Just looking at the body language and swagger of the Mets, especially at the end of the game, it's hard to believe that this team imploded one game later and was never the same again. Think about it, this victory was the last substantially good game this core ever had together. Yeah they won game 6, but by then they were playing from behind and the Dodgers were brimming with confidence and had Hershiser going in Game 7. Game 3 was the last time this version of the Mets had that aura of being large and in charge.
As a 12-year old Dodger fan at the time, I remember thinking after this game "well at least we didn't get swept in this series" - since we had gone 1-11 against the Mets during the regular season and blew G1 in the 9th inning - I was sure that a 4-1 series loss was inevitable.
Best part of the Jay Howell pine tar in the glove incident here is the shot of Bart Giamatti & Ed Vargo in the stands w VARGO & another official by the Mets dugout smoking cigarettes. How times have changed
2:32:15 and beyond This is why I love commentary from experts like Palmer (nearly 4000 IP) and McCarver (over 1900 games played). Would civilians know about these nuances?
This was the most devastating series we lost personally. 06 was probably next .. but 88 was the toughest. Remember 99 00.15 we weren't expected to win it all as much. I was 10 and wanted so bad to see us play Oaklamd Straw Bic Mac vs Mcgwire and Canseco... man oh man