Unofficial fan projectThe Mets Powerhouse
Ray Knight
Third baseman · Mets 1984–1986
The part fans remember
What the numbers leave out.
Knight delivered when the 1986 Mets needed him most. He scored the winning run in Game 6 and drove in the go-ahead run in Game 7.
Knight came to the Mets in 1984 and struggled so badly in 1985 that the club tried to trade him. No deal happened, and that failure became a gift. He returned in 1986, hit .298, played a fiery third base, and gave a deep lineup one more hitter who was never afraid of a confrontation.
His October became the kind of run that can change how an entire career is remembered. Knight scored the winning run in Game 6 after Mookie Wilson’s grounder went through Buckner. In Game 7, he hit the home run that put the Mets ahead for good and was named World Series MVP.
The ending was strangely quick. Knight and the Mets could not agree on a new contract, so he left for Baltimore after the parade. That makes his story feel frozen in 1986: one season of redemption, one unforgettable trip around the bases, and a player leaving at the exact moment his Mets value could never be higher.
The honest version
The best stretch
Knight’s Mets peak is impossible to separate from 1986. After a terrible 1985 season, he nearly lost his place on the roster. He answered by hitting .298, bringing a fighter’s edge to third base, and giving the deepest team in baseball another difficult out. The comeback made his October heroics feel like the final part of a season-long rescue.
The part that got messy
He scored the winning run in Game 6 of the World Series after the ball went through Buckner, then drove in the go-ahead run in Game 7. Knight hit .391 in the series and won the MVP award. On a roster with several Hall of Fame-level talents, the player who had almost been released became the face of the championship’s final two victories.
Why fans still care
His Mets stay ended immediately afterward because the club and player could not agree on a contract. That short ending adds to his unusual place in history: three seasons, one difficult year, one excellent year, and one perfect October. Knight does not need long career totals to belong. He delivered exactly when a great Mets team needed someone to turn survival into a title.
Knight was not supposed to be the star of the 1986 postseason, which made his October even more satisfying. He delivered the go-ahead run in Game 6, homered in Game 7, and won World Series MVP after nearly losing his job earlier in the year. He played angry, hit in the clutch, and left after the parade—a short Mets peak with a perfect ending.
Signature Mets momentNamed Most Valuable Player of the 1986 World Series.
The short list
The stuff worth remembering.
- 011986 World Series MVP
- 02Scored the Game 6 winning run
- 03Clutch Game 7 hit