that should have gotten more respect?
I loved Jerry Grote as a catcher and Felix Millan at second base is probably a guy, and Bud Harrelson at shortstop, he won a Gold Glove. Those are the guys I paid more attention to because they were infielders.
Let me ask about some other 86 Mets: Mookie Wilson, Len Dykstra, Wally Backman
Mookie was a coach when I was on the 2002 Mets. He's very friendly, very helpful. I never got an autograph from him just because I was a player, but I should have. Dykstra was a fiery little guy. He was a bulldog. A dirt dog. A catalyst. Wally Backman doesn't get the credit he deserves because he was a great little player, hard-nosed player as well. When I played, those were the characteristics that stood out. I always wanted to show that I played hard.
You played for the 2002 Mets What was it like to be given the Met uniform the first time that you got it?
Pretty fantastic. What's funny is that you watch the '86 Mets, and you're rooting for the Mets and then in 1988 I get drafted by the Red Sox.
Having a chance to come home and sleep in my own bed and playing for the New York Mets was pretty exciting. I was a pinch hitter and I took a lot of pride in that. I did pretty well (.294 batting average, 413 on-base percentage)
Explain what you do now.
Right now, I work for a financial services company (Northeast Financial Network) that helps high-net worth individuals, businesses, young families. I run the sports division. We try to help athletes take care of their money. We have former and current major leaguers. I'm the relationship manager.
Thank you for talking to me
No problem.
You can contact me on Bluesky or via e-mail ([email protected]). You can find my other newsletter, which summarizes interviews I do with journalists, here.