Historic last-out ball from 1986 World Series on exhibit in Cooperstown
Forty years ago, the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox played an epic World Series that had more twists and turns than a Phil Niekro knuckleball.
In the end, though, the 83rd Fall Classic came down to one single pitch.
On the evening of Oct. 27, 1986, the seventh game of the Fall Classic took place at Shea Stadium. At 11:26 p.m., New York’s veteran relief pitcher Jesse Orosco threw a third strike past Red Sox second baseman Marty Barrett into the mitt of catcher Gary Carter for the 8-5 victory that earned the Mets their second world championship, four games to three, over Boston.
The 29-year-old Orosco – who would go on to pitch another 17 seasons and appear in a big league record 1,252 games before retiring after the 2003 campaign – famously flung his glove into the air, then fell to his knees before disappearing below a pile of celebratory teammates.
“I wasn’t thinking too much about baseball when I came in,” Orosco said. “I was looking for a bathroom. I was a little nervous.
“But I knew the situation. I just said to myself, ‘Maintain yourself. This is no time to fold.’”
Orosco didn’t allow a run in 5.2 innings of work in the World Series. He came away with two saves to add to the three wins he compiled in the postseason. Overall, his postseason ERA was 1.98.
In Game 7, before a home crowd of 55,032, the Mets trailed 3-0 after five innings but they rallied with three runs in the sixth, surged ahead with three more in the seventh – beginning with Ray Knight’s leadoff homer – and added two runs in the eighth.
The Mets became only the second team in World Series history to lose the first two games at home and recover to win the title. The ’85 Royals were the first to perform the trick.
“When I’m on my death bed,” said Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez, “my last thoughts before I die will be of this world championship…I’ve never seen this club as down as it was after we lost the first two games. It was the first time I ever doubted this team. We had to win four out of five games and we were going to Boston. That was not easy. And we did it.”
Game 7 wouldn’t have been needed if the Red Sox had not surrendered a 5-3 lead in Game 6 when they were an out from victory with nobody on base in the 10th inning. A memorable rally, capped by first baseman Bill Buckner’s error, allowed the Mets a 6-5 victory.
The ’86 World Series-ending ball is now one of the many new artifacts on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s Autumn Glory exhibit – located on the Museum’s third floor – which recently received a refresh heading into the 2026 Postseason. The historic ball was loaned to the Cooperstown institution by Travis Kadish, who purchased it via auction in 2025.
“I was on an airplane. It was close to midnight in extended bidding, and thankfully the clock stopped and I won,” said the lifelong Mets fan who calls Long Island home. “It was surreal. I couldn’t believe what had happened, but it happened and here we are.
“I’m just so happy to have the opportunity to share this with the fans and give all the fans the opportunity to see the ball. It really belongs in the Hall of Fame.”
Though Kadish wasn’t alive when the Mets took the 1986 Fall Classic, his own memories of the memorable matchup come from video.
“But so many other people know that moment when the ball hit the glove of Gary Carter because it meant so much,” Kadish said. “Of course, Gary is a member of the Hall of Fame, so it adds an extra special touch. How many final out World Series baseballs were caught by a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, right? A few but not many.
“This ball is much bigger than me. It’s an opportunity for the fans that saw the moment live on TV, or even younger fans like myself who didn’t see it live but know how important the moment was, to get close and personal and see the actual ball. It’ll certainly be a great opportunity for people to relive that memory of 40 years ago.”
According to the Hall of Fame’s director of collections and archives, RJ Lara, the last-out baseball from the 1986 World Series represents one of the most unforgettable moments in Fall Classic history, “and having it on loan allows us to share that remarkable story with fans across generations. Here in Upstate New York, where so many fans have a deep connection to both the New York Mets and the Boston Red Sox, this baseball offers a tangible connection to a moment of triumph, heartbreak and enduring baseball memories that continue to resonate nearly four decades later.”
After Game 7, Carter said of Orosco: “He was awesome. He was on the mound when we won the (National League Championship Series) and he was there again tonight. He’s got the (NLCS) ball and I have the World Series ball.”
Carter, known as “Kid,” who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2003, would pass away after a bout with brain cancer in 2012 at the age of 57. His family put the ball up for auction, along with a number of other items, in 2016.
The white leather baseball with red stitches has red maker’s mark stamps for Rawlings, “Official Ball 1986 World Series,” MLB Commissioner Peter Ueberroth’s facsimile signature and the 1986 World Series logo. It also includes Gary Carter and Jesse Orosco signatures as well as the handwritten text, “Last out game ball of the 1986 World Series. Jesse Orosco struck out Marty Barrett to make the Mets the World Champions in Shea Stadium. Final score 8-5. Mets in 7 games.”
For Red Sox fans, their long wait for their first World Series title since 1918 lasted until 2004, but since breaking through, they’ve added three more championships in 2007, 2013 and 2018.
The Mets, who captured their first title in 1969, only seven years after the franchise came into existence, haven’t won a World Series since ’86, though they made it to the big stage in 2000 and 2015.
The Hall of Fame’s Autumn Glory exhibit will be updated again following the completion of the World Series with artifacts from the 2026 Postseason.
Bill Francis is the senior research and writing specialist at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
