r/NewYorkMets • u/MarkSimon1975 • 3d ago

Discussion [Mark Simon] Happy 40th anniversary to Len Dykstra's Walk-Off Home Run

https://1986-mets-rewatch.beehiiv.com/p/1986-mets-nlcs-game-3-rewatch

Today is the 40th anniversary of one of my all-time favorite baseball games. I was 11 when it happened and I remember parts of it vividly.

I rewatched Game 3 of the 1986 NLCS and took good notes on everything that happened.

From Bob Knepper's opera consumption habits to Darryl Strawberry's unheralded defensive play to Len Dykstra's walk-off home run. Enjoy!

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6

u/tossthedice3 3d ago

Was at the game, Shea was literally shaking

2

u/boredop 3d ago

I was also 11. I remember my dad was driving me and my sister somewhere and we were listening to the game on the radio. We were waiting in line at some tool booths when Dykstra hit the home run and all of a sudden there was an explosion of car horns all around us. It was awesome!

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u/m_sniffles_esq Mr. Met 3d ago

For various reasons I had to listen to the game via the radio at me grandmother's using one of white earphones you jammed in your ear (the OG earbud), so I'm glad they included Murphy's call at the end of the piece.

I, like most, wasn't expecting much outta Lenny. So when I heard Murph say "hiiiiiigh fly ball" I immediately thought he popped it up. Then he added "pretty deep", and I thought "Oh shit! Maybe Wally can get around!" THEN he called it was out, and something involving an f-word leapt from my mouth (I think it was "you are fucking kidding me")

My grandma was mad as hell. "Man on the moon ain't cause for that language, let alone a baseball game"

1

u/Brilliant_Tourist400 New York Mets 3d ago

Oh, God, I remember that game. By the end of it I was convinced the Mets were dead in the water and retreated to the kitchen to make cookies so I wouldn’t have to see the end. Then, suddenly, I heard yelling from the living room and rushed in, covered in flour, to see my father literally jumping up and down and shouting, “DYKSTRA WON THE GAME! DYKSTRA WON THE GAME!” Well, for the rest of the postseason, I stayed with every game to the bitter end, no matter how hopeless it seemed.