13
2011
Goodbye To Our Dear Friend Adam
An article by 
Late last night I learned that one of our own, Adam Baker, passed away at the age of 35 due to complications after kidney transplant surgery.
The news hit me like a ton of bricks and I’m still finding it hard to come to grips with his loss. Adam was a good friend and one of the most passionate Mets fans I knew, but it was just a small part of who he was and his many special qualities and gifts.
I go back with Adam all the way to 2005 when we became friends on Myspace. He was an easy person to like and love because of his zest for life and his overflowing optimism about everything from the Mets to the state of the world. When you needed some cheering up, nobody could do that better than Adam. He had a real genuineness about him and really loved people, all people.
Adam began writing for Mets Merized Online soon after the 2006 season when we took on a multi-author format and went from a Myspace blog to an online fansite. He was one of the original magnificent seven at MMO that saw this site grow into the giant it is today.
He was the perfect compliment to me and the other five writers at the time. For every one of our negative and pessimistic posts during the collapses in 2007 and 2008, Adam would come back the next day and counter it with a fantastic dose of optimism that only he could do. He always looked on the bright side of everything both with the Mets and with real life too.
There was more to our relationship than our passion for the Mets. We both dealt with serious kidney diseases and we literally shared many days or nights cheering each other up via email, his favorite way to correspond. I remember one night in particular back in 2008, when coincidentally we both found ourselves in the MMO Chat Room at 3:00 AM in the morning. We were both facing surgeries that week and were both dealing with pain and anxiety. For two straight hours we had the most wonderful conversation about the Mets and about Star Wars and about Chicken Parmesan (his favorite food), but mostly about his faith. Never once did he feel sorry for himself or complain of the pain which I knew was intense because his condition was even more advanced than my own. Instead Adam gave me encouragement and hope and told me not to fear because I would come out of my surgery just fine. He was like a guardian angel of sorts.
Adam championed many great causes in his life, and for those of you that enjoyed reading his posts you may remember how he often referred to the American Cancer Society and Fighting Domestic Violence in some of his posts. He blogged from Braves Country or Enemy Territory, that’s how he used to refer to his home in Alabama.
He was quite a funny guy too and had an amazing sense of humor and a gift for making people laugh. Those of you fortunate enough to be on his friends email list will know exactly what I’m talking about.
The very last comment he left on this site was for one of my posts three weeks ago. In usual Adam Baker style, he called the NY Post out for their gloomy outlook on the Mets, and their prediction of a Yankees vs Phillies World Series.
The NY Post is a rag. I think the consensus is the Phillies are can’t miss Series Champs. Hopefully that means they’ll fall apart by June.The Braves can’t be counted out here. I like that all of this attention isn’t on the Mets players. No verbal wars with Jimmy Rollins is a good thing. Hopefully the Mets can surprise some people.
As usual, Adam preached his never-ending brand of optimism which is why he was so beloved on this site.
I don’t know what else to say. I find my words are simply inadequate and not enough to describe the giant of a man Adam was. He was a community leader at home and very active in his church. He loved children and life itself and would take on any challenge cast his way and usually come out on top. He had so much fight in him.
I’m going to miss my friend.
I’m going to miss his advice and his encouragement and all the different ways he could turn a bad day into a good one. I know he’s in a better place now and that he’s happy and with his loved ones that passed on before him. I’m certain that the first thing he did when he got to heaven was to seek out Tug McGraw and Gil Hodges and ask them for their autographs. I’m sure they in turn asked for his.
The best way to remember Adam is to do something special for someone today – go out and make someone smile.
Rest in peace my dear friend.
* * * * * * *
Satish also wanted me to add the following to this post. If any other former or current MMO bloggers who would like to add something just email me and I will do the rest.
I was in complete shock when I heard about Adam’s passing. Adam was the one who inspired me to write in 2008 for the first time. He encouraged me for years, always found the time to read what I had to write, and looked over me.
He became a father figure to me who understood everything and was there for me to provide positivity no matter what the situation.
I’m still at a loss for words – it hurts when your mentor passes. His sense of humor was amazing and I think we all could have learned a little from him. What keeps me from falling into deep sadness is that I know Adam wouldn’t have wanted us to be sad. He would’ve wanted us to cherish the time we had with him the way he cherished all of his friends.
He was a great friend, a great writer, and a great human being. May his soul rest in peace as he smiles down from the brightest part of heaven… I feel, out of respect to him, I will never stop being a Mets blogger.
Satish
Here are some links for those of you wishing to learn more about Adam.
A Few Of My Favorite Posts From Adam:
Still Runnin’ Against The Wind…
I Can’t Wait To Bite Into A $6 Dollar Hot Dog Again
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like April…
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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OMG My deepest condolences to Adam’s family & friends.
Sounds like he was very lucky to have friends like you guys. I wish him and you all the best.
God Bless – rip
My condolences on the loss of your friend Adam, Joe D. It’s true, the good die young.
RIP Adam. The chatroom is not the same without you.
I’ve very sorry to hear about the loss of your good friend and colleague here at MMO.
Condolences to his family, and all his Met friends.
I want to send my condolences to the family of Adam Baker. Hope you stay strong Joe!
[...] Mets Merized Online Posted under Jason Bay and tagged with Adam, Dear, Friend, Goodbye Comments (0) [...]
Wow…this news really blew me away. He seemed like a very cool cat that I had the pleasure of having a conversation with once on myspace after one of his pieces about the Phils a few years ago. I wanna dig it up & find it now. My thoughts & prayers are with Adam’s family.
RIP Adam
Sorry to hear this, my condolences to Adam’s family
I never knew Adam, but judging by his obituary, I missed a wonderful person.
Condolences to his family and friends.
Adam – Rest In Peace.
