Inside Old Timers Day

[batmagadanleadoff]

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=105536 time=1661625877 user_id=68]
I think the Mets missed the boat ... with this year's OTD unis if it's gonna be like you say it's gonna be. I can't believe that the Wilpons outdid Cohen in this department.

[whippoorwill]

Did Payton get into the game? I haven't had a chance to watch it yet.



I think my hubby's watched every video he can find of it lol!

[Willets Point]

I wish there was a box score for the game.

[G-Fafif]

Every Old Timer dressed in the Met uniform of record (if you cover one eye so as to unsee the swoosh) bound them together as one team for all time. After a while, during the game, I found myself trying to remember if this one had played with that one because, in the moment, the years simply blurred.

[Edgy MD]

The effect worked similarly on me.



Also, these guys should get a cut of whatever blood money NIKE is paying MLB.

[Edgy MD]

=whippoorwill post_id=105693 time=1661806085 user_id=79]
Did Payton get into the game? I haven't had a chance to watch it yet.



I think my hubby's watched every video he can find of it lol!

[whippoorwill]

Definitely going to take some time to watch this.

Love these guys.

Just watched Jay with howie rose in 2020



This Otg is probably the one that a lot of us here needed

[Edgy MD]

I don't know what kind of future this event is expected to have, and I'm not yet ready to pick personal nits, but I have noticed that several fans who aren't particularly familiar with the once yearly tradition of Old Timer's Day have had an unexpected distaste for the event's title. Apparently the appellation "Old Timer" doesn't ring as warmly on their ears at it might have to a different audience a few decades ago, and they hear it more as derisive.



Might I suggest "All-Timers Day" as an alternative?

[kcmets]

All-Timer's Day is a reasonable and worthy change. Make it so.

[G-Fafif]

I just discovered through the sunnier side of Facebook, after posting a link to my followup full of http://www.faithandfearinflushing.com/2022/08/30/day-of-our-lives/kvelling re Old Timers Day, that in addition to Steve Dillon living n the same town I live now, he used to live across the street from one of my high school classmates. Strong Long Beach/Baldwin/Mets energy in these parts.

[A Boy Named Seo]

This man:



A) is currently in witness protection after flipping on a high-profile mob boss

is going to reprise Tim Allen's role in the reboot of the guy gang motorcycle comedy "Wild Hogs"

C) is the current spokesman for the popular male hair dye "Just For Men: Jet Black at 60"

D) is some guy who looks nothing like Kevin Elster, but paid Kevin Elster $1000 so that he could live his dream of playing for the Mets by appearing on-field as Kevin Elster




[attachment=0]elster.jpg[/attachment]

[whippoorwill]

I remember Elster as light haired and #22



Did I miss Davey Johnson somewhere?

[kcmets]

I too was thinking Kevin reminded me of a movie stereotype low-level wise guy.



Like Lefty in Donnie Brosco, only with a bad haircut.

[stevejrogers]

=whippoorwill post_id=105750 time=1661894979 user_id=79]
I remember Elster as light haired and #22



Did I miss Davey Johnson somewhere?

[Edgy MD]

Twenty-two belonged to McReynolds during the Elster Era, aka "The Elstera."

[whippoorwill]

Right! Thanks to you both!

[Edgy MD]

[FIMG=500]https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/301906682_10166888996075078_5528274389770973342_n.jpg?stp=cp1_dst-jpg&_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=USXrDJDX0tEAX-xhEi9&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&oh=00_AT_-J6qmdHX8MtO1bnOy4WVMz0myge2sDp0sHTXkkzbVOg&oe=63140378[/FIMG]

"And let's say — I dunno — the sprinklers suddenly come on ... don't let it

throw you off your game. You're the man out there. You're their DADDY. Just

LEAN INTO shit like that."

[Edgy MD]

Willets Point wrote: I wish there was a box score for the game.

Working on this. Hope to have something tomorrow.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'm a little surprised that that's possible. SNY's coverage often veered away from the game action because of player interviews.

[Edgy MD]

I don't see impossible as a limitation, but a challenge.

[A Boy Named Seo]

"This can't be right, it says Piazza reached base on a 6-ball walk."

