The View From The Rear View Mirror - Michael Jawitz

 By -  Michael Jawitz

One of the best aspects of joining a Facebook group is the opportunity it gives you to connect with a universe of people who share your interest. As a long-time New York Mets fan who has lived in San Francisco for the past thirty years, I’ve discovered how easily the social network makes it to connect to and correspond with fellow believers worldwide. One person who I share a special affinity with is from Sydney, Australia. We both live a long way from Citi Field, so in that sense we are kindred spirits, rooting for a team we seldom see in person.  

One of the ways I am going to reach out to him is through baseball cards, which he doesn’t have. I have been collecting them for over thirty-five years and have at least five thousand cards on hand. I’m going to send my friend a gift of twenty-five Mets baseball cards; that’s the easy part. Now comes the more challenging but fun part of this task, deciding which players to select. If it were you, which ones would you choose?  

Let’s pretend for a moment, that we all have duplicates of every New York Mets baseball card that was ever issued. Assuming you wanted to give twenty-five key cards to a fellow Mets fan on the other side of the world, or even down the block, which players would you include? For my initial offerings here at Mack’s Mets, not only will I offer my choices of players but their baseball cards as well, making certain to answer the most compelling question of them all, why? Let’s play ball! 

Keith Hernandez was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals in June of 1983 in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals for pitchers Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey. I remember how excited my Dad and I were; we couldn’t wait to get to Shea Stadium to see him wearing the orange and blue. On June 22, 1983 we attended a twilight double header in which he would be playing in his fourth and fifth home games as a Met. We saw an instant improvement in the infield’s quality of play. Here was a building block upon which the team could blossom and grow, a quality, former National League co-MVP (1979) who at 29 still had many productive years in front of him. His 1983 Topps Traded card was the first one available with him wearing our uniform. I’ve placed it here because I love that year’s card design and because it captures the thrill and excitement that we Mets fans felt when he joined our ongoing and rapidly improving saga.    

Ron Hunt was “our” first good player. Yes there had already been good Mets players, such as Hall of Fame outfielder Richie Ashburn, but he played for us at the tail end of a career that was played primarily for the Philadelphia Phillies. Hunt was purchased from the Milwaukee Braves after the 1962 season and debuted with the big club in 1963, impressing all and coming in second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting, trailing only Pete Rose. Hunt was even better in 1964, when he hit .303 and made the All-Star team. I was positively giddy; we had someone good!  

The players I most enjoy watching aren't those who necessarily possess the most skill. I’m drawn to players who may have a little less talent but compensate with a greater level of intensity that becomes immediately apparent on the field. Ron Hunt was just such a player, hustling, aggressive and hungry, with a uniform that got dirty early in the game. His 1965 Topps card appears here because it is a nice picture that offers a view of Shea Stadium behind him.  

I’ll identify more Mets players + cards next week.