After years of tossing the idea around, we finally decided to take the proverbial plunge and bring to you what I can only describe as our Amazin’ Labor of Love…

Without further adieu, I present to all of you the first look at the Mets Merized Online 2012 Mets Annual.

This 2012 Annual will feature the excellent work of over 15 of our writers and will provide Mets fans with a valuable resource to help you follow the team all season long. But hang on a second, because it’s so much more than that.

This Premiere Edition will be packed with over a dozen wonderful 1,000+ word narratives covering all 50 years of Amazin’ Mets Baseball. These are just a few:

  • Engineering a Miracle by Peter Shapiro
  • The Year 1 A.R. (After Reyes) by Sean Kenny
  • Changing the Dynamic, One Catcher at a Time by Taryn “The Coop” Cooper
  • The Good, The Bad and The Metsie by Ed Leyro (and Joey too, I think)
  • End Game: All Bets Are On Francisco, Rauch and Ramirez by Jesse Elgarten
  • Plus so much more!

The MMO 2012 Mets Annual will also include many great staples you would expect to find such as:

  • Player Profiles, Projected Stats and Forecasts by our crack MMO Staff
  • MMO’s Updated Top 20 Mets Prospects by Peter Shapiro
  • A 2012 NL East Preview by Yours Truly
  • Six Mets To Watch This Season by Jesse Elgarten
  • 2012 Complete Team Review by John Delcos
  • Future Mets: 2012 First Year Player Draft Possibilities by Nicholas Pugliese
  • Are You Metsmerized? (Test Your Mets IQ) by Ed Leyro
  • Exclusive Interviews, 2012 Mets Schedule & Promotions, Minor League Affiliates, More!

Of course, this issue would be nothing without our Special Tribute to Gary Carter by Rob Silverman. And let me now mention that part of the proceeds from every sale will go to the Gary Carter Foundation. The donation which we project will be made sometime before the All Star break, will go toward the Autism Project of Palm Beach County, Hospice of Palm Beach County, and Palm Beach Atlantic University Baseball. These very special organizations were all near and dear to Gary’s heart.

The On-Sale Date is scheduled for April 1, 2012, and that’s no joke! It will be available in several popular digital formats via Amazon, Barnes and Noble and the Apple iTunes Store. In addition to the $2.99 eBook format, print editions will also be made available at a yet to be determined price.

There are so many people I need to thank that worked tirelessly with me on this, and several others who made substantial behind the scenes contributions. But let me begin by thanking Michael G. Baron, SNY, and MetsBlog.com for providing the perfect photo for us to design our cover around. Of course, my partner and my best friend Kelly Horn gets a world of thanks for the amazing graphics you will find inside the issue as well as the eye-popping cover that completely wowed our partners at USA Today and our Publisher, Movable Type Management. Special Thanks also go to my Project Manager, Sean Kenny, and to Clayton Collier who first put the bug in my ear about finally going ahead with this endeavor, last September.

Anyway, I know you’re all going to love it, and I look forward to all of your most welcomed feedback.

Hmmm… I think I just wrote my own Foreword… Just kidding… 🙂