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4/15/20

John From Albany – Mets Breakfast Links 4/15/2020



Good Morning. Happy Birthday to Daniel Zamora and Happy Jackie Robinson Day!

As we had yesterday at Mack’s Mets, MLB plans to celebrate Jackie Robinson Day with streaming events all day.  This includes the April 15, 2019 -- Mets at Phillies at 4PM, the Phillies' Aaron Nola vs. the Mets' Noah Syndergaard. It ended in 11 innings, with the Mets prevailing, 7-6.

LA Times Via Yahoo Sports: Baseball games or not, it will still be Jackie Robinson Day. “Baseball should keep its honored tradition of wearing No. 42 league wide and taking the time to talk about Robinson during the broadcasts, whenever they resume. Not simply because of what he meant to the sport but because what he means to the country — still.”

MLB.com: How Ken Griffey Jr. inspired wearing No. 42 on JRD.

Mets.com: How the Mets built the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. “It’s an honor and a responsibility,” [Jeff] Wilpon said, referring to the Mets’ place as the NL torchbearers in New York City. “Any time you have somebody that does something for the game as somebody like Jackie did, it’s a responsibility to teach others about it and make sure it’s not forgotten -- what he went through and what his coming into the league meant to all of baseball.”


Mets Links:


Yahoo Sports: “Marcus Stroman wants to fight disgraced NASCAR driver Kyle Larson ... but for a good cause. Upon learning Larson used a racial slur while streaming a virtual race, Stroman challenged Larson to a UFC fight for charity.”

Newsday: Mets position analysis: Robinson Cano's track record, big contract lock him in at second base.


Metsmerized Online: MMO Exclusive: Mark Simon of Sports Info Solutions Talks Defense.  About Amed Rosario Mark Simon notes: “Rosario went from -16 runs saved in 2018 in our system to -10 in 2019. So, the idea that to your eye he got better is definitely true, but he has a long way to go. And a lot of that was accumulated early in the ’19 season and he got better as the year went on, so I think you’d be optimistic for him.”

LoHud: State of the NY Mets: Rick Porcello back in NJ looking for revival.


Centerfield Maz: Remembering Mets History (1972): Mets Remember Gil Hodges- Yogi Berra's Managerial Debut & Shea Wecome Rusty Staub, Saturday April 15th, 1972.





The Comeback: A Mets playoff loss inspired a song from The Strokes’ new album. "Ode to the Mets" is the final song on The Strokes' new album titled "The New Abnormal."

Syracuse Mets:



Anthony Causi:

NY Post: Yoenis Cespedes, popular photo subject of Anthony Causi, pays tribute to Post photographer. Yoenis tweeted this: “He was a dear friend to so many, a passionate photographer, a beloved husband and father, and so much more. I will forever cherish all the memories we’ve had and will miss you by our side. My love and prayers to the family of Anthony Causi. RIP my friend.”


MLB News:

Yahoo Sports: Arizona governor believes state could handle potential isolated MLB season after coronavirus.

Jeff Passan Via Twitter: In a memo sent to Major League Baseball staff this morning, commissioner Rob Manfred committed to paying league employees through at least May 31 and said senior staff at the league, including himself, will reduce their pay by an average of 35% for 2020.


NBC Sports: Remember when a Triple-A game featured 15 home runs? On April 13, 2019, a Triple-A game between the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies) and Rochester Red Wings (Twins) featured 38 runs and 43 hits, including 15 home runs. The IronPigs eked out the 20-18 win in 10 innings.








Asian Baseball:






In Taiwan, it was the Fubon Guardians 3, Chinatrust Brothers 1 (Line Score).








Born on this date:
Transactions:

New York Mets traded Mac Scarce to the Cincinnati Reds for Tom Hall on April 15, 1975.

New York Mets signed free agent Jose Oquendo on April 15, 1979.


New York Mets signed free agent Alberto Castillo on April 15, 1987.

1968
The Astros defeat the Mets in 24 innings, 1-0, making it the longest scoreless game in major league history. The six-hour and six-minute contest, in which each team had 79 at-bats and 11 hits, ends when Bob Aspromonte's grounder goes through the legs of shortstop Al Weis, scoring Norm Miller from third base with one out.
2004
Major league baseball begins the tradition of Jackie Robinson Day, an annual celebration commemorating the day in 1947 when the Dodger infielder broke the color line. At big league venues across the country, ceremonies are being held to honor the ground-breaking historical event, including baseball commissioner Bud Selig and Jackie's widow Rachel Robinson attending the festivities at Shea Stadium.



