Former Mets owner Nelson Doubleday dead at 81

Nelson Doubleday, co-owner of the Mets, attends batting practice prior to a game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Photo Credit: Newsday / Kathy KmonicekNelson Doubleday Jr., the publishing giant who bought the Mets and oversaw their World Series championship in 1986 and later separated from the Wilpons in 2002, died Tuesday at his home in Locust Valley. He was 81.

"We were saddened to hear the news of the passing of Nelson Doubleday, Jr.," the Mets said Wednesday night in a statement. "Nelson had a love of baseball and the Mets. On behalf of everyone at the organization, we send our condolences and sympathies to his family."

Doubleday, who grew up in Oyster Bay, took over the family's book…