How do you know you’re headed toward something special?
To speak in Mets lingo, how do you know the headaches and heartbreaks of 1981, 1982 and 1983 will lead to the thrills and rewards of 1984, 1985 and 1986?
For the Mets’ then-scouting director Joe McIlvaine, one of the most telling signs arrived during a Fall Instructional League. It came from a minor-league first baseman named Randy Milligan, who later put up some good years with Baltimore.
“Randy told me the most fun times were when we had intra-squad games,” McIlvaine, the Mets’ general manager from 1993 to 1997 and now a Mariners executive, recalled in a telephone interview. “He said the best team we played was our own team.”
While it’s doubtful any current Mets minor leaguer would offer the same observation, some clear parallels exist between these 2013 Mets and, say, their 1982 and 1983 predecessors. It doesn’t mean another World Series title lies around the corner. But it offers some perspective, and perhaps even a little hope, to what is looking like another trying campaign.
“We¹re not completely happy with the team we’re putting on the field in 2013,” Mets general manager Sandy Alderson told The Post. “That doesn¹t mean we¹re without expectations, believe me, but we’re definitely looking forward. We’re going to be in a very advantageous position very soon.”
Alderson joined the Mets at a low point, October 2010, owning a supreme resume — highlighted by his role in building the Oakland A’s who won consecutive American League pennants from 1988 through 1990. In January 1980, another nadir in Mets franchise history, Frank Cashen became the team’s GM after helping construct the successful Baltimore Orioles from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s.
Cashen traded Lee Mazzilli to Texas for Ron Darling and Walt Terrell and dealt Bob Bailor and Carlos Diaz to the Dodgers for Sid Fernandez and Ross Jones. Alderson traded Carlos Beltran to San Francisco for Zack Wheeler and gave R.A. Dickey, Mike Nickeas and Josh Thole to Toronto for Travis d’Arnaud, Noah Syndergaard, Wuilmer Becerra and John Buck. Darryl Strawberry debuted in 1983 and won National League Rookie of the Year honors; Wheeler and d’Arnaud both hope to debut this season.
The 1983 Mets acquired franchise player Keith Hernandez in June and convinced him to sign a long-term extension through 1989. The 2013 Mets kick off with their franchise player, David Wright, committed through 2020.
The 1983 Mets operated under a pair of caretaker managers, George Bamberger and Frank Howard, while a young hotshot skipper, Davey Johnson, ingratiated himself with much of the young talent at Triple-A Tidewater.
The 2013 Mets … well, this part is to be determined.
The 1983 Mets posted an awful 68-94 record, then jumped all the way to 90-72 in ’84 despite being outscored 676-652. Their 98-64 showing in 1985, with a 695-568 run differential in their favor, moved past the luck issues of the previous year, and they of course won it all in ’86 after going 108-54 in the regular season.
In building these champions, nothing took priority over the amassing of talent. McIlvaine said he purposely bucked that era’s trend of selecting college players in the draft, and his emphasis on high school prospects led him to the likes of Dwight Gooden (first round, 1982), Lenny Dykstra (13th round, 1981) and Roger McDowell (third round, 1982). Yet it required more. The front office paid special attention to the sort of personalities they brought into the clubhouse.
“There¹s an idea going back to old Orioles teams: ‘Hey, he’s a good ballplayer, but he is an Orioles ballplayer?'” Cashen said in a recent interview. “Is he just a good ballplayer or is he a winning ballplayer? We tried to put together a bunch of winners.”
Alderson held similar memories of the A’s he built right around the time the Mets rose: The procuring of talent, whether through the draft (Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Walt Weiss), trades (Dave Parker, Bob Welch) or bargain-bin signings (Tony Phillips, Dave Stewart); the changing of the team culture, highlighted by the additions of player development head Karl Kuehl and mental skills coach Harvey Dorfman; and a winning approach, thanks to the hiring of manager Tony La Russa in 1986.
A few generations later, Alderson is trying to institute many of the same pillars with the Mets, and the talent comes first. He cited the acquisitions of Wheeler and d’Arnaud, as well as Dominican pitcher Rafael Montero. He also pointed to the Mets’ interest this past winter in free agent outfielder Michael Bourn (who signed with Cleveland) and Arizona outfielder Justin Upton (traded to Atlanta) as signs that the Mets are preparing to take the next step. And Alderson’s predecessor Omar Minaya left behind more talent — Matt Harvey, Ike Davis, Daniel Murphy and others — than the Mets of the late 1970s did for Cashen.
An evaluator from another NL team opined, “The Mets have a solid system for me, somewhere outside of the top 10 overall.” He credited Alderson most of all for the Beltran-Wheeler trade and commended the Mets for “solid work” in Latin America. However, he added, the Mets have not fared well in the draft, nor in waiver claims or minor-league signings.
A second evaluator, from a different NL club, gave the Mets’ farm system a C, and he echoed a criticism made by the first evaluator: “There aren¹t many position players.” This official described outfielder Brandon Nimmo, the Mets’ first-round pick of 2011, as “alright,” and shortstop Gavin Cecchini, their first-round selection last year, as “OK.” As Alderson and his deputies settled in nearly 2 1/2 years ago and took stock, gaining knowledge of ownership’s deep involvement in the Bernie Madoff mess, they figured it would take three years to fully clean house.
After this season, the bulk of the commitments to Jason Bay and Johan Santana will have been paid. Fred Wilpon is on record that he’ll be ready to spend this coming winter.
In spring training of 1984, Cashen’s fifth season in a stated five-year plan, veteran baseball writer Phil Pepe asked Cashen whether he would step down if the team didn’t blossom.
“I guess I would,” Cashen remembered telling Pepe (who confirmed this), “but I’m pretty sure that things have turned around.” We¹re pretty sure that 2013 will feel much like the bad part of 1983. Will it lead to something special? Too early to tell. Not too early to wonder, though. Let¹s see what clues this season offers us.
kdavidoff@nypost.com