tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43267292009493214742024-03-13T12:24:38.754-04:00Remembering SheaUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger554125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-45381678819397462682022-09-01T19:47:00.000-04:002022-09-01T19:47:54.278-04:00A Pig in Sh-<p style="text-align: left;">Last Saturday was the Mets first Old Timers' Day since 1994. There was lots of build-up and excitement and anticipation for this event from the fans. Watching a melding of Mets players from different eras (and different uniform styles) coming together as one (all wearing the Swoosh-branded modern day/traditional uniform), I felt like a <a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pig%20in%20shit">pig in shit</a>. That was first how I thought it might have felt for emcee Howie Rose, who grew up as a Mets fan starting from Day 1 of the franchise and has been covering them for more than half of their history. After the exhibition game was complete, that's how I felt too.</p><div><p style="text-align: left;">These were the different eras of my Mets fandom, as well as the "pre-historical" times, coming together on the same field. This was my childhood and my adulthood and the history lessons all coming back to life. Doc Gooden was back on the mound in Queens. Steve Henderson (who I'm told played for the Mets in the "dead" era of the late '70s) was in Right Field. Turk Wendell was back at third base. Wait - what? This was a seriously executed event that was just lots of fun to watch, and I'm sure even more fun to take part in for the players. I don't know if it was lack of roster depth, or some players just letting their personalities get the best of them, but pitchers Turk Wendell and Roger McDowell (two of the better personalities in Mets history) both played in the "field" (non-pitching positions) during the game. Because of course they did. McDowell even had a few RBIs.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I'm still having trouble decribing what was going through my mind watching the introduction of players and watching the game. For so many of these guys (save for the older ones that were always "Old Timers" to me), it still sort of feels like yesterday that they were active players in Mets uniforms, and here they are mixing together in different uniforms (even the most contemporary Mets didn't wear that Swoosh icon on the front when they played). I always think of different distinct eras (the late '80s when I grew up; the mid-90's when I was in high school; the Bobby V years when I was in and just out of college; the David Wright years; and the more modern days that somehow feel like so long ago, with the 2015 pennant). Here they were mixing together. It was weird seeing the 1986 Mets in uniforms lacking the iconic racing stripe. (Heck, at this point, it was weird seeing Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez in uniform and not in their SNY polo shirts and headsets.)</p>Was it a perfect day? No. As a Mets fan, I'm conditioned to expect things to be wrong. I can point to 10 things that were wrong, ranging from missing players to a warning light that illuminated my car as I was passing LaGuardia Airport on the way in. But given who was there and what the event was, it certainly was as close to perfect as Mets fans can accept. But a pig in shit is as close to perfect as one can get.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; background-color: white; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: start; z-index: 0;"></div><div class="css-1dbjc4n" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; background-color: white; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: start; z-index: 0;"></div><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1r5su4o" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; background-color: white; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; font-size: 15px; margin: 16px 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: start; z-index: 0;"><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1awozwy r-18u37iz r-1wtj0ep" style="-webkit-box-align: center; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-pack: justify; align-items: center; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: row; flex-shrink: 0; justify-content: space-between; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-56323011234621897212019-09-24T22:48:00.001-04:002019-09-24T22:48:34.967-04:00Complementing Retired NumbersEarlier tonight I wrote about the plans for <a href="http://rememberingshea.blogspot.com/2019/09/retired-numbers.html">Retired Numbers</a>.<br />
<br />
Then I had more ideas of ways to really honor the best of the best of the Mets. <b>Let's name some part of Citi Field after those whose numbers are retired!</b><br />
<br />
<b>Jackie Robinson Rotunda</b> - self explanatory<br />
<br />
<b>41 Tom Seaver Way</b> - done!<br />
<br />
<b>Gil Hodges Alley</b> - Maybe make "street" names for the different parts of the concourses (even though they're mostly round). I'd start by naming "Gil Hodges Alley" for the area behind home plate on the main concourse at the top of the rotunda, maybe the parts where you can't watch the game because of whatever club that's there behind home plate.<br />
<br />
<b>Casey Stengel Plaza</b> - this was a street sign, possibly even a valid street name, on the edge of Shea Stadium near the subway tracks. Let's re-purpose that name for the plaza outside Citi Field where the Shea Home Run Apple is. Basically, keep the new Casey Stengel Plaza as close to where the old one was (if my memory is correct about the location).<br />
<br />
<b>Mike Piazza</b> - this is a play on words. In Italian, <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/piazza">piazza</a> is an open square especially in an Italian town. Taking a liberty that we're at Citi Field, not in Italy, let's name the area on the Promenade concourse behind home plate the "Mike Piazza". It's not an open square, rather, it's an open circular area.<br />
<br />
<i>We could always switch the names of Casey Stengel Plaza and Mike Piazza. It might be fitting that the Home Run Apple is inside Mike Piazza.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Ralph Kiner Broadcast Booth</b> - I'm getting lazy.<br />
<br />
Now what to do for Jerry Koosman? And the eventual others? Especially since the Mets probably won't change the name of a sponsored area in favor of a Mets all-time great. Go with the street sign idea. Mets of the 60s and 70s go down the LF side while Mets of the 80s and beyond goes down the RF side, unless otherwise noted.<br />
<br />
<b>The Kid Area</b> - again, another play on words. This is the kids area in the back CF corner on the main concourse, and named for Gary Carter (a.k.a. "The Kid" or "Kid").<br />
<br />
<br />
Leave a comment or drop me a line at <u>DyHrdMET [at] gmail [dot] com</u>. Your comments will fall into a moderation queue. <br />
"Like" <a href="http://www.facebook.com/RememberingShea">RememberingShea</a> on Facebook. <br />
Become a <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/rememberingshea/">Networked Blog</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-1866297138034431052019-09-24T20:27:00.000-04:002019-09-24T20:27:19.512-04:00Retired NumbersToday the Mets announced that <a href="https://www.mlb.com/mets/news/jerry-koosman-s-no-36-to-be-retired">Jerry Koosman's #36 will be retired by the Mets</a> some time in 2020. He would be the first person to receive such an honor as a Mets player that isn't a Baseball Hall of Famer (Gil Hodges had his number retired for his accomplishments as Manager, and I won't get into him deserving to be inducted as a player, but not wearing a Mets hat for that).<br />
<br />
For me, this opens up a can of worms. Who's next? Where do they draw the line? Several years ago, I made a commentary of sorts on the subject in the form of an entry for Banner Day called "Citi Field Squares", where I had a parody of the old TV game show "Hollywood Squares" where each celebrity square was represented by a Mets would-be or actual retired number. The commentary was that there's a lot more potential retired numbers for the Mets, and I had to limit my game board to 9 squares (and 3 already retired numbers). From that list, 31 for Piazza was eventually retired (6 days after he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame). And I didn't even include 36 for Koosman.<br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qIcA4KQUqEI/UY2xDNhi7NI/AAAAAAAAAgk/-PP9FG4O79QNILHQ9CVbH_wHMq9CuUuGgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/DSC09773.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qIcA4KQUqEI/UY2xDNhi7NI/AAAAAAAAAgk/-PP9FG4O79QNILHQ9CVbH_wHMq9CuUuGgCPcBGAYYCw/s320/DSC09773.JPG" width="240" height="320" data-original-width="1200" data-original-height="1600" /></a><br />
<br />
So who's next (after Koosman)? The implication from today's announcement was that there will be others.<br />
<br />
<b>Gary Carter</b> is a Hall of Famer, who more or less earned it before coming to the Mets. He earned his World Series ring in Queens. A lot of people are going there. Carter passed away in early 2012. It would have been nice to honor him this way while he was still alive.<br />
<br />
Many people want <b>David Wright</b> to be a baseball Hall of Famer. I thought he came up short on that, but he should be the next person inducted into the Mets (team) Hall of Fame. And have #5 taken out of circulation like #24 was taken out of circulation, but not retired. I might wait a couple years before holding David Wright Night and retiring his number just to see if he does make it to Cooperstown.<br />
<br />
What about <b>Doc Gooden</b> & <b>Darryl Strawberry</b> (who were inducted together into the Mets Hall of Fame in 2010)? Or <b>Keith Hernandez</b>? Personally, I would have made the next Mets Hall of Fame induction be Gary Cohen this season (now just a few games shy of 31 complete seasons calling Mets games), with Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling following a year or two later (maybe 2021 in their 15th season calling games, or 2022 after 15 seasons were complete) with plaques that indicate for each that their longevity is as a broadcaster while each made a mark as a player. But Keith Hernandez is a borderline Hall of Fame player. So should he get his number retired at some point?<br />
<br />
What about <b>Bud Harrelson</b> or <b>Eddie Kranepool</b>? They were both long-tenured Mets from the 1960s and 1970s. Buddy was the only person in a Mets uniform for both World Series championships (as a player in 1969, as a coach in 1986). And Buddy's not in good health. It would be good to honor him while he's still (physically) here. Hopefully the same would be true for "Steady Eddie" should they choose to retire his number.<br />
<br />
Who am I missing? Am I wrong about any of these? I don't want to consider (yet, and for a while) the active players.<br />
<br />
<br />
Leave a comment or drop me a line at <u>DyHrdMET [at] gmail [dot] com</u>. Your comments will fall into a moderation queue. <br />
"Like" <a href="http://www.facebook.com/RememberingShea">RememberingShea</a> on Facebook. <br />
Become a <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/rememberingshea/">Networked Blog</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-13384028114656311312019-02-23T07:41:00.000-05:002019-02-23T07:41:49.903-05:00A New SpringIt's Spring Training again. I keep thinking that I will write here a lot this season, again. Maybe I will, maybe I won't.<br />
But I can't let the start of Spring Training pass without my annual post (or re-post or just sharing an old link). The sounds of Spring Training.<br />
<br />
I always listen to some sound bytes of Bob Murphy opening up WFAN's first Spring Training broadcast in 1998, a recording I made playing around with a Walkman, wires and my computer. Then I listen to a 6 1/2 minute clip of Bob Murphy and Gary Cohen calling another game from that spring. And then there's a clip of them throwing it to a commercial (which now makes me nostalgic for the WFAN Mets Radio Network).<br />
<br />
<blockquote><b>raw audio from Spring Training 1998 (WFAN Radio)</b>:<br />
WFAN's first broadcast of the spring with Bob Murphy at the mic<br />
<audio controls><br />
<source src="http://sites.google.com/site/rememberingshea/audio-files-1/1stintro%281998%29.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1" type="audio/mpeg"><br />
Your browser does not support this audio format.<br />
</audio><br />
<br />
Bob Murphy leading into a commercial<br />
<audio controls><br />
<source src="http://sites.google.com/site/rememberingshea/audio-files-1/commercial.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1" type="audio/mpeg"><br />
Your browser does not support this audio format.<br />
</audio><br />
<br />
6 1/2 minutes of play-by-play and conversation between Bob Murphy and Gary Cohen<br />
<audio controls><br />