[G-Fafif]

I vaguely recalled a Steve Dillon boomlet in the early days of Citi Field. Sure enough, from the Daily News of July 14, 2009, by Nick Hirshon.

The 45-year gap between stops on a major league mound was worth the wait for Stephen Dillon and Bill Wakefield. The largely forgotten ex-Mets - vaulted onto the team's radar when Queens News reported their dream to reunite on the Citi Field diamond - triumphantly tossed ceremonial first pitches at Friday night's game. Dillon and Wakefield, who pitched in the first night game at Shea Stadium in 1964, grinned as family and friends - amid a sea of 39,203 fans - cheered wildly for the pair's big moment. Dillon, 66, fired a strike to Mets third-base coach Razor Shines, while Wakefield, 68, threw what he jokingly called a "3-2 changeup" that bounced in front of catcher Brian Schneider. "You're always taught to keep the ball down," quipped an overjoyed Wakefield, who had journeyed to Flushing with his wife, Joan, from San Rafael, Calif. Dillon borrowed a famous line from Lou Gehrig's farewell speech to convey his emotions. "I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth," Dillon beamed, adding that Shines told him, "You still got it, man." The bygone ballplayers thanked The News for running profiles on their place in Mets lore - at the first Shea night game on May 6, 1964, versus the Cincinnati Reds - that caught the eye of team brass. The Mets and potato-chip maker Wise Foods - the sponsor of Friday's game, also against the Reds - invited Dillon and Wakefield to the new big-league park for one last moment in the sun. The former Mets entered Citi Field's VIP entrance about 5:30 p.m. and soon donned new Mets jerseys - with Dillon's No. 39 and Wakefield's No. 43. As the Reds took batting practice, Dillon and Wakefield posed for photos on the field with their families, chatted with fans and played catch with first-base coach Sandy Alomar Sr. "It's great to bring all these guys back, especially for the younger fans who don't know," Alomar said. "It's great for the younger players to understand the history of the game. You never lose it." As Wakefield stood on the diamond, starstruck Mets fan Mark Silver, 55, of upstate Wesley Hills, began chatting with the former hurler. "I remember you," Silver told Wakefield. "I was a little one, but I remember you." Moments before the pitch, Wakefield's daughter, Monica, battled butterflies. "I can't imagine what he's going through," she said. "It's been 45 years." Sitting later in seats just behind the home dugout, Dillon and Wakefield - with their families - signed scores of autographs, reveling in their roles as stars once again in Flushing.

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/ex-mets-hurlers-toast-citi-field-toss-pitch-article-1.426823https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/ex-mets-hurlers-toast-citi-field-toss-pitch-article-1.426823

[MFS62]

I wondered why Wakefield and Ron Locke had the two best bullpen ERA's (about 3.60)on that 1964 team, were still young, and never made it to the '65 team.

Later

[stevejrogers]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I'm a little surprised that that's possible. SNY's coverage often veered away from the game action because of player interviews.

Mets YouTube channel has Citi's PA feed which is Howie & Wayne doing on the field PBP. Less long form and roving interviews and more game play following.

[stevejrogers]

A Boy Named Seo wrote: "This can't be right, it says Piazza reached base on a 6-ball walk."

It's what happens when Al Leiter has no command of his pitches, but wants Mikey to swing the bat to delight the crowd!

[G-Fafif]

Steve Cohen, man of action, channeler of the Paysonian spirit.

"It was really my decision,” Cohen said on the podcast. “When I heard about that there was a promise made to Willie by Joan Payson but there was no follow-through on that, I just felt like there was an obligation by an owner that needed to be kept, and I was gonna follow through on that. “I just thought that was the right thing to do. I had spoken to Willie. Willie confirmed that, so I was gonna follow through on that. I'm glad I did.”

https://nypost.com/2022/08/31/steve-cohen-explains-why-mets-retired-willie-mays-no-24/https://nypost.com/2022/08/31/steve-cohen-explains-why-mets-retired-willie-mays-no-24/

[MFS62]

=G-Fafif post_id=105898 time=1661980126 user_id=55]
I'm glad I did.”

[G-Fafif]

Michael Mays and Horwitz comma Jay on the Mets saying “Hey.”



[media=youtube]Q7ETH_y3FPI[/media]

[Edgy MD]

I'm sure there are any number of errata in here, but here goes.



