An MMO Fan Shot by Steven Pacchiano (MLBGM)

To Whom It May Concern:

I know this will have no influence over any voting as current members and writer’s only vote, but I felt I had to express my opinion and observations not for myself, but ALSO for my son who is 3-years old.

I’m 38 years old and live in New York. I grew up a big Mets fan and I got to see the Mets win the World Series when I was a kid. God I loved watching baseball and that was some team to watch. A lot of those players drank and did drugs, cocaine specifically. I also watched players cork their bats and fill their bats with batteries to give them an advantage at the plate. It was baseball and fun to watch. Players always did and always will do what they have to do to get an advantage.

I have seen Mike Scott scuff balls and of course there was the Joe Niekro incident when he was suspended for having a nail file in his pocket and scuffing the ball. Kevin Gross was caught with sandpaper, Gaylord Perry was famous for his spit ball as well.

I have heard stories from my grand father of how Mickey Mantle was a big drinker and Speed user and how Ty Cobb would sharpen his cleats so to give him an advantage sliding into second base. Many players back then did a lot of Amphetamines, this is not a secret and Amphetamines are also a PED.

Red Faber, Stan Coveleski, and Burleigh Grimes are among the 17 pitchers who were allowed to keep throwing the spitball under a “grandfather” clause when the spitball was banned.

These players got caught, I’m sure this wasn’t the 1st time they cheated and im sure its wasn’t the last. I am also sure that there are others that have done the same and gotten away with it. Everyone who cheats doesn’t always get caught. There was that “list” with 100 players on it who were caught doing PED’s, but how many players weren’t caught? 200? 300? More? We will never know.

I can continue but I know you get the jist of this. Corking bats, stuffing bats with batteries, throwing spit balls and scuffing balls is cheating. And yes so is PED’s.

I now see players drinking “Protein drinks” to get an edge. I see players on the bench drinking cans of red bull to get them selves UP for their next at bat. Is this also performance enhancing?

A player has always done and will always do whatever they can to have an advantage. This will never change. Weather its, sharpening his cleats, corking bats, popping speed, snorting cocaine, doing steroids, or HGH and whatever is the next thing that comes around that can enhance a player’s performance. And make no mistake there will be more PED down the road.

Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Piazza, Griffey, Biggio, Bagwell, Clemens, Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine, Arod, Sheffield, Manny, etc – Some were caught some were not, Some did it, some maybe didn’t, they were all great and a part of the history of the game and were some of the best ever players in baseball.

I hope when my son is old enough I can take him to the Baseball Hall of fame and not only show him Ty Cobb and Mickey Mantle, but also the amazing players that played when I was a kid.

But like I said, I know this letter will have no impact, so if some of the greatest players of all time never get voted into the Hall Of Fame, when I bring my son I will also have to bring my old news paper clippings and baseball cards of players who I watched and who put up some amazing numbers. I will have to teach him on my own which players were dominant during their time. Or maybe there will be another Baseball Museum I can go to with all the great players from the 80’s and 90’s.

I want my Son to know the history of baseball, just like I was told about The Mick, the Bambino, the Georgia Peach, and all the others. I will tell him about Bonds and McGwire and the rest of the 1990’s players who also put up amazing numbers. He will know how great and dominant they were and also what they did, just like I know how great Cobb and Mantle were but also what they did.

Hopefully the HOF will continue to have all the best players that have played the game to be on display. A history and showcase of the greatest players ever. …That’s the whole concept isn’t it? If not I hope there will be a place I can take my son to show him all these players in baseball history who were the elite of their time. Weather they sharpened their cleats, scuffed balls, threw spitters, corked bats, popped speed, snorting cocaine, drank Red Bull, took caffeine pills, used caffeine inhalants, did steroids, or HGH. And what ever comes next.

They are all the greatest players to ever play this game.

Isn’t the Hall’s Motto “Preserving History, Honoring Excellence, Connecting Generations.”

PS – Banning Pete Rose from Baseball makes sense, keeping him from working for a team and out of the actual game is his sentence for betting on baseball. BUT keeping him out of the HOF makes no sense at all – again the HOF is a history of the games best.

