Ojeda & Gedman: No losers in this friendship

BY ANTHONY RIEBER | Newsday Staff Writer

August 17, 2006

In the public mind, Bob Ojeda and Rich Gedman are separated by positions, by leagues, by uniforms, and, most importantly, by winning and losing.

Ojeda was the winningest pitcher on the 1986 Mets and a World Series champion. Gedman was a lowercase World Series goat in Boston, the catcher who let Bob Stanley's catchable wild pitch get past him in the 10th inning of Game 6, allowing Kevin Mitchell to score the tying run.

After that, Mookie hit a slow roller at Buckner and the rest, as they say, is history.

In reality, Ojeda and Gedman are closer than you know. Friends for nearly 30 years, former Red Sox teammates - Boston foolishly traded Ojeda to the Mets before the 1986 season in a deal for, among others, uppercase World Series goat Calvin Schiraldi - Ojeda is now the pitching coach and Gedman the manager of the Worcester (Mass.) Tornadoes of the independent Can-Am League.

"That might make a good story," Ojeda, who went 18-5 with a 2.57 ERA in 1986, said recently in a telephone interview.

It was Gedman who called Ojeda, semi-retired after a stint as a Mets minor-league pitching coach, and offered him a chance to teach pitching to a roster filled with names such as Chris Shank, D.J. Mattox and Matt Weagle.

And it was Gedman who provided Ojeda what he calls his best memory of that magical season. For Ojeda, it wasn't Game 6 in Houston, it wasn't the Buckner Ball, it wasn't Orosco's glove in the air, it wasn't the parade.

It was a gesture of friendship and sportsmanship in the middle of what Ojeda called "that moment of chaos after we won Game 7."

Said Ojeda: "Geddie and [Red Sox pitcher] Bruce Hurst came over to our clubhouse and gave me a hug and congratulated me. That's just the epitome of affection and sportsmanship."

Lest you think Bob Ojeda is not a true '86 Met, with all that implies, consider this: "I would have never done that if they had won," he said.

DWIGHT GOODEN
1986 stats: 17-6, 2.84 ERA.

What he did then: At age 21, Gooden had his third straight season with at least 17 wins, but was 0-3 in postseason.

What he does now: Has been in a Florida jail since April, when he violated his probation by using cocaine.

*His best memory: "[At the end of World Series Game 6], we were delirious at home plate, piling on top of each other like kids. I look at old videos from that game, and seeing our celebration still gives me chills."

*On being an '86 Met: "That last out [of World Series Game 7] will last a lifetime in my memory bank: Jesse ... flinging his glove into the air and dropping to his knees, his fists raised to the sky. It was the greatest moment of my career, and the best team - on and off the field - that I ever knew."

*From Gooden's autobiography, "Heat"

HOWARD JOHNSON
1986 stats: .245, 10 HRs, 39 RBIs.

What he did then: Had perhaps the Mets' biggest regular-season hit, a two-run, ninth-inning home run off Todd Worrell in St. Louis on April 24 to tie a game the Mets would win in 10 innings, starting a four-game sweep.