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...
The New York Mets made several shrewd moves in the early-to-mid eighties that aided the club in winning their second World Series championship in franchise history. From their trade with the St. Louis Cardinals for Keith Hernandez and adding southpaw Sid Fernandez from the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1983, to trading for Ray Knight from the Houston Astros and acquiring Gary Carter from the Montreal...
The departure of the Brooklyn Dodgers was a contributing factor towards the birth of the Mets (and the blue in their uniforms). But the connections don’t end there. Gil Hodges, whose number will be retired by the Dodgers this weekend, played in Brooklyn and Los Angeles before finishing his playing career with the Mets and later performing miracles as manager. Steve Cohen even put in a bid...
On January 5, 2004, Frank Edwin “Tug” McGraw, one of the most colorful players in Mets’ history, passed away from brain cancer at 59 years of age. McGraw is most famous for coining the term ‘Ya Gotta Believe!” in 1973, during an M. Donald Grant address to the team when the Mets were mired in last place in the National League’s eastern division, and then made...
In front of a sold out crowd sans the presence of super fan Mary Hart, and Gavin Lux in the lineup, the Dodgers dusted off their humiliating loss to stave off elimination. Chris Taylor, the guy responsible for his teammates donning uniforms late into October, launched a postseason record three home runs in a win or go home, showing Braves offensive man of the hour, Eddie Rosario, whatever you...
On January 5, 2004, Frank Edwin “Tug” McGraw, one of the most colorful players in Mets’ history, passed away from brain cancer at 59 years of age. McGraw is most famous for coining the term ‘Ya Gotta Believe!” in 1973, during an M. Donald Grant address to the team when the Mets were mired in last place in the National League’s eastern division, and then...
Good Morning, Mets fans! After another tough loss last night against the Blue Jays. Rick Porcello (1-4, 6.07 ERA) is set to start against the Phillies with their pitcher yet to be announced. In his last outing, Porcello struggled more than he had in a while allowing five runs and on ten hits with five errors in only four innings. Hopefully, the 31-year old’s performance will be improved as...
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...
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...
The above shown card was a favorite of mine growing up. The picture was obviously taken in the Mets locker room at Shea Stadium. Notice the home uniform. Notice the player behind Pete. One can see that player with his uniform shirt off, and thanks to the mirror in that player’s locker, we can see his face, slightly above and to the left of Falcone’s cap. I don’t recognize the...
Terry Collins spoke to reporters today at Citi Field and shed some light on some of the questions burning through all our minds. 1. Despite the 120-innings number floating around, Collins said there is no hard innings limit on Zack Wheeler this season. Terry said it would be more of a feel thing and they will monitor him closely throughout the season. After he showed that he could get Major...
Is it bad that a couple of my favorite moments of the Mets 2014 season had absolutely nothing to do with the play on the field? The first one happened in May when a report came out that co-owner Saul Katz wanted out and was looking to sell his share of the team. I remember thinking at the time, “Oh my God, was this the beginning of the end of the Wilpons’ stranglehold on the...
