Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 2012

[Vic Sage]

I saw an interview with Doc Gooden on CBS Sunday Morning (i love that show), and it once again made me sad to see clips of him pitching a no-hitter for the MFYs. That he, Straw and Mazz all tainted their legacies by playing and/or coaching in the Bronx remains an open wound. I didn't mind seeing Seaver come back with the Reds and kick our asses, or pitching to Fisk for the WSox. And Ryan hadn't established a real Mets legacy before stupidly dealt. And as much as i like David Cone (and I do), I never thought of him as anything but a gun for hire. He wasn't "one of ours". But watching those guys play for the MFYs? Thats a Triboro Bridge too far.

I don't blame Doc and Straw. they needed jobs. and i don't really blame the Mets for not bringing them back, as they had already tainted their Mets legacies with their own behavior. It still makes me a little sad, but i can almost understand (if not accept) it. But Mazz? What the hell, dude? I understand you were traded there initially, but you didn't have to report. Jackie Robinson wouldn't play for the Giants; he retired before having to do such a thing. But alright, you went. And you did end up finding your way back to the Mets, even helping win the 86 series as a pretty good pinch-hitter. So if that half-season of MFY taint was all there was to it, i'd have gotten past it. But to go back to coach as Torre's butt-boy...did you really want to blow Torre that much? You went to Lincoln HS, like my brothers and Koufax, you douchebag! You played on the same little league field, Gil Hodges field (later renamed with grotesque genuflection as Joe Torre Stadium), as I did, you fuck. And you not only go and play for them, you coach for them? Really? You were a successful major leaguer, with a long career and matinee looks... you couldn't turn that into any other kind of post-playing career? You didn't have enough cash to wait it out? you HAD to crawl to the Bronx and suck Steinbrenner's midget dick for work? You prick.

As you can see, i still carry some bitterness about Mazz's betrayal. And his son can get fucked by a rabid water buffalo for all i care.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Vic Sage wrote: You went to Lincoln HS, like my brothers and Koufax, you douchebag! /quote]

Edgy MD Jun 04 2013 05:41 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Remember the jokes we used to make about "Senator" Al Leiter. Well, that's now moved into the realm of the possible, with the job open, and Leiter being crazy qualified: [list:20f3726p][*:20f3726p]rich,[/*:m:20f3726p] [*:20f3726p]famous,[/*:m:20f3726p] [*:20f3726p]Republican,[/*:m:20f3726p] [*:20f3726p]no political past[/*:m:20f3726p] [*:20f3726p]living under a Mets fan governor who has the power to make the appointment.[/*:m:20f3726p][/list:u:20f3726p] Also has juice with both Mets and Yankee fans now. Philly fans will have to deal. I think last time his potential candidacy came up a few years back, however, he was officially a Florida resident. Aren't they all?

Chad Ochoseis Jun 05 2013 03:19 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Leiter mentioned in the NYT as a possible candidate. On the Republican side, some lawmakers are reportedly considering running for the Senate, along with some political outsiders, including Al Leiter, a former major league pitcher who is now a broadcaster. Conservative activist Steve Lonegan, a former mayor of Bogota, N.J., said he is gathering signatures and raising money for a run.

Zvon Jun 05 2013 03:32 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Vic Sage wrote: You played on the same little league field, Gil Hodges field (later renamed with grotesque genuflection as Joe Torre Stadium), as I did, you fuck. Nice and enjoyable rant. A triboro Bridge too far. Classic. But this^ What's the point of naming a place in someones memory- to be there and forever remind us of this person- if you are going to change it! There are plenty of other fields out the that could have been named after Torre. Those fucks.

G-Fafif Jun 05 2013 04:55 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Sandy, like his buddy Fred, went to Lafayette. But WTF Joe Torre Field?

G-Fafif Jun 05 2013 04:57 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

For the longest time, an array of Als would show up in tabloid headlines -- Sharpton, Gore, D'Amato -- and I would inevitably guess wrong when I just glanced before knowing the story. Moving Leiter from the sports page anywhere else (not that I'm spending a lot of time reading tabloids these days) would reignite my confusion.

Vic Sage Jun 06 2013 08:25 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

G-Fafif wrote: Sandy, like his buddy Fred, went to Lafayette. DOH! "Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?" "Germans?" "Shut up, he's on a roll..." Lets change that line to "you went to Lincoln HS, like my brothers and Arthur Miller, you douchebag!"

