My First 50 Years with the Mets!

 

The New York Mets – I have been a fan since 1971. Fifty years! I was aware of them earlier, but in ‘71 baseball started to write itself onto my DNA. During a random house cleaning I came across an old VHS tape celebrating the 25^th anniversary of the Mets called “An Amazing Era.” Sub-consciously I mentally started breaking down my lifetime as a Met fan into eras. I was surprised to find them rather well defined. So I wrote them all down and it looks like this:

1971 – The Beginning – This is the first year I watched the Mets day in and day out. If I missed a game it was rare. If it wasn’t televised, I listened on the radio. In the beginning I wasn’t fully aware of the roster as of yet. Veteran Bob Aspromonte, the Mets newly acquired third baseman, had a fast start in April so he was immediately my guy. I remember taking his picture out of the year book and posting it on my bedroom wall. Sadly, Bob’s fast start didn’t last. This season, ultimately, was his swan song. I
remember the highlight of his season came on September 25^th. In the bottom of the 15^th Aspro came through with a pinch hit walk-off single. Bob’s stat line on the year was ugly (5hr 33rbi .225.) But in 104 games he did lead the NL in fielding percentage at 3^rd base. I saw him play live in August and I still remember him making an amazing play on a bunt down the third base line. As the season played out I became more and more acquainted with Cleon Jones, Eddie Kranepool, Jerry Grote, Bud Harrelson and of course Tom Terrific. Bob retired after the season at the old age of “33.” To this day I still think that Bob resembled Jack Haley (The actor who played the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz) I wonder if that had something to do with my rooting for him? I mean the Tin Man was my favorite.

1972 to 1975 – The Franchise Years – Tom Seaver. Sadly, I wasn’t following baseball early enough to witness Seaver’s early seasons and successes. That changed fast. Tom was stellar and dependable. If he was on the mound, it was going to be a good day. He was the maestro, the surgeon, the professional. He rarely stumbled and never beat himself. Get this, 1974 was a strange year. He only went 11-11 and his era was a SHOCKING 3.20. A pesky sciatic nerve was the culprit. Looking back, even compromised, Seaver was still top tier while having the worst year of his prime.

1975 to 1977 – King Kong – Suddenly, my tastes moved to power. Dave “Kong”Kingman emerged as my favorite player. Going into 1975 the most home runs I had witnessed a Mets player hit in a single season was 23 by John Milner in 1973. Sure, Kingman struck out a lot, had an iron glove in the field and was surly with the press. But his titanic moon shots were intoxicating. In little league I wore number 26 and I even emulated his batting stance. However, I did stop short of sending a dead rodent to anyone.

1977 to 1980 – It’s Mazz! – The Mets of this era had shed most of the pitching luster and old favorites were departing or long gone. Lee Mazzilli was the Mets poster child and was really the only hook they had to bring fans into “Grant’s Tomb.” Mazz was fun to watch. He would thrill us with his speed, his basket catches in center field and of course who could forget his 1979 game tying opposite field home run in the All Star Game against Jim Kern! The Yanks had the Bronx Zoo with Reggie and Thurman. We had Lee Mazzilli and Joe Torre for Bonds menswear.

1980 to 1982 – The Dead Zone – I honestly can’t remember following any one player during this time. In 1982 the Mets made a splash signing free agent George Foster. His better days were behind him and he was naked in the line up so he was easy to pitch around and that forced him to press and struggle. This was the tail end of the era of Doug Flynn, John Stearns, Joel Youngblood, Craig Swan and Neil Allen. Allen, by the way, would be important very soon.

1983 to 1991 – The Glory Days – My cup runneth over. From May 6^th 1983 onward, (Darryl Strawberry’s debut) everything changed. Years of suffering at the ML level was about to be abated by the swarm of young talent and star veterans that would be coming up, signed and traded for. Doc Gooden, Keith Hernandez (Thanks Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey), Mookie, Lenny, Hojo, Kevin Mitchell, The Kid and on and on. This was the golden era for the Mets. While they only managed one World Series appearance, (and win!) it was fun and it was awesome. If I had to pick one player out of this massively talented group. It would be Mex. He was the on field leader and the heart and soul of the Mets. He took control of this team in 1984 and marched us to the championship. The 86 rotation was lights out. Gooden, Darling, Ojeda and Fernandez all double digit winners and big game pitchers all. In 87 the Mets added David Cone. In 1990, Frank Viola. Great memories.

