The 1986 Mets Rewatch Newsletter is a newsletter for Mets fans who …
I had this idea in late June to interview fans with whom I’ve been corresponding while writing this newsletter. Going to try a quick (three-question) Q&A to see how people receive it and if people like it, I’ll probably do a few more.
This one is with Kevin Babitz, a 20-year attorney for the Department of the Treasury, who lives in Maryland with his family. Kevin had previously written me to share about Hebrew School conflicting with Game 6 of the 1986 NLCS.
Kevin and his classmates were apparently able to convince the Rabbi to let them watch the game, which was actually almost over by the time school started that evening.
“Maybe we told him that it was the most important event of all time, or maybe he was just nice about it because he just saw how excited we all were.”
Anyway, here’s some follow-up with Kevin, intended as a nice, quick read that might bring back memories and feelings for some of you.
What was watching the 1986 Mets like?
The whole season was just surreal. For me personally, I was 14, bookish, and still figuring myself out. Those weren’t easy to be as a ninth-grader in 1980s, blue-collar Brooklyn. My family didn’t like sports and I generally watched or listened to games alone. The Mets gave me an island of serenity where I didn’t feel out of place or alienated, where I could feel part of something greater, and where everything worked out in the end.
How did the 1986 Mets change/impact your baseball fandom?
Met fandom has been a real roller coaster since 1986, with a lot more low points than high points. But I don’t really feel the frustration or bitterness that some other Met fans feel because I had the chance to see them win in such a dominant, colorful, and miraculous fashion. So I think I’m more zen than many Met fans when the Mets have a dispiriting loss or season like 2026 that runs off the rails.
Editors Note: That’s an incredibly healthy attitude to have and I can’t imagine more than a handful of people feeling that way. If you know a zen Mets fan, you’re a rarity, LOL!
In some ways, post-‘86 Met history also makes the ‘86 team that much more mythical.
When you think of them now, what do you think about?
That there’s always an additional layer in the story to ponder. Recently, I was thinking about how Keith Hernandez says he watched the World Series Game 6 rally while drinking beers in Davey’s office. If the game went to an 11th inning or longer, would he have been sober enough to continue? Or would my man Ed Hearn have come in to save the day?
Two of my kids are big Met fans and it’s been rewarding for me to bring them into the web of the game’s history. To tell my kid about having watched Gary Varsho play against the Mets while we watched Daulton Varsho play against the Mets a few weeks ago and somehow have that turn into a more serious chat about the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.
And to show them how it’s about more than just wins and losses. It’s a story about scholars and (more often) scoundrels, and a way to activate your mind and imagination, but also that it’s something we can enjoy without taking it too seriously.
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.