Mets Merized Online

Roger Kahn, working for the New York Herald Tribune, was the beat writer for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1950s.  He covered them during the Dodgers glory days of Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Duke Snider and Gil Hodges.  He witnessed and wrote about incredible pennant races, worlds series, personalities larger than life, and so much heartbreak for players and fans.

Kahn’s book, The Boys of Summer, inspired me to write this article.  I highly recommend reading this book during this winter’s respite from baseball games.

In both 1950 and 1951, the Dodgers lost the pennant in the final inning of the final game of the season.  This sounds eerily similar to the plight of the New York Mets in 2007 and 2008.  History does repeat itself.

In 1950, the Phillies were coasting to the NL pennant  They had a seven game lead over the Dodgers with eleven games left to play.  But the Phillies lost eight of their last ten entering the last game of the season.   As the two teams squared off against each other on the final day of the season at Shibe Park, the Phillies lead was down to one game.  With the score tied in the 9th inning, the Dodgers Cal Abrams led off with a double.  After a walk,  Duke Snider singled up the middle.  With no out, the 3rd base coach (who was fired after the season), waved Abrams home, and was easily thrown out.  The Dodgers failed to score.  In the bottom of the 10th, Dick Sisler hit a 3 run HR off of Don Newcombe.  The Dodgers and their fans had their hearts broken.

We are much more familiar with the heartbreak of 1951.  The Dodgers led the Giants by 13 games.  The Giants caught them and forced a playoff series (best 2 out of 3).  The Giants won game one in Brooklyn but the Dodgers responded with a win at the Polo Grounds.  The turning point of game two was when a fellow by the name of Bobby Thompson struck out with the bases loaded.  In game three, it happened so quickly.  A 4-1 Dodgers lead in the 9th.  Two singles and a double.  Ralph Branca was brought in.  The rest is history.

Players have hot streaks and slumps, bloops for hits and wicked line drives for outs.  No one remembers that Don Mueller had a seeing eye single past Gil Hodges in the 9th inning of game three or that Bobby Thompson’s home run barely traveled 300 feet.  One day Thompson strikes out and the next day he is the hero.

As Kahn said “choker and hero are two masks for the same plain face”. Did the Dodgers choke?  Did they lack courage or character?  Or were they just unlucky?  What is choking anyway.  As Pee Wee Reese said ” when you chew gum and saliva don’t come you’re choking”.  To me it sounds like everyone’s mouth gets dry when the pressure is on.  Puking before a game doesn’t imply choking.

The Dodgers remained defiant.  They did not choke.  Choking doesn’t exist.  It is imagined by the fans and media.  Pressure affects everyone.

Personally, and in this context, I despise the word “choke”.  It has no place in the dictionary of sports.  It is a sleazy and short-sighted way of not examining the true reasons behind failing.  Have you ever heard anyone claim that Gil Hodges or Duke Snider choked?  Yet numerous times they didn’t come through in the clutch during the Worlds Series.

I think that Brooklyn Dodgers history teaches us why we love the Mets so much.  It is psychological, but by no means a personality flaw or an indication of mental illness.  It is a sign of character and a testimonial to the quality of our existence that we can identify, sympathize, and commiserate with our beloved Mets.  Our cause is noble – we fall in love with the loser.  It is a justified essential trait that makes us better human beings.  Yankee fans, unfortunately for them are lacking this trait, and will never understand the wisdom of this argument.

The Jackie Robinson Rotunda.  The Ebbets Field resemblance.  The quirky right field.  Maybe the Wilpons have accurately defined our history by making CitiField a memorial to honor the Brooklyn Dodgers.  They were the Mets predecessors and when they left for L.A., like it or not, we inherited their history and legacy. The Mets were born and created in their image.  That is something to be proud of, and not forgotten.

Imagine if the Dodgers had moved to Queens.  We would all be New York Dodgers fans.  And what a proud history we would have.  We would have a dozen retired numbers.  The legacy of Robinson, Snider, Hodges, Campanella, Furillo, Reese, Newcombe and Branca would be genuinely ours to honor.