1992 to 1997 – The Strange Era – This is the period where it seemed like the Mets lost their identity. During this time the Met front office tried hard to regain their 80’s momentum. They signed Bobby Bonilla and Vince Coleman and traded a boatload of talent for Brett Saberhagen. But while most good teams are greater than the sum of their parts, these Mets had nearly no chemistry under the guidance of Jeff Torborg and then later Dallas Green. The three bright spots I remember were Todd Hundley, Bernard Gilkey and Lance Johnson having outstanding career years with the Mets in 1996. However, neither could duplicate that success a second time with the Amazin’s and their tenure was to be short lived.

1998 to 2003 – The Valentine Era – Enter Bobby Valentine. Along with the key additions of Mike Piazza, Al Leiter, John Olerud and Robing Ventura came the emergence of farmhands like Jay Payton, Ray Ordonez and Edgardo Alfonzo. The Mets built a solid winner that out performed their “paper” projections. This includes what is referred to as “Greatest Infield Ever” in 1999. Olerud left to free agency in 2000, but Todd Zeile manned first as the Mets returned to the World Series that same year. But they ran head first into the “buzz saw” that was the late 90’s early 2000’s Yankees.

2004 to 2009 – Captain America – David Wright burst on the scene in 2004. On July 21^st the Mets
again in the middle of a “mini” rebuild brought him up. He hit the ground running and made a major impact, nearly instantly becoming the face of the Mets for the next 10 years. The Captain was a key component (along with Carlos’ Delgado and Beltran and the rise of Jose Reyes) of the 2006 Mets that came a game short of another World Series. For the rest of the decade Wright continued to rake and flash leather at 3^rd, while in 2007 and 2008 the Mets suffered two of the greatest late season melt-downs in memory. In 2009 Citi Field opened and it’s vast dimensions cut Wright’s long ball prowess to just 10 dingers. Soon after, a rash of injuries altered Wright’s super-star trajectory and by 2014 it become clear that Wright’s injuries had won out. Still, Wright still leads the Mets in nearly every lifetime offensive category to this day.

2010 to 2016 – Call to Arms – The first three of these seasons the Mets failed to break the 80 win mark. However in 2012 R.A. Dickey electrified baseball by going 20-6 and winning the NL Cy Young award. The Mets sold high and flipped the knuckleball specialist to Toronto for Noah Syndergaard and Travis d’Arnaud and the Mets were on the fast track to winning again. In 2013 Matt Harvey and Zach Wheeler exploded on the scene. In 2014 Jacob deGrom made his splash and in 2015 Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz made it to the show. Add an “en fuego” Yoenis Cespedes and home run crazed Daniel Murphy and the Mets unexpectantly charged to the World Series. Royals took it 4 games to 1. The Mets made it to the wild card game in 2016 and have finished out of the money since.

2017 to Present – Gone are Harvey, Wheeler and Matz. d’Arnaud has found a home in Atlanta. Amed Rosario is in Cleveland with Andres Gimenez and Robbie Cano is suspended again. But in 2021 led by deGrom, the Mets should be able to field their best rotation since 2016 with the additions of Carlos Carrasco, Taijuan Walker and the returns of Marcus Stroman and Noah Syndergaard. Francisco Lindor adds a legit superstar at short, who, along with James McCann behind the dish and Jeff McNeil playing more at 2^nd base make the Mets stronger up the middle. Add in Dom Smith, Pete Alonso and of course Michael Conforto and a rebound season by J.D. Davis and the Met offense looks to be stacked as well. The bullpen is bolstered but still has question marks. Even so. Without George Springer and Trevor Bauer. There is cause for great optimism in Flushing. Maybe name this...”The Cohen Era?” Can’t wait to see.