鈥楪ame 7, 1986: Failure and Triumph in the Biggest Game of My Life,鈥� by Ron Darling and Daniel Paisner

As the starting pitcher for the New York Mets in Game 7 of the 1986 World Series, Ron Darling came up short. Rather than turning in a dream-of-a-lifetime performance, Darling was lifted in the fourth inning after giving up three runs to the Boston Red Sox. The Mets would go on to win, 8-5, but Darling was left with mixed emotions 鈥� thrilled to be on a championship team but disappointed that he hadn鈥檛 contributed to the final win. A Yale graduate who is today an Emmy Award-winning TV baseball analyst, Darling provides a fascinating and candid in-depth retrospective of Game 7 and the season that led to the team鈥檚 third championship. The Series will often be remembered, however, as the one that got away from the Red Sox, who were one strike away from clinching the title in Game 6 before losing in extra innings on Bill Buckner鈥檚 famous fielding blooper. On the 30th anniversary of the 鈥�86 Series, Darling helps bring that memory back to life along with countless forgotten details.聽

Here鈥檚 an excerpt from聽Game 7, 1986:

鈥淚 know this now, and I suppose I knew it then, on some level 鈥� but I certainly didn鈥檛 appreciate it. As a young man, well into my major league career by this point, I should have known at least to keep it simple. To think,聽Hey, I did a good job against these Red Sox hitters in Game 1 and Game 4. My stuff鈥檚 better than their stuff. I鈥檓 good. We鈥檙e good.聽But that鈥檚 not how I played it. No, I let the game play me. I let the Red Sox play me, instead of the other way around. My mind drifted. I thought,聽This is a veteran team. I鈥檝e shown them just about everything I鈥檝e got. I鈥檓 gonna have to try something different.

鈥淚f I鈥檇 had more inner confidence, if I鈥檇 had the kind of arrogant selfishness you see in our greatest athletes, I would have gone into the game thinking I would dictate the at bats Thinking,聽I鈥檝e owned these guys. Thinking,聽Bring it, Boston!聽But my mind didn鈥檛 go there. Instead I worried I鈥檇 have to come up with a new bag of tricks, else I would be found out.

鈥淚 hadn鈥檛 even thrown a pitch and already I was down in the count.

海角大神

鈥楪ame 7, 1986: Failure and Triumph in the Biggest Game of My Life,鈥� by Ron Darling and Daniel Paisner

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