1986 World Series Collapse vs Mets

Lore & Background

The series is best remembered for its Game 6, which saw the Mets rally from a two-run deficit in the bottom of the 10th inning, despite having two outs and no one on base. The Red Sox, who held a 3–2 series lead, were twice one strike away from securing the championship, but failed to close out the inning as the Mets won off an error by Boston first baseman Bill Buckner. When the Mets won the series in Game 7, the Game 6 collapse entered baseball lore as part of the Curse of the Bambino superstition used to explain the Red Sox's championship drought between 1918 and 2004.

In Their Own Story

The humid Shea Stadium air felt heavy with anticipation as Bill Buckner dug his cleats into the dirt, eyes locked on Mookie Wilson's bat. The crowd was a deafening roar, a mix of hope and dread. As Wilson swung, the ball rolled slowly toward third base, seemingly harmless against the grass. But in that split second, Buckner's foot slipped; the ball trickled through his legs like water through fingers. Time seemed to suspend as the runner sprinted home, the tying run crossing the plate with a crash that echoed louder than any cheer.

Reader's Guide

The 1986 World Series marked the second time, after the previous year's series, in which the winning team lost the first two games of the series at home (the Kansas City Royals accomplished this the year prior). It happened again in the 1996 World Series with the New York Yankees, the last such World Series occurrence, but it would happen in the 2025 American League Championship Series with the Toronto Blue Jays. It was also the first World Series to use the designated hitter only in games played at the American League representative's stadium, a policy that was maintained until the National League's adoption of the DH in 2022 (save for 2020, when the DH was used for all World Series games after it was used in the NL during the COVID-19 reduced regular season).

Did You Know?

• This was the fourth meeting between teams from Boston and New York City for a major professional sports championship, previously occurring in two Stanley Cup Finals (1929, 1972) and two previous World Series (1912, 1916)
• The Red Sox went 95–66 during the season, winning the American League East division by 5+1⁄2 games over the New York Yankees, marking the first time since 1904 that the Red Sox and the Yankees finished first and second—t
• Mets' legend Tom Seaver, now a member of the Red Sox, received a standing ovation from the Shea Stadium fans during the Game 1 introductions. Seaver did not pitch in the series because of a knee injury.