1947 - 28-year-old Jackie Robinson makes a historic debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first African-American to play major league baseball in the 20th century. Robinson goes 0 for 3 in his debut, but scores the deciding run in a 5 - 3 victory over the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field. He handles 11 chances at first base, a new position for him. Coach Clyde Sukeforth, interim manager and the man credited with first scouting Robinson, guides the Dodgers to two victories before stepping down. Robinson is the first black player to appear in the majors since 1884.

1958 - Major League Baseball comes to California as the transplanted Giants and Dodgers play the first game on the Pacific Coast. The Californian contest at San Francisco's Seals Stadium sees Ruben Gómez blanking Los Angeles and Don Drysdale. Daryl Spencer hits the first home run and Orlando Cepeda also homers in the Giants' 8 - 0 victory in front of 23,448 fans.

1997 - The 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's breaking the color barrier in major league baseball is celebrated before 54,047 at Shea Stadium during a game between the Mets and the Dodgers. U.S. President Bill Clinton and Jackie's widow, Rachel Robinson, both speak during the 35-minute presentation, but the surprise of the evening occurs when acting Commissioner Bud Selig announces that Robinson's number 42 will be retired in perpetuity for every team. On the field, the Mets beat the Dodgers, 5 - 0.

1998 - The first-ever American League-National League doubleheader ends up a good day for New York. The Yankees are forced to come to Shea Stadium after a beam fell into the stands at Yankee Stadium on April 13th. They earn their first victory in Queens in 22 years as they defeat the Angels, 6 - 3. Former Mets star Darryl Strawberry, the all-time home run leader at Shea, adds to his total with a shot into the left field bleachers. In the regularly-scheduled night game, the Mets beat the Cubs, 2 - 1. The Yankees, who played at Shea in 1974 and 1975 while Yankee Stadium was renovated, draw a crowd of 40,743, a dramatic contrast to the gathering of 16,012 who show up for the Mets game at night.



Want something else tracked here each day?  Please leave a comment below.

6 comments:

  1. John, I wonder how many of the guys who hit those 15 homers in that AAA game actually got time in the big leagues later in 2019.

    Maybe Daniel Zamora will strike out the side in relief today to celebrate his birthday...in his back yard.

    778 more reported COVID dead in NYS yesterday...one was my cousin’s 101 year old mother in law, who was in a nursing home in Queens.

    Nice to see the often vilified Cespedes acknowledge the photographer Causi so genuinely. Look at Cespedes’ Mets #’s on a per-game basis when you get a chance. Quite impressive. If he does DH this year, could he put up big numbers? Why not?

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  2. I rarely comment on John's start-your-day post as I am two time zones away and by the time I get to my office we're onto our second or third story of the day. This morning the dogs saw to it I got an early beginning to my morning, so I popped in and saw the incredible amount of info I was missing and felt immensely guilty about how long it takes on a daily basis to put something like this together. Wow!

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  3. Reese, I agree - John's posts are incredible.

    Get rid of the verse from the classic song, "I want to be a part of it, New York, NY" - after these Crains headlines:

    Death toll soars after city counts 'probable' fatalities

    The official death toll from the coronavirus soared to more than 10,000 in New York City on Tuesday after officials began including people who probably had Covid-19, but died without ever being tested. [Bloomberg]

    Also: Far more people have died in New York City, on a per-capita basis, than in Italy—the hardest-hit country in Europe. [The New York Times]

    A NY Post article today had a doctor saying 80% of the NYC kids might have it, with it having spread in schools. For kids, it seems COVID is much LESS fatal than the flu, and frequently asymptomatic...which the doctor can't prove because of a woeful lack of testing. But, if true about 80%, NYC kids are walking time bombs for senior adults.

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  4. Thanks Reese and Tom. If you have any ideas to improve this, please suggest.

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  5. If there is no baseball this year do you think there will be a rule 5 draft next year?

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  6. Good question Raw. Haven't heard about the rule 5 draft. I know this year will count towards MLB service time allowing for free agents after the year, not sure if that will impact the rule 5 players.

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