The pitching staff has Matt Harvey, the Dark Knight, and Noah Syndergaard, aka Thor. On Sunday, Captain Kirk Nieuwenhuis became the first player in Mets history to hit three homers in one home game. If only the payroll weren't the size of Ant-Man.
Nieuwenhuis hitting three homers is like something out of the miracle year of 1969, when Al Weis, who had two homers in the regular season, homered in the World Series-clinching Game 5. A more appropriate Star Trek nickname for Nieuwenhuis would be Redshirt, after the anonymous member of the landing party who often gets killed. This year alone, Nieuwenhuis was dropped by the Mets and picked up and dropped by the Angels before ending up back with the Mets.
In recent games, the Mets have also won games with the help of a Harvey homer and a four-RBI debut from Steven Matz. Great pitching and timely hitting from unexpected sources. Could this be 1969 all over again?
As a longtime Met fan, I can only have one answer for that - no.
Along with Weis, Donn Clendenon also homered in Game 5. Clendenon was acquired at the trading deadline that season to bolster the middle of the lineup. He went on to be World Series MVP.
If the Mets are able to acquire a legitimate middle-of-the-order hitter at the 2015 trading deadline, the outlook for the rest of the season will obviously look a lot better. But even if such a hitter were available, and the Mets could land him without surrendering a top pitcher, two big ifs, I won't believe this franchise is willing or able to take on payroll until I see it happen. And in five years, Sandy Alderson has shown the ability to acquire prospects, but not established players.
As Adam Rubin of ESPN noted, the Mets have now scored their last 15 runs with home runs, after recently failing to homer in nine straight games. This would be unsustainable if the lineup were made up of power hitters like Bryce Harper and Giancarlo Stanton, much less than if you are relying on hitting heroics from the likes of Nieuwenhuis and the pitching staff.
At least Lucas Duda hit two homers against Arizona. A return to last year's form for Duda would probably help as much as any deadline acquisition.
As for Nieuwenhuis, I hope he has more days that bring up memories of 1969. But 1969 was also the year that Captain Kirk's original Star Trek was canceled.
Showing posts with label 1969 Mets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1969 Mets. Show all posts
Monday, July 13, 2015
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
With Mets, More Fun to Look Back Than to Look Ahead
The Mets just finished their fiftieth season, and several books have come out to commemorate the occasion. The latest is from the New York Post: "The Amazins: Celebrating Fifty Years of New York Mets History."
Most of "The Amazins" is devoted to profiles of Met players and stories of classic games. There are also sections on the managers, franchise builders, the ballparks and the team voices.
The player profiles and game stories are taken from the pages of the Post. It's fun to see how various Mets were viewed in their heyday and how the games were covered and what the participants had to say at the time.
Vic Ziegel's account of the Mets' clinching the NL East in 1969 includes details such as several Mets emptying cans of Yoo-Hoo over coach Yogi Berra's head and Tom Seaver pouring a bottle of champagne over future adversary M. Donald Grant.
When the Mets clinched the NL pennant in 1973 at Shea Stadium by beating the Reds, 7-2, there was a dark side, as Met fans began storming the dugouts before the game was over. Reds manager Sparky Anderson was quoted as saying, "I'm not angry. I'm just ashamed. I'm ashamed that I live in this country. I'm not too sure New York is in this country."
After the Mets won the 1986 World Series, Gary Carter said, "Regardless of the jealousy, the envy, the hatred that exists for us, we have to be considered a great team now."
After Mike Piazza homered in the first game at Shea after September 11, the Mets' catcher talked about how depressed he was, "but I was thinking ‘You know what? I have to do something, and it might as well be something productive.'"
Player profiles also offer some interesting comments by and about players. In a 1986 story about Keith Hernandez, Tom Seaver, then a member of the Red Sox, said, "The key to Hernandez's success is that he thinks along with the pitcher. I play more mind games with him than almost any hitter I've ever faced."
In a story about David Cone from 1988, Mets executive Joe McIlvaine recalled how he stole Cone from Kansas City Royals GM John Schuerholz the previous year. "It's very unusual to get the top pitching prospect in an organization," McIlvaine said. "Frankly, I was surprised, because our reports on him were so strong."
