1986 Major League Baseball season
Sports season
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The 1986 Major League Baseball season saw the New York Mets win their second World Series title, their first since 1969.
| 1986 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | Major League Baseball |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | April 7 – October 27, 1986 |
| Games | 162 |
| Teams | 26 |
| TV partner(s) | ABC, NBC |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Jeff King |
| Picked by | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| Regular Season | |
| Season MVP | AL: Roger Clemens (BOS) NL: Mike Schmidt (PHI) |
| Postseason | |
| AL champions | Boston Red Sox |
| AL runners-up | California Angels |
| NL champions | New York Mets |
| NL runners-up | Houston Astros |
| World Series | |
| Champions | New York Mets |
| Runners-up | Boston Red Sox |
| World Series MVP | Ray Knight (NYM) |
Awards and honors
Other awards
- Outstanding Designated Hitter Award: Don Baylor (BOS)
- Roberto Clemente Award (Humanitarian): Garry Maddox (PHI).
- Rolaids Relief Man Award: Dave Righetti (NYY, American); Todd Worrell (STL, National).
Player of the Month
| Month | American League | National League |
|---|---|---|
| April | Kirby Puckett | Johnny Ray |
| May | Wade Boggs | Hubie Brooks |
| June | Kent Hrbek | Kevin Bass |
| July | Scott Fletcher | Eric Davis |
| August | Doug DeCinces | Dale Murphy |
| September | Don Mattingly | Steve Sax |
Pitcher of the Month
| Month | American League | National League |
|---|---|---|
| April | Roger Clemens | Dwight Gooden |
| May | Don Aase | Jeff Reardon |
| June | Roger Clemens | Rick Rhoden |
| July | Jack Morris | Todd Worrell |
| August | Mike Witt | Bill Gullickson |
| September | Bruce Hurst | Mike Krukow |
Statistical leaders
| Statistic | American League | National League | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AVG | Wade Boggs BOS | .357 | Tim Raines MON | .334 |
| HR | Jesse Barfield TOR | 40 | Mike Schmidt PHI | 37 |
| RBI | Joe Carter CLE | 121 | Mike Schmidt PHI | 119 |
| Wins | Roger Clemens BOS | 24 | Fernando Valenzuela LAD | 21 |
| ERA | Roger Clemens BOS | 2.48 | Mike Scott HOU | 2.22 |
| SO | Mark Langston SEA | 245 | Mike Scott HOU | 306 |
| SV | Dave Righetti NYY | 46 | Todd Worrell STL | 36 |
| SB | Rickey Henderson NYY | 87 | Vince Coleman STL | 107 |
Standings
American League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | 95 | 66 | .590 | — | 51–30 | 44–36 |
| New York Yankees | 90 | 72 | .556 | 5½ | 41–39 | 49–33 |
| Detroit Tigers | 87 | 75 | .537 | 8½ | 49–32 | 38–43 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 86 | 76 | .531 | 9½ | 42–39 | 44–37 |
| Cleveland Indians | 84 | 78 | .519 | 11½ | 45–35 | 39–43 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 77 | 84 | .478 | 18 | 41–39 | 36–45 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 73 | 89 | .451 | 22½ | 37–42 | 36–47 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Angels | 92 | 70 | .568 | — | 50–32 | 42–38 |
| Texas Rangers | 87 | 75 | .537 | 5 | 51–30 | 36–45 |
| Kansas City Royals | 76 | 86 | .469 | 16 | 45–36 | 31–50 |
| Oakland Athletics | 76 | 86 | .469 | 16 | 47–36 | 29–50 |
| Chicago White Sox | 72 | 90 | .444 | 20 | 41–40 | 31–50 |
| Minnesota Twins | 71 | 91 | .438 | 21 | 43–38 | 28–53 |
| Seattle Mariners | 67 | 95 | .414 | 25 | 41–41 | 26–54 |
National League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Mets | 108 | 54 | .667 | — | 55–26 | 53–28 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 86 | 75 | .534 | 21½ | 49–31 | 37–44 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 79 | 82 | .491 | 28½ | 42–39 | 37–43 |
