August 14, 1985: Keith Hernandez has a night to forget as Phillies snap Mets’ winning streak

Baseball is a humbling game. On any given day, even one of the league’s best hitters can look lost at the plate and fail miserably in the clutch. That’s exactly what happened to New York Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez against the Philadelphia Phillies on August 14, 1985.

Hernandez, the National League’s batting champion and Most Valuable Player in 1979, was still in his prime. But on August 14 he went 0-for-5, struck out twice, and grounded into a game-ending double play with the bases loaded. Hernandez stranded nine baserunners – five of whom were in scoring position – in a tough 2-1 loss to the Phillies during a pennant race. His five at-bats resulted in a stunning Win Probability Added (WPA) of negative 75.5 percent.1 (The rest of the Mets combined for a WPA of positive 25.5 percent.2) As measured by WPA, no other NL or AL batter between 1912 and 2023 is known to have hurt his team’s chances of winning a nine-inning game more than Hernandez did.3

The Mets were a team on the rise. After six consecutive fifth- or sixth-place finishes in the NL East Division, the Mets jumped to second place in 1984 by winning 90 games, the most since their improbable 1969 World Series championship. With the addition of future Hall of Famer Gary Carter in a blockbuster trade with the Montreal Expos in December 1984,4 the Mets were considered strong pennant contenders heading into the 1985 season.5

The Mets’ pitching staff – the youngest in the major leagues – featured 20-year-old Dwight Gooden, the best pitcher in baseball in 1985.6 Three other major contributors in the starting rotation, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, and Rick Aguilera, were between 22 and 24 years old.7 New York’s potent offense was led by 23-year-old Darryl Strawberry, along with veterans Carter and Hernandez.8

The Mets’ pennant drive hit a major speed bump when Strawberry injured his thumb on May 11 and missed seven weeks.9 But soon after his return they went 30-7 from July 2 to August 13, lifting them from fourth place into first, one game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals. Coming into their August 14 game, the Mets were on a nine-game winning streak and had a record of 68-42.

The starting pitchers were both 24-year-old right-handers in their second full season in the majors. Darling, a former first-round pick out of Yale University, took to the hill for New York. Although he was winless in his previous four starts, he was enjoying a breakout season and his record stood at 10-4 with a 2.99 ERA.10 The Phillies countered with their ace, Kevin Gross (11-9, 3.08 ERA).

In contrast to the Mets, the fifth-place Phillies had entered a period of decline after winning the NL pennant in 1983 with an aging team that was dubbed the “Wheeze Kids.”11 Philadelphia, with a record of 51-60, trailed New York by a whopping 17½ games.

Hernandez appeared to be an unlikely candidate for a historically bad game at the plate. Although he was known more for his outstanding glove work,12 the lefty-swinger was having another great season offensively. Hernandez was hitting .298 with 8 homers and 69 RBIs in 399 at-bats and his 19 game-winning RBIs led all major leaguers.13 He had been on a hot streak until the previous game against the Phillies when he went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position. Even including that subpar performance, Hernandez hit .386 during the Mets’ 30-7 run.

Hernandez’s struggles started in the bottom of the first inning after rookie Lenny Dykstra and Wally Backman singled to open the frame.14 With the runners in motion,15 Hernandez struck out on a 3-and-2 pitch and Dykstra was thrown out at third to complete the double play.16 Gross ended the threat by retiring Carter on a fly ball.

Hernandez’s second at-bat came in the third inning with Dykstra on first and two out. He grounded out to end the inning.

With the game still scoreless, Gross loaded the bases in the fifth on three walks. Hernandez struck out to end the inning, stranding all three baserunners.

Darling held the Phillies to three hits and no walks through the first six innings before running into trouble in the seventh. Von Hayes singled to open the inning, breaking Darling’s streak of nine consecutive outs. A walk to Glenn Wilson and a fly out put runners on the corners for rookie third baseman Rick Schu.17 Schu tapped a soft opposite-field liner over Hernandez’s head and Hayes trotted home with the game’s first run.18

Mets rookie Roger McDowell, who shared closer duties with veteran lefty Jesse Orosco, replaced Darling in the eighth and tossed a one-two-three inning.

Hernandez led off the bottom of the eighth by flying out to left field.

McDowell returned to the mound in the ninth and surrendered a one-out double to Glenn Wilson. After Ozzie Virgil made the second out, the Mets intentionally walked Schu to get to Gross. Despite having thrown 123 pitches – many of which were in high-leverage situations on a hot and humid night − Gross was not removed for a pinch-hitter by Phillies manager John Felske.19 Gross lined the first pitch into center field for an RBI single, giving Philadelphia a 2-0 lead.20

Gross issued free passes to third baseman Howard Johnson and pinch-hitter Rusty Staub to open the bottom of the ninth, giving him seven walks in the game.21 After lefty Don Carman came on in relief, pinch-hitter Ron Gardenhire bunted the ball in front of the plate. Carman threw it wildly into right field, allowing Johnson to score and putting the potential tying run on third and the potential winning run on second with nobody out.22

Tom Paciorek was intentionally walked to load the bases. In a span of four batters, the Mets’ Win Expectancy had risen from just 8 percent at the start of the half-inning to 73 percent.