Feel free to fix, upgrade, and reproduce on other platforms or in other media.

[th]TEAM[/th]	[th][/th]	[th]1[/th]	[th]2[/th]	[th]3[/th]	[th][/th]	[th]R[/th]	[th]H[/th]	[th]E[/th]
	Miracles				1		4		3				8		12		0
	Amazins				1		0		-				1		3		5

[th]Miracles[/th]	[th]ab[/th]	[th]r[/th]	[th]h[/th]	[th]bi[/th]	[th]lob[/th]	[th][/th]	[th]bb[/th]	[th]so[/th]	[th][/th]	[th]po[/th]	[th]a[/th]
	Reyes, ss		3		2		1		0		2				0		0				1		0
	Wilson, lf		2		1		2		2		0				0		0				1		0
	Piazza, ph		1		1		1		0		0				0		0				0		0
	Murphy, 2b		2		1		1		2		1				0		0				0		1
	Zeile, ph		1		0		1		2		0				0		0				0		0
	Johnson, 1b		2		0		1		0		1				0		1				0		0
	Mazzilli, dh		0		0		0		0		0				1		0				0		0
	Ventura, 3b		3		0		1		0		3				1		0				0		0
	Henderson, rf		1		0		0		0		3				0		0				1		0
	McDowell, ph, rf, 3b		2		0		2		2		0				0		0				0		0
	Chavez, lf		2		1		1		0		2				0		0				3		0
	Thole, c		2		2		1		0		0				0		0				0		0
	Colón, p		-		-		-		-		-				-		-				0		0
	Leiter, p		-		-		-		-		-				-		-				0		0
	Wendell, p		-		-		-		-		-				-		-				0		0
	Wagner, p		-		-		-		-		-				-		-				0		0
	Lynch, p		-		-		-		-		-				-		-				0		0
	TOTALS		21		8		12		8		5				2		1				6		1

	BATTING: 2B — Chavez.

[th]Miracles[/th]	[th][/th]	[th]IP[/th]	[th]H[/th]	[th]R[/th]	[th]ER[/th]	[th]BB[/th]	[th]SO[/th]	[th]HR[/th]	[th]BFP[/th]
	Colón				0 1/3		2		1		1		0		0		0		3
	Leiter (W)				0 2/3		0		0		0		1		0		0		2
	Wendell				0 1/3		0		0		0		0		0		0		1
	Wagner				0 1/3		1		0		0		0		0		0		2
	Lynch				0 1/3		0		0		0		0		0		0		1
	Totals				2		3		1		1		1		0		0		9

	PITCHING: WP — Leiter. Pitches-Strikes: Colón — 5-5. Leiter — 13-3. Wendell — 2-2. Wagner 5-5. Lynch — 3-2. Inherited Runners- Scored: Leiter — 2-1. * Leiter's walk of Piazza is counted here but was disregarded in game play.

[th]Amazins[/th]	[th]ab[/th]	[th]r[/th]	[th]h[/th]	[th]bi[/th]	[th]lob[/th]	[th][/th]	[th]bb[/th]	[th]so[/th]	[th][/th]	[th]po[/th]	[th]a[/th]
	Alfonzo, 3b		1		0		0		0		0				0		0				1		0
	Wendell, 3b		0		0		0		0		0				0		0				0		0
	Teufel, 2b		1		1		1		0		0				0		0				0		0
	Floyd, rf		1		0		1		0		0				0		0				0		0
	Piazza, c		1		0		0		1		1				0		0				0		0
	Brogna, 1b		0		0		0		0		0				0		0				0		0
	Murphy, 1b		0		0		0		0		0				0		0				0		0
	Zeile, 1b, c		1		0		0		0		1				0		0				1		0
	Pratt, dh, c		1		0		0		0		0				0		0				0		0
	Elster, ss		1		0		1		0		0				0		0				1		0
	Santana, ss		1		0		0		0		1				0		0				0		0
	Agbayani, lf		1		0		0		0		1				0		0				1		0
	Mahomes, rf		0		0		0		0		0				0		0				0		0
	Payton, cf		0		0		0		0		0				0		0				2		0
	Franco, p		-		-		-		-		-				-		-				0		0
	Gooden, p		-		-		-		-		-				-		-				0		0
	Orosco, p		-		-		-		-		-				-		-				0		0
	Dillon, p		-		-		-		-		-				-		-				0		0
	Martinez, p		-		-		-		-		-				-		-				0		0
	Trachsel, p		-		-		-		-		-				-		-				0		0
	Cook, p		-		-		-		-		-				-		-				0		0
	Rusch, p		-		-		-		-		-				-		-				0		0
	Leach, p		-		-		-		-		-				-		-				0		0
	TOTALS		9		1		3		1		1				0		0				6		0

