Mar
12
2013

We Miss You, Adam

An article by Satish Ram

There has been a lot of talk about heroes around here lately… and I think it is time I told a story about a hero of my own. Ever come across somebody in your life that you just knew was impossible to dislike? Their inner core, nay, their soul was glowing with such warmth that you knew they could put a smile on your face no matter how bad your day was? Yeah…that was Adam.

Adam Baker, an incredible man and once writer for MMO, passed away about two years ago now. Joe D. and myself found out around March 11th that he had passed away, a little over a week after the tragic event, and the news hit us hard. I still remember the whole time period vividly and I remember Joe’s emotional post on the subject. adam baker

I tried to stay strong on the subject… I really did, but a few days later in school, I was sitting alone re-reading that same post by Joe when I burst into tears. My mentor, a man I had cherished as a father figure and dear friend, was gone. I never even had a chance to say goodbye. It just was not fair. But Adam, a source of eternal positive feelings, would not have wanted me to be so sad.

It was against everything he believed in. He was able to make so many people happy and quite frequently as well – it did not even seem like he had to try…it all came natural to him. His great sense of humor always had me chuckling at something, as he was frequently calling me a mack daddy or making some fart joke. He also had a way of reassuring me that everything would always work out…there are often days where I could still use that.

From a man who had enough reason to be a sad and bitter creature, it was inspiring to me to see that he not only generated optimism out of nowhere – but spread it to those around him. He touched many people, and often went out of his way to make special gestures to make them smile. I remember one day specifically, when I was feeling rather sour, and Adam messaged me with a photograph. He had created me as a starting pitcher in his MLB: The Show Game… and to this day, I still have a blurry .JPEG of a starting pitcher with the last name “RAM” on the back.

Speaking of jerseys, Big Daddy Baker was buried in a Mets jersey… the man was a Mets fan all his life and he took it to heaven with him. Heroes do not always wear baseball jerseys, but this one did. In fact, the only reason I write here on MMO today was his encouragement. He pushed me to reach out to Joe D., seeing something in me that I still to this day fail to see in myself…and it eventually led to my placement as a contributing writer on the site.

When he first passed away, I really could not find a way to explain what I felt. Yet when it all hit me, I could have written a book on not only how much it affected me…but how thankful I was. I was lucky to have such a wonderful human being in my life – and even luckier that he effectively took me under his wing and guided me to success. He read every single one of my early posts and fed me encouragement to keep going… I just hope he would have been proud of me today.

Adam, I miss you man… I really do. You gave me so much happiness, introduced me to Scrubs (which brought me more happiness, mind you), and 10,000 words would not be enough for me to express my gratitude for everything. I need some of your positive ideas around here to give me a reason to spread hope again. You kept me optimistic and you found things to believe in with the Mets that made everything seem better. The 2013 season approaches quickly, and I had, for a split second, wondered how I felt about the whole ordeal.

But it did not take me long to remember you, old friend. So I will watch – and I will write too. Not only do I owe you that much, but…it’s baseball season. How could I hate baseball? We could have lost every game and you and I would have still found a reason to watch, right?

People like you make me proud to be a Mets fan – you were the gold standard. As you rest peacefully, I hope they gave you something better than SNY in heaven…because I know you’d still be looking for a way to watch the Mets. With misty eyes, I know that I am by far not the only one who remembers you – and remembers you so fondly. So on this day, Adam Baker, I thank you once again because if I know you, you’re still looking out for me..

A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives…so by my count man, you were the most important person in the world. I miss you today, I missed you yesterday, and I will miss you every day going forward…and not as Perseus or anything like that – as Satish Ram, the once 14-year old boy that you inspired so long ago.

About the Author: Satish Ram

I am a Senior Writer and Editor here at MetsMerized - where I specialize in Minor League coverage. I have been on the staff since 2007 and I am currently in my third semester of college in New York City. You can find me at www.facebook.com/SatishRam or @SilverHeatMMO. Feel free to message me - I love talking about the Mets or baseball overall with anybody.

7 Comments + Add Comment

srt March 12, 2013 at 10:43 am

I didn’t know Adam but from the very well written article here about him as a man, a friend and a die hard Met fan, all I can think is ‘Only the good die young’.

35…way too young.
Joe D March 12, 2013 at 11:07 am

Thanks for reminding us of Adam’s passing. I cant believe it’s been two years already. I still think of him often. Sometimes when I really want to go postal on someone, I think of Adam and tone it down. After God created Adam he smashed the mold. I’ve never met anyone like Adam before knowing him or since. R.I.P. my good friend.
- Teddy K March 12, 2013 at 11:14 am
  
  Hey, bring up some pieces on the time capsule by him?
  Rest in peace man.
Alex68 March 12, 2013 at 11:11 am

Hey satish, i am sorry about your loss, seemed like a good guy, as SRT said up above, 35 is way too young to die, that is why every day we should all bless the good lord for providing us with another day. Sorry guys for losing what seem to be a great guy… The CORE salute the IMMORTALS.
rob March 12, 2013 at 3:03 pm

Even though I had never met Adam, I felt like I knew him. Our friendship was maintained thru Facebook and originally, Myspace.

