Met Confidence Shown in Rise and Fall Classic

The pledge had been made under the Florida sun in March, when every big league team had visions of champagne in October.

The New York Mets, said Manager Davey Johnson, would not be satisfied just with winning, not after two straight seasons of second-place finishes despite 188 wins.

The idea was to dominate, Johnson said.

And they did--shooting so far in front of the National League East that the division title was all but theirs by Memorial Day.

On the way, they also alienated a large share of the sporting populace, who perceived them as too arrogant, too histrionic, too New York. It was no accident that the Mets were involved in four bench-clearing brawls during the season.

But on Monday night on their home turf, they cleared the bench one last time, this time in a joyous assault on one of their own, relief pitcher Jesse Orosco, after he had vanquished the Boston Red Sox to give the Mets their first World Series title since 1969.

“I’m glad the bad guys won,” Johnson said as the bubbly flowed freely in Queens.

The bad guys came perilously close to losing, too. Three times, they rallied in their last at-bat to beat the Houston Astros, who took the Mets to 28 innings in the final two games before succumbing in the league playoffs.

Also, the Mets were a pitch away from losing in Game 6 of the Series--two runs down, two outs and nobody on in the 10th inning--but they won.

They were three runs down and had just one hit through the first five innings of Game 7 and won again--thus repeating Kansas City’s feat last season, the first time it had been done, of losing the first two games at home and still winning the Series.

“This is why other teams hate us,” Met second baseman Wally Backman said after Game 7. “Because we win games like this.”

And the Red Sox have a 68-year history of losing such games.

“We were destined to win this thing,” said Met pitcher Ron Darling, who went from leading candidate to be Game 7 loser to being a Game 7 celebrator.

“We didn’t even play well and we won. We may not have even deserved to win--and we did. Yeah, I’d call it destiny.”

The romanticists would be inclined to agree, especially when considering that the Mets won even though Dwight Gooden lost both Series games he pitched. What better way to explain Ray Knight, who was one roster move from being jettisoned in spring training and wound up as Series MVP?

Or Lee Mazzilli, the one-time Met poster boy from Brooklyn, whose baseball wanderings took him to Texas and Pittsburgh before he was released by the last-place Pirates--only to return in time to deliver rally-starting pinch-hits in each of the last two games?

Backman, the second baseman, had been banished to Triple-A. Rafael Santana, the shortstop, had been in the St. Louis minor league system for several years. Sid Fernandez had become disposable for the Dodgers.

All played vital parts in the series.

But to the hard-eyed realist, what separated the Mets from the Red Sox, and the Astros before them, was their bullpen superiority.

Dave Smith, the Astro closer, came undone in the playoffs. Calvin Schiraldi, the ex-Met who had become Boston’s last line of defense even though he had just a half season of big league experience, was a shell-shocked loser of Games 6 and 7.

Orosco, meanwhile, won three games in the playoffs, saved two in the Series and kept the Mets in Game 6 by retiring Bill Buckner on one pitch with the bases loaded in the eighth inning.

Darryl Strawberry was quoted as calling Schiraldi a choker after Game 6. Even the most heartbroken Boston fan could not have been more damning, or less compassionate.

“We knew about Schiraldi,” an anonymous Met was quoted in the New York Post after Game 7. “We knew he didn’t have any guts. We remembered him. Believe me. Guys don’t change overnight.”

Teams can, though, which is one reason why no team has repeated as champion since the Yankees of 1977-78. The Mets are no exception. Knight is eligible to become a free agent. Even if he re-signs with the Mets, he may find himself platooned next season with Dave Magadan, a highly regarded prospect.

As stunning as it may seem, there is also speculation that the Mets will move Strawberry, the right fielder who hit three postseason home runs but who has frustrated the Mets for the same reason Greg Brock has disappointed the Dodgers--he has been unable to hit left-handers.

The Mets are high on two outfielders in their organization--Shawn Abner and Stanley Jefferson--and may be tempted to include Strawberry in the right blockbuster deal.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, exceeded expectations by winning the pennant in 1986. Their weaknesses were exposed in the Series, when they became the first Series team since 1973 not to attempt to steal a base, when they left a record number of runners on base and when their bullpen broke down and may require a major overhaul.

Roger Clemens went 24-4, but all he need do is consult Gooden or Orel Hershiser for advice on how difficult it is to duplicate that kind of season.

There is a winter, however, to contemplate the future. For now, the moment belongs to the Mets.

“Regardless of the jealousy, envy, and hatred that exists for us, we have to be considered a great team now,” said Met catcher Gary Carter, savoring his first World Series.

“We have to. We showed our true character in this Series.”