[Nick Soulis]

Series #270

1987 New York Mets vs 1931 New York Giants



1987 NEW YORK METS
92-70
Manager: Davey Johnson



The 1987 Mets were a club of immense talent operating in the long shadow of their 1986 World Championship, and they remained one of the most dangerous offensive teams in the National League despite finishing second in the NL East. Darryl Strawberry led the club with a 6.4 WAR, hitting thirty-nine home runs with a .981 OPS — a right fielder operating at a genuinely fearsome level. Howard Johnson provided a second power source at third base with thirty-six home runs and ninety-nine RBI, while Keith Hernandez anchored first base with the quiet professional craft that defined his career. Lenny Dykstra gave the lineup a combustible leadoff presence, Tim Teufel provided dangerous production in a platoon role, and Gary Carter handled the catching duties behind the plate. On the mound, Dwight Gooden posted a 3.21 ERA in twenty-five starts, Sid Fernandez and Rick Aguilera provided rotation depth, and a bullpen featuring Roger McDowell, Randy Myers, and Jesse Orosco carried genuine late-game pedigree. This was a team built to score runs in volume and protect leads with venom, and it did both across one hundred and sixty-two games.

1931 NEW YORK GIANTS
87-65
Manager: John McGraw



The 1931 Giants were the product of three decades of McGraw's baseball philosophy distilled into a single club — pitching-first, defensively sound, and built around a nucleus of players who understood their roles with precision. Bill Terry led the offense at 6.6 WAR, batting .349 with two hundred and thirteen hits and one hundred and twelve RBI, a first baseman at the absolute peak of his abilities. Mel Ott, twenty-two years old, provided twenty-nine home runs and one hundred and fifteen RBI from the right field corner, already one of the most recognizable players in the National League. Travis Jackson held shortstop with a .310 average and a 5.4 WAR, and the rest of the lineup — Shanty Hogan, Johnny Vergez, Freddy Leach — was filled with professional hitters who put the ball in play and let their pitchers work. And those pitchers were exceptional. Bill Walker posted a 2.26 ERA across two hundred and thirty-nine innings. Carl Hubbell threw two hundred and forty-eight innings at 2.65. Freddie Fitzsimmons won eighteen games. The Giants allowed only five hundred and ninety-nine runs all season — a number that reflects, more than anything else, the controlling intelligence of the man in the dugout who built them.