Like most everything form Jeff Pearlman, this was a great read. 1986 Mets were a polarizing team...a great team that, unless you were a Mets fan, were hard to root for. Star power with Gooden, Strawberry, Carter, Hernandez and gritty with Hojo, Nails and Backman. Should have won more championships, but couldn't hold it together after winning it all in '86. Covers alot, including several pages devoted to star-crossed Red Sox 1B Bill Buckner.

I almost DNFed this book because it starts with the destruction of the plane and how awful these people were. It's hard to enjoy reading about terrible people. The book was a pretty straightforward account of the 1986 Mets and was interesting overall. There is quite a bit of misogyny (shocking, I know), which was annoying to read.

Very fitting that I borrowed a hard copy of this book from my dad, the source of all my 1986 Mets knowledge prior to adding Pearlman’s debut book into the mix.

Simply put, as someone who does not grasp the ability of deeply analyzing a piece of work, I loved it. Read it cover to cover on a flight from NJ to Vegas. Closed the book and we were on our descent. Perfect timing.

But in all seriousness, this was a wonderful deep dive into a team that is simply only a legend for my born in ‘94 self. Many details I was aware of, most I was not - and this was a fascinating deep dive on the group of rascals I only knew by their name, jersey number, and statistics. Baseball’s last rockstars.

I've now read multiple books regarding the '86 Mets and this one is hands down the best. So many cultivating stories and quotes to describe each and every persona on this team. I recommend this book to not only every Mets fan, but for also anyone who has never watched a Mets game at all in 1986.

You will fall in love with this team, while hating them along the way. Truly a wonderful book.

So, first, I really enjoyed reading this book. I am a big baseball fan, and especially a fan of baseball in my youth. I am also a big fan of Jeff Pearlman's, he is a dynamite writer, and his wit and research into his writing glows on the page. Second, in The Bad Guys Won! I was concerned about some the language he uses in the book to describe players and interactions on the team. I know he learned from this book, but in reflection, it's a little 'blue'.

Jeff Pearlman - image from his site

An inside look at the 1986 Mets, the entire season, this is a very compelling read, with information that was new to me. It reads quickly and does not pretend to be more than what it is, a recollection of a magical season. (unlike most of the very unmagical seasons since then). A must-read for lifelong Mets fans like me, and a should-read for serious baseball fans, even if they are not afflicted with need to root for the Metropolitans.

Links to the author’s personal, Twitter, and FB pages

I remember the 1986 NY Mets World Series championship very well, even 30+ years later. What I never knew about that season is how it all came to be, and how it happened. Jeff Pearlman does a terrific job of putting together all the elements that went into that year. From the management that built the team, to the players, coaches and field manager, this eye-opening expose of a group of misfits, bad boys, carousers, ladies men, alcohol and drug abusers is all on display. Fan favorites Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Ron Darling, Gary Carter, Keith Hernandez and Lenny Dykstra are all aboard for the ride. The book also examines the demise of the team in the years after their great accomplishments. I enjoyed it and I think most sports fan will agree with me.

Pearlman is a great story teller and the stories of this Mets team are incredible. Laughed out loud a few different times. Lebron ushering in the “professional” athlete model has made sports not as fun.

If you grew up in the '80's and loved baseball like I did, this book is a blast. The '86 Mets and Darryl Strawberry were favorites of mine by 1986 so this was a must read. Pearlman hits you with all kinds of great details/stories but keeps it concise - the book's pace and length are just right. Makes it a quick, fun ride through what is truly a lost era of baseball.

A great peak behind the curtain of one of the greatest teams in sports history. However, some of the language used (especially around women in the story) has aged somewhat poorly.

The Motley Crue of baseball.
This book was average and I guess it will hold me over until baseball is back, whenever that will be. The writing was all over the place, there was no real pace to it and a bunch of skipping around. The game parts were boring, I’m more of a visual person so don’t think I’m hating on the sport. I felt a lot for this team reading it, I was rooting for them even though they’re the bad guys.

The most impressive part of Pearlman’s writing is how involved you can get in a story where you know the outcome from reading the book title. At several points during the last quarter of the book I found myself wondering if the Mets would actually lose the World Series.

That said, this is a weaker entry from him compared to his other works I’ve read, those being Showtime and Three Ring Circus. This is also about ten years older than either of those, which means he definitely hadn’t honed his style by this point. Being published in 2004 also means you get a few weird “of the times” commentary such as a complaint about the rampant political correctness of the *checks notes* Bush Administration

All that being said love the Mets baby let’s go Mets hit a home run baby there we go love the Mets