The 1986 Mets Rewatch Newsletter is a newsletter for people who know that you gotta have a catcher because if you don’t you’re gonna have a lot of passed balls1
The Mets went 2-5 the week of May 11 and that's no fun, so let's do something creative.
Rather than rewatch part of a game, I'm going to rewatch a highlight reel. It's one solely devoted to 1986 Mets backup catcher Ed Hearn, who got his first career hit on May 17, 1986.2
First of all, let me give props to "NY Sports Highlights" on YouTube. You have to be a true diehard to make a 16-clip highlight reel for a backup catcher. You don't see any Yankees fans doing this for Wayne Tolleson.
I think I understand why he did it though.
Hearn has had a very tough post-1986 life. He's had several kidney transplants and (from his SABR bio), sleep apnea, three types of cancer and lymphoma. Mood swings from medication almost led him to suicide. He's in his mid-60s now and the health issues haven't stopped. Yet he still has kept a rigorous public speaking schedule in which he shares his story of perseverance. He just did a signing in New York and there was an extensive line of fans waiting for his autograph.
On the subject of baseball perseverance, Hearn was drafted in 1978 and didn't make it to the majors until 1986. The Mets were his second team. He was drafted and in their organization from 1978 (at age 17) to 1982. He was a good luck charm. From 1983 to 1986, combining the minors and majors, he played on a championship team every year. He didn't make the Mets Opening Day roster but was called up on May 8. His hometown paper, The Stuart News got him on the phone not long after he heard the news.
"I think I deserve to be a little excited," he said and later added "the possibility of getting to the World Series is the most exciting part. I get goose bumps thinking about it."
Gary Carter started 29 of the Mets first 30 games in 1986 (that's crazy!) so it took Hearn until May 17 to get his turn in the lineup. And he had the good fortune to have his first two major league hits called by Vin Scully.
Hearn hit his first home run on June 15 and gave the ball to his dad for Father's Day.
Ralph Kiner called Hearn's first home run. Harry Caray called his second.
If you enjoy the moaning and groaning version of Harry Caray, Hearn and (mostly) Cubs pitcher Ray Fontenot gave him some good material with which to work at another point in the game.
The Mets played some very exciting games in July and Hearn played a role in three of them. On July 3, he hit a home run in the second inning of a 6-5, 10-inning win over the Astros (video not available). This game was better known for a three-run Mets rally in the 10th inning (we'll get to that game at the appropriate time).
On July 20, the Mets played a 15-inning game against the Astros, in which they foreshadowed future events by scoring three runs in the ninth inning to tie. The runs were driven in with two outs by the unlikely duo of Rafael Santana and Hearn.
Two nights later in Cincinnati, Hearn entered a bizarre Mets-Reds game in the 10th inning after the famous Ray Knight/Eric Davis fight. Hearn caught and Gary Carter moved to third to replace the ejected Knight.
In the 14th inning, Hearn led off with a double. He would score on Howard Johnson's go-ahead three-run home run.
In mid-August, Carter went on the injured list and Hearn got pressed into full-time duty. From August 17-31 Hearn started 11 games and the Mets went 8-3 in them.
That included a three-hit game in a 7-5 win over the Dodgers on August 20, in which one of Hearn's hits was a little lucky.
The last of Hearn's 10 RBI that season came on September 7, a go-ahead bases-loaded walk against the Padres.
We don't have video of this but the biggest hit of all for Hearn came eight days later when he met his wife. They've been married for 39 years.
Hearn was on the Mets playoff and World Series roster, but Gary Carter caught every inning of every game, so he never made an appearance. The 1986 season was his only one as a Met. He was traded in the offseason as part of the deal that netted the Mets David Cone.
But even so, Hearn was an important part of the team and deserves to be remembered for his story and his perseverance.
I only got one response to my call for favorite Mets pitcher hitting moments (besides Bartolo Colon’s home run). So I’ll ask again - if you have a favorite memory of a Mets pitcher hitting, please share it with me - email me at [email protected].
1 That’s a Casey Stengelism for those who don’t know.
2 The headline of this piece refers back to an article I wrote about Neil Allen in which the headline was Neil Allen was a Good Met Too.