Last night when my goddamn Comcast DVR box decided not to record Lost EVEN THOUGH, Lost is number one on my “Series Priority List,” and EVEN THOUGH it decided to record the Lost rerun immediately before it and Life on Mars immediately after it, I decided to watch some of the old stuff I had on the DVR. One of those things was from the MLB Network show, Baseball Seasons. In this episode, they were highlighting the 1986 season. If you can get over the fact that the Mets won the World Series that year, the show pointed out that 1986 showcased one of the best incoming groups of young players in MLB history.
Take a gander at the list of players who debuted in 1986.
Some notables:
- Jay Bell (18-year career; 2-time All-Star; Silver Slugger winner)
- Barry Bonds (22-year career; 14-time All-Star; 7 NL MVP awards; some home run records, or something; absurd .298/.444/.607 career line; first-ballot Hall of Famer for both the MLB and the Asshole Hall of Fame)
- Bobby Bonilla (6-time All-Star; 3 Silver Sluggers; finished 2nd and 3rd in MVP voting in 1990 and 1991 right behind Bonds in both years)
- Kevin Brown (6-time All-Star; career 3.28 ERA; 21-game winner in 1992; grumpy old dick)
- Will Clark (6-time All-Star; 3 Silver Sluggers; finished 2nd and 4th in MVP voting in 1989 and 1991, respectively; fucking bastard)
- David Cone (4-time All-Star; 1 Cy Young Award, plus 4 other top-6 finishes; 2-time 20-game winner, including a ridiculous 20-3 record in 1988; career 3.46 ERA; threw one of only 17 perfect games in MLB history)
- Doug Drabek (went 22-6 in 1990, winning the Cy Young Award; All-Star; career 3.73 ERA)
- Chuck Finley (5-time All-Star; 3.85 career ERA; only MLB player to have ever been stabbed in the face by Tawny Kitaen’s stiletto heel)
- Bo Jackson (All-Star; freak of nature)
- Mike Jackson (142 career saves; 3.42 career ERA)
- Wally Joyner (All-Star; finished second in the 1986 AL ROY voting; 217 RBIs in his first two seasons in the Majors)
- John Kruk (3-time All-Star; career .300/.397/.446 line; one testicle)
- Barry Larkin (12-time All-Star; 9 Silver Sluggers; NL MVP in 1995; .295/.371/.444 career line)
- Greg Maddux (8-time All-Star; 4 straight NL Cy Young Awards from 1992-1995; 2-time 20-game winner; career 355-227 record; career 3.16 ERA; in 5000+ career innings, allowed only 999 walks and only 4726 hits while compiling 3371 strikeouts; can still make you look like a bitch at the plate whenever he feels like it; greatest non-roided-up pitcher of our generation)
- Fred McGriff (5-time All-Star; 3 Silver Sluggers; 493 career home runs; career .284/.377/.509 line)
- Mark McGwire (12-time All-Star; 3 Silver Sluggers; 1987 AL ROY; 583 career home runs; career .263/.394/.588 line; most backne of any MLB player in history)
- Jamie Moyer (All-Star; career 246-185 record; somehow still pitching today)
- Rafael Palmeiro (4-time All-Star; 2 Silver Sluggers; top 20 in MVP voting 10 times; 569 career home runs; career .288/.371/.515 line; chronic liar)
- Dan Plesac (seriously; 158 career saves; 3-time All-Star; career 3.64 ERA; fondness for trains and eyeliner)
- Benito Santiago (20-year career; 5-time All-Star; 4 Silver Sluggers; 1987 NL ROY; still can’t believe he was ever a Cub)
- Ruben Sierra (4-time All-Star; Silver Slugger; finished second in the 1989 AL MVP voting)
- Terry Steinbach (3-time All-Star; career .271/.326/.420 line)
- Bobby Thigpen (All-Star; finished 4th in AL Cy Young and 5th in AL MVP voting in 1990; 201 career saves)
- Mitch Williams (All-Star; finished in the top ten in NL Cy Young voting in 1989 and 1991; career 3.65 ERA; 192 career saves; blue glove)
That’s a hell of a list. Can anyone find a better year?
McStiff eats ass.
No, 1986 didn’t kick ass. We sucked, Gene Michael was hired to be the manager instead of me, Leon Durham was coked up, Ron Cey was still the starting first baseman, the Mets were evil incarnate, and the Bears signed Doug Flutie.
Fuck 1986.
Being coked up wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Considering the METS won the World Series…coke may have actually helped.
I debuted out of the womb in ’86.
I hate Comcast even more than the 1986 Mets.
Tom Emansky strongly disagrees
@John Vukovich – January of 86 was alright. But once Feb. hit you are right, it might have been the worst year of all 29 that I have been here for. I mean the NY Giants even managed to put together a season.
BK- You Missed Cubs Legend Paul Assenmacher. The one MLB player that might have gotten Lit up more than Michael Phelps.
You forgot all those gold-gloves that Maddux won. How many was it like 18 or something?? It pretty cool to think that of all the great players to come up in ’86, arguably the best was Maddux. He was so fun to watch. Dude wouldn’t blow it past you at 98 mph, but he would make you look stupid with jello legs when he wanted to. Dolan’s piece on him was great and I love that story about him not getting the call he was looking for on Vlad, and someone asked him why he was mad and he said because he had been setting him up for that pitch for 6 years. I believe it, the man knew baseball like no body’s business, its a shame to see him go….
You may as well call that list, “Greg Maddux, Jamie Moyer and a bunch of cheaters.”
1986 was also the final year for:
Pete Rose
Tom Seaver
Dusty F. Baker
Dave Kingman
Vida Blue
George Foster
Tony Perez
and Garry Maddox’s ridiculous hair.
1986 was before my time…I googled “Chuck Finley stabbed in face” This post right here is the top google hit for it. Very nice BK.
TopGun pic really??? Take a look at this. I swear you’ll never look at that movie the same again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyN8VN4BSzM
Missing that episode of Lost sucks almost as much as Bump Wills batting leadoff. But by 1986, Bump Wills was pouring bacon batter at the Waffle House in Dooley County, Georgia.