<source src="http://sites.google.com/site/rememberingshea/audio-files-1/SpringTrainingrawtape.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1" type="audio/mpeg"><br />
Your browser does not support this audio format.<br />
</audio><br />
</blockquote><br />
Recently, I found some cassette tapes that I made around the same time as those sound bytes, taken from both TV and radio. So I have some brand new Mets audio clips:<br />
<br />
Another game opening on WFAN in Spring Training 1998, with Gary Cohen as the lead and Bob Murphy as the #2 announcer.<br />
<audio controls><br />
<source src="https://sites.google.com/site/rememberingshea/audio-files-1/gameopen.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1" type="audio/mpeg"><br />
Your browser does not support this audio format.<br />
</audio><br />
<br />
WWOR TV's "Fresh From Florida" opening (unfortunately, it's only the audio) with Gary Thorne and Tim McCarver opening "Mets Baseball '98".<br />
<audio controls><br />
<source src="https://sites.google.com/site/rememberingshea/audio-files-1/FreshFromFlorida.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1" type="audio/mpeg"><br />
Your browser does not support this audio format.<br />
</audio><br />
<br />
A short highlight from Tim McCarver and Gary Thorne on WWOR TV. Pitcher Paul Wilson with a basehit.<br />
<audio controls><br />
<source src="https://sites.google.com/site/rememberingshea/audio-files-1/basehit.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1" type="audio/mpeg"><br />
Your browser does not support this audio format.<br />
</audio><br />
<br />
Another short highlight from Tim McCarver calling a homerun. I always loved how small and intimate the crowd sounds here.<br />
<audio controls><br />
<source src="https://sites.google.com/site/rememberingshea/audio-files-1/homerun.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1" type="audio/mpeg"><br />
Your browser does not support this audio format.<br />
</audio><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Leave a comment or drop me a line at <u>DyHrdMET [at] gmail [dot] com</u>. Your comments will fall into a moderation queue. <br />
"Like" <a href="http://www.facebook.com/RememberingShea">RememberingShea</a> on Facebook. <br />
Become a <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/rememberingshea/">Networked Blog</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-90257812260815834962018-09-29T14:50:00.000-04:002018-09-29T14:50:07.818-04:00Our Captain My CaptainIt was late March 2004 (I don't know the exact date), at the Mets Spring Training ballpark in Port St. Lucie, Florida. It was late in a game (maybe the 7th inning). Art Howe had brought in minor league players to fill out the lineup late in the game because the regular major leaguers don't play all 9 innings of exhibition games. Back then, I wasn't really in tune to the pipeline of prospects in the Mets system, so I didn't really know who I was watching at that point in the game. I was there to root for the laundry and get some March sun, so it didn't matter to me anyway. And someone leaned over to me, pointed towards third base, and said that this kid is going to be the next third baseman for the New York Mets. Not knowing any better, and remembering the ongoing counting of third basemen in Mets history, I kind of laughed this guy off. And I couldn't have been less Wright with that reaction if I had tried.<br />
<br />
That was 14 1/2 years ago. For Mets announcer Gary Cohen, that's half of his tenure calling games in Flushing. For me (who became a fan 2 years before Gary Cohen arrived in the Mets booth), that's slightly less than half of my time as a fan. In other words, that's basically an entire generation of Mets fans who have had David Wright in their respective Mets vocabularies. This is also the same new generation of fans that doesn't remember Bob Murphy calling Mets games (like I'm in the generation of fans that doesn't remember Lindsey Nelson calling games). Wright goes back to the end of the Mike Piazza-Al Leiter era. His time in New York dates back to the end of the Art Howe era. John Franco's last decision as a Met (a Loss) was this game, in which David Wright had his first hit.<br />
<iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rAp8MIdBLto?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
And now the David Wright era informally comes to a close with his last appearances in the big leagues. He'll serve out the remainder of his guaranteed contract on the 60-Day DL and then officially retire at the end of the 2020 season.<br />
<br />
There were definitely times over his career when I wasn't so high on him. Some unclutch hitting, and his throwing mechanics from third base always made me nervous. I can't tell you how many times he got bailed out by a good first baseman. I won't even bring up the one he should have simply put in his pocket on that warm November evening in 2015. But he always smiled. When he would sign autographs (and sometimes there were big crowds so it wasn't for very long or very often), he always gave you quality work. He was the constant (at least until his injuries). He became "The Captain". He was there when the Mets were building up in 2005 (he was definitely part of it) culminating in that Game 7 loss in the 2006 NLCS. He was also there for the "Fool me once" collapse in 2007 followed by the "Fool me twice" collapse in 2008. He was the star of the new ballpark in 2009 and the team fell back into the abyss. And he was still there, a shell of his former self, when the Mets built back up in 2015. He finally got to play in the World Series that year.<br />
<br />
It took the Mets a while to catch on, but they should have moved on from him after 2015. That was when I thought he should have hung up his spikes (after that season), knowing his physical quality would never improve. He didn't. They weren't ready to move on and find a full-time third baseman. He tried to play and it didn't last very long. He tried to come back, and it didn't go well the first time. But he kept at it, working hard to improve his baseball physical quality and his general physical quality. And he made it back, even if only for a cameo appearance with the Mets in order to have a proper goodbye.<br />
<br />
I have a lot of respect for an athlete who decides to push himself back from a career-ending injury just to be able to take a final bow, instead of simply disappearing in the end. Basically, don't retire from the disabled list. Retire from the field. To use a word that Gary Cohen used on Friday night's broadcast, this is "closure" for David Wright.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Leave a comment or drop me a line at <u>DyHrdMET [at] gmail [dot] com</u>. Your comments will fall into a moderation queue. <br />
"Like" <a href="http://www.facebook.com/RememberingShea">RememberingShea</a> on Facebook. <br />
Become a <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/rememberingshea/">Networked Blog</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-10619128000816070542018-06-10T09:55:00.002-04:002018-06-10T09:55:45.833-04:00Baseball BingoI coined the term "Baseball Bingo" last year (2017) as a way to describe seeing a game at every level of professional baseball. There are a few variants of it.<br />
<br />
<b>Mets Baseball Bingo (and 29 other variants)</b><br />
Seeing every <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_League_Baseball#Major_league_affiliations">minor league affiliate</a> of the Mets (some organizations have 5 teams, some have 6)<br />
<br />
<b>Minor League Baseball Bingo</b><br />
Seeing any game from each of the 6 levels of affiliated Minor League Baseball (for which tickets are sold). Overall, there are 160 teams, with 30 at each of the first 4 levels (playing April through early September), and 40 more short season teams (mid-June through September), with every organization having at least one team between the two levels, and some having a team at each level.<br />
<ol><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple-A_(baseball)">AAA</a>, broken into 2 leagues across the country</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-A_(baseball)">AA</a>, broken into 3 leagues in the Northeast, Southeast, and greater Texas</li>
<li>Class A Advanced (aka "High A" or "A+"), broken into 3 leagues in California, Florida, and the Southeast/Mid-Atlantic</li>
<li>Class A (aka "Low A"), broken into 2 leagues in the Midwest and Southeast/Mid-Atlantic</li>
<li>Class A Short Season, broken into 2 leagues in the Northeast and Northwest</li>
<li>Rookie Advanced (Short Season), broken into 2 leagues in the Appalachian Mountains in TN, NC, VA and WV; and Big Sky/Rocky Mountain regions</li>
</ol><br />
<b>Baseball Bingo</b><br />
Spring Training, Major League Baseball, All 6 levels of Minor League Baseball, Independent baseball<br />
<br />
<a href="https://mlbballparkpassport.com/http:/mlbballparkpassport.com/orders/minor-league-baseball-ballpark-pass-port/">MLB Ballpark Pass-port</a> has a product useful in tracking one's travels. This product includes a fold-out map of the United States (and southern Canada) and marks the locations of all 160 affiliated minor league teams color coded by their classification. The Wikipedia pages for the respective leagues will show you the local map for those teams.<br />
<br />
I bring this up because based on geography, these are very difficult feats to accomplish. No matter where you live, travel will need to be involved to accomplish any of these feats. Some of the time, these smaller leagues are in very hard-to-find towns.<br />
<br />
And for the second straight season, I can say that it is in the plans for me to accomplish Baseball Bingo. My Minor League Baseball Ballpark Pass-port book will help validate it, something which I didn't think of last year. It's not something I go into the season looking to accomplish. Last year, it happened somewhat organically. This year, it's a bit more forced.<br />
<br />
<b>2017</b><br />
I travel around Spring Training every year. I wish I had bought one of these passport books when I started that in 2004 so I could get stamps from all across the Grapefruit League. Some of those ballparks are now abandoned, so a lot would be lost if I started now. I don't try to get them all in one season.<br />
<br />
I see the Mets in New York several times a year. That's my local team (even though I pass Yankee Stadium on the way there).<br />
<br />
I went to see the Somerset Patriots of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball one night after work looking to get a specific autograph.<br />
<br />
A friend had organized a small group to see the Columbia Fireflies (Mets, Low A) play on the road in Lakewood, NJ. It was a bit of a hike, but still doable for an evening after work. Because of a rainout, the night became a doubleheader (of 7 inning games).<br />
<br />
We also went into Brooklyn to see the Cyclones (Mets, Short Season A) for a specific promotion over a holiday weekend. That game was suspended by rain but I was still there. Technically, Staten Island (Yankees, Short Season A) is closer. The Hudson Valley team (Rays, Short Season A) is within reason too, given the other local travel.<br />
<br />
I had a planned weekend getaway in Binghamton (Mets, AA) that I've done each of the past couple summers. Trenton (Yankees, AA) is a bit closer, but the schedule didn't work out for me to see Binghamton there until the playoffs, after I had already called "BINGO".<br />
<br />
I had a road trip planned to see family in Virginia Beach and started looking at other destinations. Misreading a map, I thought, why not Kingsport, TN to see the most obscure Mets farm club and thought it was too far. Then, on a whim, I asked, where are the Las Vegas 51s (Mets, AAA) playing, not really thinking they'd come that far east. They were in Nashville, and Kingsport could be a stop on the way home. The scheduling gods were working with me. With some non-baseball stops included, it was destination: Nashville (Oakland, AAA) to see the 51s and then Kingsport, TN (Mets, Rookie) before heading home. I passed a few other towns that have minor league ball but didn't think to fit in a game.<br />
<br />
After that, I realized I'd see every Mets affiliate except for the St Lucie Mets (High A) in Florida. I found an equivalent team 2 hours away from home in Wilmington, DE (Kansas City, High A).<br />
<br />
And that got me Baseball Bingo.<br />
<br />
<b>2018</b><br />
2018 has some different stops planned. A different road trip to Raleigh to see family. Different stops to and from. And the plan became to get Baseball Bingo again once I saw that I was close enough to the Appalachian League to start looking at maps and schedules.<br />
<br />
Spring Training again. Already a few games at Citi Field.<br />
<br />