| Montreal Expos | 78 | 83 | .484 | 29½ | 36–44 | 42–39 |
| Chicago Cubs | 70 | 90 | .438 | 37 | 42–38 | 28–52 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 64 | 98 | .395 | 44 | 31–50 | 33–48 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Astros | 96 | 66 | .593 | — | 52–29 | 44–37 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 86 | 76 | .531 | 10 | 43–38 | 43–38 |
| San Francisco Giants | 83 | 79 | .512 | 13 | 46–35 | 37–44 |
| San Diego Padres | 74 | 88 | .457 | 22 | 43–38 | 31–50 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 73 | 89 | .451 | 23 | 46–35 | 27–54 |
| Atlanta Braves | 72 | 89 | .447 | 23½ | 41–40 | 31–49 |
Postseason
Bracket
| League Championship Series (ALCS, NLCS) | World Series | ||||||||
| East | Boston | 4 | |||||||
| West | California | 3 | |||||||
| AL | Boston | 3 | |||||||
| NL | NY Mets | 4 | |||||||
| East | NY Mets | 4 | |||||||
| West | Houston | 2 | |||||||
Managers
American League
| Team | Manager | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Orioles | Earl Weaver | Weaver's final season as a Major League manager |
| Boston Red Sox | John McNamara | Won American League Pennant |
| California Angels | Gene Mauch | Won AL West |
| Chicago White Sox | Tony La Russa, Doug Rader, Jim Fregosi | |
| Cleveland Indians | Pat Corrales | |
| Detroit Tigers | Sparky Anderson | |
| Kansas City Royals | Dick Howser, Mike Ferraro | |
| Milwaukee Brewers | George Bamberger, Tom Trebelhorn | |
| Minnesota Twins | Ray Miller, Tom Kelly | |
| New York Yankees | Lou Piniella | |
| Oakland Athletics | Jackie Moore, Jeff Newman, Tony La Russa | |
| Seattle Mariners | Chuck Cottier, Marty Martínez, Dick Williams | |
| Texas Rangers | Bobby Valentine | |
| Toronto Blue Jays | Jimy Williams | First season as Blue Jays manager |
National League
| Team | Manager | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Braves | Chuck Tanner | Tanner's final season as a Major League manager |
| Chicago Cubs | Jim Frey, John Vukovich, Gene Michael | |
| Cincinnati Reds | Pete Rose | |
| Houston Astros | Hal Lanier | Won NL West |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | Tommy Lasorda | |
| Montreal Expos | Buck Rodgers | |
| New York Mets | Davey Johnson | Won World Series |
| Philadelphia Phillies | John Felske | |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Jim Leyland | |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Whitey Herzog | |
| San Diego Padres | Steve Boros | Boros' final season as a Major League manager |
| San Francisco Giants | Roger Craig |
Milestones
Batters
- Dwight Evans (BOS):
- Achieves a Major League first on Opening Day, April 7, in a game against the Detroit Tigers at Tiger Stadium, by hitting a home run off Jack Morris on the first pitch of the season.[1]
- Roger Clemens (BOS):
- At the age of 23, Clemens struck out twenty Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park to set a Major League record for a nine-inning game on April 29.[2][3][4][5][6]
- Pete Rose (CIN):
- Set a Major League record for most career hits at 4,256 hits on August 14 in the seventh inning with a single to left field against San Francisco Giants pitcher Greg Minton.[7][8]
Pitchers
No-hitters
- Mike Scott (HOU):
- Scott throws his first career no-hitter and eight no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the San Francisco Giants 2–0 on September 25. In a game that Houston clinched the National League West division title, Scott walked two and struck out 13.
