The Mets Losing Ways Now Solved. It's The Curse!

Since 1986 we have watched this Mets organization be bridesmaids as well as embarrassments. More the embarrassment than the bridesmaid.

Through great research and sparing no expense, we here at 24 Hours...have finally solved the Mets woes; why we are the laughingstock of not only NY, but baseball.

First a little history: In 1986 the Mets were dominant. They won 108 games while losing only 54. The won the NL East by 21 1/2 games over the now dreaded Phillies.

They won a thrilling six game NLCS against a strong, never say die, Houston Astro team led by manager Hal Lanier.

Then came the World Series against the Boston Red Sox. Again, the Mets won in thrilling fashion, coming back from three runs down in the bottom of the 10th to win game 6, thus propelling them for a game 7 victory over the Sawx.

In 1987 the Mets finished behind a quick St. Louis Cardinal team, who lost to the Twins in the World Series.

In 1988 the Mets won the division again by 15 games over the Pittsburgh Pirates, only to lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. A Dodger team the Mets dominated during the season.

From then on, it's been downhill. There have been flashes of championship caliber teamwork, such as 1999, 2000, and 2006 - but have continued to frustrate us and break out hearts.

The cause? Simple. It' the curse. The Curse Of Ed Hearn.

Ed Hearn was Gary Carter's solid back-up catcher in 1986. Hearn hit .265 with 4 HR's and 10 RBI in 49 games. He had a .987 fielding percentage in 34 games started behind the plate.

After the 1986 Championship season, the Mets traded the 25 year old Hearn for a young stud pitcher with the KC Royals, David Cone.

Cone pitched well for the Mets, who arguably could have been the Cy Young winner in 1988. Cone also opened his big mouth, where his comments became fodder for the Dodger bulletin board.

After beating the Dodgers in game 1 of the 1988 NLCS, Cone called Dodger reliever Jay Howell "a high school pitcher."

The Dodgers used these unsavory comments to fuel their fire, which led them to the 1988 World Series Championship.

The Curse? Ed Hearn would never had made such comments, but his replacement on the Mets squad, after a great year, caused the 1988 Mets demise. Ed Hearn didn't.

Hearn ran into difficulties in KC, where he played two years with the Royals before retiring due to injuries. As we posted here, Hearn has always been a class act, and has raised a lot of money for FSGS and kidney disease.

After Hearn left, the Mets lost whatever class they might have had: they made such bad moves as signing Vince "Firecracker" Coleman, Bobby "Not My Error" Bonilla, and Bret "Bleach" Saberhagen. Not Ed Hearn. He didn't do these sort of things.

Ed Hearn with the 1986 Mets - they could have curled up and died against Houston, but didn't. They could have curled up and died after being down 3-2 in the Series against Boston, but didn't.

What did they do in 2006? They curled up and died against an inferior Cardinal team.

2007: They collapsed with a seven game lead with 17 left to play because they couldn't beat Philadelphia, Washington, or Florida.

2008: See 2007.

The Mets didn't collapse while Ed Hearn was in their employ.

Is it possible to reverse the curse? Absolutely. The Mets should hire Hearn to be either GM or Manager...or both. Maybe he should be head scout too.

Ed Hearn was the glue that held the '86 Mets together. Since he was jettisoned out before the '87 season, the Mets fell apart. They never fell apart with Hearn, but have built a history falling apart without him.

After all these years, the cause of the Mets failures have been realized.It is the Curse Of Ed Hearn.

Sources: Baseball Almanac, Baseball Reference, and Can't Stop The Bleeding


*** Before people start getting upset and calling for my head, this is all in jest, and I have the world of respect for Ed Hearn and his fight against Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). ***