Darryl Strawberry always saw some 1986 in these Mets

This was back on June 1, well before the Mets’ stunning summer, before all the clutch home runs, before a postseason run few could see coming.It was the day the Mets retired Darryl Strawberry’s No.18 jersey.

At the time, the team was going nowhere, 10 games under .500.Most observers felt they were headed for a trade deadline sell-off.

Even the most die-hard Mets fans couldn’t dream of the playoffs.Strawberry felt differently, and during his speech at Citi Field, he addressed the Mets players.“Don’t worry about it guys.It’s part of it.

But push through it, because you guys have it,” Strawberry said then.“You have the talent.

Believe in each other, care for each other, pick each other up.”Over four months later, the Mets have made the legendary slugger look wise.They own the best record in the sport since that day.

They entered Wednesday seven wins away from what would be an incredible World Series title, writing a story that Hollywood wouldn’t believe.Looking back on their run on Wednesday night before Game 3 of the NLCS, Strawberry offered some insight into those comments.He spent time with the Mets during spring training and felt they had far more to give.“I just tried to encourage them because they were going through a tough stretch there, and everybody was being very difficult and hard on them,” recalled Strawberry, who caught the ceremonial first pitch from former teammate Dwight Gooden.

“We know what that’s like as a player playing here.I’ve been there and experienced that.

But I just wanted them to realize that the table can turn when you guys start believing in each other, when it’s not just about your own personal stats and when it becomes about [the] team.… They’d been through the struggle the year before and a couple years before, they’ve been close and they get knocked out.“This year I saw something different.

They were more of a team that just needed to rally around each other.I think that’s what they di...