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This Fan Shot was contributed by MMO reader Steven Pacchiano (MLBGM). Have something you want to say about the Mets? Share your opinions with over 25,000 Mets fans who read this site daily. Send your Fan Shot to GetMetsmerized@aol.com. Or ask us about becoming a regular contributor.

The post MMO Fan Shot: An Open Letter To The Baseball Hall Of Fame appeared first on Metsmerized.

As of January 3, according to Baseball Think Factory, only four players, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Frank Thomas, and Craig Biggio, have appeared on 75 percent of publicly-released Hall of Fame ballots in one of the strongest classes in history. Approximately one-fifth of all ballots have been released.

Could Piazza be snubbed from the Hall again?

Of all the projected Hall of Fame snubs, the one that hits closest to home among Mets fans is certainly Mike Piazza. For fans of both the Dodgers and Mets, he seems like a clearly-deserving candidate. However, some voters, almost 30 percent so far, have left Piazza off their ballots. A few voters have kept Piazza off their ballots based on merit, arguing that in a year where the ballot is full of all-time greats, Piazza wasn’t great enough. However, although there are some voters for whom being far and away the best hitter at a position just isn’t enough, most voters who have left Piazza out have done so because of steroid suspicion.

Of all the players on this year’s ballot, only one, Rafael Palmeiro, has ever officially failed a drug test (Sammy Sosa reportedly failed an anonymous drug test in 2003, but it was never officially confirmed by Major League Baseball) . Only one other player, Mark McGwire, has admitted to it. There are suspicions about others, but no one else has been proven guilty. Players like Piazza and Craig Biggio, each deserving of a spot in the Hall of Fame, have been punished simply because they played in the same era as suspected cheaters. This is voting at its ugliest.

I have always thought that players who have cheated do not belong in the Hall of Fame. A few years ago, had I been given a vote, suspected players like Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds would not have been on my ballot. However, Piazza’s situation over the past two years has changed my thinking. The attempts to keep  cheaters out of the Hall, at the expense of clean players, has gotten way out of hand.

To punish steroid users, and mostly suspected ones at that, is hypocritical of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. It will be the first time players will be kept out of Cooperstown en masse based on the “integrity clause.” To keep steroid users out of the Hall would be to not acknowledge the racists, bigots, criminals, drunks, and drug abusers already enshrined. The writers will vote for players who have a well-documented history of those offenses, but if there is any suspicion of a player using steroids, they won’t get votes? That’s not right. Maybe those voters would have some ground to stand on if we knew for sure who cheated, but with players like Piazza and Biggio getting snubbed, they have lost me.

Ty Cobb once  climbed into the stands to beat up a handicapped fan. It’s even rumored that he once beat a man to death with the handle of a pistol. Some Hall of Famers cheated on their wives. Others were viciously racist. Numerous players even admitted to using “greenies,” since banned by Major League Baseball, in their playing days. Gaylord Perry, Don Drysdale, Don Sutton and Whitey Ford, all Hall of Famers were notorious for throwing illegal spitballs.

As much as I’d like integrity and character to be a part of the voting process, it hasn’t been done for the 75 years the Hall of Fame has existed. If the Hall was started all over again, then I would understand the fight to keep cheaters out. But now, after decades of voting in cheaters and generally bad people, suddenly deciding to embark on a massive witch hunt that keeps players out because of back acne and hat sizes is completely unfair. The Hall of Fame doesn’t have to be perfect, just as its members aren’t.

Follow me on Twitter @UpAlongFirst.

The post Mike Piazza and Faith in Hall of Fame Voting appeared first on Metsmerized.

But what if it didn’t happen?

Imagine if after the 0-2 pitch that stunned Beltran, the umpires would have stood around to discuss things. Imagine if they gathered at home and measured the strike zone and determined where exactly the ball crossed the plate. Sound crazy? Not really. Isn’t that exactly what happens when a football player leaps at fourth down and inches?

I grew up in Queens and rooted for the Dallas Cowboys because my dad knew Roger Staubach (and yes, I had that Cowboys cheerleader poster in my bedroom) My dad rooted for the Rangers, me the Islanders. He was a Knicks fan. I never got into basketball. However, these sports were ancillary. Ours was a baseball home.