The minor league adventure started in Trenton (Yankees, AA) last night to see Binghamton (Mets, AA). A return engagement in Binghamton is in the works. So are Brooklyn and Lakewood (when the Fireflies visit). AAA will be different (and still not seeing any of the nearby teams in Pennsylvania) and so will High A and Rookie ball. Seeing the Columbia Fireflies at home is the big stop on the road trip. There are also other independent teams near home and a Mets trip planned for California.<br />
<br />
Some of these local games don't need to be done every year (but it's still fun). It's usually not worth the travel to see two teams that I don't know unless getting Bingo is in mind. All of it can be done within 2 hours except for Spring Training (never a problem going there) and Rookie ball. But once a Rookie league is within the cross-hairs (and it's just too obscure to be a destination on its own), the others come into focus quickly.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Leave a comment or drop me a line at <u>DyHrdMET [at] gmail [dot] com</u>. Your comments will fall into a moderation queue. <br />
"Like" <a href="http://www.facebook.com/RememberingShea">RememberingShea</a> on Facebook. <br />
Become a <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/rememberingshea/">Networked Blog</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-65044542455907546952017-05-20T09:32:00.000-04:002017-05-20T09:32:18.527-04:0030 Years As a Mets Fan - Banner Day<h3 style="color: rgb(0,70,132); padding-top: 15px;">30 Years As a Mets Fan – Part 10</h3><h4 style="color: rgb(254,123,52); padding-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 5px;">Banner Day</h4>For those of you who don’t remember the old tradition, the Mets, for many years, once a season would allow their fans to parade around the outfield warning track showing off homemade signs showing messages of support for the New York Mets players. This event would take place in between games of a doubleheader at Shea Stadium and fans at home would be able to see the hundreds of entries on WOR TV. Fans would use whatever media they could find, from poster boards to bed sheets, to convey their message. Some were simple and some were creative. The banners were judged and winners were given prizes. This was a tradition inspired by the early Mets fans at the Polo Grounds and original Mets manager Casey Stengel, who would spend time looking in the stands at the “placards” during the game. This tradition carried on for over 30 years, into the mid-1990s.<br />
<p>I never entered it myself, or even attended the Banner Day Doubleheader in person. As a kid, I knew of Banner Day but don’t really remember even watching it. I was around for the last few seasons the Mets held it. Maybe inside those last 2 sentences is the reason why it was eventually cancelled.<br />
<p>The Mets brought it back in 2012, in part because of some stirring among the fan community as an idea of how to celebrate the team’s 50th anniversary. The return of Banner Day had become known as “Banner Day 2.0” among some fans. In the internet age, fans could be part of the judging among 4 finalists chosen by Mets-connected people (broadcasters and alumni) during the game with the winner announced and shown off during the 7th inning.<br />
<p>My creative juices started flowing. The same could be said for about 300 other fans who lined up outside Citi Field early that Sunday morning. This new Banner Day parade wasn’t quite the same as it was in the old days. There are no longer scheduled doubleheaders, and you can’t really disrupt the game in order to hold the parade of banners for judging. The Mets opted to have the parade start shortly after the ballpark opened, which would be 11:10am for a 1:10pm game (one year it might have been a later start, but always an afternoon game). It wasn’t ideal for bringing in big crowds to support the banners. SNY (or PIX11 in some cases) wasn’t coming on the air that early (about 90 minutes earlier than the regular pregame show) to show the festivities to the fans at home. The second year saw the Mets introduce a pre-Banner Day online contest separate from the traditional parade. That second contest lasted only 1 year. But overall, interest was waning and the team stopped promoting Banner Day, allowing it to die a slow death after only 4 seasons.<br />
<p>It’s a shame that it didn’t catch on and become a marquee event like in the old days, especially since the Mets were starting to get good around 2012 and 2013 (eventually winning the NL Pennant in the final season of Banner Day 2.0). The interest wasn’t there and the promotion (from the team or television) wasn’t there either.<br />
<p>I loved being part of it. It was a different and creative way in which I could express my Mets fandom. It was better than trying to come up with 140 character tweets or post thoughts about a recent game or recent struggles/successes on Facebook or a blog or fan forum. We could use imagery, colors. We could make it large. Someone had moving parts. And I had some wild ideas. For some of it, I was winging it (am I using the right medium – different types of poster board as opposed to a bed sheet or something vinyl), but I didn’t really care. Each year, I’d have my idea well before the season got underway, with Banner Day taking place sometime in the first half of the season (usually May, but once it was in June), and I’d tell people I’d have the winning banner (I was never a finalist, but there was one year where I really felt cheated by that statement). I’ve covered each of my entries on this blog before, so I won’t go into detail, but I will mention them here with links to my original posts.<br />
<p>2012 was an idea that a friend nicknamed “the parade float” because it had so much stuff in it. It came out as a tribute to banners and signs from Shea Stadium, which was sort of homage to past Banner Days to mark the occasion of its return. The original idea was to put some of those tributes on top of a picture/drawing of an empty Shea Stadium (in its full 1990s colorful glory), but I couldn’t quite figure out how to convey or execute that idea.<br />
<p><a href="http://rememberingshea.blogspot.com/2012/05/its-banner-day-at-shea.html">http://rememberingshea.blogspot.com/2012/05/its-banner-day-at-shea.html</a><br />
<a href="http://rememberingshea.blogspot.com/2012/05/happy-banner-day.html">http://rememberingshea.blogspot.com/2012/05/happy-banner-day.html</a><br />
<p>2013 was the year they introduced the online contest, with entries due about a week before the real banner day. I took my original idea (“Citi Field Squares” – a Hollywood Squares knockoff that was Mets-themed), made a small version of it (regular sized printer paper instead of big poster board) and submitted it online and decided to make something else for the parade. Citi Field was hosting the All-Star Game that year so I played along with that theme (“Take me out to the All-Star Game”), and then included all of the Mets All-Star Game starters, even foreshadowing Matt Harvey’s All-Star Game start. A friend convinced me to bring both banners to the parade. It was fun to show off, but I think it confused the judges.<br />
<p><a href="http://rememberingshea.blogspot.com/2013/05/banner-number-1.html">http://rememberingshea.blogspot.com/2013/05/banner-number-1.html</a><br />
<a href="http://rememberingshea.blogspot.com/2013/05/banner-number-2.html">http://rememberingshea.blogspot.com/2013/05/banner-number-2.html</a><br />
<a href="http://rememberingshea.blogspot.com/2013/05/theres-science-to-banner-day.html">http://rememberingshea.blogspot.com/2013/05/theres-science-to-banner-day.html</a><br />
<p>2014 was the 50th anniversary of Shea Stadium, and I had my biggest idea yet – to create a large and detailed “Shea Stadium Monopoly” board. It was a big idea in my head and I just didn’t know if I could get it to come together, but if I could, it would be perfect for the judges. It was big and it was detailed. It was better than what I had in my head. I still don’t know how I didn’t win. But creating it and parading with it is one of the things I’m most proud of in life.<br />
<p><a href="http://rememberingshea.blogspot.com/2014/05/banner-day-2014.html">http://rememberingshea.blogspot.com/2014/05/banner-day-2014.html</a><br />
<a href="http://rememberingshea.blogspot.com/2014/05/banner-day-aftermath-im-not-bitter.html">http://rememberingshea.blogspot.com/2014/05/banner-day-aftermath-im-not-bitter.html</a><br />
<p>Not knowing that 2015 would be the final year, I ended up closing on a simple but maybe appropriate note. Casey Stengel was the inspiration for Banner Day, and I came up with the “Stengelese Dictionary”. It wasn’t quite what I had in my head, but it was simple and to the point.<br />
<p><a href="http://rememberingshea.blogspot.com/2015/06/banner-day-2015.html">http://rememberingshea.blogspot.com/2015/06/banner-day-2015.html</a><br />
<p>Unfortunately, 2015 was the last time the Mets held Banner Day. It’s a shame because 2016 had 3 different themes that fans could have used (30th anniversary of the 1986 World Championship, Mets were defending NL Champions, and Mike Piazza is going into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a Met with his number getting retired by the Mets). And I had several ideas that I had accumulated along the way and never got to execute, sometimes bumping an idea down in the list for a better idea which I ended up using. So here, I believe for the first time, I present my list of unused Banner Day ideas. Some of these ideas were written on a piece of paper (based on the date I wrote down) after returning home from Banner Day in 2013, and never made the cut.<br />
<p><ul><li>Meet the Mets: Mr. Met’s Family Portrait – featuring Mr. Met, Mrs. Met, their kids (younger versions of Mr. and Mrs. Met), original Mr. Met, Florida Mr. Met (the Mr. Met variant used by the St. Lucie Mets), and Mr. Met, Sr. (an old man version of Mr. Met). Given the 2016 themes, this was probably in line for 2017.</li>
<li>Mets Scrabble. This came on the heels of “Citi Field Squares” where I had board games in my head.</li>
<li>Mets Word Jumble. I think a crossword puzzle would have been too much.</li>
<li>Mets Monopoly. Subconsciously, this idea was spun off as “Shea Stadium Monopoly” the year after I wrote this down. I didn’t remember it until I found that list very recently.</li>
<li>Mets Board Game/DVD/Bookshelf – think of board game boxes stacked on a shelf, using names of Mets-themed board games without having to create the entire game board</li>
<li>Mets postcards – Tradition Field (as it was then known), Shea Stadium, Citi Field</li>
</ul>Being part of Banner Day 2.0 was fun. I wish I could have been part of the original incarnation. I really hope the Mets find a way to have Banner Day 3.0 (or even 2.5) and then make it work with 20,000 fans cheering everyone on.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-87971447233195222172017-04-30T14:38:00.000-04:002017-04-30T14:38:55.526-04:0030 Years As a Mets Fan – Birthday Games<h3 style="color: rgb(0,70,132); padding-top: 15px;">30 Years As a Mets Fan – Part 9</h3><h4 style="color: rgb(254,123,52); padding-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 5px;">Birthday Games</h4>I’m sure that all baseball fans born during the baseball season can relate to this – wanting to spend your birthday at the ballpark watching your favorite team in action. I’ve been able to do this a few times in my life. I’ve also gone to games near my actual birthday as the Mets schedule and my schedule allowed, but those aren’t the same. When I was younger, and only going to 2 or 3 games a year, something like my birthday was a big deal on the schedule. These days, a weekend home game is an occasion for me to go to Citi Field.<br />
<p>In 1987, I went to Shea Stadium for my 9th birthday. It was the first Mets game in person since becoming a fan 6 months earlier. I don’t remember a damn thing about that game other than one play by Len Dykstra in CF that made Warner Wolf’s plays of the year. I was enamored by the Shea Stadium scoreboard with the lineups and out of town scores and I probably got excited seeing the Home Run Apple rise 4 times in the Mets 11-3 win.<br />
<p><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN198704300.shtml">http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN198704300.shtml</a><br />
<p>I honestly can’t recall any other birthdays spent at Shea when I was a kid. I think there might have been one or two that worked out.<br />
<p>I spent my 21st birthday at Shea with friends on a Friday night in 1999. That was a great night. Maybe one of the best I had at Shea. We were all into getting there at 4:30 pm to see batting practice and get autographs. It was around the time I started doing that. We had my favorite seats in the ballpark – Loge, Section 7, Row A. I even had another friend randomly walk up in the bottom of the first and claim the seats next to us, an unplanned surprise. We got to fight over a foul ball (I got bumped back into my seat and someone else broke their watch on the play). None of us got the ball. It’s still the closest I’ve ever come to getting one at a major league ballpark. And we got to heckle rising Giants star Jeff Kent from his days as a Met.<br />
