Attention fellow Mets fans: Stop bitching and moaning about the unavailability of tickets for the coming year. What did you expect for the last days of Shea? As I have said about a million times NYC is an EVENT town with more bandwagon jumpers per captia in the world. If all were fair in love and Mets baseball, in order to purchase ticket for Mets games at She this year you should have to pass a written test on Mets history. Questions like for one point each name every player who has played at least a game at third base throughout the history of the franchise? How was Tom Seaver obtained? Name the great Hall of Fame second baseman who was a coach with the Mets in 1962? Who is Lorne Brown? What position did Mac Scarce play? What did Benny Ayala do in his first ML at bat? What was Tim Foli’s nickname? Where was Jim McAndrew born? (if you ask who is Jim McAndrew then stay the fuck out of
My spring training roller coaster emotions are at it again today as I look over spring stats. With all the worry about injuries and old age, the pitching staff has gone unnoticed. The Mets as a team are pitching to a 3.33 ERA so far this spring with the potential bullpeners like Jorge Sosa, Scott Schoeneweis, Matt Wise, and the surprising Nelson Figueroa leading the way. John Maine looked very strong yesterday, Petey feels as good as he ever has as a Met and El Duque is not going down without a fight. Oliver Perez has been a shaky and Mike Pelfrey has to make a statement in his next start. The late inning men, Feliciano, Heilman and Wagner have gone about their business to be ready to roll three weeks from today. Pitching and Defense wins championship just use that as your mantra.
Here is today’s lineup versus the Old Town Team
LF Brady Clark
3B David Wright
DH Carlos Beltran
1B Carlos Delgado
2B Damion Easley
RF Ryan Church
CF Angel Pagan
C Brian Schneider
LH Johan Santana
Beltran and Delgado are back in action but no Castillo. The story of the spring Angel (in the outfield) Pagan plays CF. Johan goes again and the game is on SNY at 1PM which means a long lunch hour this afternoon.
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This post was written by kranepool on March 10, 2008
Answers:
1. I can’t name every thirdbaseman, but included in the list is Bobby Phiel, Bob Aspromonte (the last Brooklyn Dodger in MLB), Roy Steiger (sp?) and Gerry Grote.
2. Special Draft by order of the comissioner, Cause the Braves signed while he was still pitching w/USC.
3. Rogers Hornsby
4. A terrible Play-by-Play man they had in the ‘82 season
5. Relief Pitcher (came in the Tug McGraw trade; lasted about a week, and traded for Tom Hall)
6.Homer Run against the Astros. I was there.
7. Lost Nation IA
8. and I am pissed
Oh, and Foli’s nickname was Crazy Horse
I just might have to take offense to part of your article, Steve! I consider myself a die hard Mets fan yet I do not know most of those questions you asked because I wasn’t born yet for half of them. I can tell you everything with great clarity from about 1982 to present so that’s about 25 years. I remember when Lenny Randle came over from the Rangers I think and after watching him play thinking to myself “omg we finally have a good third baseman”. I remember watching Matlack pitch and thinking he was the next Met star. I remember watching Micky Lolich come over and he was so fat at that point my dad referred to him as “beer belly”. I remember when Seaver got traded. I remember watching Game#6 of the 1986 WS in a 10′ x 10′ college dorm room with 20 other people on a 12″ black and white. I don’t remember Rogers Hornsby coaching the Mets in 1962, I don’t remember benny ayala’s first at bat home run, i don’t remember McAndrew being much other than a reliever/spot starter and I don’t remember Mac Scarce or his 1 game pitched with the Mets where he gave up a hit without getting an out (i think).
My point is you can be a die hard fan without having to know who the bullpen catcher on a team is or who the long snapper is on your team or who tripped over 3rd base on his way to an inside the park home run back in 1965. Those questions you mentioned are for your average psycho fan.
Yes, fair weather fans annoy the crap out of me too but IMHO, if you can name the entire team and some of the key minor leaguers, that’s good enough for me.
Frank,
Now you KNOW I consider you a die hard and the fact that I know that Mac Scarce came over from the Phillies with John Stearns, and Del Unser in the Tug McGraw deal and that Jim McAndrew was born in Lost Nation Iowa and that Lorne Brown was a one year wonder of a Mets broadcaster just makes me old.
My point is I have been to Shea when the attendence was barely 4 figures and I’ve been to opening days when there have been less than 20,000 fans in attendence I guess it just annoys me as I’m a Mets fan through thick and thin (lot’s of thin) and it seems the folks bitching about ticket availablitiy are the band wagon jumpers
Atta boy Kevin you deserve a field box level seat next to the Mets dugout where our matriach Joan Payson used to sit. Your the guy who SHOULD BE PISSED OFF
Johnny Franco Come-Latelys:
Good One;
Lorne Brown was replaced by Tim Mc Carver, before he became Mc Fullofshit;
There was @ least 1 Bandwagon Jumper who asked me who Tom Seaver was;
& I was at Shea the Night After The Seaver Trade;
It was depressing to say the least & Lightly-Attended;
& $1.30 could buy you an Upper Level Seat for a Doubleheader in the day
OK, I was at Shea the day Thurman Munson died. They posted the news on the scoreboard during the bottom half of the first inning of a twinighter, with Lee Mazzili at the plate. There couldn’t have been more than 6000 at the game. I went early to catch foul balls during batting practice, and everyone had about 10 balls and I had none!
I spent most of the summer of 1985 at my Dad’s in Queens, and got to see the amazing year Dwight Gooden had up close and personal, and the jelling of the team that would win it all the following year.
My first game was Mets-Giants in 1966. I saw the great Clemente go 0 for 5, probably in 1969 or 1970, was happy about it and so never got to see him get a hit
My first WS game was game 4 of the 1973 series. Sat in the upper deck, 3rd base side.
I watched the ball go through Buckner’s legs from the comfort of a hotel room in Bluffton Indiana where I was working that weekend. Watched game 7 a couple of nights later at my friend’s in Berkeley.
Mourned the loss of Seaver (and Kingman if you can believe we mourned that) during the midnight massacre on the 15th of June 1977.
Celebrated the arrival of Johan Santana for 4 nobodies, closing the circle of life and boding well for 2008!
Was in Yankee Stadium in the upper deck on the first base side, proudly cheering Tom Terrific to his 300th win! Shouted Let’s Go Mets with all the other Mets fans who turned up that day.
But I still couldn’t answer most of the questions you posted, Steve!
Let’s Go Mets!!!!!
Steve,
Incredible how much I’ve forgotten. Uggh. I need some of those Alzheimer’s drugs and soon.
Of all the questions, I can’t believe I didn’t remember Crazy Horse. I used to repeat that all the time when I was ‘announcing’ any stickball game I was playing.
I’ve never been to a post-season game.
I have, however, been to some sparsely attended Opening Days. I remember being there for my free calendar in 1983. No need to buy in advance. I remember sitting in Shea in late 1990 when there couldn’t have been more than 1500 people in the ball park when the game ended. They lost to Chicago, nobody cared.
The only game of historical note that I was at was in 1973 when Don Hahn & George Theodore collided in the outfield on a Ralph Garr inside-the-park-homerun. The only Met whose autograph I ever got was Brent Strom.
I should add that this year I’m hoping to get to one game - on Aug 7. I hope there’ll be ticket available for this Thursday afternoon game against San Diego.