As I sit in New York writing this, a blizzard is all
around me. With a foot of snow on the
ground it is hard to believe that the Mets are just a blink of an eye from
starting Spring Training. But there are
players in camp already, the equipment truck has completed its long journey
from Citi Field to the Port St. Lucie complex, and soon we will see which
automobile Yoenis Cespedes arrives in daily. I
cannot wait.
I am old enough
to remember the first spring training of the New York Mets. It was so much
different then as it is now. Back then,
the coverage was very limited. Somewhere, there is a black and white video
of Ralph Kiner, Lindsay Nelson, and Bob Murphy introducing New York to the Mets and an interview with Casey Stengel. Spring Training in those days, had
activities such as sliding drills and bunting practice, two arts that are
missing in today’s game. We were very
fortunate if there was a blurb on the
evening news to find out what was going
on in Tampa- St. Pete. Now,it’s all so different. With cable tv stations, and a sports talk
radio, there is literally wall to wall coverage of not only the Mets but of all
MLB teams. SNY, the Mets cable home, will
have reports nightly, a weekly show, as well as some Spring Training
games. WOR radio will broadcast a ton of
Spring games, back in the day, we were lucky to get a game once a week or one
every two weeks. Oh, the age we live in!
All that be said it is a wonderful time to be alive,
especially for a baseball junkie. so, as you sit in below freezing weather this
weekend, sipping on a hot chocolate, put the TV on and catch the boys of summer
in sunny Florida, starting the journey to the 2017 MLB season.
Four New York Mets will be participating in this year’s
World Baseball Classic. The four are Jeurys Familia, Jose Reyes, TJ Rivera, and Seth Lugo. Familia and Reyes will play for the
Dominican Republic, Rivera and Lugo will play for Puerto Rico, Ty Kelly will play for Israel, but the Mets designated
him for assignment to make room on the 40 man roster, and Asdrubal Cabrera was to suit up for Venezuela however,
he was left off the roster. I have to
admit that I was not a big fan of the World Baseball Classic in years past,
but, after attending a game in the mini tournament held in Brooklyn last
season, and watching the rest of the tournament online, I have a new outlook.
The games were pretty well played, Pakistan, which is new to the sport, fielded
a weak team but, it was interesting to see the game being learned and played by
yet, another country in the world. Also, to see the spirit of the crowds was
very contagious, and made for a very fun experience. So, come March I will be sure to catch the action
and pray that none of our Mets get injured and have great series.
Mets beat writer, Adam Rubin,
announced that he was leaving ESPN.com and journalism and taking a job in
public relations. I enjoyed reading his
reports and wish him good luck in his future endeavors.
6 comments:
Gary -
Great post!
Welcome back to Mack's Mets
Mack -
I was there in 1962 when the 'Big 3' announcers started.
I also had a tryout with the Mets at the end of 1962 that Casey Stengel invited all coaches to send their best players for an pen tryout. I didn't play high school ball because both my parents were dead by then and I had to work after school. I also graduated at 16 years old in 1963 so I was considered underage. Still, I managed to wiggle my way in and failed miserably... but it is a memory I cherish.
Note: 2 kids were signed out of 400-500 tryouts... a first baseman named Rick Herscher (sp?) and a catcher out of John Adams HS
I was a failure with a bat in my hands at a much younger age, Mack. The only time I did well was one year when the Little League cutoff was in August and I am a September baby so I was bigger than everyone else and for one season batted like an All-Star.
Wow! Rick Herrscher made it to the Show that year! Played a bunch of positions, none very well & couldn't hit either. Otherwise...
Good memories. My Dad was a long time Yanks fan.m. In 1961, I picked Maris. In 1962, Dad asked if I wanted to root for the new team in town. Still liked the Yanks, but the Mets somehow became my team.
Ahhh the old days. I was a Dodger fan slash Koufax fan before the Amazin's came to be but how could you not fall in love with this new NL club warts and all and by the way who are the Yankees? LOL. Also if you were lucky enough and old enough to be a Met fan in that era or should I say error it was so awesome to watch us go from awful to WS champs BEFORE the dreaded free agent period began when it was about baseball NOT salaries. Oh well that's my story and thanks Gary for that post.
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