<p><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN199904300.shtml">http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN199904300.shtml</a><br />
<p>As an adult, working for a living, it wasn’t as easy to just head into Flushing from New Jersey on a weeknight/day to celebrate my birthday. But for my 30th birthday, I decided I wanted to take off from work (baseball game or not). The Mets hosted one of those mid-week afternoon games (I think they were called “businessman’s specials” back in the day, but the politically correct term is really “get away day”) and this was a no-brainer. For it being a big birthday and the final season at Shea, I convinced my dad (who already had the day off from work) to get us seats behind the Mets dugout. It was one of the few places at Shea I hadn’t sat in yet, but I certainly knew the neighborhood from batting practice.<br />
<p>After our lunch in the Diamond Club and looking at some Citi Field previews, the start of the game ended up being delayed for about 45 minutes because of a broken water main nearby and the grounds crew couldn’t water down the field to get it ready for the game. Mets pitcher Nelson Figueroa, always a good guy and good for an autograph or three, came out of the dugout during the delay to sign for fans. I think it was my fourth autograph of his that season alone (counting Spring Training). Mets post-season hero-turned-regular season goat Oliver Perez was the starting pitcher for New York. And after an uneventful first inning, things came unglued for the Mets starter. He gave up 7 runs in the top of the second to the Pirates and hero of the delay Figueroa had to come in and finish the inning. Figgy settled things down, but the game got worse after he left.<br />
<p>I still call it the day that “Ollie Perez ruined my 30th birthday at Shea” and call Figueroa the “hero” of the day.<br />
<p><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN200804300.shtml">http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN200804300.shtml</a><br />
<p>I made it in for my birthday last year too. It was a Saturday and a big giveaway (one of the garden gnomes). It was another no-brainer. Friends all over the place. Some I planned to see, some I didn’t. It was lots of fun. I think I watched the game.<br />
<p><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN201604300.shtml">http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN201604300.shtml</a><br />
<p>Next year, I’ve said that no matter where the Mets are, I spend my 40th birthday there. It’s a Monday next year, so I might have to walk that statement back if I don’t want to travel some place to see a game alone.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-18117538465561573232017-04-03T08:00:00.000-04:002017-04-03T08:00:21.602-04:0030 Years As a Mets Fan – It’s Opening Day At Shea<h3 style="color: rgb(0,70,132); padding-top: 15px;">30 Years As a Mets Fan – Part 8</h3><h4 style="color: rgb(254,123,52); padding-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 5px;">It’s Opening Day At Shea</h4>I can hear those words – “It’s Opening Day At Shea” – in Howie Rose’s voice (even if he’s never actually said them).<br />
<p>Opening Day probably should be a national holiday so we can all celebrate it together at the ballpark. But reality doesn’t work that way, and going is already an expensive endeavor (it’s usually one of the most expensive tickets of the season). If I think hard enough, I can probably remember where I was or what I was doing for most of my 30 Opening Days as a Mets fan. They’re mostly vague memories of watching the end of the game at home after school or trying to listen to the game at work.<br />
<p><b>1987</b> was my first (as a fan watching on TV), and still might be my most memorable. Not for the game, but for the pregame. The team’s most recent World Championship flag was raised behind the CF fence at Shea Stadium and the World Series rings were handed out before the game. That is the part I remember having on tape (since I was at school when it was happening live). That’s also one that lives on in Mets fandom as part of the bonus features of the 1986 World Series DVD set. That’s a good thing because I wore out that tape. The DVD is ready for its annual viewing.<br />
<p><b>1988</b> was when Strawberry hit the roof at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. <b>1992</b> was a night game in St. Louis (even after only 5 years of being a fan, I knew a night game for Opening Day seemed wrong). <b>1993</b> was the first game in Colorado Rockies history. <b>1994</b> saw Doc Gooden giving up 3 HRs to Tuffy Rhodes at Wrigley. <b>1995</b> was in late April after the lockout which followed the player’s strike, and it was the first game at Coors Field.<br />
<p>I remember cutting class in <b>1998</b> when I was in college so I could watch the Mets first March 31 game. That was the 14th inning walkoff hit by Alberto Castillo at Shea. I made a few sound bytes from that game which is part of my Opening Day blogging tradition.<br />
<p>Bob Murphy and Gary Cohen's intro<br />
<audio controls><br />
<source src="https://sites.google.com/site/rememberingshea/audio-files-1/BMintro98.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1" type="audio/mpeg"><br />
Your browser does not support this audio format.<br />
</audio><br />
The winning hit from Opening Day 1998 at Shea<br />
<audio controls><br />
<source src="http://sites.google.com/site/rememberingshea/audio-files-1/98alberto.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1" type="audio/mpeg"><br />
Your browser does not support this audio format.<br />
</audio><br />
<p><b>2000</b> was the series in Tokyo. I was still in college. I remember trying to get up at 5am to watch the games. I don’t remember much success in those attempts.<br />
<p>Starting in <b>2002</b>, I was a working man and had to find a way to escape the office in order to listen to any portion of the game. I remember taking a long lunch or a mid-day break to go to my car to put on the radio just to hear a little bit of Opening Day.<br />
<p><b>2003</b> was the first Opening Day I experienced in person. I saw some tickets available the week before and said “what the hell, I’ll take off work and go”. It was a cold March 31 at Shea Stadium. This was a bad era for the Mets. Art Howe was the manager. It also turned out to be Bob Murphy’s last Opening Day. I’m glad I got to be there to see him introduce the Mets from my seat deep down the LF line in the Mezzanine box. I wish I had a camera (even without much of a zoom, as digital cameras were in those days). I won’t remind you of the score. You can click the link to the box score if you really want to know.<br />
<p><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN200303310.shtml">http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN200303310.shtml</a><br />
<p>I remember working from home in 2005 and 2006 to watch Opening Day. After all, it should be a holiday. <b>2005</b> was the opener in Cincinnati with Pedro Martinez’s Mets debut. As a side note, some enterprising puzzle maker took a photo from the 2005 home opener against Houston and made a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle of it. A few years later, I bought it, put it together, and had it framed. It hangs in my living room. <b>2006</b> was the debut of SNY.<br />
<p>Coming off the success of 2006 (I’ve repressed the memory of the final inning of that season) I wanted to be there for the <b>2007</b> home opener. This was back in the days of the Mets having ticket lotteries to get into Opening Day at Shea. I had a friend who got picked in the lottery and was able to get me a ticket so far down the right field line on field level that my seat faced the outfield wall and not the infield (if you really remember Shea, you’d know what I was talking about).<br />
<p><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dRrXxgpfwYc/WOGzDC1IyOI/AAAAAAAAfb4/rM_iQklTwAE8OiQb0wJ48x7jnHh14e2TQCLcB/s1600/DSC03902.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dRrXxgpfwYc/WOGzDC1IyOI/AAAAAAAAfb4/rM_iQklTwAE8OiQb0wJ48x7jnHh14e2TQCLcB/s320/DSC03902.JPG" width="320" height="240" /></a><br />
<p><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN200704090.shtml">http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN200704090.shtml</a><br />
<p><b>2008</b> was the final Opening Day at Shea (after a road trip). <b>2009</b> was the christening of Citi Field (also after a road trip). By then, I also had MLB’s internet package so I could listen on radio on my computer at work (working around meetings). MLB.TV usually had technical difficulties that got in the way of celebrating Opening Day. Some of the more recent seasons are actually a blur. In researching this post, I noticed MLB had some weird schedules with late-week Opening Days for some reason. Real Opening Day is the first Monday in April.<br />
<p>In <b>2014</b>, I went back for Opening Day, and it was March 31 again. It was cold at Citi Field. I remember sitting in what was then called Caesar’s Club for most of the game trying to defrost my hands and the rest of the game paying social calls to friends. I did see Parnell blow the save in the 9th. This was the year that Daniel Murphy missed the opener because of the birth of a child, and for some reason, people got in an uproar over it.<br />
<p><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NvgDRAEUCIU/WOGz8-cDgyI/AAAAAAAAfcA/SZ98ZnyhXpcFAwkY6uQRtm3oLBvOg4QXwCLcB/s1600/DSC00077.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NvgDRAEUCIU/WOGz8-cDgyI/AAAAAAAAfcA/SZ98ZnyhXpcFAwkY6uQRtm3oLBvOg4QXwCLcB/s320/DSC00077.JPG" width="320" height="240" /></a><br />
<p><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN201403310.shtml">http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN201403310.shtml</a><br />
<p><b>2016</b> was a special one. The Mets were defending NL Champions. They started the season in Kansas City with a World Series rematch (dumb luck that it happened that way). Then on Friday came the home opener. In this day in age, that was cause to take off work and head to Citi Field. I don’t remember any of the game, but I do remember being there, moving around the ballpark making social calls to people. It was a day to tailgate and celebrate.<br />
<p><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YI8R56ah0LQ/WOG0zjy8UwI/AAAAAAAAfcI/OslAGnf8mrIXJjHA7MyzV5EQVlQkSw41ACLcB/s1600/DSC03397.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YI8R56ah0LQ/WOG0zjy8UwI/AAAAAAAAfcI/OslAGnf8mrIXJjHA7MyzV5EQVlQkSw41ACLcB/s320/DSC03397.JPG" width="320" height="240" /></a><br />
<p><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYM/2016-schedule-scores.shtml">http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYM/2016-schedule-scores.shtml</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-73508933116618856482017-04-01T10:00:00.000-04:002017-04-01T10:00:16.362-04:0030 Years As a Mets Fan – Part 7<h3 style="color: rgb(0,70,132); padding-top: 15px;">30 Years As a Mets Fan – Part 7</h3><h4 style="color: rgb(254,123,52); padding-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 5px;">One magic loogie</h4>I remember the first time I went to a Mets game as a fan (see earlier post about going to a game before getting sucked in to this madness). I was 9 years old. It was Sunday, June 14, 1987, and the Mets were playing the Phillies at Shea Stadium. I can’t say I remember everything about the game. I do remember that the Mets lost even though Keith Hernandez and Darryl Strawberry both homered. The Phillies scored 5 runs in the 9th off of Roger McDowell after Hernandez committed an error with 2 out. The game also marked my first encounter seeing rowdy fans at a ballgame. My dad and I were sitting in the right field seats near the Mets bullpen on the Loge level and these 2 guys sitting near us were pouring beer onto one of the pitchers in the Mets bullpen and cursing at them. Basically harassing people down there all game. We eventually moved away from them.<br />
<p>After the game, to help cheer me up from a bad Mets loss before heading home, Dad took me for a walk all the way around Shea Stadium. When we were outside the Mets players’ parking lot, we saw those same 2 guys yelling at some players – “Nice game, pretty boy” at Hernandez – before someone out of view threw something back at these guys, or did something. I’m still not sure what I watched. Dad shielded me and then hustled me out of there quickly and decided it was time for us to head home.<br />
<br />
<img src="//vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/seinfeld/images/2/2e/TheBoyfriendPart1.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110805200027"><br />
<br />
