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2013
It Was A Banner Year In 2012 For MMO!
An article by 
Wow, has it really been another year? I wanted to take this first day of 2013 to give you a little update on the year that was and also offer up some thanks and appreciation for what was an incredible 2012 for MetsMerizedOnline.com
Despite being in the throes of the offseason, MMO has experienced exponential growth and we closed out the year with a bang. While we’ve had several days in the last three years where we’ve experienced over 13,000 unique readers for one day (our all time record is 15,673 unique readers in one day), December was the first time we “averaged” over 13,000 readers daily for an entire month!
The growth did not go unnoticed, prompting a hearty congratulations from FOX Sports. We’ve previously had some rough times on MMO over the years, and I even reached out to our readers for financial help when we finally outgrew shared hosting and needed our own dedicated servers at a substantial cost in addition to new maintenance fees that were now tripled.
I’m happy to say that the monthly revenue now generated by the site has enabled us to easily pay all of our operating costs and also give some back to you with more contests and giveaways than we’ve ever had before. In 2012, MMO gave away well over $1,500 in tickets, Mets merchandise, and Mets memorabilia to our wonderful readers.
We’ve even tried some new things like publishing our first MMO Mets Annual for 2012, and trying our hand with our own Metsmerized Radio Show. We also have some exciting new projects in store for 2013 that I can’t wait to share with you in the next few weeks!
Metsmerized has also experienced great growth in terms of followers on Social Media. Last weeks Twitter report had us at 4,463 for the year, and this week we’ve already surpassed their prediction with 4,501 Followers as of this New Year’s morning. Follow us on Twitter @Metsmerized.
Our community has also seen a renaissance in terms of growth, with over 200 new IP Addresses leaving a comment for the first time ever on MMO in the last sixty days. Overall, we just missed 100,000 comments for the year. I’m talking real comments from passionate Met fans and this number isn’t inflated by game threads. On average, we had out finest year in 2012 averaging well over 250 comments a day, and reflecting a rich and vibrant Mets community. Thank you for being such a big part of this amazing Mets fan site created just for you.
In 2012, we had 37 posts that were submitted by you, our readers! Our MMO Fan Shots have been one of my favorite features on the site. It tells me how engaged and passionate our readers are. I want to thank Rebecca, Mike, Pete, Donal, Rob, Max, Noah, Eileen, Tiffany, and all the many others whose names I’m forgetting for being a significant part of the MMO family and I look forward to even more contributions from our ever-growing community. Thanks so much to all of you!
A big, big thank you to all the Mets players, both major leaguers and minor leaguers, who took the time to talk to us this year and give us over 50 different interviews in 2012. R.A. Dickey gets a big shout-out for interviewing with us three times including an exclusive at the MLB Fan Cave. Thanks also to Wally Backman, Mike Piazza, John Franco, Ike Davis, Tim Byrdak, Josh Thole, Mike Nickeas, Scott Hairston, Darin Gorski, Rob Carson, Josh Edgin, Matt Harvey, Wilmer Flores, Jon Niese, Zack Wheeler, Hansel Robles (pictured wearing his “Get Metsmerized” button), Kevin Plawecki, Gavin Cecchini (twice), Brandon Nimmo (three times), Phil Evans, Michael Fulmer, Steven Matz, Danny Muno, Also special thanks to Adam Rubin, Mark Simon, Ken Davidoff, Mike Puma, Ken Rosenthal, Mrs. Joan Hodges, and John Sickels.
Thanks to the entire gang at the New York Mets Media Relations department led by VP Jay Horwitz and his amazin’ team of Shannon, Danielle and Ethan.
I save the last of my gratitude and praise for our MMO writers. We had posts from 41 different writers on MMO in 2012, yet another new high for us. Our writers are so rich in diversity and their varied opinions and it only adds to the balance we strive to bring you on MMO. From the timely news and reports from Craig and HoJo, to the always original and unique posts from longtime Metsmerizers Ed Leyro, The Coop, Joe Spector, Elliot Teichman, Gregg Hopps, Barry Duchan, Sean Kenny, Stephen Hanks, Doug Branch, Dave (Retire 31), Jessep, Jim Mancari, Satish Ram, XtreemIcon, Ben Yoel, Tyler Moore, Brandon Butler, and Rob Silverman.
Our new additions in 2012 struck an immediate chord with our readers and they quickly established their own followings on MMO and of course I’m talking about Rob Patterson, Mitch Petanick, Connor O’Brien, Tim Burns, Nick Campione (NYMets945), Michael Barrett, Tyler Moore, Drew Staley (72MetsFan), Clare Lafferty, Fonzie13, Matt Balasis, and let me not forget the return of Jessica DeMattia.
