David Rubin - In Through the Out Door (Plus News & Notes)

I grew up in New York and lived there for the first 29 years of my life. I have resided in Southern California for the past 26 years, and of course have remained a rabid Mets fan. It’s not always easy, being over 3000 miles away from your favorite team, a situation made far more enjoyable and tolerable with the advent of MLB TV some 13 years ago. Being able to watch every game in the comfort of your own home once more is something that you can easily take for granted when you live in the same state as your team; being able to go see your team in person 81 times a year, plus Spring Training, is something else that it’s easy to take for granted. Therefore, once per year, when the Mets of Queens visit the Dodgers of Los Angeles, I gear up and head over to Elysian Fields to root in person for our beloved boys in blue and orange. It’s still a surreal experience, one I wanted to share in greater depth with our readers, the majority of whom still reside in the tristate area and have most likely not experienced a game in enemy territory.

Imagine walking into a battlefield, wearing the colors of your tribe, with no one to get your back, surrounded by thousands of enemies, ready to attack you at a moment’s notice. Then, to add insult to injury, while they keep their distance, for now, you have to eat food at the same place that they will, getting evil stares from the same people that you’re about to hand over your hard-won treasures to for a small meal that costs you WAY more than it should, praying that no one will spit in your cup. This is similar to the way a Mets’ fan feels when walking into Dodger Stadium, the way I am about to tonight. Thankfully, this time I’m going with a group of 25 people from work, including 2 other Mets fans, so I won’t be “wearing the colors” alone.

I usually go to the Dodgers-Mets game with some fellow ex-pats who also gear up in the orange and blue, but there have been times when I was the only fan in my party and had to deal with being on the receiving end of a barrage of ice cubes, peanuts, Cracker Jack, mustard packets and the most colorful language you can imagine. Yet, through all of these shenanigans, I consider myself fortunate that I live in a city that hosts a National League team and I’m able to afford to go to as many of the games that I’m able to get to, pending work and family obligations. From the time I park, in the far-away lands of the Dodger Stadium lots, I don my cap and prepare for the insults and dirty looks to follow. I’ve found that wearing a Mike Piazza jersey deflects some of the insults, and leaves many Dodger fans disarmed as they still mourn his trade, much as those of us old enough still mourn the loss of Tom Seaver.

Upon arriving at my seat I ensure that my drink is always covered, as is my food, because the one thing you do NOT want to happen is some lucky shot from someone in the upper deck lands in your $35 meal and you have to purchase part or all of it a second time (hey- I DO learn from my mistakes, DESPITE what my wife might say…) I keep a huge supply of napkins on hand, as well as a travel pack of wet-wipes and a Shout pen, ready to protect my colors at all times (and we will NOT revisit what happened to my deGrom jersey in 2016!) I usually get to the park as early as possible, so I have a better chance of scarfing my food down prior to the majority of fans arriving – after all, this IS Los Angeles, home of the third inning arrival.

Once the game starts, I brace myself for two things- when the Mets score, the barrage of popcorn and peanuts usually begins; and, when the Dodgers score, the barrage of popcorn and peanuts begins, accompanied by the chants of “you suck!” Again, Mets-fan here, folks- my skin is already so thick it’s going to take a HELL of a lot more than THAT to get my ire up (and the last thing you want to show a bully is that his actions are actually getting to you.) On the rare occasion that it’s a blow-out in our favor, I’ve been told that the shit-eating grin on my face gets to be overbearing – but, hey, that came from a Dodger fan and it’s not like that happens too often. Again- METS!!

I rarely, if ever, get up from my seat once the game has begun. I bring snacks with me and don't dare use the restrooms, less I become another casualty of a drunk fan's stupidity. I don't believe in poking the bear, so to speak, if you don't have to, and while I've won way more than my share of scuffles over the years, there's no reason to put yourself in the receiving position of some idiots' false bravado. If I need something to drink I wait for a vendor to come around, and have only once received a nasty word from one regarding my Met gear (admittedly, it was to be expected, coming in 2015 during the Division Series and with deGrom making the boys of summer look silly.) 

Finally, win or lose, the first thing I do once we are leaving for the parking lot is to take my hat off- I’ve seen fans (hate calling them that) grab hats of opposing teams right off the heads of their fans and either toss them into a nearby garbage can or keep them in the evilest game of adult monkey-in-the-middle you can imagine. Then, bracing for the inevitable insults, I prepare my come-backs  - which include things like “Hey-the Dodgers came from Brooklyn and so did I” to “Hey- let this fan of that small market team from New York have his fun- after all, I hate the Yankees, too!” If that doesn’t work, I’ve been known to share a scary growl or two…

Once I get to my car, it’s usually 30 minutes to an hour before you can completely exit Dodger Stadium’s massive traffic-jam, and I’ve already removed my jersey and hat because the last thing you want is for some beer-fueled idiot to throw something at your car- which, again, I’ve seen too many times in person to take for granted. I’ve already got WCBS playing on my phone, for the Happy – or not-so-Happy – recap, and while reliving the game on the way home, I’m once again reminded of how wonderful it is to be able to be so far from home, yet so close to the boys from Queens even if it’s only for one night. It was easy to take it for granted when you can attend anywhere from 15 to 35 games home games every season, but when you get one home-stand nearby (although, technically, you do get another one, but it’s 130 miles away in San Diego) you don’t take it for granted and you do everything in your power to attend at least one, if not all of those games.