When I first started writing for MMO 5 years ago, it was Adam who gave me the very first comment and welcomed me to the staff. In a nutshell, THAT was Adam. Always with a kind word and making those around him feel good.

Adam was definitely one of the bright spots in life and one of the really good ones we meet during this journey called life.

Rest in Peace, my friend
John N March 12, 2013 at 11:03 pm

I was actually just thinking of adam the other day and I saw this, me and adam use to talk all the time when this site first came up in 2006 and on MySpace, such an amazing person I miss talking to him about baseball or whatever was on our mind, miss you adam
METS62FAN March 14, 2013 at 10:17 am

PERSIUS, IF I MAY TRY TO BE SO BOLD AS TO TRY TO BUOY YOUR THOUGHTS OF TOMORROW, LET ME TAKE A SELFISH MOMENT TO SHARE THE THOUGHTS, I JUST EMAILED TO MY PERSONA ENTEROUGE OF MET & YANKEE FANS (aka FAMILY) HERE GOES THE BEST REASONI KNOW FOR OPTIMISM…
___________________________________________________________________________
Sickels’ Features Five Mets In Top 150 Prospects | Mets Merized Online SURELY THIS EXPLAINS WHY I’M SO VERY CONFIDENT THAT SHOULD WE BALK IN 2014, 2015 APPEARS A LOCK FOR CONTENDER STATUS… PATIENCE,PATIENCE IS GOLDEN!

TO THOSE THAT SCOFF AT MY OPTIMISM, LET ME POINT OUT THAT IN ADDITION TO OWNERSHIP’S CLAIM OF MORE LIQUIDITY BEING AVAILABLE FOR PAYROLL WHILE THIS SEASON’S ESTIMATED TEAM PAY OUTLAY IS APPROX 92-93M ESSENTIALLY FLAT FROM ’12 OVER HALF THAT PROJECTED OUTLAY(41.5M) WILL NOT BE REQUIRED TO BE PAID IN 2014 WITH THE SUBTREACTIONS OF SANTANA(31.5M IN `13) & BAY (16M IN ’13) WHEN U TAKE THAT CONSIDERATION INTO PERSPECTIVE WITH A PROPOSED 2015 ROTATION COMPRISED OF HARVEY,WHEELER,NIESE, SYNDERGAARD & GEE GENEROUSLY ESTIMATED TO COST $5M ANNUALLY WITH NIESE @ 3M & THE REMAINING 4 AT A LIKELY MAX OF 500K MINIMUM APIECE AS CONTROLLABLE PLAYER ASSETS W/MLB MINIMUM SALARY PEGGED AT APPROX $480,000 PER NEWEST CBA. THE POTENTIAL FOR IMPROVEMENT WHILE REMAINING TO ALLOCATE BET 90-95M IS ABUNDANTLY CLEAR.
I REST MY CASE FOR OPTIMISM…CAREER ENDING INJURIES(GEN-K) SUSTAINED TO THAT PREDICTED “DREAM” ROTATION? BALLDADASH!, I SAY SMPLY BECAUSE AS IT CERTAINLY IS A POSSIBILITY IT IS FAR REMOVED FROM PROBABILITY & THOSE 5 REPRESENT A TOTAL OF 15 POTENTIAL ROTATIONAL HIGHLY REGARDED PITCHING PROSPECTS DUE READY BY OR BEFORE 2015!
AS FAR AS PRIME AGE IS CONCERNED PERHAPS I NEED TO REMIND DOUBTERS, IF ANY, OF THIS ABOUT THAT PROPOSED 2015 ROTATION:
2015
AGE
HARVEY 6’4″ 225# 26
WHEELER 6’4″ 185# 25
NIESE 6’4″ 215# 29
SYNDERGARD 6’5″ 200# 23
GEE 6’4″ 185# 29

HOW GOOD ARE THEY REALLY? TRY THESE MiLB CAREER STATS:

HARVEY(MLB & MiLB):
http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=518774
WHEELER(MiLB):
http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=554430
NIESE(MLB):
http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=477003#gameType='S'&sectionType=career&statType=2&season=2013&level='ALL‘
SYNDERGAARD(MiLB):
http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=592789
GEE(MLB):
http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=518716#gameType='S'&sectionType=career&statType=2&season=2013&level='ALL‘
WHILE, I REGRET NOT KNOWING ADAM, MYSELF, I TRULY MOURN THE LOSS OF ANY OPTIMISTIC WEARER OF BLUE/ORANGE, ONE OF MY” BROTHERS IN ARMS”

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