Good morning. Happy
Birthday Daniel
Murphy, Brooklyn Cyclones Pitcher Mitch
Ragan, and Willie Montanez,
and 38 years ago today the Mets traded Lee
Mazzilli for Ron Darling
and Walt
Terrell, that and more, let's hit the links.
First Robinson
Cano, Pete Alonso, and Darryl
Strawberry talked to A-Rod on his Instagram show now it was Keith
Hernandez’ turn. Per
SNY.TV here is one of the best quotes: "I'm a traditionalist. You've
got speed at the top, the one-two hitters. Guys that can handle the bat, get on
base, second hitter is a guy who can hit-and-run, but that's another lost art
of the game. They don't believe in that. Guys who can take pitches and allow
the steal, then your big boppers come in, your traditional third hitter, your
best hitter in the lineup average-wise, clutch hitter, line-drive hitter, then
comes your 4-5-6 hitters. …That's the meat of the order."
Yahoo
Sports: Major League Baseball announced Tuesday that a weekly $400 stipend for
minor league players has been extended through May 31. In the unlikely
event the season starts before then, salaries would replace stipends.
NY
Daily News: New study says 2019 playoff balls were de-juiced, but MLB still has
no answers. The 2019 MLB season saw a record 6,776 home runs, up nearly
1,200 from the previous year and far exceeding anything from the infamous
“steroid era.” Then, suddenly, whatever caused the baseball to rupture the
atmosphere from April through September vanished in October. Fly ball distances
plummeted through the postseason. Bradford William Davis has the extensive
report here including his talk to Dr. Meredith Wills, a sports data scientist
with a PhD in astrophysics who found out that the postseason ball acted
differently, because some of them were different. Some, but not all.
Deesha
Thosar NY Daily News: These 10 Mets players will become free agents at the end
of the year despite a shortened or canceled season. Marcus
Stroman, Yoenis
Céspedes, Jed Lowrie,
Dellin
Betances, Rick
Porcello, Wilson
Ramos, Justin
Wilson, Michael
Wacha, Jake
Marisnick, Brad Brach.
Mets 360.com: Mets
2020 projections: Michael
Wacha. 105 IP; 5.10 ERA; 90Ks; 50 BB; 18 HR; - At this point, any
Mets Baseball would be great – even if Michael Wacha has a 50 ERA.
SNY.TV:
Ron
Darling describes his Opening Day memories.
LoHud:
Will Jacob
deGrom achieve the three-peat? If deGrom captured the honor in 2020, he
would join Greg Maddux
(1992-1995) and Randy
Johnson (1999-2002) as the only NL pitchers to win at least three Cy Young
Awards in a row.
NJ.com:
Will coronavirus wipe out Baseball Hall of Fame weekend for Yankees great Derek Jeter,
others? While the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum closed to the public
indefinitely as of 5 p.m., March 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Hall of
Fame Weekend still hasn’t been postponed.
Elite
Sports NY: New York Mets greatest forgotten players: 3B Wayne
Garrett. Great piece. Includes footage of Wayne hitting pivotal home
run in game 3 of the 1969 NLCS.
Rising Apple:
Mets starting pitching in 2000 is what got them over the hump.
Call
to the Pen: When baseball returns, watch the passion swell, say managers. “New
York Mets manager Luis Rojas believes the core passion players and fans alike
have will revive the patient. It’s ‘going to be higher than ever because we
miss it so much, including the fans,’ Rojas says. ‘I think that passion is
going to be higher than ever.’”
NJ.com:
ESPN’s Jeff Van Gundy is not hopeful for sports this year: “I don’t think
we’re going to play NBA basketball again this year. I don’t see Major League
Baseball happening and I see the NFL and college football starting late.”
NY
Post: Ex-Yankee and Met Al Leiter has challenge for MLB in shortened season.
