Good morning, Mets fans! While Wednesday did not present a lot of news from the baseball world, we did get some updates on interest the remaining free agents are garnering. One of the bigger pieces of news came from Jon Heyman, who said on a Bleacher Report live stream that the Los Angeles Angels are one of the team showing increased interest in Joey Votto. The long-time Reds first baseman is...
Good morning, Mets fans! Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate! On Wednesday, the Mets and new manager Carlos Mendoza made headway into filling out multiple openings in their coaching staff. The first hiring that was reported, was that the Mets would be adding former Blue Jays skipper John Gibbons as Carlos Mendoza’s bench coach for the upcoming season, per Will Sammon of The...
Growing up in Bronx in the 1940s and ’50s, Ed Kranepool spent much of his time playing stickball in local parks. In fact, stickball brought refuge to a young Kranepool. As his stickball reputation grew, local gangs treated Kranepool well and insisted he not hang around with them after dark as they didn’t want him to get into trouble and not be able to play on their teams. Growing up...
When Cleon Jones squeezed his glove around the ball that Baltimore Orioles second baseman Davey Johnson hit to left field in the top of the ninth in Game Five of the 1969 World Series to give the Mets their first championship in their eight-year history, it was something he never dreamed of doing. For Jones, making it as a major league ballplayer from his hometown of Africatown, a historic...
A Fan Shot by Gregg Hopps A Happy Mother’s Day to the original Mets Mom… Of course I’m talking about our New York Mets founder and the first female owner in Major League Baseball, Joan Whitney Payson. One SNY feature, the only one I consider to be worth watching, is Mets Yearbook. In one particular episode, the year was 1963, they showed the final game at the old Polo Grounds,...
On February 25, 2012, the Mets Twitter account tweeted a picture of the patch (an image of home plate with the “Kid 8” in the middle) the Mets would wear on the uniform sleeves in 2012, honoring Gary Carter who had passed away nine days earlier. The Mets have yet to officially retire Carter’s number eight, that he wore from 1985-1989. Since Carter left the Mets, number eight...
Fifty-one years ago today, July 20th, 1969, man first walked on the moon. Later that year, the Mets won the World Series. There was so much going on in the world in the summer of 1969. There was civil unrest. The Vietnam war was raging. Woodstock took place in August of that year. Richard Nixon’s presidency was in its first year. But something was seemingly normal- the Mets appeared...
When he removed his Mets uniform for the final time he was our all-time leader in hits, runs, RBI, doubles and 2nd in batting average. There was no fanfare, no celebration of his achievements, no day honoring his accomplishments after a decade of playing in New York. Instead, he lumbered away, head down, disgraced, a beaten man. He’s one of very few Mets who can call himself a two-time pennant...
In the center of this vintage photo from 1962 is the first owner of the New York Mets, Mrs. Joan Payson, who is flanked by our first general manager George Weiss, and the team’s first manager Casey Stengel. All three played a significant role in the formative years of the Mets, and when Nelson Doubleday purchased the franchise in 1980, he believed the first of order of business was to honor the...
On Wednesday, April 11, 1962, manager Casey Stengel penciled in Gil Hodges to play first base for a fledgling team from Queens known as the New York Mets for their first game ever against the St. Louis Cardinals. Hodges went one-for-four with an RBI and a run scored. Of course, Mr. Hodges would make his mark on the team as the decade progressed but he was the first to play first on a New...
The New York Mets announced on Thursday that the club will retire Jerry Koosman’s uniform number #36 on Saturday, June 13 in a pre-game ceremony prior to the 4:10 p.m. game vs. Washington. Koosman, who is the winningest left-hander in team history (140 wins), will become the third player to have his number retired by the Mets, joining Tom Seaver (#41) and Mike Piazza (#31). “The excitement of...
When he removed his Mets uniform for the final time he was our all-time leader in hits, runs, RBI, doubles and 2nd in batting average. There was no fanfare, no celebration of his achievements, no day honoring his accomplishments after a decade of playing in New York. Instead, he lumbered away, head down, disgraced, a beaten man. He’s one of very few Mets who can call himself a two-time pennant...
