How 1990 actually went.
A poor start led the Mets to replace Davey Johnson with Bud Harrelson, ending the manager’s connection to the team he had turned into a powerhouse. The club responded and climbed back into the race. Strawberry produced another excellent season, Cone remained strong, and Frank Viola gave the rotation a veteran ace.
The Mets chased Pittsburgh through the summer and briefly made the division feel reachable. They won 91 games, a total that would have taken several later Mets teams to October. The Pirates, led by Barry Bonds, were simply better and finished four games ahead. Without a Wild Card, second place meant the season stopped immediately.
The year became the final winning season of the great run. Strawberry left for Los Angeles as a free agent, taking the lineup’s most feared bat and the last clear homegrown superstar of the championship core. The Mets had won 575 games from 1984 through 1990, yet captured only one title. The window closed with a good team, not a bad one, which made the years ahead harder to see coming.
Ninety-one wins were not enough, and Strawberry’s exit made it feel like the whole era left with him.