That was one magic loogie!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://seinfeld.wikia.com/wiki/The_Boyfriend,_Part_1">http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT198706140.shtml</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-32696125216629216682017-03-31T20:43:00.000-04:002017-03-31T20:43:04.515-04:0030 Years As a Mets Fan – Part 6<h3 style="color: rgb(0,70,132); padding-top: 15px;">30 Years As a Mets Fan – Part 6</h3><h4 style="color: rgb(254,123,52); padding-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 5px;">Spring Training Annual</h4>I just completed my 14th annual visit to Mets Spring Training in Port St. Lucie, Florida. I like to go down there for a long vacation, at least 1 week, and usually longer. I like to walk around the ballpark taking pictures from different vantage points. I’m always trying to grab a foul ball (or a home run ball). I like to go see other Spring Training ballparks. I like to buy a t-shirt from every team/stadium that I visit. I like to get autographs from players when I’m there. Spring Training is billed as a time when you can get closer to the players. At least in the Mets case, I like to spend the morning on the practice fields watching the players conduct different baseball drills.<br />
<p>Sometimes I’ll talk with people. I’ve met and become friends with a lot of fans over the years that vacation in Port St. Lucie similar to me, live down there for part of the year, or live down there permanently. I’m not the only person who makes this an annual trip. Some Mets fans have retired or relocated to Post St. Lucie because of the Mets. Several years ago, I joined the local booster club (which mostly supports the minor league St. Lucie Mets). After most home games, the group (or at least parts of it) will go out to dinner somewhere. I know some of the ushers and security guards at the stadium complex, mostly by face. I have my routines and my favorite spots there.<br />
<p>I spend every morning, except when there’s long travel necessary, at the "back" (practice) fields of the Mets complex. They stretch and throw together and conduct different baseball drills each day. If there’s a home game, everyone is there. If there’s a road game, only the players left behind are involved. The fans are usually allowed to stay back there until the workout is complete, which can be a couple of hours that we’re out there. Some players will sign autographs after their workout is finished. Sometimes the fans can stay to see the minor league teams working out or maybe playing in a game. Every day is different.<br />
<p>Inside the stadium, I’ll usually talk with people and then grab lunch and some shade until the players come out. Then it might be autograph time, time to get pictures from the bullpen, or time to get in position for a specific photograph. I like taking pictures of broad scenery and the Mets ballpark in Port St. Lucie certainly offers that. A high sky, sometimes clouds, bright sunshine, and many distinct features along with a baseball field filled with Mets jerseys is very photogenic. The left field terrace and right field berm both offer big blue and white shade covers. Left field has the scoreboard with the practice fields behind it and home plate has a big concrete covering. Even when I can’t get to the highest point, the inner concourse/walkway in the stadium works out well for most pictures. My favorite spot over the past few years is right behind the CF wall next to the batter’s eye. The wall is taller than I can see, but I can put my camera on top and get some great pictures.<br />
<p>I don’t chase down autographs as much as I used to. It used to be that I had to get at least one autograph at every game (Mets or not) and the game was a personal failure if I didn’t. With the exception of one stadium where it was forbidden to ask for autographs, I had one at every game for about 5 or 6 years. That’s what’s great about Spring Training, it was always possible just to go in and get an autograph. My first Spring Training autograph was actually Tommy Lasorda when he was sitting in the stands at my first game in 2004. Over the years, as I got older, I stopped finding the appeal of camping out at a spot by the dugout or down the foul line (and it didn’t necessarily matter which team it was) to wait for the players to come out, and/or to get crowded into an small area of seats and an aisle fighting people (adults and children alike) to try to get an autograph from a player who might come by that location to sign and might not. The waiting, pushing and shoving lost its appeal. I still like getting autographs. I keep it simple, usually having players sign the scorecard page in the program. I’m not one to try to get baseballs or baseball cards signed. These autographs are usually just for me. I still try to get autographs on the practice fields at Mets camp when I don’t have to run around the place to get it. I still wait after the game (when I don’t have some place to be) at the players’ parking lot gates to get autographs as the players leave (with some success). There’s still something about the chase for an autograph that makes me feel like a kid (even when these players are all now younger than me).<br />
<p>I also like to get around Florida to see other Spring Training sites. After this vacation, I can once again say that I’ve seen all of the stadiums currently in use – 13 active ballparks housing 15 MLB teams (2 stadiums are each shared by 2 teams) and 7 defunct ones. Those numbers have changed over my 14 years as teams have moved around Florida, built new ballparks, or moved to Arizona. Other teams have upgraded their ballparks making a case to come back and see the improvements. Those numbers will change again when the next team moves (rumored to be Atlanta) and then again when I can get out to their new location. Some of these ballparks are a short drive – less than an hour – from Mets camp in Port St. Lucie. Others are farther away and visiting them becomes a side trip (where I go see non-Mets games for a few days and stay in another part of Florida). I don’t go on side trips every year, but once every 3 or 4 years to see something new is okay. Exceptions are made if a Mets game can be seen in another part of Florida. I’m very biased towards seeing games in Port St. Lucie, but my favorite place to watch a game was at old Dodgertown in Vero Beach. This is the 9th Spring Training without major league Spring Training there and it’s still some place I try to get to every couple years.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-24303125395888287922017-03-25T19:47:00.001-04:002017-03-25T19:47:57.699-04:0030 Years As a Mets Fan – Part 5<h3 style="color: rgb(0,70,132); padding-top: 15px;">30 Years As a Mets Fan – Part 5</h3><h4 style="color: rgb(254,123,52); padding-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 5px;">My first visit Spring Training</h4>For those of you that know me, or have been following for a long time, you know that every March, I make the trip down to Port St. Lucie, Florida, to see Mets Spring Training. It’s something that I’ve been doing every year since 2004. But the first time I set foot at the ballpark in Port St. Lucie (then known as Thomas J. White Stadium) was in March of 1995.<br />
<p>Yes, <b>THAT</b> 1995. The one with the infamous replacement players.<br />
<p>1995 was the first year in which I had a break from school in March, and my dad decided it would be a good opportunity for the two of us to go to Florida to visit his parents (outside Ft. Lauderdale). I think he convinced me to go by promising me we could go see a couple baseball games. One was a Yankees-Red Sox game at old <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Lauderdale_Stadium">Ft. Lauderdale Stadium</a>. This was during a time when Yankees-Red Sox games weren’t always must-see. It was also the last season for the Yankees in Ft. Lauderdale after almost 35 years. And the other game, with my 80-something year old grandparents in tow, was 90 minutes north in Port St. Lucie to see the Mets.<br />
<p>Getting there was one of those adventures from hell. Without thinking of the back fields or batting practice (like I do every day that I’m there now), I wanted to get there early because I just wanted to get there, like the little kid who just wanted to be at the ballpark just because it was there. But we got off to a slow start to the morning. And it was a long ride to get there. And I misread the map and had my dad move to Route 1 because that’s where the dot for “Port St. Lucie” was located. In case you don’t know the geography of the area, Route 1 is a road with traffic lights and is located about 8 miles away from the ballpark, while I-95 is an expressway and located in the ballpark’s shadow that also goes down to Ft. Lauderdale. So that little detour to Route 1 in Port St. Lucie added about 45 minutes to the ride to the ballpark. Then everybody walked slowly through the parking field/lot to the ticket office. It was torture.<br />
<p>But inside, it was pure joy. Here’s this ballpark which I’ve watched on TV every March since the Mets moved there in 1988, as the spring home of the Mets and the portal into the baseball season, right in front of me in living color. I have no memories of the game. That part doesn’t matter. It was an exhibition game between teams made up of scabs. Somewhere, I have the program and ticket stub, because I always have a program and ticket stub. And I have a few pictures. It was the only time I got to see old Thomas J. White Stadium before the first round of upgrades (which launched in 2004).<br />
<p><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QlUZ5ek7S4w/WNcAnBPTD8I/AAAAAAAAfE4/aWLkdd06KncxR2MyTlmOzOeMepcAylEMgCLcB/s1600/IMG_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QlUZ5ek7S4w/WNcAnBPTD8I/AAAAAAAAfE4/aWLkdd06KncxR2MyTlmOzOeMepcAylEMgCLcB/s320/IMG_0001.jpg" width="320" height="213" /></a><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ybDOvzgi4g0/WNcAnaR-01I/AAAAAAAAfE8/OsmWFktzmXkyC0cwGAcR9mBReP7S2-_mwCLcB/s1600/IMG_0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ybDOvzgi4g0/WNcAnaR-01I/AAAAAAAAfE8/OsmWFktzmXkyC0cwGAcR9mBReP7S2-_mwCLcB/s320/IMG_0003.jpg" width="320" height="213" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HH81GGc15Mg/WNcAjjstPQI/AAAAAAAAfE0/Bwqi5HRofEAjjX3OsjrAAgYpK6k6u9eHgCLcB/s1600/IMG_0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HH81GGc15Mg/WNcAjjstPQI/AAAAAAAAfE0/Bwqi5HRofEAjjX3OsjrAAgYpK6k6u9eHgCLcB/s320/IMG_0005.jpg" width="320" height="213" /></a><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mXb_JUHqGyg/WNcAtoXFo2I/AAAAAAAAfFA/IUeO_sCbWaULyesy5VRtryQ2vayDSnwCwCLcB/s1600/IMG_0012.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mXb_JUHqGyg/WNcAtoXFo2I/AAAAAAAAfFA/IUeO_sCbWaULyesy5VRtryQ2vayDSnwCwCLcB/s320/IMG_0012.jpg" width="320" height="213" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-39363456823910441782017-02-24T08:00:00.000-05:002017-02-24T08:00:05.973-05:0030 Years As a Mets Fan – Part 4<h3 style="color: rgb(0,70,132); padding-top: 15px;">30 Years As a Mets Fan – Part 4</h3><h4 style="color: rgb(254,123,52); padding-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 5px;">The start of Spring Training</h4><blockquote>“People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” – Rogers Hornsby, Baseball Hall of Famer and original Mets coach</blockquote>And then one day each year, spring would slowly but surely arrive at my window. It would start with the first live local news reports from Port St. Lucie, seen on channel 4 or on channel 2. Nowadays, SNY is there 5 nights a week. But this is just practice. It’s a mirage. And then one day you turn on your radio and “Meet the Mets” is playing at the top of a broadcast. And you know that meant Bob Murphy’s voice would soon follow.<br />
<blockquote><audio controls><br />
<source src="http://sites.google.com/site/rememberingshea/audio-files-1/1stintro%281998%29.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1" type="audio/mpeg"><br />
Your browser does not support this audio format.<br />
</audio><br />
“Well hi everybody. This is Bob Murphy with Gary Cohen. Baseball has been asleep for a while. Welcome, the game is coming back.” – Bob Murphy, Mets Hall of Fame broadcaster, introducing the first Spring Training game in 1998</blockquote>The way I remember it as a kid, it was always the first Friday in March that the Mets would take the field for the first time in the new season, and that WFAN would usually be there to cover it. I would set the clock radio in my bedroom to turn on at 1pm, even though I was in school. I didn’t want to waste any time, or even simply forget when I got home from school, even though the game might be in the 7th or 8th inning. I longed to hear the voices. And that was just in case I didn’t have my Walkman to listen to the game while I was walking home from school.<br />
<p>The years have blended together. I have one generic memory of this day which was probably the same every year growing up. I lost it a few years years when I was away at school. WFAN in the daytime didn’t have reception in New England and the Internet hadn’t been invented yet. In college, and as an adult, it became a bit harder because things like classes and work got in the way of that first spring game. But even if it’s for only 5 minutes, I make sure to listen to that first broadcast, now anchored by Howie Rose on WOR radio, and usually played through my computer. It’s not enough for me to join that broadcast in progress or catch it archived later in the day. I need the feeling of hearing Meet the Mets and Howie Rose live.<br />