Even baseball fans complain about the length of a ballgame. Pitching changes, visits to the mound, throws to first. It slows down the game they claim. Football has more action. Football is faster. Baseball is boring. My question is this: If Football truly is faster then why does it take so long? The game is rigidly designed into 4 15-minute quarters. One hour. Yet, a typical game runs triple that. In other words for 2 hours of a 3 hour game there is nothing happening. Two of every three minutes are pointless.

Here’s an example of a possession: The offense has the ball on their own 20. They huddle and discuss what they should do. They walk up to the line of scrimmage. The quarterback counts, he steps back, he hands off to the running back. The RB gets 3 yards. Now, we watch players untangle from each other and what happens next? They retreat in the opposite direction to discuss the next play. Another huddle, another meeting, another plan. The offense returns to the line of scrimmage again. The QB counts, steps back, turns right this time, hands the ball to the RB. Now he gets 4 yards. 3^rd and three.

Once again, players unravel and walk off to yet again have another meeting. What should we do now? After their conference concludes, the QB does some more counting and throws downfield. Ohhh, incomplete pass. The clock now stops and we watch some players walk off the field as other players walk onto the field. The ball is kicked sixty yards and the receiver drops to his knees to signal fair catch. The clock stops again so players can exit the field again, only to be replaced by a brand new squad. And now, with this new group on the gridiron, what’s the first order of business? Let’s have a discussion so we can decide what to do.

And this is more exciting than baseball? Imagine a catcher talking to the pitcher after every pitch or the infielders meeting on the mound following every foul ball?

If these huddles/meetings are so important, let me put forth another scenario. Offense has the ball on their own 30, they’re losing by 5 points with 2 minutes left, no time-outs. Exciting stuff. Now–with the game on the line and time ticking away–in the most crucial 120 seconds of all–they line up quickly and repeatedly throw the ball downfield—WITHOUT a meeting. What? NOW is the one time they SHOULD have a discussion. At the most critical juncture of the game they DON’T discuss what to do? If huddles are not needed with the game on the line then what was the point of all the huddles for the first 2 hours and 50 minutes?

I haven’t seen so many pointless meetings since I turned on C-Span and watched our government in action.

Personally, I’ve never been a big fan of meetings. The only thing worse than sitting through one is watching other people engage in meetings. But that’s the essence of Football: An endless series of meetings about what to do next.

Yes, I’m no longer a football fan—as you probably gathered. I know I’m in the minority, both in the real world and even here on a Mets website. To me, watching a pitcher throw to first to keep a runner close or a batter stepping out to break a pitcher’s rhythm is far more electrifying than watching people outfitted like gladiators trotting on and off the sidelines.

One of the many things I love about the beauty of Baseball is the history, the memories. But mostly the endless possibilities. I’ve watched thousands and thousands of games over 41 seasons. However, I still witness events I’ve never observed before. After four decades I saw a game end on an obstruction call at third base. The following day the game ended with a runner being picked-off. When was the last time anyone saw that, much less in the World Series?

There’s also the uniqueness of baseball, uniqueness without specifics. You can describe a moment in baseball to the casual fan without supplying names and he or she will know exactly what you’re talking about:

Remember when that one guy hit the slow roller down the 1B line and the guy missed it? Remember when they said there was too much pine tar on that one dude’s bat and he went ballistic after negating his HR? Remember when what’s his name threw a Perfect Game in the World Series? Whatever happened to the chubby guy who “called his shot?” Every one of you knows exactly who and what I’m referring to.

Now, on the football side of the ledger: Remember when that guy threw into the end zone and the guy leaped and caught the ball? Remember when that one fella broke free and ran for the first down?

Baseball you watch. Football you look at.

Baseball is something where you ponder endless possibilities. Do you hit and run in this situation? Do you play the infield back and give up a run? Do you pinch hit for the pitcher even though it’s only the sixth inning? Do you send the runner home even though the right fielder has a strong arm? It’s the anticipation of action.

