Happy New Year to all of you… Wow, where does all the time go?
I can’t say goodbye to 2013 without first saying ‘thank you’ to all of our Readers and Writers. Because of you, MMO is standing tall with a bright future ahead of us.
I cannot believe we are wrapping up our ninth year at MMO. Since day one, my goal has always been to create a Mets Fan Site that truly represented all Mets fans; guys and gals, young and old, optimists and pessimists. And guess what… Thanks to over 30,000 of you who visit this site each day, we have succeeded, and together we’ve created something truly special. Take a bow and have a drink on me!
I was planning on telling you about how much this site has accomplished this year, and how many different records we shattered in 2013, but the hell with that.
Instead, I want to keep this about all of you, and tell you how humbled I am to still be writing for you. I want to tell you how all of your passion for the Mets keeps me going from day to day. I want to tell you how much you all mean to me.
Even now, I still can’t believe that anyone would care what I think about these Mets who we all love so much. It’s like we’re one huge extended family and the Mets are the ties that bind us. There’s something so special and amazing about that kind of a relationship.
I’d like to believe that the real reason so many of you visit MMO is not because of me, but because of the most talented and phenomenal group of Mets writers ever assembled in one place. What a team! Each one of them are so passionate about the Mets and so knowledgeable as well. They are all such incredible writers, most of them published and accomplished in their own rights.
This site wouldn’t be what it is without their tremendous contributions. They are all perfectionists too and care so much about presenting you with content that is not only well-articulated and argued, but also professionally written without error. You can’t teach that kind of pride and purpose. Thank you to the 47 different people who contributed to our success in 2013. I’m honored and privileged to be counted among you as one of your colleagues.
Behind every great site there are great editors. They are ones who make us shine and make every post pop. They have a thankless job and never complain. When I’m laid up in a hospital, they ramp up their efforts to make sure we don’t skip a beat or miss any single news story. Thank you to Rob, Mitch, David, Matt, John, Clayton, Satish and Daniel.
It was a year filled with a lot of ups and downs for the Mets. But isn’t that the way life is? The good news is, that we end this year with more hope for the new season than we’ve had in the last five Winters. And for that… I’m incredibly grateful.
Whether you like the players we’ve just signed or not, you have to be happy that at least we’re beginning to show signs of returning to normalcy again. We’re making some noise… Some beautiful, astonishing, remarkable noise… It’s about time… Many of us can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel after what seemed like an eternity in darkness.
I truly believe the Mets are heading in the right direction. But don’t hold me to that because I’m planning a post on Sandy Alderson and Jeff Wilpon after this one. I kid, I kid… In all seriousness, I think it’s safe to go back into the water again. I think 2014 is going to be fun, exciting and surprising. And by surprising I mean a winning season, even if it’s only one or two games over .500. That would make me very happy and it would feel a little 1984-ish… And there’s nothing wrong with that.
I love the Met Minors… Obviously, I wouldn’t launch a site completely dedicated to our prospects if I didn’t love those kids like crazy. To those of you who say that Omar Minaya left our system in shambles, you’re all wrong. To those of you who say that Sandy Alderson hasn’t made a big impact, you’re all wrong too. And nobody is in a better position to know that than the 20 writers and analysts behind MetsMinors.net. We have a bright and thriving system to be proud of that is full of great young players and an incredible development team with some of the best coaches in the minors and majors.
So in closing, I just want to thank all of you for your amazing support. Thank you to our writers, editors, analysts, tech people, the Mets, the players, the prospects, but most of all – you, the readers. You, the die-hard Mets fans. None of this is possible without you.
God Bless You All and Have A Happy New Year.
Joe D.