Special thanks also to our editors Dan Valis, Clayton Collier and John Delcos who is also our resident BBWAA member. I can’t even count the many times they’ve had to step in and cover for me while dealing with some health issues, and in my absence the site never skipped a beat. Thank you, guys!
On behalf of everyone of us at Mets Merized Online, I want to wish all of you a very Happy New Year in 2013, and thank you for continuing to make MMO the number one independent Mets fan site on the web!
Lets Go Mets!
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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Its a good blog. Keeps a simple layout and offers a wide variety of writing perspectives. Some pro-management, others not.
I’m one of those new readers you mention. I wish I had ventured past MB years sooner than I did. I love this site!
Good luck in 2013, I really enjoy the different opinions on this site.
Lets Go MMO! Lets Go Mets!
My 1st MMO comment of 2013. I hope for the continued success of MMO. Also I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable New Year’s Eve. Happy 2013 MMO and it’s community.
Metsblog is the most recognized, but they have become incredibly mundane. There is next to no analysis on the site at all. Sorry, but I don’t click on a site to see pictures from 1973 Willie Mays or Piazza from 2000.
Thanks Joe for all you and your staff do.
Lets Go Mets!
God Bless, Happy New Year
I am very happy to be a part of the MMO community. Happy New Year everyone!
Congrats to MMO. Been around here for awhile and I keep coming back b/c of the diversity of the content. MMO has some of the best and unique articles on the Mets, as well as opinion pieces that give equal time to both sides of a debate. Keep up the great work.
(Hey, I recognize that first pic
)
Thanks for putting together a very good site for Mets fans to discuss, argue and vent.
Happy New Year to all.
Thanks Joe. A Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year to all.
This year MMO has become my number one Met blog read since Metsblog
sold their soul to the corporate man.
Thanks for keeping real !!
You do a tremendous job. Like Hawk said, thanks for keeping it real!
Very happy to have found this controversial site recently.
Interesting opinions and lots of free spirited discussion.
It’s enjoyable to read when everyone stays on point, even when you disagree with someone else.
Enjoy the site and interactions, keep up the good work, happy new year to all, and go Mets
Keep up the good work joe.This is the first site I go to everyday.LETS GO METS> LETS GO MMO.
Continued success Joe D. Congrats to you and the rest of the writers at MMO. Not only is this the BEST of the Mets information blogs it’s also the most diverse. No need to purchase NY papers or visit multiple sites for Mets info. One stop shopping all at MMO… Good Luck in 2013 !
The first and last fan site I ever visited and needed. Thanks so much for everything you’ve done for us Mets fans, Joe D.
Still reading after all these years, and still the best site for a broad base of opinions. May I also state the obvious and that you had your best month ever while you know who hasn’t been around?
Spent the holidays in New York, nothing like Christmas in the city.
Got to see some family I hadn’t seen in months and every Met fan in my extensive family knows and reads this site and we all talked about some of the different regular people who comment here, our favorites and not so favorite. You really have something special here. All the best in 2013 to the writers and those who comment here who are just as enjoyable and fun to read.
MMO is the best! Happy New Year to all Mets fans!
Joe D,
A happy and healthy 2013 to you, yours, and your contributors.
It’s throes not throws, throes of the offseason.
Congratulations MMO.
I enjoy the banter between fans here and their passionate love for Mets and all things Mets.
Though it gets childish at times, there is always room for genuine discussion.
Thanks again, I am one of those that one a prize from MMO and am very thankful for the addition to my Mets library.
Congrats Joe D and all your staff.
Hoping for better health for you in 2013.
Lets Go Mets!
Hi Joe D.,
It’s not YOU who should be thanking US, it’s US who should be thanking YOU! This has become more than just a forum for fans to profess their views on the team. I believe MMO, like other web sites, is monitored somewhat by the Mets and used for marketing research so to get a pulse of what fans might be feeling regarding the not so obvious factors that might be hitting them in the pocketbook – the reasons beyond the team’s won and loss record as to why some fans find the ticket prices worthy of the enjoyment they get and want to come back and why others don’t due to economic factors or other personal reasons.
So we know our voices are heard and that is only because of your own efforts that allow us to do so.
Congratulations on a very successful 2012. Be proud and continued success in 2013.
Glad to have met you at a B-Mets v. New Britain Rock Cats game in Connecticut this past summer. You were right – this is the best blog for Mets fans in the universe!
And by the way, my son and I were persistent that day and we eventually got that Wheeler autograph!
Joe, so much of this blog’s success is directly attributable to you. You do an awesome job running the blog!! MMO has become my go to place for Mets news. Congrats on a job well done.