Over their first seven years the New York Metropolitans had not exactly set the baseball world on fire. From 1962 through 1968, they compiled a record of 394-737 and finished a combined 288 ½ games back. In seven seasons, they’d finished 10th five times and 9th twice. Coming into 1969, there was some cautious optimism. Gil Hodges, the teams fourth manager, was in his second full season and young...
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Like all fathers, my dad gave me a hard time about driving too fast as well as “that crap” I listened to. And like most kids, I never listened. Except today. This particular afternoon I was in no particular hurry to get to my destination, nor was I in any frame of mind to listen to Bruce Springsteen or Van Halen. I preferred to be alone with my thoughts. It was spring but for the first time in...
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Between innings Ty Cobb would sit on the bench sharpening his spikes. Then, on the base paths, he would take an extra ninety feet sliding spikes up. He once nearly choked an umpire to death before his teammates pulled him off. He beat up a fellow Tiger who shared his hotel room because the other player took a bath before Cobb. “You don’t understand! I have to be first!” Cobb shouted as he...
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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...
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In 1961, President John F. Kennedy challenged America. He insisted that by the end of the decade, we put a man on the moon and return him safely to earth. Kennedy’s idea was outlandish and considered completely and utterly impossible. However, on July 21, 1969, Neil Armstrong set foot on the surface of the moon. Almost equally as impossible was the Mets winning a World Series. In 1962, the Mets...
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