The switch-hitting Backman, whose first-inning single had extended his batting streak to 13 games, was up next. Backman came into the game with a .308 batting average, but he had struggled against lefties. (He hit .122 against southpaws in 1985.) Manager Davey Johnson decided to stick with Backman instead of using veteran George Foster as a pinch-hitter.23 Backman hit a soft one-hopper into the hole and Schu dived to his left to snare it; he got to his feet and threw home for the force out.24

Hernandez came to the plate with the bases still loaded and the game hanging in the balance. Carman’s 2-and-2 pitch was a fastball down the middle.25 Hernandez swung and grounded into a 4-6-3 game-ending double play.

Since the Cardinals were rained out, the loss cut New York’s lead to just a half-game over St. Louis.

Davey Johnson chalked up Hernandez’s atypical performance to tiredness, which made sense given the 31-year-old had appeared in 46 of the Mets’ previous 47 games. “He had a tough night,” Johnson said. “I need to give him a night off.”26 Hernandez didn’t think that fatigue had anything to do with his dreadful night at the plate. “I’m fine,” he claimed.27 “I didn’t do the job. I haven’t swung the bat well in two days.”28

Five days after the game, the Associated Press dropped a bombshell. Eight major-league players – including Hernandez – were expected to testify in September in the trial of a Philadelphia caterer who had been charged with distributing cocaine in the Phillies’ clubhouse.29 All eight had appeared before a federal grand jury earlier in the year after being granted immunity from prosecution.

Hernandez, who had been adamant that he never used cocaine, was tight-lipped.30 He issued a statement to the New York Times that said: “With the possibility of the case going to court, I find it improper and inappropriate for me to say anything at this time.”31

Lonnie Smith, then with the Kansas City Royals, was the first player to testify in what became known as the Pittsburgh Drug Trials. In a Pittsburgh courtroom on September 5, Smith stated that he had used cocaine with Hernandez and Joaquín Andújar when they were with the Cardinals.32 Hernandez testified the following day, admitting that he started to use cocaine in the second half of the 1980 season with St. Louis.33 He said he continued using the drug until he saw Smith come to the park “pretty much strung out” and unable to play on June 9, 1983.34 (Two days after the incident, Smith entered rehab and four days after that the Cardinals traded Hernandez to the Mets.35)

Hernandez’s testimony in Pittsburgh forced him to miss the Mets’ game in San Diego on September 4 and most of another in Los Angeles on September 6, although New York won both games.36

After rejoining his teammates, Hernandez hit .365 for the remainder of the season. On September 12 he hit a walk-off single against the Cardinals, giving New York a one-game lead over St. Louis. But the Cardinals went 18-6 down the stretch and finished three games ahead of New York.37 Mets fans would have to wait one more year for the team’s second World Series championship.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Bruce Slutsky and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, Retrosheet.org, Stathead.com, and The Sporting News contract cards. The author also reviewed Michael Martell’s SABR biography of Keith Hernandez.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN198508140.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1985/B08140NYN1985.htm

Photo credit: Keith Hernandez, Trading Card Database.

Notes

1 Win Expectancy (WE) or Win Probability (WP) is the percentage chance of a team winning a game at a specific point in that game. It is calculated by comparing the current state of the game to similar situations in historical games. Win Probability Added captures the change in Win Expectancy from a plate appearance or baserunning event (i.e., stolen base, caught stealing/pickoff, or balk) and credits or debits the player accordingly. For instance, if a player hit a home run to increase his team’s Win Expectancy from 25 percent to 65 percent, that player would be assessed a WPA of 0.40 or 40 percent. WPA is an excellent way of measuring a play’s impact on the outcome of a game.

2 Both teams begin a game with a Win Expectancy of 50 percent. By definition, the players on the winning team – including the pitchers − combine for a WPA of 50 percent and the players on the losing team combine for a WPA of negative 50 percent.

3 As of June 2024, WPA data was available on Baseball-Reference.com and Stathead.com for 91.3 percent of American, National, and Federal League games from 1912 to 1968. The web sites had WPA data for all major-league games from 1969 to 2023.

4 The Mets sent shortstop Hubie Brooks, catcher Mike Fitzgerald, outfielder Herm Winningham, and minor-league pitcher Floyd Youmans to Montreal in return for Carter.

5 Associated Press, “Carter Makes Mets a Threat to Win Title,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 9, 1985: B4.

6 Gooden went 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA and 268 strikeouts in 1985, earning him the pitching triple crown and the NL Cy Young Award.

