Rating: 
Summary: High comedy, not only for Met fans
Review: "The Bad Guys Won..." is what it is -- a collection of stories and player profiles set against a single championship season, one of the most impressive and unique seasons a baseball team has ever produced. Unlike other books chronicling one single baseball campaign, like David Halberstam's "Summer of '49" or "October 1964", or others like "The Last Good Season," there isn't much else the book has to offer. But that's not to say it wasn't entertaining and enjoyable.
Jeff Pearlman takes you through the 1986 Mets championship season, focusing almost entirely on the players and their antics, seemingly going through the entire roster and passing along stories that the reader cannot help but laugh at. All the major characters are covered heavily -- Dykstra, Strawberry, Gooden -- but there really shouldnt be anyone from the team upset over a lack of print. Fans of the '86 Mets probably won't learn all that much, since, I'm pretty sure, many of the antics described in the book have become common knowledge by now. But they'll probably love it anyway. As for non-Mets fans like myself, I still got a kick out of it, and I'm sure most others will as well, unless you're in the hunt for a book with solid baseball analysis.
The book shines in a couple of areas outside the realm of the players themselves. There's the background of how the team was constructed after the filthy teams of the early-80's, the classic 18-inning Mets-Astros NLCS game, and some in-season tales like "Get Metsmerized" and such. Also, it's funny to think about what would happen if this team was present in today's uptight sports world. The 86 Mets couldnt exist today, not even 20 years later, because every little detail is so heavily scrutinized today that the media storm these guys would kick up would be off the charts. Just look at the frenzy stirred up two weeks ago by the Randy Moss "fake mooning" in Green Bay -- can you imagine what would happen if today's New York and national (especially the national) media got a hold of some of the things Pearlman describes in this book?
Speaking of Pearlman, one of the drawbacks to the book is the writing. Luckily the stories themselves carry the book, because the storyteller leaves much to be desired. He comes off too much as a fan and less like an author, and you could sense that he's so giddy writing about these guys that he rooted for as a kid, it's almost like he wants to think he was in that 1986 clubhuse with them palling around and being stupid. He tries too hard to inject his own humor when it's not necessary, and a lot of his stuff falls flat. I'm not saying he's a bad writer, but there is probably a reason why a lot of the more renowned books of this type are written by older, more experienced authors. Perhaps Pearlman will reach that level eventually, but his writing in this book is what knocks it down a peg to me. Although at one point, Pearlman does put his fanship to good use in his description of an encounter with former Met Dave Kingman.
Overall though it's highly entertaining for all baseball fans, and sports fans for that matter. The 1986 Mets were very unique, and with the way the sports world has become, a team like that probably won't be seen again.
Rating: 
Summary: When The Mets Ruled The World
Review: Ahhh, the afterglow still lingers...
It was a different world in 1986, before that OTHER baseball club in New York started grabbing all the headlines again. Before anyone ever heard of Osama bin Laden. It was good to be a Mets fan back then.
I remember the agonizing extra-innings playoff game against the Houston Astros. New Yorkers of every size, shape and color lined up 10 deep in front of every storefront window in Manhattan, watching that unbelievably suspenseful game, knowing full well the shadow of Met-killer Mike Scott loomed over a dreaded game 7.
Even shops that didn't sell TVs put one in the window for the sidewalk crowds that afternoon. The mood was electric, excited, exhilarating. People just would not tear themselves away and go home. Lifelong friendships were struck as the hours went by and the stalemate continued.
When the Mets finally pulled it out, after 18 excruciating innings ( a doubleheader! ) you could hear the collective howl of relief erupt across all five boroughs, as emotionally-exhausted strangers hugged each other ( Yup, in New York! I saw it with my own eyes. )
It would eventually go down as one of the greatest games ever played in the history of baseball. Surely, we thought, after such a historic playoff series, the main event at Fenway would prove anticlimactic. Little did we know.
I remember my wonderful Dad, who's gone now, with the Mets at the very brink of elimination and despair - in what would become the legendary game 6 against Boston. And when Bill Buckner did his famous imitation of a croquet wicket ( or was it the Holland Tunnel ? ) we both spontaneously shot 6 feet into the air.