What is there to consider in football? Should the wide receiver go deep? Should the RB have ran right instead of left? Not the same.

In Baseball we know immediately what happened. In Football we have to wait to see if what we just saw really did happen.

I like when a QB dives over guys to try and get that one yard for a first down. Did he make it? Did the defense hold him? Will the other team get the ball right here? Who knows? Let’s watch the officials come out with a chain and two sticks and try and determine a distance of ten yards. Thrilling stuff!

Tight end avoids two defenders in the end zone. Touchdown!!! But wait, maybe not. There’s a flag on the play. Now we sit back and watch the zebras discuss things. (Good, more discussions) Pass interference. Touchdown doesn’t count.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen. Just like when I played stickball with my friends at age nine, it’s a DO-OVER!

When Shane Victorino doubled in three and hammered the first nail into the Cardinals coffin last week, it REALLY happened. Michael Wacha would’ve loved to have the pitch back but Cards skipper Mike Matheny couldn’t ask for a DO OVER. Not only is there no crying in baseball, but there’s also no DO-OVERS.

I also get a laugh when ESPN is touting the great performance of some quarterback. He completed 18 of 31 passes. Really? To me, that’s 13 errors. Imagine if David Wright only completed 18 of 31 throws across the diamond?

Remember when Chuck Knoblauch was pretty much run out of town for an erratic arm? If he played football, an arm like that would get him enshrined in Canton.

People also grumble about baseball salaries, yet no one vents about Football salaries. Yes, in the grand scheme of things, it’s ludicrous how much athletes get paid. However, why is the argument only focused on baseball? Ballplayers play 3 hours a night for six months. Football players play 3 hours a week—unless, of course, they have a by-week. (I wish I could get 2 weeks off after working 3 hours).

The World Series is now over and the next big thing is the Super Bowl. Ahh, yes, the Super Bowl. A “sporting” event watched by one hundred million Americans. And what does everyone talk about for days after? The game? No. Commercials. Somewhere between a little kid dressed as Darth Vader and Britney Spears dancing, there was apparently a game played.

What’s the most talked about Super Bowl moment of the last twenty years?

Granted, I’m not objective when it comes to Football. I wouldn’t even consider myself a casual fan. I can’t recall who won last year’s Commercial Bowl. Over the last twenty five years I’ve watched a couple: the two the Giants played in and the second half of whichever one Bruce Springsteen performed at halftime. As a football outsider I don’t know anything about recent Super Bowl history. Yet, I’m familiar with the periphery events: commercials, lights going out, wardrobe malfunctions. It’s interesting how even to football fans themselves the most memorable events of the Holy Grail of their sport is what goes on off the field.

I know Allen Craig scored a run on an obstruction call. I know Kolten Wong was picked off to end game four. I don’t, however, recall who sung God Bless America in the 7^th inning stretch.

I know Whitney Houston once sung a rousing rendition of the National Anthem during a Super Bowl but I have no idea who won that afternoon.

In a few months one of every three Americans will have a party, consume plenty of chicken fingers and pizza and watch a game, eagerly as excited about the commercials and half-time show as they are with the goings-on on the field. Me? I look forward to the Super Bowl as well. Once that’s out of the way I know it’s only a couple weeks until pitchers and catchers report and we can get back to what’s important.

The post It’s Slow. It’s Boring. The Games Are Too Long. But Enough About Football… appeared first on Metsmerized.

The question I raise is this: Is it time for the NL to adopt the DH?

Let me begin by saying I am a traditionalist when it comes to the grand ol’ game. I think artificial turf is stupid. I’ve never warmed to the idea of three divisions. And yes, even though extra wild card spots add excitement until the very last day, it bothers me that 1 of every 3 teams make the post-season. This is Baseball, not Basketball.

And honestly, I’ve never liked the Designated Hitter. I’ve always thought that to have a guy on your roster who can only do ONE thing—HIT—is lame. I believe that guys who spend the bulk of their career as a DH, like an Edgar Martinez or David Ortiz, should not be considered for the Hall of Fame. If they are Cooperstown-worthy, then why not Jose Oquendo?