	BATTING: 2B — Wilson. SF — Piazza. FIELDING: Errors — Elster, Payton, Piazza, Orosco, Brogna.

[th]Amazins[/th]	[th][/th]	[th]IP[/th]	[th]H[/th]	[th]R[/th]	[th]ER[/th]	[th]BB[/th]	[th]SO[/th]	[th]HR[/th]	[th]BFP[/th]
	Franco				0 1/3		1		1		0		0		0		0		3
	Gooden				0		1		0		0		1		0		0		2
	Orosco (L)				1		1		2		1		0		0		0		5
	Dillon				0		2		2		1		0		0		0		2
	Martinez				0 2/3		1		0		0		1		1		0		3
	Trachsel				0		2		2		2		0		0		0		2
	Cook				0		2		1		1		0		0		0		2
	Rusch				0		1		0		0		0		0		0		1
	Leach				0		1		0		0		0		0		0		1
	Totals				2		12		8		5		2		1		0		21

	PITCHING: Pitches-Strikes: Franco — 6-4. Gooden — 9-4. Orosco — 11-7. Dillon — 2-1. Martinez — 10-5. Trachsel — 4-3. Cook — 10-6. Rusch — 1-1. Leach — 3-1. Inherited runners- Scored: Gooden — 1-0. Orosco — 3-0. Dillon — 2-2. Martinez — 1-1. Cook — 2-2. Rusch — 2-0. Leach — 3-1. * Martinez's walk of Ventura is counted here but was disregarded in game play.

PLAY LOG



Top of the First, Miracles Up.

Franco pitching.

2. Reyes pops to shortstop. Error by Elster. Reyes to second.


4. Wilson singes on liner to center. Wilson to second on error by Payton. Reyes scores. Miracles lead, 1–0.


6. Murphy flies out to center. Runner holds. One out.
   
   Gooden replaces Franco as pitcher.


8. Johnson singles on popup to third base. Runner holds. One out.


10. Mazzilli walks. Wison to third. Johnson to second.
    
    Orosco replaces Gooden as pitcher.


12. Ventura pops out to shortstop. Runners hold.


14. Henderson fouls to catcher. Error on Piazza. Henderson grounds fielder's choice to third. Johnson out at third, Alfonso unassisted. Three out.

Middle of first. Miracles lead, 1–0.



Bottom of the First, Amazins Up:

Colón pitching.

2. Alfonzo flies to Chavez in center. One out.


4. Teufel singles on soft liner to center.


6. Floyd singles on hard liner to right. Teufel to second.
   
   Leiter replaces Colón as pitcher.


8. Teufel advances to third, Floyd to second, on wild pitch.


10. Piazza walks. By mutual agreement between pitcher and batter, Piazza continues to bat. Piazza lines out to Chavez on sacrifice fly to medium-deep center. Teufel scores. Floyd holds at second.


12. Zeile flies out to Henderson in medium right. Three out.

End of first. Score tied, 1–1.



Top of the Second, Miracles Up.

Brogna enters game at first base, Zeile moves to catcher for Piazza. Santana enters game at shortstop for Elster.

2. Chavez doubles on liner to left center.


4. Thole reaches on soft grounder to pitcher. Error by Orosco. Chavez holds at second.


6. Reyes lines out to Agbayani in medium left. Runners hold. One out.
   
   Dillon replaces Orosco as pitcher.


8. Wilson lines a double to deep left. Chavez scores. Thole advances to third. Miracles lead, 2–1.


10. Murphy singles on a fly to shallow left-center. Thole scores. Wilson scores. Miracles lead, 4–1.
    
    Martinez replaces Dillon as pitcher.