In a story about catcher Todd Hundley written in 1998 when he had to move to the outfield because the Mets had traded for Mike Piazza, Hundley, trying to look on the bright side, said "Who's to say I can't be another All-Star outfielder, another Craig Biggio, you know?"
Some game stories feature colorful accounts from Post sportswriters. When Al Leiter shut out the Reds in their one-game playoff in 1999, Tom Keegan wrote "He was Mario Cuomo, giving the best speech of his life. Michael Jordan on fire. Robert De Niro immersed in his character. He was Jerry Koosman three decades later. He was an ace."
When backup catcher Todd Pratt hit a walkoff homer to give the Mets a victory over Arizona in the 1999 NLDS, Wally Mathews wrote, "At 32 years old, with a baseball lifetime of disappointments behind him, finally he had done something that will get him free drinks for the rest of his life."
The book is also filled with photos of the Mets, mostly from the pages of the Post.
"The Amazins" may be short on new material and it does not offer the comprehensive history of other commemorative Met books, but it's a fun look back at the highlights of the team's eventful history.
Most of "The Amazins" is devoted to profiles of Met players and stories of classic games. There are also sections on the managers, franchise builders, the ballparks and the team voices.
The player profiles and game stories are taken from the pages of the Post. It's fun to see how various Mets were viewed in their heyday and how the games were covered and what the participants had to say at the time.
Vic Ziegel's account of the Mets' clinching the NL East in 1969 includes details such as several Mets emptying cans of Yoo-Hoo over coach Yogi Berra's head and Tom Seaver pouring a bottle of champagne over future adversary M. Donald Grant.
When the Mets clinched the NL pennant in 1973 at Shea Stadium by beating the Reds, 7-2, there was a dark side, as Met fans began storming the dugouts before the game was over. Reds manager Sparky Anderson was quoted as saying, "I'm not angry. I'm just ashamed. I'm ashamed that I live in this country. I'm not too sure New York is in this country."
After the Mets won the 1986 World Series, Gary Carter said, "Regardless of the jealousy, the envy, the hatred that exists for us, we have to be considered a great team now."
After Mike Piazza homered in the first game at Shea after September 11, the Mets' catcher talked about how depressed he was, "but I was thinking ‘You know what? I have to do something, and it might as well be something productive.'"
Player profiles also offer some interesting comments by and about players. In a 1986 story about Keith Hernandez, Tom Seaver, then a member of the Red Sox, said, "The key to Hernandez's success is that he thinks along with the pitcher. I play more mind games with him than almost any hitter I've ever faced."
In a story about David Cone from 1988, Mets executive Joe McIlvaine recalled how he stole Cone from Kansas City Royals GM John Schuerholz the previous year. "It's very unusual to get the top pitching prospect in an organization," McIlvaine said. "Frankly, I was surprised, because our reports on him were so strong."
In a story about catcher Todd Hundley written in 1998 when he had to move to the outfield because the Mets had traded for Mike Piazza, Hundley, trying to look on the bright side, said "Who's to say I can't be another All-Star outfielder, another Craig Biggio, you know?"
Some game stories feature colorful accounts from Post sportswriters. When Al Leiter shut out the Reds in their one-game playoff in 1999, Tom Keegan wrote "He was Mario Cuomo, giving the best speech of his life. Michael Jordan on fire. Robert De Niro immersed in his character. He was Jerry Koosman three decades later. He was an ace."
When backup catcher Todd Pratt hit a walkoff homer to give the Mets a victory over Arizona in the 1999 NLDS, Wally Mathews wrote, "At 32 years old, with a baseball lifetime of disappointments behind him, finally he had done something that will get him free drinks for the rest of his life."
The book is also filled with photos of the Mets, mostly from the pages of the Post.
"The Amazins" may be short on new material and it does not offer the comprehensive history of other commemorative Met books, but it's a fun look back at the highlights of the team's eventful history.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Javier Vazquez Can Pitch Well in New York After All
On Tuesday night, Javier Vazquez pitched seven shutout innings as the Marlins beat the Mets, 6-0.