Many of us were Mets fans from the beginning.  Forty five years of the Mets memories at Shea Stadium are significant too.  They are just very different.  Let’s not measure them in wins and losses. Truly, nothing beats rooting for the New York Mets.  I feel lucky and proud to be a fan.

I just finished reading Michael Shapiro’s very good baseball book, Bottom of the Ninth. This book focuses on the efforts of Branch Rickey, William Shea, and other would be baseball owners, and their efforts to get major league baseball (the owners) to allow major league expansion. A secondary, and probably unneeded storyline focuses on Yankee manager Casey Stengel’s final years with the Yankees. The book covers the time span from when the Dodgers and Giants moved west, until the owners agreed to expansion (1957-1961).

I learned quite a bit from this book, such as the huge role both Branch Rickey and William Shea had in running the Continental League. We all know that Mr. Shea played a big role in National League baseball returning to New York, but Shea really was a force in the Continental League as a whole. Also, the plan was to name the ball park in Flushing after Branch Rickey, but Rickey declined the honor, so it was passed onto Mr. Shea.

As much as we think owners are greedy and manipulative, the owners of 50 years ago were much worse. Shapiro’s book details some of the tricks used by both the National League and the American League to stop expansion.

Another interesting point is that in as early as 1958-1959, Walter O’Malley and Horace Stoneham wanted to charge their fans to watch baseball games on TV (pay per view). O’Malley in particular was against televising Dodger’s games, and in fact in the early years of the Dodgers being in Los Angeles only allowed 11 Dodgers games (those games against the Giants), to be televised.

If there is one critique I have of this book, it covers so much ground, that Mr. Shapiro cannot really get deep into the details.

I am a huge fan of baseball history, and I found this book very interesting. During this hot stove season, I hope to write some articles about the history of this great game. I also know from reading the comments of our readers on MMO that there are a lot of original Met fans out there. I think it would be really cool for those fans who were there in 1962, and before to share their thoughts about what New York was like when it was just an American league town, and also those feelings of happiness and relief they had when the Mets were born.

Every year more than dozen new baseball books hit the shelf at this time of the year. If you only have time to read one, then let me suggest Ron Darling’s new book entitled “The Complete Game”.

The book is a wonderful look into the life of a major league pitcher. Darling includes his own trials and tribulations as well as his triumphs and accomplishments.

One of the things you’ll notice right away is the way the chapters are laid out over ten innings, nine plus one extra inning! It even has a “pre game” and a “warm up” in place of the introduction. Very clever indeed…

The book is very captivating and not because it is filled with drama, or name calling or finger pointing. You won’t find any tabloid stuff here. What makes the book so enjoyable is it’s simplicity.

It’s so refreshing to read of the real life struggles that Darling faced early on and how he dealt with those adversities. He does an excellent job of drawing us in with that same sincere honesty that makes him so beloved in Mets circles today.

Darling does a great job bring the reader into the psyche of a pitcher in various unique pitching situations throughout his career, but he also delves into some of the concerns of the current Mets as well including Mike Pelfrey, the Willie Randolph years, etc.

It’s a personal journey with many interesting stops along the way, and I love the continuity that is contained within the story-telling.

I consider “The Complete Game” to be essential reading for any Mets fan.

The publisher was kind enough to give me a second copy of “The Complete Game”, so I decided to give the first person to answer the following five questions correctly a free brand new copy of the book.

For those of you not so lucky, have no fear. You can get your own copy at Amazon.com right now.

The Complete Game: Reflections on Baseball, Pitching, and Life on the Mound

1. Darling pitched 10 shutouts for the Mets. In his last one he beat the Dodgers 8-0. What Met homered twice in that game?

2. What former Met hit the first homerun off of Ron Darling?

3. Ron Darling was selected for one All Star game in his career. Who were the winning and losing pitchers in that mid-summer classic?

4. Who were Ron Darling’s first and last strikeout victims?

5.  In Ron Darling’s first start as a Met, who was his catcher?

The first one to correctly answer all five questions wins the book. Make sure you have your correct email when commenting so that I can contact you. Good luck!