"Like knowing the flip side of a 45"

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Marty Noble talks uni numbers (part I):

http://www.mbtn.net/node/3016

[Guest KC]

Wow. Knowing you for what seems like a decade of Mets baseball, you've
always spoke highly of Marty. That must have been quite an honor, a thrill,
a bullet of cool if you will.

[Guest themetfairy]

Very cool!

[Benjamin Grimm]

Now that's a good get! And a good interview.

Hang in there, though. Maybe someday you'll be able to work your way up to C.J. Nitkowski.

[seawolf17]

That's a fucking great interview. I can't wait for the rest.

[Guest AG/DC]

I've long argued for Noble for the Mets Hall of Fame. A few more posts like that and I'll be arguing for Bucket.

A mistake here: "I told him not it was Doc�s locker � only I�d forgotten he and Doc were teammates for a short time." I think you mean "what" instead of "not."

"As opposed to the Yankees, who say, if you have a heartbeat you can get your number retired." Wow. There's also a good Yogi-ism in "You�re more aware if you�re pay attention."

I've got to say that it wasn't as big as all that when Franco gave up 31. He had been with the team a long time, but he was Franco and Piazza was Piazza, and it would have looked deluded if he played it like his tenure and goodness trumped Piazza's excellence. Deference to Piazza was also necessary if the Mets were going to re-sign him. If Franco doesn't give up that number and Piazza doesn't re-sign, nobody would ever forgive him.

Dwight Gooden offering number 16 back to Mazzilli was big. Mazzilli politely declining the honor was also somewhat righteous.

How did you let him invoke the Stearns/Mazzilli number swap without asking if he knew the origin of that one?

[Benjamin Grimm]

AG/DC wrote: A mistake here: "I told him not it was Doc�s locker � only I�d forgotten he and Doc were teammates for a short time." I think you mean "what" instead of "not."

I think "that" works even better than "what."

[Guest AG/DC]

Well, yeah, if you don't want to sound like a Hollywood Hillbilly.

That's not a concern with me.

[Guest KC]

Lol, since we're editing:

"I covered the Yankees only the road when they were close" needs an on
or something.

I love the Hojo wifey line.

[Frayed Knot]

"I guess knowing numbers it’s like knowing the flip side of a 45. It seemed to be the right thing to do. "

I get the feeling that wasn't just some random throw-away line from Marty.
Noble lives (or at least did) in the Port Washington area where he was friends and neighbors with long-time NYC disc jockey Pete Fornatale. Fornatale has been at Fordam's WFUV for the last decade or more where he does a Saturday afternoon show.
So on one of Pete's shows just over 6 years ago (on Feb 2nd to be specific) Fornatale had Noble on his show and let him play guest DJ for a few hours. Marty proceeded to spin a bunch of his favorite records (a lot of early '60s stuff as I recall, which makes sense as it would have been 'his era') but specifically he was steering the playlist towards those records that were the 2nd hit for each group. IOW, never the debut song or hit single for each artist but rather their 2nd charted hit, the 2nd single release from an album, or a B-sides of a more famous hit. The method to his madness, and the thing which confirmed Noble in my mind as a closet numbers freak, was that ignoring the #1 hit fit the theme of the day.

The date was, after all, 02/02/02.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Yeah, I thought I might have to explain all the rock ' roll references, but when he says following numbers is "like rock and roll" he means -- I'm sort of obsessive about it.

What's funny is, I recorded our phone conversation and I could tell as the call took place there was music on in the background. When you listen to the tape(s) it's clear -- 2 straight hours of the Beach Boys.

He has a Jersey area code now.

[metirish]

Brilliant. Congrats on that great interview.

[Guest AG/DC]

Followup singles are a lot of fun from that era, because you know the labels are calling the shots and making the bands stick to formula even to their ruin.

The McCoys had a number-seven followup to "Hang On, Sloopy." It was a cover of "Fever," which you just know the label owned the publishing rights to and made all thier artists cover. But you never hear it because --- though it's more-or-less fine, the arrangement sounds so hilariously derivative of "Hang On, Sloopy" that it's embarassing.

[G-Fafif]

As I mistakenly said twice in the comments section, the Desi Relaford observation alone was worth the price of admission. And his disdain for Trachsel getting Seaver's locker is like a refund check.

[Guest AG/DC]

The thing about Yogi and eight is fascinating and really recalls the kid's-eye view of the thing. Look, there are two eights in the Yoo-Hoo logo.



Two fours, as well, if you're looking closely. Rusty Staub or Bruce Boisclair should have pitched the stuff.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

part 2 up today.

http://www.mbtn.net/node/3020

[Benjamin Grimm]

These are great!

I'm looking forward to Part 3.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

The thrilling conclusion...
http://www.mbtn.net/marty-noble-interview-part-3-the-lightning-round

[Benjamin Grimm]

Terrific stuff.

I especially liked the story about John Milner's bathrobe, and the quote from Bud Harrelson: �I have no control of my players, do I?�

As for the numbers, my 2 is, for some strange reason, Lute Barnes!

And my first association with 33 is Ray Sadecki.

And for 43, I first thought of Jim McAndrew.

[metirish]

I'm in stitches here reading the quote from Brian McRae about how every team plays them like it's the World Series because they hate our manager.....brilliant.

[G-Fafif]

Part III is the most amazing Met conversation I've ever read. It makes me want to burn Peter Golenbock's book in Casey Stengel Plaza. Congrats on putting together a great series. (I assume your next q&a subject will represent a terrible comedown from Noble.)

[Benjamin Grimm]

Unless, of course, it's C.J. Nitkowski.

[G-Fafif]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Unless, of course, it's C.J. Nitkowski.

In which case, i would retract.

[Frayed Knot]

Noble closes with mention of two daughters, the birth of one (I'm assuming it's the one still in college) caused the long-time Met writer to actually NOT be there for Game Six '86.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

That woulda been a good thing to get.

[Guest AG/DC]

]Kelvin Chapman was a great kid and the best basketball player they ever had. Better than Strawberry.

If the rest of the interview was "Are you there? Hello... I'm not hearing you... are you there now?" this would still make it a great interview.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

howie rose.

http://www.mbtn.net/from-day-1-the-howie-rose-interview

now it's up to me

[Guest AG/DC]

I am filled with awe.

One goof: "I would always do things that that, and it helped my recall." The first "that" looks like it's supposed to be "like."

I'm looking at that Ron Swoboda card and I'm thinking of how the Mets drove a hard bargain in re-aquiring Gil Hodges to be their manager. Their pretty-much explicit position was that he was always going to come back to manage and they were just letting him sow his wild oats elsewhere until the chair was ready for him. Aside from that being an insultingly entitled attitude to take with the Senators, it kind of rings false when you realize they gave his 14 to Swoboda, who was their best hitting prospect at the time.

I realize Howie's probably just being a pro and being kind to his colleagues in print, but how the heck are Mike and Mad Dog the gold standard? Were you tempted to follow up on that?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Yeah, that question, and the one on Citifield, didn't really come across quite the way I would have liked them to, but it wasn't until I transcribed the tapes that I came to realize that. The citifield goof was mine. I phrased the question awkwardly, and had to switch it up or the Q&A wouldn't make sense. The original question was about it reflecting Mets history and he interpreted it as a question about Dodgers and Giants history.

I am pretty sure the reason he brought up Joe & Evan, is because they were on his radio as we talked (he was driving at the time).

[G-Fafif]

Great job on a great subject. I hope Howie realizes the honor where his book intro is concerned is at least half his.