“I think this is a chance for central baseball to come up with some really
creative stuff that will be accepted… You are probably going to see expanded
rosters, especially with pitchers. Come out, have starters go three innings and
let that be the norm in the real big-league game for a couple of go-arounds.”
MiLB
had the Top Prospect Team for 20 year olds. Besides Jarred
Kelenic who made the team as an outfielder, Brett
Baty is the lone Mets representative as the
designated hitter. “The left-handed slugger has already shown off a solid
approach and good power with a .368 OBP, .452 slugging percentage and 25
extra-base hits in 51 games across three levels, the top being Class A Short
Season Brooklyn. Strikeouts could be an issue, but the power alone has the
chance to make up for it. Given his size at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, it's a
question of whether he'll move over to first someday soon.”
Fredricknewsport.com:
Orioles minor league knuckleballer Jannis used any chance he could in spring to
show off unique pitch. Though [former Syracuse Met and Binghamton Rumble
Pony Mickey] Jannis was summoned to the Orioles’ major league games many times
this spring and warmed up a few times, he didn’t get into a game before the
coronavirus pandemic shut things down. It could be a while before he gets a
chance to show his knuckleball off a game. But whether it’s a bullpen session
or live batting practice at minor league camp, he knows those opportunities are
valuable.
NJ.Com:
Failed Yankees prospect’s $1.6-million lawsuit vs. Reds strikes out. Former
New York Yankees third base prospect Garrison
Lassiter sued the Yankees for $34 million and the Reds for $1.6 million.
Both lawsuits were dismissed.
Yonhap
News Agency: The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) did an about-face last
week, when it required foreign players who'd recently returned from overseas to
self-isolate for two weeks.
Jballallen.com:
2-time PL champion manager Masataka Nashida won Pacific League pennants with
the Kintetsu Buffaloes and Nippon Ham Fighters tested positive for the new
coronavirus.
Baseball
Leagues In Korea, Japan Face Ongoing Coronavirus Challenges. Although NPB
had been pushing for an April 24 start, Sports Nippon in Japan reports that
league officials are now questioning whether that’s a viable target date. Meanwhile, in a full column for Yonhap, Yoo
reports that the KBO is contemplating weekly Monday doubleheaders as the league
mulls season lengths of 124 games, 117 games and 108 games (all declines from
the traditional 144-game length).
Mack’s
Blast From The Past comes from 4-1-12 – Mack
interviews Chasen
Bradford.
Born on this date:
- Vern Hoscheit
(1922)
- Rod Kanehl (1934)
- Rusty Staub
(1944)
- Willie Montanez
(1948)
- Daniel Murphy (1985)
- Mitch Ragan (1997)
Died on this date:
- Lou Gorman (2011)
Transactions:
New York Mets purchased Duke Snider from the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 1, 1963.
New York Mets traded Ed Bressoud and Danny Napoleon to the St. Louis Cardinals for Jerry Buchek, Art Mahaffey and Tony Martinez on April 1, 1967.
New York Mets released Bruce Boisclair on April 1, 1980.
New York Mets traded Lee Mazzilli to the Texas Rangers for Ron Darling and Walt Terrell on April 1, 1982.
New York Mets traded Tucker Ashford to the Kansas City Royals for Tom Edens on April 1, 1984.
New York Mets released Tom Gorman on April 1, 1986.
New York Mets traded John Gibbons to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Craig Shipley on April 1, 1988.
New York Mets released Kelly Stinnett on April 1, 2005.
Seattle Mariners claimed Wilson Valdez of the New York Mets on
waivers on April 1, 2005.
