As we all know, Gil Hodges will be on the Veterans’ Committee Hall of Fame ballot for 2012. So expect to hear plenty of discussion over the next few months about whether or not he should be enshrined. I personally was not around when Gil played or managed, but I consider myself lucky to have heard the great stories of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the 1969 Miracle Mets. I had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. [...]

We tend to see the world and everything that encompasses it through our own shaded lenses. Our biases and preconceptions while defining us can often prevent us from understanding the whole truth. If the truth you’re seeking is to know if a candidate for President is a serial sexual harasser or whether perhaps a venerable college football coach for years turned a blind eye to his assistant’s deviant behavior or even if a certain baseball [...]

Former New York Met shortstop Buddy Harrelson has served as an ambassador for the Long Island Ducks for the past 12 seasons. He does a fine job with community and fan relations, but his true worth to the team involves his 16 years of MLB playing experience and another 11 years as a coach/manager. Harrelson will always be remembered as the pesky shortstop for the 1969 World Series Champion Mets. Buddy played stellar defense at [...]

I was about 6 years old when my father threatened to throw me out of the house. The reason was simple. I told him I was going to be a Yankees fan. It was the early 1970’s and I knew nothing about Baseball. But still, I was going to root for the Yankees. Why? As my dad watched the local news one night the sports came on. I was close by, doing whatever a typical [...]

Here’s a video that recently popped up, and when I saw it I just knew I had to share it with you. It’s the late Lindsey Nelson trying, but not really succeeding, to interview the Mets in the locker room just after they won the 1969 World Series against the Orioles. It’s a real trip watching these guys… I love those original uniforms and it really makes me wish the Mets would stop playing games and [...]

When one thinks back to the Mets of the 1960’s and 70’s, certain images come to mind: Casey, Tom Seaver, Tug pounding his glove on his leg, black cats, Miracles, fans ripping up the field and so forth. Off the field, however, there were others who were just as much a part of Shea Stadium folklore. One such Mets icon was organist Jane Jarvis. Miss Jarvis died a few days ago in Englewood, NJ.  Just [...]

I have to hand it to the New York Mets for doing an excellent job of putting that 1969 Mets tribute together. It was so touching to see all those great Mets of the past, together again for one last time. Unfortunately, many of those who played for the Amazin’s in that magical season have passed on, but I’m sure they were smiling down on their former teammates and even helped to hold back the [...]

Nolan Ryan was one of the many Mets honored before Saturday night’s game at Citi Field during the celebration of the 1969 World Championship team.  It was his first return to Flushing in a Mets uniform since the ill-fated trade to the California Angels on December 10, 1971.  Would Mets history have been different if the Mets weren’t in such desperate need for a third baseman that they were willing to part with the young [...]

On Saturday night the Mets paid tribute to the 1969 Miracle Mets. While the 2009 Mets season will be a season we would like to forget, the Mets management did get one thing right, that was the fantastic, emotional and classy tribute given to these heroes of forty years ago. I was out at CitiField Saturday night. I seated in the very last row of seats in the stadium, but the large scoreboard afforded everyone [...]