12. Johnson strikes out swinging. Runner holds. Two out.
    
    Miracles bat out of order, skipping Lee Mazzilli's turn at the plate, but are not penalized as Amazins don't protest.


14. Ventura walks. By mutual agreement between pitcher and batter, Ventura continues to bat. Ventura grounds to first, reaches on throwing error by Brogna. Murphy advances to third.
    
    McDowell pinch-hits, presumably for Henderson.


16. McDowell singles to deep short. Murphy scores. Ventura advances to second. Miracles lead, 5-1


18. Chavez flies to Payton in medium center. Three out.

Middle of Second. Miracles lead, 5–1.



Bottom of the Second, Amazins Up.

McDowell stays in the game to play right field. Wendell enters game at pitcher.

2. Pratt flies out to medium center. One out.
   
   Wagner enters game at pitcher.
   
   Elster magically bats in Santana's spot even though Santana has already replaced him in the game. Miracles elect not to protest.


4. Elster singles on a soft fly ball to right center.
   
   Santana also bats in Santana's spot even though Elster has already replaced him replacing Elster. Miracles, who ought to be throwing shit at this point, elect not to protest.


6. Santana grounds into fielder's choice at second, Murphy to Reyes. Reyes relays to first in plenty of time for the double play, where Johnson fails to catch the throw, but isn't charged with an error because you CAN'T ASSUME THE DOUBLE PLAY, even if Santana was trotting at a proverbial snail's pace and would have truly been out by a dozen steps.
   
   Lynch replaces Wagner at pitcher.


8. Agbayani flies out to Wilson in deep left. Three out.

End of Second. Miracles lead, 5–1.



Top of the Third, Miracles Up.

Pratt moves from designated hitter to catcher. Depending on what rules we are using, this may mean that Zeile goes to DH in a great swap of Todds, or it may mean that the pitcher is now part of the batting lineup, and Zeile is out of the game. The last pitcher was Martinez, who was, in his day, a pretty woeful hitter. Trachsel replaces Martinez as pitcher, so maybe he's now part of the batting lineup. Also, video evidence seems to suggest that Murphy has replaced Brogna at first, even though Murph is on the other team. Mahomes may be in the outfield here. If so, he seems to have gone into left field for Agbayani. Turk Wendell also jumps rosters and replaces Ventura at third base.

2. Thole singles on a soft drive to center.


4. Reyes grounds a single to center. Thole to second.
   
   Dennis Cook, star of The Landing Strip replaces Steve Trachsel as pitcher.
   
   Mike Piazza defects from Amazins to Miracles, possibly traded mid-game for Daniel Murphy, and pinch-hits for Mookie Wilson.


6. Piazza grounds a single to left. Thole to third. Reyes to second.
   
   Todd Zeile, also an apparent team defector, seemingly pinch-hits for Daniel Murphy, who probably couldn't come up if he wanted to, as he seems to still be playing first. At this point, at bats seem to have been distributed by a random door drawing.


8. Zeile grounds a single to right. Thole scores. Reyes scores. Piazza to second. Miracles lead, 7-1.
   
   Rusch replaces Cook as pitcher.
   
   Miracles skip Johnson and Mazzilli in the batting order and go straight to Ventura, because nothing means anything anymore. I suppose we should be happy that Ventura is at least batting for the right team, but that may actually simply be by accident.


10. Ventura hits a bloop single to right center. Piazza to third. Zeile to second.
    
    Leach replaces Rusch as pitcher.
    
    McDowell, never previously known to be a switch hitter, crosses over to bat from left side.


12. McDowell grounds a single to right center. Piazza scores. Zeile to third. Ventura to second. Miracles lead, 8-1.

Game called on account of joy. Miracles win, 8-1. Game Time: 0:45.

[Gwreck]

The only correction I have is that in the bottom of the first, Teufel and Floyd advanced to third and second by operation of the “walk” that wasn't.



I was keeping a scorebook in real time and did fine with the batting out of order, and the Elster/Santana two-batters-in-one. But when the players started playing for both teams, it was hopeless.



I will also note that in what was some exceptionally generous exercising of discretion, whoever the “official scorer” was did not charge any errors in real time.