<p>Same thing for the first spring TV broadcast. Seeing the Mets for the first time might have to wait until Saturday or Sunday, depending on the WWOR (or later, MSG/FSNY) schedule. I couldn’t wait until it was time when I could hear Ralph Kiner’s voice or that “Fresh from Florida” intro that Channel 9 had at one point. Now, it’s Gary Cohen on SNY and PIX11, but it’s the same idea.<br />
<p>There is a different sound to a Spring Training broadcast. It sounds a bit more relaxed in those smaller ballparks. There isn’t as much crowd noise. I swear at times I could hear a conversation from the stands. The games don’t mean anything, and the players and fans seem to know it. So do the broadcasters. Even they sound more relaxed. It’s just a warm up, forgotten at the end of the day. But it’s the sounds of summer while the calendar is technically still on winter.<br />
<p>I managed to grab the 3 audio files in this story from my Walkman during Spring Training 1998. The second one is just a few minutes of Bob Murphy and Gary Cohen calling most of a half inning from a game against the Cardinals in Jupiter. The third is just more Bob Murphy, this time throwing it to a commercial break.<br />
<audio controls><br />
<source src="http://sites.google.com/site/rememberingshea/audio-files-1/SpringTrainingrawtape.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1" type="audio/mpeg"><br />
Your browser does not support this audio format.<br />
</audio><br />
<audio controls><br />
<source src="http://sites.google.com/site/rememberingshea/audio-files-1/commercial.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1" type="audio/mpeg"><br />
Your browser does not support this audio format.<br />
</audio>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-28513074002458035542016-10-27T21:23:00.001-04:002016-10-27T21:23:25.603-04:0030 Years As a Mets Fan - Part 3<h3 style="color: rgb(0,70,132); padding-top: 15px;">30 Years As a Mets Fan – Part 3</h3><h4 style="color: rgb(254,123,52); padding-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 5px;">October 27, 1986</h4>I sat down, probably after doing my homework for 3rd grade, to watch a Mets game for the first time as a fan. I’ve watched so many more in the 30 years since, but the first time always sticks with you. I remember watching in my parents’ bedroom. I couldn’t tell you why I wasn’t watching in the den. But I wanted to watch. I had been hooked 2 nights before.<br />
<p>The events of the game and words of the TV broadcast don’t stand out in my head now. But I will tell you they once did (which is in contrast with Game 6). About 10 years later, I watched the game on ESPN Classic, and it was the first time I watched the game (and not just the ending) since it was happening. And I remember watching that replay, hearing or seeing things, and thinking to myself “I remember that” several times over the first 7 innings. Those memories were unlocked then and have faded away since.<br />
<p>Well, I watched until the point in Game 7 when I had to go to bed. It was played on a Monday night, and being in 3rd grade, I couldn’t stay up late to watch the whole game. It was the bottom of the 7th when I had to go to bed. My dad had the brilliant idea to tape the end of the game. I can tell you that the tape started as Gary Carter was grounding out to end the 7th inning. Honestly, having a tape of the end of the game might have been the best thing to ever happen to me. I watched that tape, maybe an hour long going through the post-game coverage, over and over and over, probably until the tape wore out. I really don’t know what happened to it. I have no idea where it is now. In a way it’s okay, because in the past 30 years, I’ve memorized it. And I have the DVD box set now.<br />
<p>There was one play in the later portion of the game which stands out to me, simply working with my few memories of 1986. Mookie Wilson was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the 8th inning. It was a similar pitch and a similar effort of his to the famous Wild Pitch in the 10th inning of Game 6. NBC showed replays and still frames of the two, speaking like the Wild Pitch was already famous, and it was completely foreign to me. Even after so many times watching that tape of Game 7.<br />
<p>And in that last 1 ½ innings, plus a few post-game words, was my introduction to the great voice of baseball, Vin Scully. “Sharks at feeding time” to describe the scene of the Mets fans celebrating the division clincher, talking about what wouldn’t happen that night when the Mets won because of all the police officers on horseback. “Joe, you just lost your house”, to partner Joe Garagiola, who jokingly bet his house that Jesse Orosco would bunt when Davey Johnson had him swing away for an RBI in the bottom of the 8th. “Got him!” on the final out, with a very long roar from the crowd following, similar to what Vin Scully let me hear after Game 6 two nights before, similar to what hooked Vin Scully as a kid.<br />
<p>It was my 2nd day as a Mets fan, and the Mets won the World Series. I’ve now been waiting 30 years for another one.<br />
<p><blockquote>“He struck him out! Struck him out! The Mets have WON the World Series!” – Bob Murphy</blockquote><p><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN198610270.shtml">http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN198610270.shtml</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-50452068183505266602016-10-25T21:34:00.001-04:002016-10-27T21:20:37.990-04:0030 Years As a Mets Fan - Part 2<h3 style="color: rgb(0,70,132); padding-top: 15px;">30 years as a Mets fan</h3><h4 style="color: rgb(254,123,52); padding-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 5px;">Prelude</h4>I don’t remember the playoffs against Houston. I think I was aware of it at the time, but it wasn’t grabbing my attention. And I don’t remember the first week of games against the Red Sox. It wasn’t tugging at my curiosity.<br />
<h4 style="color: rgb(254,123,52); padding-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 5px;">October 25, 1986</h4>I’m sorry that I can’t share memories of the actual game. Everything that I know about the Red Sox early lead, the Mets comeback and the 10th inning comes from having watched the DVD, tape, or televised replay several times over the past 30 years, or from history lessons, such as the Mets “How to keep score” page in their game day program/scorecard, which featured the bottom of the 10th inning from the time I could remember. I don’t remember the parachuting fan that opened Game 6, or the Red Sox jumping to an early lead, or the Mets making a mid-game comeback, a late-game comeback, and then the epic 10th inning comeback.<br />
<p>What I do remember is that my parents had friends over to watch Game 6. I can almost picture the scene in our den with the TV and the chairs. It’s funny how things like that stick with you. I remember that it was the night we changed the clocks back (ending Daylight Savings Time for 1986). I think that meant more to me at the time than the game did. And as the game kept going, past midnight and then a minute or two past 12:30 am, I was still awake (a novelty for an 8 ½ year old kid), watching the game with everyone else who was over at the house that night. <br />
<p>But something stuck with me about how the game ended. I don’t know what it was about the ball going through Buckner’s legs that drew me in. It’s something I’ve tried to figure out for the last 30 years. But I was hooked. I was a Mets fan from that moment forward.<br />
<p><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN198610250.shtml">http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN198610250.shtml</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-1144563009959903012016-09-18T09:56:00.000-04:002016-10-27T21:20:59.901-04:0030 Years As a Mets Fan - Part 1This is the first post in a longer series that I hope to launch in late October about my 30 years as a Mets fan.<br />
<blockquote><h3 style="color: rgb(0,70,132); padding-top: 15px;">30 years as a Mets fan</h3><h4 style="color: rgb(254,123,52); padding-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 5px;">Intro</h4>The Mets won the World Series on my second day as a fan, and I’ve been waiting 30 years for another one. It was October 25, 1986. This is my story of the past 30 years.<br />
<h4 style="color: rgb(254,123,52); padding-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 5px;">September 18, 1986</h4>I went to my first Mets game on September 18, 1986. I was 8 years old at the time. My dad pulled me out of school to take me to a Thursday afternoon game at Shea. I still don’t know why he took me to the game, especially at that point in the season and school year. I don’t remember following the Mets before that day. I can’t say I remember following them after that day, at least not right away.<br />
<p>I only have a few vague memories of the game, some of which have been enhanced by some light research. Rick Anderson was the starting pitcher for the Mets. He went 5 innings. A rookie pitcher named Greg Maddux started for the Cubs. Howard Johnson hit a 3-run homerun. The Mets won the game 5-0. The image in my head of the game is the “green Band-Aids”, as my dad called them, all over the outfield grass.<br />
<p>If the date sort of rings a bell for Mets fans, it’s because the night before, the Mets finally clinched the division, formally setting the stage for an eventual world championship. I didn’t really know any of what was going on at the time. The “green Band-Aids” were the patchwork on the grass created by Pete Flynn’s Shea Stadium grounds crew after 50,000 fans tore up the field celebrating the division title about 14 hours earlier (a scene which Vin Scully described during the World Series as “sharks at feeding time”).<br />
<p>I don’t credit that game with making me a fan. That event came later.<br />
<p><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN198609180.shtml">http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN198609180.shtml</a><br />
</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-42694856332871846442016-04-08T07:45:00.000-04:002016-04-08T07:47:55.665-04:00Home Opening DayThis is another re-post, this one from 2011. I always like to celebrate Opening Day. Today, I'm heading to it for the 4th time (twice for real Opening Day - both in March; twice now for the home opener - both times after winning the division). This, as always, includes Bob Murphy sound bytes.<br />
<blockquote><b>It's Opening Day at Shea</b>. I can just hear Howie <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/DyHrdMET/status/187572798166794243">"Dr. Metropolitan"</a> Rose saying that as he walks into Citi Field on Thursday morning (if he's not camping out there overnight).<br />
<br />
I've been to Opening Day in person only twice in 25 years. I was at Shea for the <a href="http://www.ultimatemets.com/gamedetail.php?gameno=7239&tabno=D">home opener in 2007</a> when the Mets were coming off of an NL East championship and all was right in Mets-land. And I was at a real <a href="http://www.ultimatemets.com/gamedetail.php?gameno=6576&tabno=D">Opening Day in 2003</a> (Bob Murphy's last and Art Howe's first). Tom Glavine started for the Mets and got trounced by the Cubbies, 15-2 (though Glavine wasn't the worst that the Mets threw out there).<br />
<br />
<br />
I remember cutting class during my sophomore year in college to watch <a href="http://www.ultimatemets.com/gamedetail.php?gameno=5742&tabno=D">Opening Day 1998</a> (like 2003, also a March 31 opener, and like 2007, against the Phillies) when Bobby Jones started for the Mets.<br />
<br />
Here's how the game started.<br />
<audio controls><br />
<source src="https://sites.google.com/site/rememberingshea/audio-files-1/BMintro98.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1" type="audio/mpeg"><br />
Your browser does not support this audio format.<br />
</audio><br />
<br />
And this is how that game ended.<br />
<audio controls><br />
<source src="http://sites.google.com/site/rememberingshea/audio-files-1/98alberto.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1" type="audio/mpeg"><br />
Your browser does not support this audio format.<br />
</audio><br />
<br />
<br />
And who can forget <a href="http://www.ultimatemets.com/gamedetail.php?gameno=4023&tabno=D">Opening Day from 25 years ago</a>, when the Mets were called out one-by-one and received really big rings<br />
<insert video here> - ok, you can actually see the ring ceremony on the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/York-World-Series-Collectors-Edition/dp/B000CRR39W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333594223&sr=8-1">1986 World Series DVD box set bonus disc</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