In 2010, Vazquez won a total of three games in New York all season.
In his two stints as a Yankee, Vazquez managed as many as six shutout innings while pitching in New York only once - and that was also at Citi Field, on May 21, 2010.
It was the second time this month that Vazquez pitched well in New York. On August 1, Vazquez allowed one run in seven innings at Citi Field, getting a no-decision in a 7-3 Marlins win.
After an awful first half, Vazquez has found his form, with quality starts in 11 of his last 12 appearances.
If the stingy Marlins cut Vazquez loose after the season, would the Mets give him a look if the price were right? Yes, Vazquez was terrible last year in the Bronx, but he does have years of success in the NL East.
***
By the way, Squawker Lisa, here are Vazquez's numbers with the Yankees in 2010, which caused him to be run out of town, compared with A.J. Burnett's numbers this season:
Vazquez: ERA 5.32; WHIP 1.40; W-L 10-10
Burnett: ERA 5.31; WHIP 1.44; W-L 9-11
Those numbers look pretty similar, whether or not you are smoking the objective pipe.
In 2010, Vazquez won a total of three games in New York all season.
In his two stints as a Yankee, Vazquez managed as many as six shutout innings while pitching in New York only once - and that was also at Citi Field, on May 21, 2010.
It was the second time this month that Vazquez pitched well in New York. On August 1, Vazquez allowed one run in seven innings at Citi Field, getting a no-decision in a 7-3 Marlins win.
After an awful first half, Vazquez has found his form, with quality starts in 11 of his last 12 appearances.
If the stingy Marlins cut Vazquez loose after the season, would the Mets give him a look if the price were right? Yes, Vazquez was terrible last year in the Bronx, but he does have years of success in the NL East.
***
By the way, Squawker Lisa, here are Vazquez's numbers with the Yankees in 2010, which caused him to be run out of town, compared with A.J. Burnett's numbers this season:
Vazquez: ERA 5.32; WHIP 1.40; W-L 10-10
Burnett: ERA 5.31; WHIP 1.44; W-L 9-11
Those numbers look pretty similar, whether or not you are smoking the objective pipe.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
The Ghost of Luis Castillo
Tuesday night was not the first time that Squawker Lisa and I attended a Met game in which an error by the Met second baseman turned a one-run lead into a one-run loss. It wasn't the Subway Series and it wasn't the over-the-hill, payroll-clogging Luis Castillo, but it was excruciating all the same.
I've bought into trading Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez. I'm content for this year to root for the Mets to finish over .500 and finish ahead of the Marlins and Nationals.
But what I'm not content with is losing four in a row to the Marlins and Nationals.
Sure, the Mets were a better team with Beltran and K-Rod. But they're not making the playoffs with an infield that seems to make a critical error each night. They may be fourth in the league in runs scored, but their offense seems to alternate between powerhouse and puny. Last week, the Mets scored 38 runs while winning five in a row. They've followed up with scoring eight runs in a four-game losing streak. Sometimes the Mets look great, sometimes they look awful. It averages out to mediocre.
Perhaps the quintessential 2011 Met is Daniel Murphy. He's fifth in the NL in batting at .319. And yet, on a team with few consistent hitters, Murphy's defensive woes make him far from a lock for the lineup down the road.
Justin Turner is no Castillo. He's a promising rookie who made a rookie mistake. But as with Murphy, it's unclear whether he is part of the future or the bridge to that future.
I know the Mets are a ways from being a contender. I just don't like to be reminded of it in the way I was Tuesday night.
By the way, according to Mets Merized Online:
The last time the Mets lost three consecutive games in their last at-bat was June 10-12, 2009 (two extra-inning losses vs. Philadelphia and a loss at Yankee Stadium).
Yes, the last time the Mets lost their third straight game in their last at-bat was the Castillo game. I've got to stop going to Met games with Squawker Lisa!
I've bought into trading Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez. I'm content for this year to root for the Mets to finish over .500 and finish ahead of the Marlins and Nationals.
But what I'm not content with is losing four in a row to the Marlins and Nationals.