I remember our eyes meeting about a foot below the ceiling, in a moment that's forever frozen in time, with a yell that must have woke up the dead. The whole block was on fire, like a dozen New Years Eve celebrations in one. It sure woke up the Mets and the rest of New York - because there was no stopping them after that.
It all comes rushing back in the pages of this excellent book. I was less interested in what brats the upstart Mets were, which amused New Yorkers and irritated everyone else at the time, and more interested in the fact that, as this book makes clear, it was really the end of an era in baseball.
Ya gotta believe. We believed.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK ON A UNIQUELY GREAT TEAM!!!
Review: Been a baseball fan living in the NY/NJ Metro area for a long time and this book brought back a lot of great memories about a unique team and a remarkable season that was unlike any in NY baseball history: The 1986 NY Mets. This book, especially for younger baseball fans, sets the stage when the Mets pretty much were THE team NY baseball fans cared about as the Yankees had not yet developed the championship forumula they'd forge into a powerhouse dynasty by the '90. The 1980s Mets were a fun, reckless, overly competitive, group of brawling misfits who knew HOW to play baseball, and played it their way! A team so far removed from today's more restrained, conservative great Yankee's that it's hard to realize there was ever a team that existed like this unrestrained bunch. But they DID exist...and for one magical season they played a style of "renegade" baseball unlike anyone had seen before in NY. In an era when there was no "wildcard" to extend the post season, these hated '86 Mets should have and could have won many more championships (they did win their division in 1988 and narrowly lost their division to the St. Louis Cardinals by perhaps a game in 1985). But what they did win in 1986, and how they won it, is the stuff of sports legend. And this is one legend that is as wild a tale today as it was almost 20 years ago.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome book and I am NOT a Met fan...
Review: Best sports book I have read since "Friday Nite Lights." The '86 Mets make Sparky Lyle's Yankees look like choir boys. Pearlman masterfully takes us back to 1986 and helps us re-live one of baseball's most controversial teams and greatest post-seasons ever. Perfect beach-chair material or Father's Day gift for a baseball-loving Dad!
Rating: 
Summary: Looooooooooong SI Article
Review: I don't want to start a baseball holy war, I'm giving the book three stars, not the '86 Mets. In my opinion, which interestingly enough is what a review is, the book is simply average.It basically reads like a long magazine article, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, considering that the author was on the Sports Illustrated staff. I only mention it because I payed full price for the hardback and would have liked something more than something I could have read in SI for free. My main criticism of the book is that it is completely anecdotal. A string of stories over the course of a season which never captures the whole. Everything is breezed over; a few stories here, a few stories there. Lack of depth is the main evil of this book. He gives you enough information to interest you, then leaves you high and dry when you want more. I don't want to draw this out too long because I have only one real problem with the book, and you probably already know what it is. It is just too short, and not in the good way where it is just so good that you wish there were more. There should have been more. Too many things were quickly glossed over. That said, the book was entertaining and thoroughly interesting. If you are interested in baseball, I would reccommend this read, but please wait for the paperback or borrow it from a library. Paying cover price on this thing is robbery. To sum up, it's a by the numbers account of a championship season. You won't get much depth, but you will read some funny stories about Tim Teufel.
Rating:
Summary: A blast to read
Review: If ever there was a team that embodied the crazy 80s this was them. The New York Mets were expected to do great things with their collection of stars and their 108 win regular season. However, the playoffs were far from easy for them, with some miracles (including a Boston meltdown) helping them along the way to their second World Series title in history. Most of this is well known by the casual baseball fan.
What is less-known are the exploits of this group of meglomaniacal, immature misfits throughout the course of that crazy 1986 season. Pearlman's look back as a guy who has grown up now but was only a young kid at the time is truly fantastic. You'll read about Doc and Darryl's run-ins with drug accusations, entire team food fights on airplanes, who had the worst gas (Doug Sisk), and the circumstances of how four Mets found themselves arrested by overzealous cops in Texas.
If you're a baseball fan, you'll enjoy this easy read. It's nonstop fun and never seems to have slow moments. An added bonus is that you need not be a Mets fan to enjoy this book -- it's a tale of adult immaturity and debauchery that anyone with a sense of humor and a love of baseball can (and will) enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Great baseball history book
Review: If you are a fan of the Mets or a baseball history book, this is a must read. The book is very entertaining and an easy read.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Book?. . . ummmmm, not so much.
