Former New York Mets manager and 1986 World Series winner Davey Johnson has passed away at the age of 82, team historian Jay Horwitz announced on Friday.
For much of the franchise’s first 30 years of existence, Johnson was indelibly intertwined within its fabric.
As a star second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles, his deep fly ball to left field in Game 5 of the 1969 World Series at Shea Stadium was caught by Cleon Jones, serving as the final out of the Mets’ improbable title.
He played 13 years in the majors from 1965-1978, garnering four All-Star selections, three Gold Glove Awards, and championships in 1966 and 1970 — a regular within some of the powerhouse Baltimore clubs built by the legendary manager, Earl Weaver.
Following his playing days, Johnson was the manager of New York’s Triple-A affiliate in Tidewater, VA, before getting the big-league job in 1984 and taking over the reins of a team that had won just 68 games the year before.
But he championed for the organization’s star prospects, Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, to follow him to the big leagues. Coupled with the acquisition of Keith Hernandez, the Mets won 90 games in 1984.
It was the first of five consecutive 90-plus-win seasons for the Mets, which rounded out its championship core in 1985 by acquiring Gary Carter.
While their off-field antics are memorialized in perpetuity, the on-field product was undeniable. The Mets won 108 games in 1986 and pulled off one of the game’s most famous comebacks in Game 6 of the Fall Classic to defeat the Boston Red Sox in seven games.
It was the franchise’s second and still most recent championship. Johnson won 100 games in 1988, but the Mets fell to the Dodgers in the NLCS. While the franchise’s foundation unraveled with the departures of Hernandez and Carter, coupled with the troubles of Gooden and Strawberry, Johnson was dismissed following a 20-22 start in 1990.
His 595 wins rank No. 1 in franchise history, as does his .588 winning percentage.
Johnson went on to coach the Cincinnati Reds, Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Washington Nationals following his stint with the Mets. He won the AL Manager of the Year in 1997 with Baltimore and again in 2012 with Washington, though he never returned to the World Series again.
His 1,372 managerial wins rank 33rd in MLB history.