Sure, the Mets were a better team with Beltran and K-Rod. But they're not making the playoffs with an infield that seems to make a critical error each night. They may be fourth in the league in runs scored, but their offense seems to alternate between powerhouse and puny. Last week, the Mets scored 38 runs while winning five in a row. They've followed up with scoring eight runs in a four-game losing streak. Sometimes the Mets look great, sometimes they look awful. It averages out to mediocre.
Perhaps the quintessential 2011 Met is Daniel Murphy. He's fifth in the NL in batting at .319. And yet, on a team with few consistent hitters, Murphy's defensive woes make him far from a lock for the lineup down the road.
Justin Turner is no Castillo. He's a promising rookie who made a rookie mistake. But as with Murphy, it's unclear whether he is part of the future or the bridge to that future.
I know the Mets are a ways from being a contender. I just don't like to be reminded of it in the way I was Tuesday night.
By the way, according to Mets Merized Online:
The last time the Mets lost three consecutive games in their last at-bat was June 10-12, 2009 (two extra-inning losses vs. Philadelphia and a loss at Yankee Stadium).
Yes, the last time the Mets lost their third straight game in their last at-bat was the Castillo game. I've got to stop going to Met games with Squawker Lisa!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Mets to Blame for Hatred of Luis Castillo
The main component of most Met fans' dislike for Luis Castillo was not his contract, his incompetence, the dropped popup against the Yankees, and certainly not racism, as one sportswriter suggests. It was the fact that the Mets refused to release him until now.
The Mets have had many lousy performances and lousy decisions over the last couple of years. On Opening Day a year ago, Mike Jacobs and Gary Matthews Jr. were both in the starting lineup. Jacobs even batted cleanup. Jacobs started six of the first 12 games before getting released. Matthews also started six of the first 12.
Imagine if the Mets had decided to keep Jacobs and Matthews around, especially if it meant that Ike Davis would remain in the minors and Angel Pagan would be sent to the bench, which was the case in some games in early April last year. Jacobs and Matthews would be blamed for standing in the way of better players, of preventing the Mets from building toward a better future. They would be getting the same vilification that Castillo and Perez have received. Instead, they are largely forgotten, because the Mets got rid of before they could become symbols of front-office ineptitude.
As it was, the Mets kept Frank Catalanotto around until May and Matthews until June, even when it was clear that they were just taking up roster space. Jacobs, Matthews and Catalanotto have not played in the majors since being cut by the Mets. Catalanotto recently retired.
Keeping players who are unable to find jobs with other teams on your roster tells the fans that you are unconcerned about fielding the best possible team. Except for Davis, it's not as if replacements such as Jesus Feliciano or Chris Carter substantially improved the Mets. But they gave the team and the fans hope, if only briefly, that at least someone was trying to make things better.
Worst of all is when these players are kept around because of a lack of understanding of the concept of sunk costs. The Angels were willing to eat $21 million of Matthews' salary, a good move as it turned out since he now isn't worth anything. Yet Omar Minaya was willing to take on Matthews in the misguided belief that he still had value, just as Minaya signed Gary Sheffield the year before after the Tigers ate $14 million of Sheffield's salary.
Finally, the Mets are the kind of team that gets rid of these players rather than take them on. At least they are today. Let's hope they continue to be that kind of team when it's time to deal with Oliver Perez.
The Mets have had many lousy performances and lousy decisions over the last couple of years. On Opening Day a year ago, Mike Jacobs and Gary Matthews Jr. were both in the starting lineup. Jacobs even batted cleanup. Jacobs started six of the first 12 games before getting released. Matthews also started six of the first 12.
Imagine if the Mets had decided to keep Jacobs and Matthews around, especially if it meant that Ike Davis would remain in the minors and Angel Pagan would be sent to the bench, which was the case in some games in early April last year. Jacobs and Matthews would be blamed for standing in the way of better players, of preventing the Mets from building toward a better future. They would be getting the same vilification that Castillo and Perez have received. Instead, they are largely forgotten, because the Mets got rid of before they could become symbols of front-office ineptitude.