1963
|
Former Brooklyn Dodger Duke Snider returns to New York when the Mets
purchase him from LA for $40,000. The 36 year-old outfielder, who will
represent New York in the All-Star Game, will be told at the end of the season
by Buzzi Bavasi, his former GM, that the Yankees had asked for him to back up
Mickey
Mantle before he was dealt to the team the across the river.
|
1982
|
The Mets send outfielder Lee
Mazzilli to Texas for rookie starters Ron
Darling and Walt
Terrell. This deal isn't well-received at the time, but the trade turns
out to be a steal for New York when the two right-handers combine for 118
victories during their tenure with the team.
|
1987
|
Mets phenom pitcher Dwight
Gooden avoids suspension for substance abuse by agreeing to enter a drug
rehab facility. The talented 22 year-old right-hander will make his first
start on June 5 and will win 15 games for the team despite missing the first
two months of the season.
|
1996
|
The Mets rally overcome a 6-0 deficit,
beating the Cardinals at Shea Stadium, 7-6. The decisive run in the biggest
Opening Day comeback of the century scores as a result of an unusual double
play when Bernard Gilkey, the base runner on first, is doubled up on Rico
Brogna's short sac fly to right field (RF-1B-SS-1B-SS), allowing Lance
Johnson to cross home plate on the play.
|
1997
|
Setting a record for the most runs
scored in one inning of an Opening Day contest this century, the Padres score
11 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning en route to a 12-5 rout of the
Mets. Chris Gomez, Rickey Henderson, and Quilvio Veras lead the attack with
back-to-back-to-back home runs.
|
2002
|
The Mets, with a 6-2 victory over
the Bucs at Shea Stadium, improve their mark for Opening Day victories to
26-15 (.634), a major league record. The New York expansion team didn't win
their first season opener until the ninth year of the franchise's existence.
|
2008
|
With two outs in the 10th inning,
Robert Andino's first career round-tripper is a memorable one as his walk-off
homer to deep left off Matt Wise gives the Marlins a 5-4 victory over the
Mets at Dolphin Stadium. The post-game celebration is short-lived when the
Miami native takes off for home to meet police after getting a text message
from his wife informing him their house may have an intruder.
|
2015
|
Auction items featured in
Sotheby's "New York Sale" include the 1967 Mets' bullpen cart,
which is shaped like a baseball wearing a cap. The electric-powered vehicle,
valued between $20,000 and $30,000, fetches an amazing high bid of $125,000.
|
1963 - The New York Mets purchase veteran outfielder Duke Snider
from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Snider, one of the most popular players in the
New York City area, starred for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1947 to 1957. The
future Hall of Famer will hit 14 home runs for the Mets this year.
1982 - The New York Mets trade popular center fielder and
teen idol Lee
Mazzilli to the Texas Rangers for minor league pitchers Ron Darling
and Walt Terrell. Darling will emerge as an important member of the Mets'
starting rotation and a key contributor to their win in the 1986 World Series.
1985 - Today's issue of Sports Illustrated contains a fictitious
article about a New York Mets pitching prospect named Sidd Finch, whose
fastball has been timed at 168 miles per hour. Author George Plimpton offers
bogus quotes from real-life members of the Mets, as well as several staged
photos, and fools readers nationwide.
2011: Marlins P Josh Johnson takes a no-hitter into the 7th
inning, and C John Buck, in his first game for the team, hits a grand slam in
Florida's 6 - 2 Opening Day win over the New York Mets. Logan Morrison also
homers for the Fish, while Willie Harris breaks the no-no bid with a double to
lead off the 7th.
2013: For the first time since the New York Mets started
play in 1962, both New York teams open the season at home on the same day. The
Mets improve their Opening Day record to a major league best 34-18 by crushing
the Padres, 11 - 2, behind the pitching of Jon Niese
and a double and grand slam from new CF Collin
Cowgill. Things aren't so good for the Yankees, who lose to the Red Sox, 8
- 2.
Want more?
Check out https://sportspyder.com/mlb/new-york-mets/news.
Opening day posts: will there be an opening day in 2020? Fan-free games if necessary to start the season by July.
ReplyDeleteWow. 10 free agents at the end of this non-season. And an owner with no money. Woo who.
ReplyDeleteWatched the first home game back after 9-11. Mike still went yard. Still created goosebumps.