Comments on: Mets Memories – Ron Swoboda

By: Petey Pete

Petey Pete — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:27:15 +0000

I had never even heard of an oblique, or a hamstring back in 1969. I remember Buddy Harrelson missing extended time when he was fulfilling a military commitment, and Al Weis filled in at short, but the injuries were so much less frequent back then. I’m sure all the weightlifting today has a lot to do with it. The players today devote too much time to developing strength and muscle, and not enough time on stretching and flexibility, which is just as important if not more so.

By: Joe D

Joe D — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:38:36 +0000

Hey Barry, I went ahead and edited that part so that it is updated. Still an awesome read!

By: t agee

t agee — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:26:52 +0000

Really great articles Barry. I started watching the Mets in 1968 and you fill in a lot of the blanks for me.

One thing I’ll always remember about the Mets is their use of platoons back in ’69. Rocky and Shamsky in RF, Boswell/Weiss at 2B, Krane and Clendennon after the trade, Charles and Garrett at 3B. For a team with as little margin of error as the Mets had this really made a difference and with the players all being so young and rested really made a difference down the stretch with the Cubs who played their older vets 9 innings a game 7 days a week.

Thanks Barry, great read.

By: Barry Duchan

Barry Duchan — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:07:02 +0000

Richie,

This is a repost of an article I wrote a few years back, as are all my recent posts on this site. That’s why the “as of today” parts seem wrong sometimes. Thanks for reading !

By: stick

stick — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:58:22 +0000

It’s a rerun of posts form a few years back. Looks like running without updates.

By: Mets Memories – Ron Swoboda | All New York Mets

Mets Memories – Ron Swoboda | All New York Mets — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:23:34 +0000

[...] An article by Barry Duchan 3 Comments [...]

By: Richie

Richie — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:07:01 +0000

First, the post is great — I was jus 14 in 1969 and in the mid-60′s as I was becoming a Mets fan, Swoboda was my favorite.

One factual error however — “… with the Mets’ AAA club now relocated in New Orleans, Swoboda who serves as color commentator for Zephyrs games resumes his association with the Mets and that’s nice to hear ….”

The Mets moved their AAA from New Orleans to o Buffalo before the 2009 season …. New Orleans is now the AAA affiliate of the Miami Marlins.

By: GameGeezer

GameGeezer — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:43:55 +0000

I actually was at the game where Swoboda hit his first home run. April 14 1965 my dad took me and got box seats behind home plate just by walking up to the ticket booth and slipping the guy a few bucks (Ah those were the days!). It was against the Houston Astros and Warren Spahn started for us and went 8 innings at the ripe age of 45! The Mets were behind 3-2 and Swoboda pinch hit for him in the ninth and hit a homerun to tie the game. The Mets eventually lost 4-3 in the 11th but what a thrill. I actually got to see the winningest lefthander in ML history pitch one of his last good games and I got to see future Met history maker hit his first homer.! Thanks pop I’ll always remember those days and you!

By: srt

srt — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:33:09 +0000

I was too young to remember when Swoboda came up but I certainly remember his contributions in the ’69 series, especially that catch. He knew his defensive talents left a little to be desired and he said he worked hard to make up for some of that.

I saw an interview a year or two ago with him where he commented he still not sure how he came up with that ball but he was going after it ’cause he thought he had a good chance. Watching it, I held my breath thinking ‘uh, oh’. But dang if he didn’t prove me wrong.