7 Darling turned 25 on August 19.

8 Strawberry led the Mets with an adjusted on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS+) of 164 in 1985. Despite missing 43 games with a thumb injury, he hit .277 with 29 homers and 79 RBIs. Carter batted .281 with 32 homers and 100 RBIs, while Hernandez hit .309 with 10 homers and 91 RBIs.

9 The Mets were in first place by percentage points when Strawberry injured his thumb on May 11. They went 20-23 in the 43 games he missed.

10 Darling finished the season 16-6 with a 2.90 ERA. He was named to the 1985 All-Star team, but he did not appear in the game. It was the only time in his big-league career that he was selected for the All-Star team. As of 2024, Darling had been an analyst on Mets television broadcasts for 16 years; he was part of a popular trio of broadcasters that also included Hernandez and Gary Cohen.

11 The Phillies finished at least 15 games out of first place in nine consecutive seasons (1984-92) before they won the NL pennant in 1993.

12 Hernandez won 11 Gold Glove Awards in his 17 seasons in the big leagues. He is considered one of the greatest fielding first basemen of all time. The Mets retired Hernandez’s jersey number (17) in 2022.

13 Game-winning RBIs was an official major-league statistic from 1980 to 1988. It was defined as an RBI that gives a team a lead that it does not relinquish. Hernandez set the single-season record with 24 game-winning RBIs in 1985. He also holds the career record with 129 game-winning RBIs.

14 Dykstra was starting in center field in place of the injured Mookie Wilson, who was recovering from shoulder surgery. Wilson returned to action on September 1. Dan Costellano, “Mets Offensive Punch Missing,” Jersey Journal (Jersey City, New Jersey), July 2, 1985: 21.

15 The New York Daily News called it a double steal, but New York Newsday referred to it as a hit-and-run play. Fred Kerber, “Magic Mugged,” New York Daily News, August 15, 1985: 224; Steve Marcus, “Mets Fail in Clutch,” New York Newsday, August 15, 1985: 172.

16 Ben Walker (Associated Press), “Phils Gain 2-1 Victory Over Mets,” Poughkeepsie (New York) Journal, August 15, 1985: 1C.

17 Mike Schmidt played first base in this game. The Phillies moved Schmidt from third base to first when they called up Schu in late May. The 1985 season was the only season in which Schmidt was primarily a first baseman.

18 Kerber, “Magic Mugged.”

19 Rich Hofmann, “Carman Talks Himself to Save,” Philadelphia Daily News, August 15, 1985: 124.

20 Kerber, “Magic Mugged.”

21 Aguilera ran for Staub immediately after the walk. The 41-year-old Staub was in the final season of his 23-year career in the big leagues. In 1985 he pinch-hit 53 times and made only one appearance as a fielder. Staub finished the season with a .267 batting average and a .400 on-base percentage.

22 Marcus, “Mets Fail in Clutch.”

23 Foster hit .271 with 9 homers and 36 RBIs in 188 at-bats against lefties in 1985. Mike Lupica, “Mets’ Roll Ends With ‘No Dice’ for Hernandez,” New York Daily News, August 15, 1985: 65.

24 Peter Pascarelli, “Phils Sneak Past Mets in 2-1 Win,” Philadelphia Inquirer, August 15, 1985: 1E.

25 Jim Naughton, “Carman Wins Game of Mind Over Batter,” New York Daily News, August 15, 1985: 65.

26 Walker, “Phils Gain 2-1 Victory Over Mets.”

27 Marcus, “Mets Fail in Clutch.”

28 Lupica, “Mets’ Roll Ends With ‘No Dice’ for Hernandez.”

29 Associated Press, “Eight Players Set to Testify at Drug Trial,” Council Bluffs (Iowa) Nonpareil, August 19, 1985: 7.

30 Alan Schwarz, “Remembering the Pain of the Pittsburgh Drug Trials,” ESPN, July 17, 2002, https://www.espn.com/mlb/columns/schwarz_alan/1406651.html, accessed June 22, 2024.

31 Associated Press, “Eight Players Set to Testify at Drug Trial.”

32 The Cardinals traded Smith to the Kansas City Royals for minor-league outfielder John Morris on May 17, 1985. Manny Topol, “Hernandez Linked to Use of Cocaine,” New York Newsday, September 6, 1985: 176.

33 Jim Naughton, “Keith Admits All,” New York Daily News, September 7, 1985: 26.

34 Naughton, “Keith Admits All”; Rick Hummel, “Andujar Down, Cards Out in 11,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 10, 1983: C1; Rick Hummel, “Lonnie Smith of Cards to Get Drug Treatment,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 12, 1983: A1.

35 Hernandez was traded to the Mets for pitchers Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey on June 15, 1983. Hummel, “Lonnie Smith of Cards to Get Drug Treatment.”

36 Hernandez landed in Los Angeles on September 6 at 7:30 Pacific time, the same time the game started at Dodger Stadium. He entered the contest as a pinch-hitter in the 10th inning and hit into an inning-ending double play.

37 The Cardinals defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS before dropping the World Series to the Kansas City Royals in seven games.