Review: If you're looking for a bad book about a good team, this is the book for you I'm a die hard Mets fan. I was 16 in 1986; the best age you can be when your team has a season like that. It was truly a season of baseball like it oughta be. Jeff Pearlman spins a fairly entertaining account of the events and characters that made up that magical Mets season, but unfortunately I found myself fighting through it 10 or 15 pages at a time. As I battled through, it occurred to me that perhaps Mr. Pearlman was just missing 3 crucial members from his project team. 1) Proofreader
2) Editor
3) Fact Checker This could have been a good book if it had ben edited properly. Sadly it was not, and the result is a barely readable book with real live factual errors. If you are a Mets fan and can't get enough of memories of '86, pick it up for an entertaining read. If you are not a Mets fan, don't bother.
Rating:
Summary: Strange but true with the bad boys of baseball...
Review: In 1986, the New York Mets were the most intimidating team in baseball. It wasn't just that they were a team full of sluggers and great pitching; when the Mets came to town, it was probable that they would win, beat you up, steal your girlfriend, drink your beer, and trash your home. They were the bullies of baseball.
Jeff Perlman's book about the '86 Mets is confirmation of everything everyone thought about them: they were a team loaded with captivating young talent, unrelenting drive, and an arrogant streak; as unstoppable as a runaway train, and almost as self-destructive. From drunken and destructive behavior to the crazy pranks and music videos, the '86 Mets were a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon, and Perlman captures all the forces that conspired to make them great. From the General Manager all the way down to the equipment manager, Perlman leaves no stone unturned in his look at the team.
By 1986, the young stars of the Mets had begun the behavior that would lead to their downfall; the impending doom of the team's best players while the team was soaring is one of the most interesting facets of this book. Perlman chronicles the rumored drug use of Dwight Gooden, Daryl Strawberry's alcohol abuse, and Lenny Dykstra's entire lifestyle; all of which made the Mets into an invincible caricature of a baseball team, and also conspired to bring about the downfall of a team that should have been a dynasty.
I really enjoyed this book; I knew the Mets were a crazy bunch, but I had no idea how odd the group of personalities were, nor how far into the realm of the preposterous their behavior ventured. For anyone who remembers Doc, Straw, Mookie, Nails, the Kid, the Scum Bunch, and the rest of the Mets, this is a very interesting look at the baddest team to ever take the field.
Rating:
Summary: The 1986 Mets --the Last Great Team
Review: The Mets of the 1980's were the best team of the time period. Consider that in a 7 season period they won as many games as the 1950's Brooklyn Dodgers. Pearlman documents the hard drinking, women chasing and drug abusing mets. He shows the Mets as the classic anti hero. With the exception of Gary Carter,Mookie Wilson and Ray Knight there isn't a role model amongst the rest.
Parents might be horrified in the celebration of this team but that misses the point . These men are clearly do not claim to be role moodels but really they were a throwback to an earlier time before political correctness and sensitivity in men were common. The Mets had better attendance than the Yankees and really ruled New Yoirk baseball and were a reflection of blue collar grimy 1980's New York.
This is a story about how people with flaws can still rise to greatness . I believed the Mets were the last great team built in the traditional manner . Consider that Strawberry, Gooden, Backman. Wilson. Darling were developed by the farm system. Carter, Fernandez, hernandez,H. Johnson,Teufel and Knight were received in trades. There were the last team to win over 100 games and not one free agent.
Contrast this to the current Red Sox, Braves and the Yankees that are built primarly on free trades. What's wrong with that ? Nothing if you don't mind baseball being a three team sport. Outside of the Northeast and Chicago baseball is dying .
Pearlman makes the point that the Mets were one of the greatest team of all time . He doesn't use statistics ,he uses the emotional argument that the Mets were symbolic of an era that we are not likely to see again. The 1927 Yankees and 1961 Yankees and the other great teams of the any era would be more comfortable in a Met clubhouse than in the current stale environment. Met fans will like this book and Yankees fans predictable will dismiss any homage to a team that won a World Series on the typical Red Sox swoon. But no matter this is a look at a Met team that may be the last championship any Met team will win for a long time.
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