Or <a href="http://www.ultimatemets.com/gamedetail.php?gameno=3686&tabno=D">Opening Day 1985</a> when Gary Carter made an impression on New York (or to be more literal, he made an impression on a baseball that went over the LF bleachers in the bottom of the 10th inning) and <a href="http://www.ultimatemets.com/gamedetail.php?gameno=3362&tabno=D">Opening Day 1983</a> when George Thomas Seaver came home.<br />
<br />
<br />
And of course, the first Opening Day for the New York Mets, <a href="http://www.ultimatemets.com/gamedetail.php?gameno=1&tabno=D">50 years ago</a>...<br />
<audio controls><br />
<source src="https://sites.google.com/site/rememberingshea/audio-files-1/bmgame1.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1" type="audio/mpeg"><br />
Your browser does not support this audio format.<br />
</audio><br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color:blue">H</span><span style="color:#e1771e">a</span><span style="color:blue">p</span><span style="color:#e1771e">p</span><span style="color:blue">y</span> <span style="color:#e1771e">O</span><span style="color:blue">p</span><span style="color:#e1771e">e</span><span style="color:blue">n</span><span style="color:#e1771e">i</span><span style="color:blue">n</span><span style="color:#e1771e">g</span> <span style="color:blue">D</span><span style="color:#e1771e">a</span><span style="color:blue">y</span><span style="color:#e1771e">!</span></b><br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
Leave a comment or drop me a line at <u>DyHrdMET [at] gmail [dot] com</u>. Your comments will fall into a moderation queue. <br />
"Like" <a href="http://www.facebook.com/RememberingShea">RememberingShea</a> on Facebook. <br />
Become a <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/rememberingshea/">Networked Blog</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-15403167198652437622016-03-27T11:52:00.000-04:002016-03-27T11:52:11.120-04:00A Pennant Winning CallJust getting my mindset ready for Opening Day, I present a breakdown of Howie Rose's (first) Pennant Winning call. I should note that Bob Murphy only got one of these and Gary Cohen only got one of these. I think Lindsey Nelson was lucky to have two. You never know how things will turn out, and Howie might only ever get this one.<br />
<br />
Here it is, courtesy of wor710.com:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen width="464" height="283" scrolling="no" src="https://media.iheart.com/player/embed.html?autoStart=false&useFullScreen=true&mid=26447817&siteid=15100&share=http://www.wor710.com/media/podcast-new-york-mets-NewYorkMets/nlcs-game-4-howie-roses-final-26447817/" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" ></iframe><br />
You can read WOR's recap of Game 4 against the Cubs and hear other highlights of the game <a href="http://www.wor710.com/onair/new-york-mets-52984/mets-sweep-the-cubs-in-nlcs-14056690/">here</a>:<br />
<br />
Let's break it down line-by-line. I tried to capture the inflections in Howie Rose's call with larger text and bold/bolder text.<br />
<br />
<div style="color: blue;">Here's the payoff pitch from Familia...to Fowler. On the way.</div>So far, as basic radio call of a pitch. You can sense something in his voice that this is bigger than a 3rd inning pitch.<br />
<br />
<div style="color: blue;">And it's...<span style="font-weight: bold;">in there, strike three called!</span></div>The pause at the start of this line is because the umpire made a delayed call, thus not allowing Howie to say something right away. His voice rose quite a bit. But it's the nuts and bolts of a good radio call, to say what happened with the pitch.<br />
<br />
<div style="color: orange; font-weight: bold;">The Mets win the <span style="font-size: larger; font-weight: bolder;">Pennant!!!</span></div>Okay, this is getting serious. These are words that Howie Rose has probably dreamed of saying ever since he went into broadcasting. Punctuate the word "Pennant".<br />
<br />
<div style="color: orange; font-weight: bold;">The New York Mets have won the National League <span style="font-size: larger; font-weight: bolder;">Pennant!!</span></div>Clarify the situation. Probably a good idea. Just in case what he said before wasn't clear. Or just say it again <b>because he can</b>. And again, punctuate the word "Pennant".<br />
<br />
<div style="color: blue; font-weight: bold;">Put it in the books!</div>His trademark phrase after a Mets victory. The moment was so big, it was the <b>third</b> thing he said after calling the final pitch. I wasn't sure if his inflection of this line was because he almost forgot to say it or he was questioning if what he's just seen and described was real.<br />
<br />
<div style="color: blue; font-weight: bold;">The New York Mets, for the first time in 15 years, are champions of the National League. And they are mobbing each other out behind the pitchers mound. They have completed a 4 game sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series. They win Game 4 eight-to-three. And now the disappointed crowd here at Wrigley Field begin to salute their Cubs, whose long streak, 70 years without a Pennant, and back to 1908 without a World Series, will continue. But all of the focus now on the New York Mets. They're headed to the World Series, against either Toronto or Kansas City, we won't know until at least Friday, and right now, Josh, I guarantee you, New York Mets don't care.</div>This is all good radio. There are no pictures and no graphics to show the final score, the series standings, the celebrations of both the Mets players and Cubs fans, or the upcoming schedule. So Howie needs to describe it all. Josh, who he refers to at the end, is his broadcast partner Josh Lewin.<br />
<br />
<br />
Leave a comment or drop me a line at <u>DyHrdMET [at] gmail [dot] com</u>. Your comments will fall into a moderation queue. <br />
"Like" <a href="http://www.facebook.com/RememberingShea">RememberingShea</a> on Facebook. <br />
Become a <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/rememberingshea/">Networked Blog</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-54141025747135949342016-01-06T19:54:00.001-05:002016-01-06T20:09:57.102-05:00PiazzaI got into the Mets in the mid-80s. 1987 was my first full season. That group represented my youngest youth. Turn the page into the 1990s and both the Mets and I were finding our respective ways. They sucked, and I was in those awkward early pre-teen and teenage years. There was a player strike just weeks before I left for boarding school. Sounds about right.<br />
<br />
There was a resurgence in the team when I was back in the neighborhood and in college. Seems right, doesn't it? They were having fun on the field and I was having fun in college. Games were also more accessible to me, both in person and on TV. 8 games at Shea in 1999 for me was a record back then. It might not seem like much to some of you now (and seems low to me today). They swooned as I left college and entered the real world. Then as I was establishing myself as an adult on my own, they bounced back too. These were the Mike Piazza years.<br />
<br />
He's a bridge into the modern era for me. I started vacationing in Port St. Lucie every March in 2004, and Piazza was still with the team. That autograph before my last game that trip was the highlight. I started going to games about once a month, on and off with ticket plans, in 2006. He wasn't there for the payoff though, marking a new era in Mets history. And a new era for me, growing with the Mets again.<br />
<br />
<b>In 2016, he's a Hall of Famer.</b><br />
<br />
<br />
Leave a comment or drop me a line at <u>DyHrdMET [at] gmail [dot] com</u>. Your comments will fall into a moderation queue. <br />
"Like" <a href="http://www.facebook.com/RememberingShea">RememberingShea</a> on Facebook (the function formerly known as "Becoming a Fan"). <br />
Become a <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/rememberingshea/">Networked Blog</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-81923220057090604982015-11-01T11:04:00.000-05:002015-11-02T00:50:41.662-05:00Winning In Spite Of ThingsA real baseball historian will need to tell me if other pennant winning teams (there's 2 of these per season) are able to win in spite of the things that the Mets won the 2015 NL Pennant in spite of.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: blue;">They won the Pennant</span> in spite of their owners.</b> Their owners who mismanaged their money outside of giving money to an enormous ponzi scheme, have enormous debt against the team, the ballpark, and their team-majority-owned television network. Debt so big that they need to spend a MLB payroll paying off that debt each season before they can spend a dime on payroll. In spite of their owners who don't get that the only way for the team to be successful (or maybe I'm now wrong) is for them to sell and move aside.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">They won the Pennant</span> in spite of their manager.</b> Their manager, who despite being in consideration for Manager of the Year, has made some truly bonehead decisions. To be fair, he's also rolled the dice and had critical decisions pay off. But I wouldn't trust him to manage a bullpen and an OF platoon to win a championship. Playing the players who got you there doesn't work when they're not playing well at all. Or sometimes it does. He flips a coin.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: blue;">They won the Pennant</span> in spite of having no consistent offense.</b> Offense that was so dead at times that they got no-hit twice (including once in the same calendar month as most of the postseason), and there were many other times during the season, including Game 2 of the World Series, where it almost happened again. I get that a good pitcher, or even an average one, can be dominant in any single game, but the No Hitter is still such a rare feat because even a dominant pitcher will give up one or two hits per game. There were so many games, and even stretches of games, where so much of the lineup had an 0-fer. Most of these players are the players that a team would upgrade to make themselves a Pennant winning or Championship winning team.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">They won the Pennant</span> in spite of having no bench.</b> Really, no bench or no backup plans. So much so that trading for 2 non-starters and calling up a kid from AA a week before the trade deadline were considered to be "a catalyst" for this club because it meant they wouldn't have to ride with never-should-be players filling in on a makeshift infield and outfield. There was no protection, players moving around, and just no coverage for injured players for almost 4 months of the season. Looking at what the team looks like on the first of November, I'm not sure if it's much better than it was in late July, or if it just seems that way.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: blue;">They won the Pennant</span> in spite of having a highly inconsistent bullpen.</b> Outside of the closer (who, remember, was never supposed to be the closer and probably should be regular season team MVP for what he did), was there anyone the Mets could rely on? There were some injuries early in the season that set the path, along with the Mejia suspension, but look at who they're riding now and remember that these guys weren't Mets for most of the season. And one of them, the 8th inning guy (who remember got skipped over in favor of Familia so many times recently), was one of the goats in the game that turned the World Series. I don't even remember who was in the bullpen (which I think was considered a strength early on, but that's such a long time ago) for most of the season besides Familia.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">They won the Pennant</span> in spite of big injuries.</b> I don't mean Murphy being on the DL for a couple of weeks. A young, highly regarded starting pitcher, a returning (and maybe even proven) lefty reliever both went down in the same week in Spring Training for Tommy John surgery. The veteran leader in the lineup and on the field was out for most of the season for, basically, a new chronic and debilitating ailment. Other injuries along the way, including an early-season ultimately season-ending injury for a new lefty reliever, arm issues for the former Gold Glove CF, the catcher going down twice during the season. I get that every team has injuries, and that usually makes every Pennant winner look even more impressive because there are a lot of teams who faced similar (in at least some cases) issues that didn't win the Pennant.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: blue;">It's truly amazin'</span></b> that they won the NL Pennant in spite of all of these things. This was a team that had 3 hot stretches - a homestand in April, the month of August, and about 2 weeks of October, where it might be fair to say they had good matchups in most of theses games - and basically played like a .500 team for the rest of the season. They had so many problems that they had no business winning 90 games, the division, and the NL Pennant. But somehow, they did. They have the starting pitching to give them 100 wins. Maybe even more. And knowing all of their faults, I predicted 81 wins based on what I saw in Spring Training (and that was with Wheeler and Edgin as factors).<br />
