Do the New York Giants and San Francisco Giants ever get together? If Mike Francesa doesn’t know, nobody will. Playing for the Bay Area’s National League baseball team and the current New York NL resident that took their place (and their main color) is as close as we can get. Here are a few who suited up in blue, orange, and black. Willie Mays – Giants (1951-72), Mets (1972-73)...
We all have Aunts down in Florida. Okay, maybe not everyone, but I do. And recently she sent some “vintage” mid-80s Mets cards up to me in NY from a neighbor who wanted to get rid of them after her spouse passed on. In looking through them, I came across the 1986 Mets card shown below: Several things about this card. Firstly 1986 is not “vintage”. In 1986...
It’s been talked about, shown, and debated over and over. In film, in books, and in memories, October 25, 1986, is among the great days in the history of the universe for Mets fans and among the worst for Red Sox fans (even if it’s a lot easier to take now). What unfolded in the bottom of the 10th inning has been relived to a tremendous degree. Here’s a brief summary of what...
There were two themes to Mets’ regular season of 1986. Total dominance was one. The National League East was all but secured by early summer. They held a vice-grip-like 13-game lead, and had the skipper of the defending NL champs, the Cards’ Whitey Herzog, waving the white flag in surrender. They didn’t just beat the opposition, they beat them down. Which gets us to the other...
On October 27, 1986, the Mets defeated the Boston Red Sox to win their second world championship. They were coming off a dramatic win in Game Six, as recapped here by MMO’s Brian Wright. Most Mets fans are well aware of how things went down on those two October nights in Queens. I am among the lucky, in that I was able to attend both of those games. I’d like to share the emotional...
What more can be said? In books, in films, and in memories, October 25, 1986 is among the greatest days in the history of the universe for Mets fans and among the worst for Red Sox fans (albeit it’s a lot easier for them to take now). What unfolded in the bottom of the 10th inning has been relived and dissected to a tremendous degree. But how did it get there? Here’s a brief recap of...
I watched tonight’s match-up between St Louis and the Mets in tandem with the first part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary, Once Upon a Time in Queens. I took in every game of the 1986 season – either in a bar, on my couch – or someone else’s – many at Shea. The Mets were like a drug for me in the mid to late eighties. And if the game were crucial, you could be certain, I would go to...
There were two themes to Mets’ regular season of 1986. One, clearly, was dominance. The National League East was all but secured by early summer. They held a vice-grip-like 13-game lead, and had the manager of the defending NL champs, the Cards’ Whitey Herzog, waving the white flag in surrender. They didn’t just beat the opposition, they beat them down. Which gets us to...
Executives at the Topps Baseball Card Company must have really liked watching the Mets slide home in 1986. Their 1987 set featured two Mets sliding home. One was Wally Backman, and MMO featured that particular card in this series here. Today, thank to a comment left in a recent article by MetsHof, we’re going to take a look at the second card in that genre, card number 653, which was...
A trade, not involving the Mets, happened 31 years ago this past July. It was between the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres, with the Giants acquiring Kevin Mitchell and pitchers Dave Dravecky and Craig Lefferts in exchange for pitchers Keith Comstock, Mark Davis, and Mark Grant. The prize in the trade for the Giants was intended to be Dravecky, and although he would turn out to have...
In the mid-eighties, Gregg Jefferies was on top of the world. Selected in the first-round of the 1985 MLB Draft by the New York Mets (20th overall), he earned MVP honors in Rookie-level Appalachian (1985), Class A Carolina (1986) and Double-A Texas (1987) leagues, and was Baseball America’s first two-time Minor League Player of the Year (1986, 87). Drawing comparisons to Mickey Mantle...
“Little roller up along first. Behind the bag. It gets through Buckner! Here comes Knight, and the Mets win it.” Listening to the melodious call by legendary Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully will forever arouse fond memories for Mets fans, as the 1986 World Champion Mets squad is one of the most beloved and revered teams in major league history. A team filled with many varying...
