Kings of Queens: Life Beyond Baseball with the '86 Mets

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars | 99 ratings

Price: 15.75

Last update: 01-30-2025


About this item

In 1986, the bad guys of baseball won the World Series. Now, Erik Sherman, the New York Times best-selling coauthor of Mookie, profiles key players from that infamous Mets team, revealing never-before-exposed details about their lives after that championship year...as well as a look back at the magical season itself.

Darryl Strawberry, Doc Gooden, Keith Hernandez, Lenny Dykstra, Mookie Wilson, Howard Johnson, Doug Sisk, Rafael Santana, Bobby Ojeda, Wally Backman, Kevin Mitchell, Ed Hearn, Danny Heep, and the late Gary Carter were all known for their heroics on the field. For some of them - known as the “Scum Bunch” - their debauchery off the field was even more awe-inspiring. But when that golden season ended, so did their aura of invincibility. Some faced battles with addiction, some were traded, and others struggled just to keep their lives together.

Through interviews with these legendary players, Erik Sherman offers fans a new perspective on a team that will forever be remembered in sports history.


Top reviews from the United States

  • RPR66
    5.0 out of 5 stars The '86 Mets Like You've Never Heard Them
    Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2016
    I remember so vividly watching the 1986 World Series as a college student in Boston. Of course, I knew of the talent, guts and hard work of the New York Mets on the field. Author Erik Sherman was able to dig deep, and bring out so much I didn't know about many of the key players on the "86 team, what they went through, both good and bad, as ballplayers on and off the field, and what their lives have been like since their playing days ended. The interviews are so open and honest, giving insight to these people as not just former ballplayers, but as human beings. My favorite is with Lenny Dykstra, who pulls no punches! All of the interviews are terrific and thought provoking. I may even pick up the audio version too! Kudos to Mr. Sherman!
  • rbruning
    5.0 out of 5 stars This was a great book in that it differs from the usual 1986 ...
    Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2016
    This was a great book in that it differs from the usual 1986 Mets-related books and delves into the current lives of many of the key players rather than tell the same story of each game. Very unique in that regards. I highly recommend this for any Mets fan, whether old enough to have been there or part of the newer generation of Mets fan for the historical value.
  • BG
    4.0 out of 5 stars Meet the Mets ... 30 years later
    Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2016
    A lot of the stories from Doc, Darryl, Mookie and Lenny are not necessarily new, but always fun to read, and interesting to hear their first hand perspective as well as more about what they are up to now. The real win here is hearing from guys like Sisk, Heep, Mitchell, Santana and others who don't get nearly as much exposure or credit. Both their past and their present make for fascinating reading. And the chapter with Carter's wife serves as a perfect ending. The only drawbacks are that there is some repetition in stories, and a few of the "where are they now's" are a little depressing, but overall, this is a great way to kick off the 2016 baseball season
  • KingSonal
    5.0 out of 5 stars A refreshing change
    Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2017
    No snark. No arrogance. No forced attempt to try to make a name by taking someone down. This is a very good collection of life stories, with the journalist not hiding anything. Not so much a baseball book, but interesting nonetheless. A great "where are they now" work.
  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoyed reading this book
    Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2016
    I really enjoyed reading this book. It felt as though I was actually with the author during his interviews with the former Mets. I was glad to see he also reached out to Gary Carter's family for an interview so it could be incorporated in the book. It's a great read for Mets fans and baseball fans alike.
  • WDX2BB
    3.0 out of 5 stars The One-and-done crew
    Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2021
    2016 was the 30th anniversary time for one of the most interesting teams in relatively recent baseball history.

    The 1986 New York Mets were a dominating squad, clearly one of the best teams of that decade. They won 108 games in the regular season, and went to exciting victories in the National League Championship Series and the World Series. Those Mets had stars, a fine supporting cast, and characters everywhere.

    That team is well remembered throughout the country for all of those reasons. I'm not sure if the team was particularly well liked outside the New York City. Brash New Yorkers sometimes aren't appreciated too far past New Jersey. But clearly Erik Sherman liked that team.

    The freelance journalist, who wrote a book with Mookie Wilson of that squad a while ago, is back with "Kings of Queens." It's partly a book looking back, and partly a book catching up on some names from the past.

    The formula is more or less established at this point. Sherman spent a couple of years tracking down the members of the 1986 Mets in their current locations. Then he picked the most interesting stories and people that he found, and gave them each a chapter. There are 14 such people profiled.

    The prototype for this type of book, naturally, is "Boys of Summer." Roger Kahn checked up on the Brooklyn Dodgers years after the fact, and discovered a link to a simpler, more innocent time. The fact that the Dodgers had some interesting personalities didn't hurt either. But this seems more like a book that could be compared to the recent football story, "Monsters," in which Rich Cohen is rather gleeful about the chance to talk to the personalities of the 1985 Chicago Bears.

    Here Sherman drops in on the old Mets and turns on the tape recorder. There obviously is editing for space, but certainly the subject can't complain about how they are treated. Are the stories worth reading? That's something of a hit or miss proposition. Keith Hernandez is always an interesting interview, and Bobby Ojeda comes through with some interesting stories too. Ed Hearn, a little known player on that roster, has had all sorts of medical bad luck with his family over the years. It's a pretty dramatic tale.

    On the other hand, some players' stories don't work as well. Howard Johnson and Rafael Santana aren't exactly outspoken. Lenny Dykstra remains a little difficult to like at times, and the troubles of Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry have been rather well chronicled elsewhere. It's perhaps worth noting that several of these Mets have turned religious; most of the Strawberry chapter sticks to that theme. That's a little surprising, as Sherman points out, since the Mets had a rather large reputation for blowing off steam.

    Sherman's high opinion of that Mets team and its players comes off quite vividly in the questions and comments that come up along the way. Ever think of Gooden and Hernandez as Hall of Famers? Wonder why Gary Carter's uniform number hasn't been retired yet? Sherman has, and he expresses those opinions along the way. That's a little jarring, but certainly it might work with the sensibilities of the book's natural audience.

    If there's a common thread in all of the stories, it's that these Mets were something of a puzzle in that they never won that second championship. Most of the players think it's because the squad was blown up within a couple of years of the end of the 1986 World Series. But it was a combustible mix, one that might have been very difficult to hold together for longer than a season.

    At least the stars of "Kings of Queens" did have their moment in the sun in 1986. For fans who rooted for that team, it's fun to catch up with some old heroes. It's tough to say, though, if others will find it more than a quick look back.

    By the way, Sherman went on to do a book about the 1986 Boston Red Sox. The approach, a little fawning, is used again there.
  • WilliamL
    5.0 out of 5 stars I feel like a kid at the movies and in walk the ...
    Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2016
    What book , I feel like a kid at the movies and in walk the actors to tell me how they made the movie ! 86 was for me a very special year , I had been a faithful fan since 1967 , i was all of 5 when i saw my first game . I love my team and i have shead tears i stood out side the stadiume with ball and glove in habd to get an authogrhoa cy
  • David Fialkoff
    4.0 out of 5 stars Met Fans
    Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2016
    As a Mets fan since their inception it was a joy to return to the 1986 season and those players who won that World Series. Some wonderful stories as well as sad but a good read for Met fans.

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