Jesse Orosco throwing his glove to the heavens and hugging Gary Carter after striking out Marty Barrett to end Game 7 is the enduring image of the New York Mets winning the 1986 World Series title over the Boston Red Sox.

But the ace of that Mets staff had a different ending in mind for that night at Shea Stadium.

Dwight Gooden was a guest on the latest episode of “The Show with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman.”

During his appearance, Gooden revealed a previously untold story about Game 7: He almost got a chance to take the mound and close out the series.

Up 8-5 in the top of the ninth inning, Orosco faced Barrett, the Red Sox second baseman.

According to Gooden, if Barrett got on base, manager Davey Johnson had a surprise in mind.

“Believe it or not, I’ve never said this before publicly, but when Orosco struck out Barrett, I was actually kind of hoping he would walk him. I was actually warming up in the bullpen,” Gooden told Sherman and Heyman.

“And Davey, I don’t know if he was going to bring me in to face (Jim) Rice, whatever, but I was kind of hoping Barrett would get on because I wanted to redeem myself, which is very selfish, to come in, at least face Rice and end on a good note. I mean, it’s very selfish to think that way but that’s just where my mindset was at that time.”

Gooden made a pair of starts in the 1986 World Series, losing Games 2 and 5 while posting an 8.00 ERA.

The hard-throwing right-hander would never get a chance to atone for his World Series clunkers despite winning rings with the Yankees in 1996 and 2000.

Gooden’s final World Series appearance was Game 5 of the 1986 World Series at Fenway Park, when he surrendered four runs (three earned) in four innings of work as the Mets lost to the Red Sox, 4-2.

That defeat put the Mets in a 3-2 hole, giving the Red Sox a chance to close out the series in Game 6.

Of course, we all know how that went.