Other pitching accomplishments
- Roger Clemens (BOS):
- Set a Major League record for most strikeouts in a single nine-inning game, throwing 20 strikeouts in a 3–1 win against the Seattle Mariners on April 29.[9]
- Don Sutton (CAL):
- Became the 19th member of the 300-win club, defeating the Texas Rangers on June 18, winning 5–1.[10]
- Bert Blyleven (MIN):
- Recorded his 3,000th career strikeout on August 1 by striking out Mike Davis of the Oakland Athletics in the fifth inning. Blyleven became the 10th player to reach this mark.[11][12]
- Steve Carlton (CWS/SF/PHI):
- Recorded his 4,000th career strikeout on August 5 as a member of the San Francisco Giants by striking out Eric Davis of the Cincinnati Reds in the third inning. Carlton became the second player to reach this mark.[13]
Miscellaneous
- Steve Boros (SD):
- On June 6 manager Steve Boros is ejected before the first pitch, after showing the umpire video footage of a disputed play from the night before.[14]
Home field attendance and payroll
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game | Est. payroll | %± |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers[15] | 73 | −23.2% | 3,023,208 | −7.4% | 37,324 | $15,213,776 | 38.7% |
| New York Mets[16] | 108 | 10.2% | 2,767,601 | 0.2% | 34,168 | $15,393,714 | 42.1% |
| California Angels[17] | 92 | 2.2% | 2,655,872 | 3.4% | 32,389 | $14,427,258 | 0.0% |
| St. Louis Cardinals[18] | 79 | −21.8% | 2,471,974 | −6.3% | 30,518 | $9,875,010 | −16.4% |
| Toronto Blue Jays[19] | 86 | −13.1% | 2,455,477 | −0.5% | 30,315 | $12,801,047 | 37.2% |
| Kansas City Royals[20] | 76 | −16.5% | 2,320,794 | 7.3% | 28,652 | $13,043,698 | 23.5% |
| New York Yankees[21] | 90 | −7.2% | 2,268,030 | 2.4% | 28,350 | $18,494,253 | 29.9% |
| Boston Red Sox[22] | 95 | 17.3% | 2,147,641 | 20.2% | 26,514 | $14,402,239 | 32.2% |
| Baltimore Orioles[23] | 73 | −12.0% | 1,973,176 | −7.5% | 24,977 | $13,001,258 | 7.6% |
| Philadelphia Phillies[24] | 86 | 14.7% | 1,933,335 | 5.6% | 24,167 | $11,590,166 | 8.9% |
| Detroit Tigers[25] | 87 | 3.6% | 1,899,437 | −16.9% | 23,450 | $12,335,714 | 19.2% |
| Chicago Cubs[26] | 70 | −9.1% | 1,859,102 | −14.0% | 23,239 | $17,208,165 | 35.5% |
| San Diego Padres[27] | 74 | −10.8% | 1,805,716 | −18.3% | 22,293 | $11,380,693 | 1.7% |
| Houston Astros[28] | 96 | 15.7% | 1,734,276 | 46.4% | 21,411 | $9,873,276 | −1.2% |
| Cincinnati Reds[29] | 86 | −3.4% | 1,692,432 | −7.8% | 20,894 | $11,906,388 | 42.4% |
| Texas Rangers[30] | 87 | 40.3% | 1,692,002 | 52.1% | 20,889 | $6,743,119 | −12.2% |
| San Francisco Giants[31] | 83 | 33.9% | 1,528,748 | 86.7% | 18,873 | $8,947,000 | 8.8% |
| Cleveland Indians[32] | 84 | 40.0% | 1,471,805 | 124.6% | 18,170 | $7,809,500 | 19.2% |
| Chicago White Sox[33] | 72 | −15.3% | 1,424,313 | −14.7% | 17,584 | $10,418,819 | 5.8% |
| Atlanta Braves[34] | 72 | 9.1% | 1,387,181 | 2.7% | 17,126 | $17,102,786 | 15.5% |
| Oakland Athletics[35] | 76 | −1.3% | 1,314,646 | −1.5% | 15,839 | $9,779,421 | 8.0% |
| Milwaukee Brewers[36] | 77 | 8.5% | 1,265,041 | −7.0% | 15,813 | $9,943,642 | −11.9% |
| Minnesota Twins[37] | 71 | −7.8% | 1,255,453 | −24.0% | 15,499 | $9,498,167 | 64.8% |
| Montreal Expos[38] | 78 | −7.1% | 1,128,981 | −24.9% | 14,112 | $11,103,600 | 17.2% |
| Seattle Mariners[39] | 67 | −9.5% | 1,029,045 | −8.8% | 12,549 | $5,958,309 | 29.2% |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[40] | 64 | 12.3% | 1,000,917 | 36.0% | 12,357 | $10,938,500 | 18.0% |
Television coverage
| Network | Day of week | Announcers |
|---|---|---|
| ABC | Monday nights Sunday afternoons |
Al Michaels, Jim Palmer, Tim McCarver, Keith Jackson, Don Drysdale |
| NBC | Saturday afternoons | Vin Scully, Joe Garagiola, Bob Costas, Tony Kubek |