As it was, the Mets kept Frank Catalanotto around until May and Matthews until June, even when it was clear that they were just taking up roster space. Jacobs, Matthews and Catalanotto have not played in the majors since being cut by the Mets. Catalanotto recently retired.
Keeping players who are unable to find jobs with other teams on your roster tells the fans that you are unconcerned about fielding the best possible team. Except for Davis, it's not as if replacements such as Jesus Feliciano or Chris Carter substantially improved the Mets. But they gave the team and the fans hope, if only briefly, that at least someone was trying to make things better.
Worst of all is when these players are kept around because of a lack of understanding of the concept of sunk costs. The Angels were willing to eat $21 million of Matthews' salary, a good move as it turned out since he now isn't worth anything. Yet Omar Minaya was willing to take on Matthews in the misguided belief that he still had value, just as Minaya signed Gary Sheffield the year before after the Tigers ate $14 million of Sheffield's salary.
Finally, the Mets are the kind of team that gets rid of these players rather than take them on. At least they are today. Let's hope they continue to be that kind of team when it's time to deal with Oliver Perez.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Phillies Find Value in Met Castoffs
Wilson Valdez, Brian Schneider and Nelson Figueroa all contributed to the Phillies' fourth straight division title in 2010. The Phillies were reportedly interested in John Maine before he signed with the Rockies Thursday. Do the Phillies have a specific interest in players dropped by the Mets?
Nobody cared much at the time when the Mets cut ties with Valdez, Schneider and Figueroa after the 2009 season. Who knew if these players would even make an MLB roster in 2010. Yet all three ended up contributing to the Phillies' fourth straight division title.
Valdez, filling in for the injured Jimmy Rollins, started 50 games at shortstop. Schneider took over the backup catcher role, starting 38 games behind Carlos Ruiz. Both Valdez and Schneider did well enough that the Phillies are bringing them back this season.
After putting up a 4.09 ERA and 1.48 WHIP in 70 innings in 2009 for the Mets, Figueroa improved to a 3.46 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 26 innings with the Phillies before they released him and he was picked up by the Astros.
It's not as if any of these fringe players have had a turnaround along the lines of an R.A. Dickey. (Though Figueroa, who had a 3.22 ERA in ten starts after joining Houston, would likely be in the competition for a back-of-the-rotation spot were he back with the Mets.) And it's not as if these players put the Phillies over the top in the division race.
But even though the rivalry between the Mets and Phillies has been very one-sided recently, some Phillies players and fans continue to obsess over the Mets. It wouldn't surprise me if the Philies get extra pleasure in showing the Mets that players like Valdez and Schneider can be valuable parts of a playoff team.
After the 2009 season, the Mets signed a Phillies castoff, Chris Coste. One would think that this fringe player would be happy for someone to give him a chance. But Coste was so caught up in the Mets-Phillies rivalry that he may have jeopardized his chances to make the Mets the following spring. Here are excerpts from an interview with Comacast SportsNet Philly after he signed with the Mets:
"It was the Mets," Coste told CSN. "It's the last team I ever saw myself playing for. I knew I was going to accept it, but had to think about it for a few days."
"I will always be a Phillie," Coste told CSN this evening.
If Albert Pujols somehow ended up on the Mets, he could wear a Cardinals cap for all I'd care. But if this is how Coste feels, it's just as well he didn't make it out of spring training with the Mets.
Coste, now 38, has not played in the majors since the Mets cut him. (He was then picked up by the Nationals' organization and released last June.)
As long as the Mets can't compete with the Phillies when it comes to the frontline players, it won't matter where the backups want to play. But as of now, it's just another place where the Phillies are sticking it to the Mets.
Nobody cared much at the time when the Mets cut ties with Valdez, Schneider and Figueroa after the 2009 season. Who knew if these players would even make an MLB roster in 2010. Yet all three ended up contributing to the Phillies' fourth straight division title.
Valdez, filling in for the injured Jimmy Rollins, started 50 games at shortstop. Schneider took over the backup catcher role, starting 38 games behind Carlos Ruiz. Both Valdez and Schneider did well enough that the Phillies are bringing them back this season.