It really saddens me to hear this. Adam was a true gem. I remember having conversations with Adam on here and on myspace when I was writing for MMO. He was a great guy, and we’re all at a loss without him.
RIP Adam.
Rest in peace Adam. Condolences to his family and friends.
My thoughts and prayers are with the Baker family. He will truly be missed. RIP Adam.
R.I.P. Adam.
My sympathies goes out to Adam’s family & friends.
Very saddened to hear of this. He was a very entertaining writer and by all accounts an even better person. We will be mentioning the fund on our radio show tonight.
RIP
That is fantastic E.J. thank you so much. For those of you don’t know, E.J. runs The Happy Recap and you can tune in every Sunday at 6:00 PM to listen his fine radio show about the Mets.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thehappyrecap
Very well written, Joe.
When I first started blogging on MMO almost 3 yars ago, Adam was one of the 1st people to send me a friend request on Myspace. He also gave me the very first comment on any blog ever: He said:
Very well researched and written. I hope that this Mets team exhibits that fire in the belly their 1973 predecessors did…
THIS was Adam. Upbeat, optimistic and always cheering up those around him, even when things looked bleak for himself. How someone who had such health issues for so long could always be happy and upbeat is amazing to me. He always remained strong to his faith.
We also had many conversations–not only about the Mets but also music, politics and yes, we shared many fart jokes with each other. No, we didnt always agree, but we respected each other’s difference of opinion.
He was–and still is–an inspiration.
It’s not the amount of years you live but the amount of life in those years.
As I said yesterday, heroes dont always wear baseball jerseys.
Rest in peace, my friend.
A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.
Jackie Robinson
I was saddened to hear about Adam’s passing. He was very special and I enjoyed his writing.
Joe, I didn’t know Adam at all and don’t even know if I read his posts much, but your touching tribute made him real for me. It’s sounds like you had a wonderful friendship, with such a tough thing to deal with in common. That you both could have dealt with your problems and yet still have so much energy for this website is a tribute to both of you. Keep on keeping on, big guy.
My prayers and heart go out to Adam’s family, his friends and to you Joe.
Maybe, just maybe, his zest for life during his short stay made his life fullfilling and complete.
My prayers go out to Adam’s family and to you JoeD.
I am currently on my 2nd kidney transplant, 10/2007 and have been doing good since.
Having been thru this and almost dying in 1991 from a bad reaction during my 1st transplant I know that sometimes the body accepts the new organ and sometimes it doesn’t, it is a challenge but made easier with family and friends and faith.
What a beautiful tribute to a wonderful friend. I am proud to say that I knew Adam, aka AddyBama aka Big Daddy Baker
from as far back to the days of Myspace also through MMO and Facebook and Email. Its amazing how someone can touch your life so much through the internet. But he did touch my life and always, ALWAYS made me smile.
I believe my last interaction with him was on Valentines when he sent me a jibjab card of me and my beloved Carlos Beltran:
That was our Adam, he always looked for a special way to make his loved ones smile. Now he’s home, with our Father in heaven. He is so happy and peaceful and painfree now.
God bless you Adam, I pray we meet again one day. Thank you for the many smiles throughout the years. And thank you for encouraging and inspiring my best friend Joe during his troubled times and sleepless nights. We will never ever forget you.
Joe, I hope we did him proud with my mention at the top of the hour.
R.I.P. Adam. You always gave us reason to smile whenever things looked bleak. It was because of people like you that made me proud to be a Mets fan. You will never be forgotten. It would be impossible to…
My condolences to Adam’s family. The fact that we can meet here and recount conversations we’ve had with him, his positive attitude, and the work that he did is a wonderful thing, because of this a part of him lives on forever.
As they say only the good die young…
Which is why I intend to stay a Sc#mbag and live forever!
RIP Adam!
RIP Adam. You obviously touched a lot of lives and that says a lot about you.
My deepest sympathy to his family and friends. You will be missed…
My condolences to Adam’s family and friends. Rest in Peace, you clearly will not be forgotten.
Adam was one of the reasons for the success of this site. Unfair that he be taken from us.
Pops
How sad!
He will be missed. Way too young.
R.I.P Adam. Thoughts and prayers go out to all his friends and family. Sounds like I missed out on knowing a great guy.
YNWA (You’ll Never Walk Alone)
My condolences to the family. May God comfort their souls and give them strenght through all of this. See you later, friend!
I knew and loved Adam, and almost married him. We became best friends. It was very hard to remain friends after breaking up, we loved each other so much. It had not been that long. Anyway, he sure did love his Mets. There was no need for Adam to have to do much to his apartment once he put up his Mets stuff–that took up almost every bit of space he had! He did have family/friend pictures and a few crosses and a plaque his church gave him, in addition to some church softball stuff. He loved church softball. But the Mets were everywhere! And he showed me this website along with some of his writings. It was a shock to everyone about his death, as his kidney was working great–it wasn’t the problem. But as many people have noted, he was very serious about his faith and Jesus was very important in his life. Our only comfort is that we will see him again one day! And though he might’ve joked about Alabama, don’t let it fool you–he said he planned to stay in the small town where he was and didn’t want to go back to the NY winters again. He really made some great friends here and loved his church and the activities he did. I think that though he obviously loved his home state, he really made a home for himself here and I’m glad he was able to be buried here, in his Mets jersey. I know he would have loved that. It is great to read this about him here, knowing how much the people here loved him too. I pray you all will be comforted as well during this time. God bless you all.
1st let me restate my deepest condolences. I don’t recall ever having the privilege to meet or chat with Adam but reading all the kind words said about him these past days I regret not ever being able to get the chance to. He was well liked and greatly missed by all that had the chance to know him.
Again my condolences.