What if a guy had no talent other than a strong arm? Should he play right field as a Designated Outfielder? In 1975, the eccentric Charlie Finley included Herb Washington on the A’s roster. Washington had no baseball skills whatsoever. His only attribute was that he was speedy. He was baseball’s one and only Designated Runner. (The experiment lasted one season)

Pitchers get hurt. We, as Mets fans, realize that better than anyone. Approximately one third of our 2013 payroll, $24 million plus, is locked up in a LHP who may never pitch again. So, yes, injuries are a part of the game. Injuries to pitchers are devastating. But when pitchers get hurt doing something they’re not paid to do, it’s that much worse.

If a Buster Posey gets run over blocking the plate and misses 4 months, well, that’s part of the game. If Jose Reyes pulls a hammy running the bases, well, that’s part of the game. But when a pitcher gets injured hitting?  Well, that’s just…different.

Several weeks ago, Ryan Vogelsong of the Giants was having his first solid start of the season. In the fifth inning, he swung at an inside pitch. The ball came in, effectively breaking the pinky finger on his pitching hand in two places. See you in 6-8 weeks, Ryan. From 2006 to 2008, Josh Beckett, Randy Johnson, Bartolo Colon, Pedro Martinez, Carlos Zambrano, Chien-Ming Wang and Scott Downs all missed significant time due to injuries sustained from hitting or running the bases.

Had the DH been around for most of the last century, how different would the history books look? In 1934, Babe Ruth played part time because he was too old to field his position. Yet, he still hit 22 HR’s in 365 AB’s. In 1928, Ty Cobb saw limited playing time due the fact he was 42 and his legs were gone. Yet, he still hit 323. Had Cobb DH’d several more seasons, Pete Rose would not be all our all-time hits leader. And we can only imagine what kind of numbers Mickey Mantle would’ve compiled had he not been relegated to patrolling the expansive outfield of the old Yankee Stadium on bad knees.

Perhaps it’s time—and I cant believe I’m actually typing these words—for the NL to adopt the DH.

It was 1973 when, for the first time in history, the AL and NL played under different rules. For the following 3 years, pitchers had to bat in the World Series. Beginning in 1976, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn decided to alternate the DH. One Fall Classic with, one without. In 1986 that rule was changed to the DH allowed when the AL champions played host.

Over the last decade and a half, however, the glamour of interleague play has lost some of its luster. It’s no longer the novelty it once was. Attendance during The Subway Series as well as games between the two teams in southern California, northern California, Chicago, Texas and Missouri have decreased slightly for a few years now.

And with 15 teams in each league and an interleague game every day of the week for the entire season, the NL is at a huge disadvantage. On most AL teams, the DH is usually one of the best hitters on the team and hits in the 3, 4 or 5 hole. By contrast, the NL must resort to inserting someone who would normally be a bench player—a fourth outfielder or a back-up first baseman.

Even in the most recent Subway series where we swept the Yankees (and what a beautiful thing it was), John Buck was used as our DH in one game, allowing Anthony Recker to play. Recker’s batting average was .160. The other game in The Bronx Lucas Duda DH’d and Mike Baxter found a spot. Baxter and his 228 BA batted ninth. Meanwhile, the Yankees DH was Travis Hafner. Big difference.

And of course, it does not balance out when the NL plays host to an AL team. Can anyone say the difference between Hafner to Recker is offset by Matt Harvey batting as opposed to Hiroki Kuroda?

Since the advent of interleague play, the AL has a .525 winning percentage. I believe a large part of this is due to the advantage of a DH as opposed to a fourth outfielder.

Just thinking (or writing) out loud, what about a compromise? A DH is allowed—but he must bat in the #9 spot in the batting order.

Granted, putting the DH in to the NL would indeed take away strategy. And strategy has always been one of baseball’s bright spots. We’d see less double-switches, less pinch hitters, less walking of the #8 hitter forcing the manager to decide if he should pinch hit for his starter. I love that stuff. We all do.

On the flip side, how many times when a pitcher steps to the dish with a man on base and less than two outs, we already KNOW he’s going to bunt. How much strategy is that?

