Most importantly, Davey Johnson feels better, thanks for asking and keeping him in your thoughts.
“Two weeks of the virus knocked the hell out of me,” the beloved former manager of the Mets (and four other teams) told The Post on Monday. “My wife kept praying for me. All of a sudden, I woke up, after so much fever and coughing, and I didn’t have a cough. I didn’t have a fever. I felt normal. I went from feeling miserable to feeling great. I hope you don’t have to experience [the coronavirus].
“I’ve been a risk-taker my whole life, so what’s a little virus to me? I’ve been scuba-diving with sharks. I’m a survivor.”
He’s also a thriver, his 1,372-1,071 record as a skipper placing him 15th all-time in games above .500 (301), his .562 winning percentage ranking 23rd and his wins putting him 31st. Yet for his many accomplishments in baseball (he also put up a pretty good playing career), 1986 had to be his peak. And it was this month, 35 years ago, when Johnson set the tone for that magical Mets season with four simple words:
“We’re going to dominate.”
That’s what he told his players as they formally convened for the first time that season. All they did was win 108 games, tying the 1975 Reds for the most victories by a National League team in a 162-game schedule, then captured a thrilling National League Championship Series over the Astros before withstanding a near-death experience to defeat the Red Sox in the World Series.
“You have to remember, it goes back to ‘84,” Johnson explained. “That year we got outscored by (24) runs (676-652) and finished 18 games over .500 (90-72). We went from 90 wins and getting outscored (in 1984) to 98 wins and coming in second (in 1985). In the spring, I wanted all of the players to know how I felt about our progression.
“I didn’t really make a big deal out of it. I said, ‘We’ve been close, we’ve been very competitive, but this year we’re going to dominate.’ You speak from the heart and also the mind. I knew where we were at. I knew nobody could compete with us.
“I wasn’t bragging. I was just stating a fact. When you win 108 games, and 115 including the postseason, you dominate. I’d say that history proved me right.”
It did, and Johnson’s straightforward confidence in his guys perfectly illustrated the fearlessness that made him so popular with teammates and Mets fans. Which came into play on a far more serious matter when he contracted COVID-19.
“I have a sneaking suspicion it’s not gonna kill me,” Johnson quipped of the disease, sounding like his usual relaxed self in a tough spot. He’s not done surviving, or hopefully even dominating, yet.
This week’s Pop Quiz question came from the late Jan Bottone of Wellesley, Mass.: Name the future Hall of Famer who gets mentioned by Kirk Douglas’ character in the 1951 film “Ace in the Hole.”
Podcast recommendation of the week: Unified, a discussion of sports uniforms and their aesthetics between the two platinum-level authorities on the matter, Paul Lukas of Uni Watch and Chris Creamer of Sportslogos.net. The premier episode was a lot of fun and I’m sure it’ll get even better once Paul and Chris fully find their rhythm.
I received a lot of nice feedback from folks regarding last week’s feature on old-timers Jack Reed and Gene Locklear, and much deserved scolding, too, for omitting Reed’s most famous moment: His only career home run – off 2019 Mets pitching coach Phil Regan! – broke a 22nd-inning tie and gave the Yankees a 9-7 victory over the Tigers on June 24, 1962. My apologies, I had no idea. It was slightly before my time.
Your Pop Quiz answer is Yogi Berra. If you have a tidbit that connects baseball to popular culture, please send it to me at kdavidoff@nypost.com.