This year, I’m incredibly blessed to be going to the games honoring the 50^th anniversary of the 1969 team at CitiField in late June, but that won’t make me take for granted the excitement and craziness of seeing your team in enemy territory. Now if only the 7Line Army were here…

News & Notes

~I’m hoping that the recently waived Rajai Davis isn’t claimed by anyone, because I’d love to see him return to Syracuse. I have a feeling the way this season is going that we’re going to need his services again before too long.

~I’ve spoken to a few people about the Rawlings baseball being utilized by Major League Baseball this season, and all are in agreement that not just the density of the ball but the laces themselves, as well as their height, are very different from even last year’s model. This would excuse the de-evolution of the game’s best pitchers, including Chris Sale, Max Scherzer and our own, Jacob deGrom. It’s an alarming development none-the-less, and with the accelerated strike-out and home run rates spiking like crazy, this pitching-loving fan is up and arms. I’m sure it’s helping drive up Fantasy League enrollment, but it’s maddening to purists like myself, and I long for the days of 2-1 and 3-2 pitching duels. Let’s hope they’re not gone forever…

~2 weeks and counting until Ron Swoboda’s book, “Here’s The Catch” is released. While I’m in the final pages of Wayne Coffey’s excellent “They Said it Couldn’t Be Done,” I’m excited for Swoboda’s first person account of this most historic series. I had the pleasure of meeting Swoboda twice, once when he was a sportscaster on the nightly news in New York, and a second time, in 2014 at the Father’s Day game in CitiField. I’ll discuss both of these meetings in depth when his book is released, but I find Swoboda to be a very engaging, funny and genuinely nice person and I’m sure that his memories will add much to this already well-written about topic.

~IF this team is going to contend in the (surprisingly weak) NL East, they need more contributions like they’ve received from Wilson Ramos last week and Michael Conforto on Tuesday. I know we have tons of injuries, but it’s almost June and the season is just about one-third gone, so letting the injury excuse take over just gives the ownership another out, which they don’t deserve. Great teams rise up in spite of their circumstances – if this team wants to be taken seriously, while Nimmo, Lowrie, Cano, Lugo, et al heal, they need to remain close to the Phils and Braves and then make a run for it once the majority of the team is healthy, IF that ever happens…

~Steven Matz has become the most consistent starter in the team’s rotation this season. Let those words roll around your brain for a moment…

~Glad to see Sandy Alderson doing well with the Oakland A’s. We only wish him well, and regardless of whether you appreciated his tenure with the Mets or not, he gave us all a huge thrill in 2015. Wishing Sandy continued good health for many years to come!

~Chaim Bloom might not have been as much of an outside-the-box choice for GM as Brodie ended up being, but you certainly cannot overlook the job he continues to do in Tampa Bay.  With little to no budget in the most competitive division in the game, Tampa is only 1.5 games behind the Yankees, and have spent about a quarter as much on their payroll as the bullies from the Bronx have. You have to think, had Bloom been in control, Kelenic would have been promoted to the Mets High A team and not the Mariners. Oh well…

©Major League Baseball

~Our most sincere condolences to the family of the late, great Bill Buckner. Billy Buck was so much more than the older guy who had a ball pass between his legs in the biggest stage in baseball – finishing his career with over 1,200 RBI’s, over 2700 hits (more than Ted Williams) and a lifetime batting average of .289. As a hitter Buckner’s stats were very close to those of legendary Met and borderline Hall of Famer, Keith Hernandez. He and Mookie Wilson, forever tied together due to that play, became good friends over the years and their commercial for MLB from a few years ago was priceless. Buckner’s appearance in the Larry David comedy, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” was a priceless moment for baseball fans, and I hope Buckner will be remembered more for a fantastic career then just for a play that he shouldn’t even have been on the field for…

~The Mets are going through one of the hardest stretches of their schedule all season, and from now until the All-Star Break they play a majority of teams that are currently over .500. This is one season where, by the time early July comes, we should really know what this team is and how they should and will proceed for 2020. I’m hoping that we have a lot more to cheer about the rest of the season beyond reliving our success from 50 years ago…

~Have a great week! And as always, Let’s Go Mets!