After putting up a 4.09 ERA and 1.48 WHIP in 70 innings in 2009 for the Mets, Figueroa improved to a 3.46 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 26 innings with the Phillies before they released him and he was picked up by the Astros.
It's not as if any of these fringe players have had a turnaround along the lines of an R.A. Dickey. (Though Figueroa, who had a 3.22 ERA in ten starts after joining Houston, would likely be in the competition for a back-of-the-rotation spot were he back with the Mets.) And it's not as if these players put the Phillies over the top in the division race.
But even though the rivalry between the Mets and Phillies has been very one-sided recently, some Phillies players and fans continue to obsess over the Mets. It wouldn't surprise me if the Philies get extra pleasure in showing the Mets that players like Valdez and Schneider can be valuable parts of a playoff team.
After the 2009 season, the Mets signed a Phillies castoff, Chris Coste. One would think that this fringe player would be happy for someone to give him a chance. But Coste was so caught up in the Mets-Phillies rivalry that he may have jeopardized his chances to make the Mets the following spring. Here are excerpts from an interview with Comacast SportsNet Philly after he signed with the Mets:
"It was the Mets," Coste told CSN. "It's the last team I ever saw myself playing for. I knew I was going to accept it, but had to think about it for a few days."
"I will always be a Phillie," Coste told CSN this evening.
If Albert Pujols somehow ended up on the Mets, he could wear a Cardinals cap for all I'd care. But if this is how Coste feels, it's just as well he didn't make it out of spring training with the Mets.
Coste, now 38, has not played in the majors since the Mets cut him. (He was then picked up by the Nationals' organization and released last June.)
As long as the Mets can't compete with the Phillies when it comes to the frontline players, it won't matter where the backups want to play. But as of now, it's just another place where the Phillies are sticking it to the Mets.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
How this Yankee fan became a Mets VIP
Guess what? I'm in with the in-crowd in Metsland. And it's all because I spent 97 cents on Mets tickets!
Here's the deal. Squawker Jon was all pleased last week when he got an email from the Mets saying this:
So tickets go on sale this morning at 10 a.m., and I've been furiously going through the promotion schedule, trying to figure what great giveaway day I should aim for with my pre-sale opportunity. Should I try to get the Johan Santana koozie? The Dunkin' Donuts gift card? The Jose Reyes drawstring bag? Maybe the Jason Bay bobblehead is where it's at.
What about August 1, the date for the Mets 2010 Hall of Fame Induction? Which members of the Brooklyn Dodgers will Fred Wilpon honor this time - Duke Snider? Pee Wee Reese? Oh, wait, there are actually going to be Mets honored! Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden are the two biggest names. Of course, both have more World Series rings as Yankees than as Mets, but I digress.
Maybe I should try for Mets Opening Day tickets, which are shockingly still available. When the Yankees hold their Opening Day this season, they'll hoist their 2009 World Championship flag. I hear that the Mets will put up their own flag to commemorate their 2009 season - the Red Cross flag!
What do you think? Tell us about it!
Here's the deal. Squawker Jon was all pleased last week when he got an email from the Mets saying this:
Dear Mets Ticket Buyer on StubHub:Little did he know that I got the very same "exclusive" letter, thanks to me digging deep last season and buying us Mets tickets for 97 cents each. We even got the same pre-sale code!
As a Mets ticket purchaser on StubHub during the 2009 season, we are pleased to offer you an exclusive "Pre-Sale" opportunity to purchase single game tickets to 2010 Mets regular season home games (excluding only the Subway Series) in advance of our general public sales opening on Sunday, March 7.....
A limited number of tickets for Opening Day, April 5 will be available in the Pre-Sale. You may purchase a maximum of four tickets for Opening Day, subject to availability.
So tickets go on sale this morning at 10 a.m., and I've been furiously going through the promotion schedule, trying to figure what great giveaway day I should aim for with my pre-sale opportunity. Should I try to get the Johan Santana koozie? The Dunkin' Donuts gift card? The Jose Reyes drawstring bag? Maybe the Jason Bay bobblehead is where it's at.
