Tag: Mickey Mantle

An Old Timers’ Day Primer

For the first time since 1994, the Mets are hosting an Old Timers’ Day. What once had been a staple of the organization ever since the team originated has now been revived under the Steve Cohen regime, helped by crowdsourcing on Twitter shortly after taking ownership. The early years of the festivities celebrated New York’s brilliant baseball past, especially in 1977 when they...

Mets Video Vault: 1969 World Series Game 4

If the Mets hadn’t converted all their disbelievers by now– those who were still convinced the Orioles superiority would overcome New York’s combination of pitching, timely hitting, and spectacular plays in the field — would be given even more of a reason to believe in miracles after game 4. Of no miracle was the performance by Tom Seaver on this afternoon. Following a...

Mets Video Vault: 1977 Old Timers Day

If you follow the Mets on Twitter, you probably caught a glance of a photo taken from behind of Duke Snider, Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays, and Mickey Mantle walking in from center field at Shea Stadium shown on Thursday. That picture of baseball royalty took place some 43 years ago during a once-annual Mets event in which they honored National League greats and New York notables alike. The 1977...

MMO Exclusive: Jane Leavy, Author of “The Big Fella”

Babe Ruth has been dead for over seventy years, but he’s been haunting Jane Leavy’s mind for over two decades. Leavy, the New York Times best-selling author whose works include heavily researched biographies on Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax and Mickey Mantle, had been planning to write a then-novel on the most celebrated and by most standards, greatest Major League Baseball player of...

Book Review: “The Closer” by Mariano Rivera

I’m not sure if it occurs in the first, second or third trimester. But some time while we’re in the womb, all Mets fans—actually all New Yorkers who are fans of NL Baseball—receive the gene that makes us hate the Yankees. However, maybe once every generation, a player dons the pinstripes who we hate…but who we also kinda love. My grandfather grew up in The Bronx but bled Dodger blue. He hated...

Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom: Baseball’s Next Great Dynamic Duo?

We’re all familiar with the many unique aspects that make Baseball the true National Pastime. The game can conceivably go on forever. It’s the only sport where the defense has the ball. The team trying to score is outnumbered 9 to 1. My personal favorite is that it’s a team sport based around a collection of one-on-one match-ups. In 2014, after 6 weeks of spring training, 162 games spread out...

An All Star Game To Remember

1964 was a bustling time in our nation’s history. With America still reeling from the shock of our president being assassinated on the streets of Dallas, we were under invasion by a group of four long haired lads from Liverpool. New President Lyndon Johnson declared a ‘War on Poverty.’ Average annual income in America was $6000, a new house cost $13,000, a new car $3500. For $1.25 you could...

Amazin’ Moments: Willie Comes Home

As we all know, the Mets were created fill the gap left after the departure of the Giants and the Dodgers from the city of New York following the 1957 season. In the four year period before the advent of the Amazin’s, Gotham’s National League fans were left to follow their teams as best they could from afar (remember, no cable TV at this time nor webcasts, and radio coverage was spotty at best...

Ike Davis and Athletes Being Athletes

Before the furor grows over the Ike Davis revelation that he played almost the entire season last year with an oblique injury, Met fans should slow down and consider what that fact means relative to Davis’s current standing on the team. I expect Davis will be roundly criticized for not disclosing the injury. In fact, it was not Davis’s intention to disclose his physical limitations at all. He...

Could Matt Harvey Become A High Maintenance Super Nova?

Could the New York Mets have a potential problem with Matt Harvey? There are already signs of him being high maintenance … signs he enjoys the trappings of New York too much … signs he doesn’t handle injuries well … signs of being too sensitive … signs he knows he’s good and isn’t afraid to let you know. Harvey has never pitched a complete season and is 12-10 lifetime. While we’re not talking...

A Yankee Lesson For Nimmo, Cecchini and Some Mets Fans

A good friend of mine recently sent her only child, a son, off to college. I remember those times as heart wrenching moments when each of my three children left the nest. To occupy my mind, I would usually wrap myself around some kind of project. That may have been my friend’s strategy, too. Knowing that I love reading about baseball, especially autobiographies, she appeared with a stack of...

MMO Fan Shot: An Open Letter To The Baseball Hall Of Fame

An MMO Fan Shot by Steven Pacchiano (MLBGM) To Whom It May Concern: I know this will have no influence over any voting as current members and writer’s only vote, but I felt I had to express my opinion and observations not for myself, but ALSO for my son who is 3-years old. I’m 38 years old and live in New York. I grew up a big Mets fan and I got to see the Mets win the World Series when I was a...

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