RIP Marty Noble

[G-Fafif]

Terrible news: Marty Noble, the best Mets beat reporter who ever lived, has died. I believe he was around 70. Nobody knew the ballclub more granularly or told its story more stylishly. What a loss.



JCL arranged for Marty to speak at one of our intermittent Met Lit gatherings in 2010. He shared Amazin' stories and unvarnished opinions -- and was quite the gentleman in the process.



Enjoy this Q&A with him from a couple of months ago.



https://tinyletter.com/NYBBWAA/letters/issue-6https://tinyletter.com/NYBBWAA/letters/issue-6

[kcmets]

He was the best. RIP

[Gwreck]

=G-Fafif post_id=4909 time=1553481572 user_id=55]JCL arranged for Marty to speak at one of our intermittent Met Lit gatherings in 2010. He shared Amazin' stories and unvarnished opinions -- and was quite the gentleman in the process

[Valadius]

Sad news. RIP

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Oh jeez

[dgwphotography]

He was the best. RIP

[G-Fafif]

Tony DiComo's obit for mlb.com -- a thing of beauty.



https://www.mlb.com/mets/news/former-mlb-com-reporter-marty-noble-dieshttps://www.mlb.com/mets/news/former-mlb-com-reporter-marty-noble-dies

[Edgy MD]

What a gift he was.

[LWFS]

Met him just once, but he seemed a very stand-up dude. It is a real rarity to have somebody in his position with an old-timer knowledge base with the generosity of spirit to never old-timer you.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Many of his contemporaries didn't much like him because he was always scooping them. He hustled more and had longer deadlines than the am paper guys and he really used that to his advantage.



He brought a lot of himself into his role as an observer, either noticing things the other writers didn't or just bothering to tell the things they wouldn't. And as time went on that advantage grew and grew since he had not just the details but the perspective on them. Nobody else tracked who inhabited which locker and what if anything the arrangement of them said; and of course he was among the spiritual fathers of uni-number reporting.



He was a really good writer too.

[MFS62]

A great loss to the sports writing profession.

RIP.

Later

[Edgy MD]

The thing was that he loved the Mets as a subject but wore no blinders in covering them as an organization or brand.



I remember once he said the best advice he ever got as a writer was to write. "He's currently hitting .226," instead of "he's currently hitting only .226." If you arrange the facts correctly, the truth isn't the opinion you push. It's just unavoidable.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Wow, RIP Marty. Wonder if the Mets put together a sleeve patch for him? I would think yes.

[batmagadanleadoff]

A Boy Named Seo wrote: Wow, RIP Marty. Wonder if the Mets put together a sleeve patch for him? I would think yes.

Don't bet on it. As for me, the thought didn't and wouldnt cross my mind as a remote possibility in a billion years.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Yeah he was also a Friend of Nelson vs. a Friend of Fred

[batmagadanleadoff]

Marty wouldn't get a patch even if him and Jeff Wilpon were gay lovers.

[Frayed Knot]

I would think maybe some kind of acknowledgment in the press box.

On the uniform doesn't really seem appropriate. Unlike announcers, he didn't work for the ball club.

[Frayed Knot]

I would think maybe some kind of acknowledgment in the press box.

On the uniform doesn't really seem appropriate. Unlike announcers, he didn't work for the ball club.

[Edgy MD]

That's what I would guess. Although I think he did work for the club for some time in the latter years as team historian or archivist or something, as well as serving on their team Hall of Fame committee, it's almost exclusively an honor reserved for personnel inside the organization.



Not that I wouldn't favor a thoughtful expansion. Before he joined the HOF committee, I was an advocate to put him and one or two other longtime journos in.

“We are saddened to hear of the sudden passing of Marty Noble. Marty was a part of the baseball scene in New York for decades. He was a fixture around Shea Stadium and Citi Field and helped make the New York Baseball Writers Dinner one of the best in the country. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his wife, Yvette, and their two daughters, Carolyn and Lindsay, as well as their four grandchildren.” — Mets

[Guest 41Forever]

A Boy Named Seo wrote: Wow, RIP Marty. Wonder if the Mets put together a sleeve patch for him? I would think yes.

While I'm certain it would be a well-intentioned gesture from the Mets, it would be a journalistic no-no. You don't want to appear too cozy with the people you cover. Given his long, and excellent tenure covering the team, a moment of silence or having his family throw out a first pitch or something would be a nice recognition without going over the line.

[nymr83]

Maybe they can put a plaque up in that sorry excuse for a 'Mets HOF'

[G-Fafif]

Mets have done moments of silence for the writers who've covered them. I imagine one will be included this Opening Day.

[Edgy MD]

=nymr83 post_id=5007 time=1553558833 user_id=54]
Maybe they can put a plaque up in that sorry excuse for a 'Mets HOF'