This is mainly a well-written book and a good account of the 1986 Mets. It's disappointing to learn how terribly behaved some of these people are, though. You grow up watching them play, and you don't necessarily think about what they're like as people.

Disclaimer:

As a normal reader of sports books, this would probably rank as 3 stars. As a life-long Mets fan who can remember 1986 fondly, it is a solid 5 for a wonderful trip down memory lane. These players hold a special place in Met fan hearts and this book is fair and fun in its retelling of the events and people of that miraculous season. Even better to read while the Mets are playing well in the current season (though all true Mets fans know it is "too early" and freak injuries and bad trades have undone so many a promising season since '86).

Rated 4 stars. Read on Kindle. Tried to listen to Hoopla Audio but didn't "connect" with the author's audio narration but that is just my opinion and other readers might enjoy listening to him.

Very interesting narrative of the 1986 WS Champs, the infamous NYC Mets. At times disturbing but also told with a lot of humor. I especially enjoyed the backstories of some of the lesser known players. To be honest there were very few "good guys" on that team. I've always been a fan of Gary Carter but got the impression that the author thought his good guy personality was to get attention and fame. I don't agree as I always thought he brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the game.

I had forgotten about the incident in Texas where some of the Mets were in a drunken brawl at a bar and ended up in jail! Including Ron Darling :( I remember when he was a guest on Sesame Street in 1985. Oh well I still enjoy his color commentary when I have access to MLB free games.

Recommend this to baseball fans whether they are Mets fan or not. I sometimes root for them depending on who they're playing but have to be honest, I was hoping for the Red Sox to win the WS in 1986 to break the "curse of the Bambino"! Apologies to GR friend Lance who is a Mets fan.

My 2 favorite quotes:

"My wife wanted a big diamond. —MOOKIE WILSON on why he was married on a baseball field"

"One of the saddest things in the world is wasted talent"

LETS GO METS BABY ITS ALL ABOUT THE METS!!!

For very little reason I decided to get into baseball this year and my chosen team is The New York Mets. It was very fun to travel back in time to the glory days of my new hometown heroes. Perlman writes about the game in a very accessible way for the most part and got me to love a lot of very unlikable guys. The ‘86 Mets were a magical team and I’m glad I got to experience a very small part of that through this book.

On the boarder between 3 and 4 stars but I think the prose/style did very little for me so I’m going with 3. It wasn’t bad just nothing special.

I love a good story about a great heel. And somewhere, under all the clumsy turns of phrase, that story’s in here. But that story is also on Wikipedia.

Listen: this is so far out of my wheelhouse that I don’t know how to evaluate it. Surely I can’t criticize a book about the ‘86 Mets for containing too much boring baseball stuff. But if you’re looking for salacious details, you can stop reading once the team hits the playoffs.

Is this what sports writing is like? Nearly every page contains an unwieldy metaphor strained to the breaking point, each of which feels like a cliche that never quite caught on. My list of highlights, started a quarter of the way and restricted to turns of phrase that made me laugh or shake my head, numbers 48. It’d be a lot longer if I allowed myself to highlight the merely bad, but I wanted to be done with this ungodly thing.

So I can’t speak to it as a baseball book, because I’m still not sure what an ERA is (I think you want it to be low?), but as a work of prurient “literature,” it fails utterly.

If you’re looking for a book about the ‘86 Mets for an audience that already knows about the ‘86 Mets, maybe this is for you. If you’re looking for reflections of larger-than-life dirtbags, check out that Wikipedia article, and the article on Cootergate, and listen to Get Metsmerized. Then pick up Leigh Montvale’s Evel and be entertained.

Good account of a team I hated. Still, the 1986 Mets are undeniably a fascinating lot, and Pearlman delivers a book that is salacious but never petty or gossipy. As a lifelong Astros fan, reliving the 1986 NLCS was almost as heartbreaking 35 years later. Quick, fascinating, and fun, I would recommend this to baseball fan--particularly those who remember the 1980s.

This should be mandatory school reading in every NYC Junior High School.

LGM!

A well researched book about the insane Mets and their 86 World Series winning season. Details the ups and downs and where and when the nucleus of the club came from. Has plenty of stories of their off the field garbage as well but they were able to hold it together enough to win a championship... barely.

Highly recommended, even if you are not a Mets fan its a fun read.

(1 1/2). Being a naive New Yorker and a baseball fan it was easy to pick this one up. It was not as easy to read. Yes, the Mets are a bunch of relatively nasty human beings, making for colorful descriptions of the aberrant behavior, but it does seriously limit the readability of some of this book. As usual, you wonder how they got away with some of what was going on, who knew and did not know in management and that sort of thing. Their baseball abilities were over the top, and some of the action in here is riveting, but overall it was not that great of a read.

I really loved this book and could not put it down. It paints a picture of a bygone era of baseball in a way I’ve never seen before. Pearlman does an amazing job making the reader feel connected to each of these insane players. Definitely recommend.

I loved this book. That is high praise considering I’m a Cardinals fan, and this team is called “the pond scum Mets” for a reason. But the story itself is great. I loved the insight and down and dirty behind the scenes dirt of this team. I wanted more background and depth on Hernandez, like what drove him to cocaine and his relationship with some of the guys like Sisk. But perhaps there’s no source material there. Still, a great book about a crazy team

Kinda fun to root for a team composed mainly of assholes, but that's the 86 Mets. Pearlman writes in such a fun manner to capture the insanity that went on with this team during their championship year. Mets fans definitely will love this book, but anyone who likes New York sports or sports in general will also appreciate this book. Super exciting read.