Those in favor of the DH say they don’t come to the ballpark to watch the manager think. I agree. On the flip side, how many come to the ballpark to watch the pitcher hit? We go to games to see pitchers pitch and hitters hit.

As Baseball fans and Mets fans, there are certain stats we have logged in our brain. Cy Young’s 511 wins. Walter Johnson’s 110 shut outs. We all know Seaver won three Cy Young Awards and that Doc was 24-4 in 85. However, does anyone know what their batting averages were? I sure dont.

This week the Mets will face the White Sox and their DH Paul Konerko or Adam Dunn. Do we have anyone on the bench to adequately counter them?

The post Coming Soon To A League Near You: The Designated Hitter appeared first on Metsmerized.

Edgardo Alfonzo

As a batsman, Fonzie developed in almost textbook fashion before the delighted eyes of fans. Coming up, he had a reputation for a good eye at the plate, some evidence of moderate power, and the ability to make contact. Following his major league debut in 1995, the young Venezuelan worked diligently to refine his game both in the field and at the plate. By 1999, he had blossomed into one of the league’s premier middle infielders, hitting over .300 and slugging over .500 for the first time in his career. His peak game, and likely the peak offensive game by any Met, came in late August of that year as the Mets were heading toward a post-season berth under the guidance of Bobby Valentine.

The team was in Houston for a series against the Astros during their last go-round in the vast dimensions of the Astrodome. The following year, the team would move to the bandbox originally known as Enron Field (or “Ten Run Field” to fans for its propensity to produce high scoring games) and now dubbed Minute Maid Park. In stark contrast to the home run haven the Astros now inhabit, the ‘Dome was a pitcher’s dream and a slugger’s graveyard. Not only was the field characterized by expansive proportions, the roof insured that the very atmosphere itself was endowed with what batters swore was a deadening effect. But it was in this most unlikely of settings that the Mets’ version of the Fonz chose to put on perhaps the greatest display of slugging in team history.

1999 was a bumper year for runs scored by the Mets as they pushed 853 across the plate, good for 5^th in the league and still the club record for a single season. Even 40 year-old leadoff batter Rickey Henderson was having a renaissance year, batting over .300 for the first time since in four campaigns. On the night of August 30 of that year, the team would rack up a run tally that was impressive even by the standards of that era, blasting the Houston squad by a score of 17-1.

The key figure in the onslaught was Edgardo Alfonzo who began his evening by rocketing a solo home run his first time up to give the Mets an early lead. After the Astros were retired in order in the bottom of the first, the New Yorkers erupted for six additional runs in the next inning with Alfonzo contributing a single and a run scored in the process. He then homered in his next two at-bats registering a two-run shot in the fourth and another solo round-tripper in the sixth. After collecting his second single of the game in the eight amidst another rally, he came up for a final time in the ninth. Urged by his teammates to shoot for the elusive 4-homer mark, he banged a shot off the right field wall for a run-scoring double, missing another 4-bagger by a matter of a few feet.

All told, Fonzie had recorded 6 hits in as many at-bats including 3 HR’s and a double. In the process he set Mets club records for hits, runs, and total bases in a game as well as collecting 5 RBI. Naturally, his performance set off the stat freaks at Elias who determined that the only other player to accomplish a comparable feat was none other than Ty Cobb some 74 years prior when he also recorded a 3 homer, 1 double, 2 single game against the St. Louis Browns.

Fonzie and Cobb, Cobb and Fonzie. A rather exclusive club with one member a Met.

The post Memorable Mets Moments: Fonzie Goes Six for Six! appeared first on Metsmerized.

A man becomes preeminent, he’s expected to have enthusiasms.

Enthusiasms… What are mine? What draws my admiration? What is that which gives me joy? Baseball!

A man stands alone at the plate. This is the time for what? For individual achievement. There he stands alone. But in the field, what? Part of a team. Teamwork… Looks, throws, catches, hustles. Part of one big team.

Bats himself the live-long day, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and so on.

If his team don’t field… what is he? You follow me? No one.

Sunny day, the stands are full of fans. What does he have to say?

I’m goin’ out there for myself. But… I get nowhere unless the team wins. 

The post The Untouchables appeared first on Metsmerized.