What about August 1, the date for the Mets 2010 Hall of Fame Induction? Which members of the Brooklyn Dodgers will Fred Wilpon honor this time - Duke Snider? Pee Wee Reese? Oh, wait, there are actually going to be Mets honored! Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden are the two biggest names. Of course, both have more World Series rings as Yankees than as Mets, but I digress.
Maybe I should try for Mets Opening Day tickets, which are shockingly still available. When the Yankees hold their Opening Day this season, they'll hoist their 2009 World Championship flag. I hear that the Mets will put up their own flag to commemorate their 2009 season - the Red Cross flag!
What do you think? Tell us about it!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Interview with Matthew Silverman - co-editor of new 1969 Mets book 'The Miracle Has Landed'
The Miracle Has Landed: The Amazin' Story of How the 1969 Mets Shocked the World is a new book celebrating the Miracle Mets. The book is a project of SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) that contains biographies of every player, coach, broadcaster and signficant front office member of the 1969 Mets. It also features essays on the greatest moments of the season, including perspectives from fans of the Cubs and Orioles, as well as rare photos and images of 1969 baseball cards.I have not read the entire book yet (it is almost 400 oversized pages), but I have read more than enough of the essays and sidebars to recommend it highly to any Met fan. If you are familiar with 1969, the book will bring back many great memories, but you are likely to learn many new facts as well. If you are not familiar with 1969, this book is a great place to start.
"Miracle" co-editor Matthew Silverman has written numerous books about the Mets, including "Shea Good Bye" (co-written with Keith Hernandez) and "100 Things Met Fans Should Know Before They Die."
Silverman agreed to answer some questions from Subway Squawkers on the Miracle Mets:
While reading the book, I learned that Jerry Koosman avoided getting released in 1966 because he owed Met farm director Joe McDonald $50. What did you learn from doing this book that you did not know before?
First, thanks for having me. I also want to mention that The Miracle Has Landed is a compilation of about 40 writers, along with co-editor Ken Samelson, who put in their time for free to benefit this book for the Society of American Baseball Research. That said, here's a few of my favorite things I learned about '69 in the last year:
--That the Mets lost four of Tom Seaver's first five starts in 1969, but between the end of April and mid-July, Seaver won 13 of 14 starts with seven complete games. (He'd finish 25-7 and would complete each of his last eight starts.)
--That Gil Hodges used almost 100 different batting orders during the season. If you look at the postseason batting orders, Hodges, who advocated using all his players, had one lineup against a right-hander and a second order against a lefty. During the season, though, he changed the order on a nearly nightly basis--even sitting slugger Donn Clendenon a lot of the time. It worked.
--That the Mets schedule originally had them playing without a day off for most of the first month, but it rained a lot that spring--and for much of '69--so the Mets benefited from a lot of rainouts while the Cubs got off a scalding start. Those games were made up in August, when the Mets were hot and their pitching unstoppable. The Mets swept six of the nine doubleheaders they played in the final weeks of the season while the Cubs floundered.
Most Met fans are familiar with such legendary 1969 games and moments as Tom Seaver's "imperfect game" and the black cat that walked in front of the Cubs' dugout. What lesser-known game or event from 1969 would you point to as further evidence of what a special year it was?
There are probably a dozen games from that season Mets fans still remember, like the 1-0 wins where the pitchers drove in both runs in the doubleheader in Pittsburgh; Cardinal Steve Carlton 19-strikeout game he lost on two Ron Swoboda home runs; and even the Mets getting no-hit by Bob Moose at Shea two weeks before the season ended, but there was a remarkable win at the end of August at a time when the Mets could have faded.
The Mets had won 12 of 13 to go from 10 back to 2 1/2 behind, but Juan Marichal skunked them in San Francisco while the Cubs won in Atlanta to go back up by four. The next afternoon, August 30, the Cubs had already won when the Mets allowed a game-tying double to Willie McCovey (NL MVP in '69). It looks like the Giants will win in the ninth when McCovey hits another double, this time the other way against the "McCovey shift," but left fielder Rod Gaspar makes a desperation thrown to the plate and gets Bob Burda.
