FanPost

The Millstone Effect of a player chasing Milestones…

JohnW53’s recap of "Cycle Silliness" reminds me of an incident during HoF catcher Gary Carter’s first year with the Mets. At the time, the New York-Chicago rivalry was still perhaps the best in the National League, with the Cubs coming-off their 1984 half-pennant win over the Mets that was achieved despite Dwight Gooden’s remarkable rookie year in New York. In 1985, both Chicago and New York were competing in a four-way Eastern Division race with St. Louis and Montreal. When the Cubs and Mets played June 26th in a mid-week afternoon game in front of a capacity crowd at Wrigley Field, Cubs lefty Ray Fontenot lasted through seven before handing a three-run lead to Lee Smith, who set-down the top of the Mets order in the eighth.

The Cubs then added a run in the bottom of the inning for a 7-3 lead as Smith prepared to complete his two-inning workout, with Gary Carter leading-off the ninth for the Mets. At that moment, Carter already was 3-for-3, only a double away from a cycle. When Gary lined a clean single to left center for his fourth hit, we can imagine the Wrigley crowd began to brace itself for another Mets rally.

But before that could happen, the Cubs and their fans were saved by the overpowering lure of one of baseball’s most famous milestones: The Infernal Cycle. Whether or not Carter even bothered to hesitate when rounding first after his hit, the magnetic force of the record book proved to be too much for Gary to resist when it compelled him to go for a double. Carter quickly ran himself into an easy out at second, courtesy of an assist by Cubs’ center fielder Billy Hatcher. Chicago went on to win the game 7-3, also winning the rubber game of the series the next day 4-2 behind Rick Sutcliffe. Meanwhile, after leaving the Confines on the heels of these two losses, the Mets would close-out the month of June with a six-game losing streak.

Of course, the Mets eventually would win 98 games in 1985, in what would prove to be Dwight Gooden’s career year. New York stayed even in a tight division race with the Cards until October, eventually finishing three games behind St. Louis. While it’s impossible to identify, much less quantify, any season-long impact Gary Carter’s June ‘85 TOOTBLAN at Wrigley may have had on the Mets, it’s fun to contrast the aftermath of "The Kid’s" cycle-seeking gaffe against the Cubs with the results of his total focus on winning Game Six of the 1986 World Series when, with the Mets only one out away from elimination, Carter lined a single to start one of the most memorable World Series rallies of all time.

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