<br />
<br />
Leave a comment or drop me a line at <u>DyHrdMET [at] gmail [dot] com</u>. Your comments will fall into a moderation queue. <br />
"Like" <a href="http://www.facebook.com/RememberingShea">RememberingShea</a> on Facebook (the function formerly known as "Becoming a Fan"). <br />
Become a <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/rememberingshea/">Networked Blog</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-30149970336178148852015-11-01T00:27:00.000-04:002015-11-01T00:27:21.912-04:00A Tough SeriesRight now I'm a bit numb. A few minutes ago, the Mets blew an 8th inning lead in a game they had lead throughout that would have tied the World Series at 2 games apiece. Now, they're down 3-1 in the series and facing elimination at home in Game 5 tomorrow night. I'm going tomorrow night.<br />
<br />
The Mets also blew Game 1 in the 9th inning and again in the 14th inning. They had that one in their grasp. Familia gave up a tying HR in the 9th, and Wright committed an error in the 14th leading to hits and the winning run for the Royals. They had at least a split in KC in their grasp and they blew it. The ending of that game, from the 9th inning on, goes on the list of Mets playoff failures.<br />
<br />
Tonight, another bad loss on this list. Maybe this is enough to be a Greek tragedy. They held just enough of a lead until Terry Collins (somehow candidate for manager of the year) decided to go with his unreliable 8th inning guy for the 8th inning, and after back-to-back 1 out walks, decided it was time to pull him. Familia again (who should be the team MVP, and Game 1 was his first blown save since the turnaround started July 30) blows the save, this time, with an error by Murphy at 2B and then another hit through Murphy opens the door for a 3 run inning before Familia got a double play ball (to Murphy) to get out of the inning.<br />
<br />
Now, there were other reasons why the Mets ultimate (and now expected) loss in this World Series is considered a failure. They had trouble hitting all season, and a better offense would have bailed them out in each of these cases. But it didn't. That's not quite the point of this post.<br />
<br />
What scares me is that these 2 blown games absolutely have the potential of fitting into a franchise pattern that, in 2009, I called "A pattern of bad behavior" (revisited <a href="http://rememberingshea.blogspot.com/2009/12/opinion-revisited-pattern-of-bad.html">here</a> after the 2009 season had ended. Basically to summarize, there were Mets teams in the playoffs, they failed on the playoffs, one or two moments in that final series was responsible for not only not winning the World Series that year, but having the franchise fall down and not be able to sustain the level of success that got them there. There was one exception to that, and that was 1999, because the team returned and moved upward in 2000. They just weren't the better team in 1999, and there wasn't a chance that they had and blew. It didn't hurt them then, and they did better the following year.<br />
<br />
So the question, which probably can't be answered until at least next summer or September, is, where does the 2015 Mets fit in to this pattern? <br />
Do they fit into this pattern, and the 2015 World Series becomes the chance that got away, with 2016 and beyond coming up short until most of these guys are long gone? Or do they break this pattern (or at least go against it) by returning next year (Any playoff appearance is still considered successful because in this narrative, they would basically fall apart because of these blown chances)?<br />
<br />
<br />
Leave a comment or drop me a line at <u>DyHrdMET [at] gmail [dot] com</u>. Your comments will fall into a moderation queue. <br />
"Like" <a href="http://www.facebook.com/RememberingShea">RememberingShea</a> on Facebook (the function formerly known as "Becoming a Fan"). <br />
Become a <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/rememberingshea/">Networked Blog</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-79862153980427792402015-10-22T20:57:00.002-04:002015-10-22T20:57:28.783-04:00The Mets Win the Pennant<span style="font-weight: bolder; color: orange;">Holy shit!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LMfAKjOQCMk/VimFXsjZg0I/AAAAAAAAMs0/XIxjMrcfRjA/s1600/11227575_10156215170270078_5132893708648135365_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LMfAKjOQCMk/VimFXsjZg0I/AAAAAAAAMs0/XIxjMrcfRjA/s320/11227575_10156215170270078_5132893708648135365_n.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I'll have more to say after the season ultimately ends. Now isn't the time to reflect on the season and that was my only thought on the NLCS.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Leave a comment or drop me a line at <u>DyHrdMET [at] gmail [dot] com</u>. Your comments will fall into a moderation queue. <br />
"Like" <a href="http://www.facebook.com/RememberingShea">RememberingShea</a> on Facebook (the function formerly known as "Becoming a Fan"). <br />
Become a <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/rememberingshea/">Networked Blog</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-74901577654142963282015-10-09T12:11:00.000-04:002015-10-09T12:11:00.878-04:00Playoff PreviewFirst ever Mets playoff preview for Remembering Shea! It's a milestone day indeed.<br />
<br />
Mets-Dodgers in the NLDS, best of 5, with the Dodgers getting home field advantage for the series.<br />
<br />
Here's my prediction. They split the 2 games at Dodger Stadium in two pitching duels for the ages. Each game is ultimately won by a pitcher making a mistake at the wrong time. The Mets take the series at home in 4 games because their starting pitching is deeper (though the game 1 starters could come back in game 4 on short rest if needed). Obviously any new injuries would turn the table, Matz will be okay, and the Mets are able to overcome the Uribe injury in this round.<br />
<br />
Citi Field will be rocking on Monday and Tuesday nights.<br />
<br />
But I wouldn't lay money down on this. Just look at how many no decisions the young Mets starters had this season. Anything can happen in a 5 game series. But my non-monetary prediction is <b>Mets in 4</b>.<br />
<br />
<br />
Leave a comment or drop me a line at <u>DyHrdMET [at] gmail [dot] com</u>. Your comments will fall into a moderation queue. <br />
"Like" <a href="http://www.facebook.com/RememberingShea">RememberingShea</a> on Facebook (the function formerly known as "Becoming a Fan"). <br />
Become a <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/rememberingshea/">Networked Blog</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-36115922082134713312015-09-01T10:57:00.003-04:002015-09-01T10:57:46.603-04:00Welcome Back to Meaningful September BaseballSome of us were around in the very beginning, watching Casey Stengel's Amazin' Mets lose 120 games and 7 consecutive losing seasons.<br />
<br />
Some of us didn't come around until the Miracle happened in 1969.<br />
<br />
Some grew up only knowing the 1973 Mets team among successful Mets teams.<br />
<br />
A whole new generation came up with the rising promise of 1984 and 1985.<br />
<br />
Some only came up for the Ultimate Reward of 1986.<br />
<br />
I only remember how that post-season ended, and grew up with the aftermath.<br />
<br />
Some remember 1988 but not 1986.<br />
<br />
The next generation didn't experience a Mets playoff run until 1999 or maybe not until 2000.<br />
<br />
Another generation got their first taste of success in 2006.<br />
<br />
Some might only know the failures of 2007 and 2008.<br />
<br />
This youngest generation of Mets fans doesn't even know that.<br />
<br />
Whichever group you're in, <b><span style="color: #e69138;">enjoy the return to meaningful September baseball</span></b> for the New York Mets!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Leave a comment or drop me a line at <u>DyHrdMET [at] gmail [dot] com</u>. Your comments will fall into a moderation queue. <br />
"Like" <a href="http://www.facebook.com/RememberingShea">RememberingShea</a> on Facebook (the function formerly known as "Becoming a Fan"). <br />
Become a <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/rememberingshea/">Networked Blog</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326729200949321474.post-44810558029259329162015-08-02T21:15:00.000-04:002015-08-02T21:16:57.329-04:00It's the little thingsIt's the little things that count. Last night (Saturday night) I was at Citi Field. It was a big game, with lots of subtext. Enough that it was a sellout and near record crowd (a few people shy of 43,000). Citi Field has been around nearly 7 full seasons and there just haven't been many big games or even large crowds. But last night, there was an energy that I noticed (and several other people also felt) for the first time since Shea Stadium. Having 43,000 people should bring about an energy unlike what you'd see at a typical mid-week school night game. I think it was more than that.<br />
<br />
On a personal level, last night was a little different from many other games I've attended at Citi Field. I usually go, and whether it's planned or not, I wind up running in to or meeting up with friends, and I don't always sit in my seat for the entire game. That's just how it's been at Social Citi Field. Kind of like watching a baseball game with Attention Deficit Disorder, where you can't simply focus on the game. Citi Field was built for that. It never used to be that way at Shea. At Shea, I would just sit in my seat and watch the game, keeping score along the way. That's what Shea was built for. Last night, despite 43,000 other Mets fans in the building (actually, quite a few Nationals fans were there), I couldn't find any friends to either go with or meet up with, but I still wanted to go because it was such a big game. So I went by myself, sat in my seat, and kept score. I attend about 10 games a year and get to do that maybe twice each season. I did that at almost every game I attended at Shea Stadium as well as at other ballparks. It's something I miss doing (and it actually forces you to watch the game, even from your seat). Since I don't get to do it often, I feel somewhat nostalgic of the old days at Shea when I do get to keep score at a ballgame.<br />
<br />
The energy generated by spontaneous and loud "Let's Go Mets" chants also makes me feel nostalgic from the good old days at Shea. You hear it a bit at Citi Field, but nothing with the energy that I felt last night. It felt good to hear and take part in.<br />
<br />
And there was a little scoreboard thing that I always liked at Shea which seemed to have been abandoned at Citi Field. They would take the scene from the movie "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074958/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Network</a>" where <a href="http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0013121/?ref_=tt_cl_t3">Howard Beale</a> urged his TV viewers "I want you to go to the window, open it, stick your head out and yell:" with the last part replaced by the "Let's Go Mets" chant. I don't know when it started at Shea, but it feels like it was there for a long time. This is the scene from "Network" to help job your memory. Greg Prince <a href="http://www.faithandfearinflushing.com/2015/02/10/the-met-prophet-of-the-airwaves/">referenced it earlier this year</a> in a different context (and he writes better than I).<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dib2-HBsF08" width="459"></iframe><br />
Anyway, the Mets brought it back last night...sort of. Branden, of Citi Field in-game hosting and Mets game promotions fame, tried to recreate it. He didn't do well, but I'll say that it's the thought that counts. It felt like Shea. They need to get the old video back.<br />
<br />
These little things helped make Citi Field feel <b>a lot</b> like Shea last night. I could feel it. Not any single game, but just a flood of memories from various points, both in the winning days (there weren't many in my 22 years there) and all the others.<br />
<br />
Do you feel it too?<br />
<br />
<br />
Leave a comment or drop me a line at <u>DyHrdMET [at] gmail [dot] com</u>. Your comments will fall into a moderation queue. <br />
"Like" <a href="http://www.facebook.com/RememberingShea">RememberingShea</a> on Facebook (the function formerly known as "Becoming a Fan"). <br />
Become a <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/rememberingshea/">Networked Blog</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0