The catcher, Jerry Grote, thinks it's the third out and rolls the ball onto the field. First baseman Donn Clendenon races over, grabs it, and throws to third to get McCovey. So Willie Mac doubles into a double play! Clendenon homers the next inning. The Mets finish 26-9 while the Cubs won just 10 of their last 28.
What 1969 Met player does not get the recognition he deserves?
A few of the guys have faded a bit from the public's appreciation, like Cleon Jones, who hit .340 in '69, but most Mets fans still know and love him. An important player who is often forgotten is reliever Ron Taylor. The starters on the Mets were superb and had more than 50 complete games, but when they couldn't go the distance, they called on Taylor. He was also the only Met with postseason experience (as a 1964 Cardinal) and he got the last out in the first World Series win in Mets history in Game Two.
He helped Tug McGraw adapt to a new role in the bullpen and between them they were magnificent down the stretch. Taylor is among the last of the '69 Mets still affiliated with a major league team. The only non-American on the '69 club, the Toronto native became a doctor after he retired and has been team physician for the Blue Jays for 30 years.
If Tampa Bay had won the World Series in 2008 after never coming close to a winning season in the franchise's first ten years, do you think that would that have been as big a miracle as the 1969 Mets?
There was no ESPN, Internet, Twitter, or other methods of instant hype in 1969 and to tell you the truth the fact that there wasn't probably makes the '69 Mets more of a legend. The Rays were more of a fact while the '69 Mets seemed like the stuff of fiction. The '08 Rays were a remarkable story, but they were created during a time when there were many ways for an expansion club to help itself, such as free agency, while the Mets had to rely almost solely on players other teams didn't want.
The Rays screwed up repeatedly and were terribly run. No one thought their losing lovable, as Mets fans had of their club in the early years. And I don't mean to sound provincial, but if you have a New York Miracle or one in Tampa, I think the New York one probably wins out in people's perceptions.
New Hall of Famer Whitey Herzog was an important part of the Mets' organization in 1969. How do you think Met history would have been different had Herzog become Met GM or manager in the early 1970s?
I like to think there'd be more than one world championship banner since '69 if Whitey had been kept around. We have a piece in The Miracle Has Landed on Herzog following the M. Donald Grant bio. Those two couldn't stand each other. As Mets farm director, Herzog belittled Grant, the board chairman, because Whitey wanted him to stop meddling. He wasn't subtle about it. So when GM Johnny Murphy died a couple of months after the world championship, the replacement was blundering Bob Scheffing (the guy who traded Nolan Ryan against Herzog's advice) because Grant wasn't about to let Herzog get it.
When Gil Hodges died in '72, Herzog wasn't even considered as replacement. Herzog left and started a managing career that was good enough for the Hall of Fame. Herzog is one of the great "ifs" in Mets history. He made the Royals into a three-time division champ in the late 1970s and then he took the Cardinals to three World Series (two at the Mets' expense). He still might be the only guy I can think of who could make the 2010 Mets legitimate contenders because Whitey knew how to build a team around a big ballpark in St. Louis. It's not easy, but Herzog made it look that way.
Next season, the Mets will display their history more prominently at Citi Field. Aside from what has already been announced, how would you like to see 1969 commemorated at Citi Field?
I was disappointed the Mets wore a mock-up of an old New York Giants baseball uniform--against San Francisco!--but no one thought that maybe during the 40th anniversary season they should wear the '69 uniforms, with the Major League Baseball logo patch (1969 was the first year for that). I'd still like to see them do that and I think a lot of Mets fans wouldn't mind seeing that as the alternate uniform instead of the one the team recently announced to groans throughout the tri-state area.
I really liked the 80-foot tall '69 tribute they had at Shea above the Mets bullpen. I could certainly live with a tribute where everyone could see it, such as in the food court area or maybe on the roof of the Robinson Rotunda, along with some words that explained who they were and why that was the touchstone moment for this franchise. No matter how many years ago it was, 1969 was the year the Mets had their confirmation, bar-mitzvah, what have you. No expansion team had ever won a championship before the '69 Mets and none would again until 1985. The '69 Mets are always worth remembering and celebrating.
Photo by ShellyS.
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