Edgy MD Jun 06 2013 08:31 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Mets from Lincoln: Lee Mazzilli Nelson Figueroa

Benjamin Grimm Jun 06 2013 08:41 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

And Clem Labine!

Edgy MD Jun 06 2013 08:49 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Others Brooklyn Schoolboys: Boys Tommy Davis James Madison Joe Torre Lafayette Bob Aspromonte Kevin Baez Benny Distefano Pete Falcone John Franco Sandy Koufax Fred Wilpon LaSalle Academy John Candeleria Thomas Jefferson Shawon Dunston Tilden Willie Randolph Westinghouse Joe Pignatano Xaverian Pedro Beato All broke your heart, to one degree or another. Except maybe Piggie.

MFS62 Jun 06 2013 09:05 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Did some of this thread get lost? I posted something about a week ago, and its not here. (OK, maybe I had a senior moment, so here goes again.) Bud Harrelson is an executive, and third base coach, for the Long Island Ducks. You can follow their games on 103.9 on your FM dial. Later

Mets � Willets Point Jun 06 2013 09:07 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

You previously posted that in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=18924&p=515766&hilit=bud+harrelson#p515766 Works well in both spots.

Benjamin Grimm Jun 06 2013 09:09 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

MFS62 wrote: Did some of this thread get lost? I posted something about a week ago, and its not here. (OK, maybe I had a senior moment, so here goes again.) Bud Harrelson is an executive, and third base coach, for the Long Island Ducks. You can follow their games on 103.9 on your FM dial. Later And... today is his birthday!

Frayed Knot Jun 06 2013 09:25 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Benjamin Grimm wrote: MFS62 wrote: Did some of this thread get lost? I posted something about a week ago, and its not here. (OK, maybe I had a senior moment, so here goes again.) Bud Harrelson is an executive, and third base coach, for the Long Island Ducks. You can follow their games on 103.9 on your FM dial. Later And... today is his birthday! Yup, 69 years old - and I know that without looking it up as Bud was born not just on an anniversary of D-Day but on the actual D-Day

G-Fafif Jun 06 2013 09:27 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

There is a 2013 version of this thread that seems to have been obscured by the magic that was 2012, here.

Edgy MD Jun 06 2013 09:38 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Brace yourself for a merger.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 13 2013 04:52 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

I got no beef with Les Rohr By Rob Neyer on Jun 13 2013, 5:15p ? @robneyer + Back in the1980s when David Letterman and Jay Leno were still pals, Leno was a regular on Letterman's show. And part of his schtick was that he's complain about some silly little something. Dave would ask him about it, and Jay would say, "What's my beef, Dave?" And then there would be much laughter and rejoicing throughout the land. Today and most days, my beef is Americans who think they deserve something beyond the most basic human needs (food, shelter, education, decent health care, Jon Miller). Which is almost all people, of every age and creed and political persuasion. Makes me nuts, especially when the sense of entitlement is paired with rank hypocrisy. As it so often is. But enough about me. It's just so refreshing when you find someone who seems to take the opposite tack. Les Rohr, for instance. In 1965, the Mets chose Rohr with the second pick in the very first amateur draft. That didn't work out so well for them, as Rohr won exactly three games in the majors. His last action with Mets (or anyone else) came in 1969, when he got into one game, briefly. A few years ago, the Mets invited him to New York to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their first World Championship. He didn't go. For whatever reason, Rohr never got a World Series ring. About which he seemed unconcerned. From an article in the Billings Gazette: He was with New York during a portion of its amazing run to a National League pennant and World Series championship 40 years ago. "But I don't consider myself a Miracle Met, because I really did nothing," he said. "I was just lucky to be there." That's why he said he won't be attending the team's '69 Anniversary Celebration, which is scheduled for Aug. 22 at New York's new Citi Field. "They wanted me to come back," Rohr said. "I just told them there isn't any reason I should be back there with all those ballplayers that actually won the World Series. They're the ones that deserve it." --snip-- He said the Mets offered to "pay for everything" to get him to attend the reunion. And some would suggest that he is being unassuming and humble to a fault. "Yeah, I know," Rohr said. "But this is just how I feel." --snip-- And, to this day, it seems a bit unusual that Rohr doesn't have a World Series ring. He just shrugs that off and says he has no hard feelings. "It's only a material thing, just a hunk of metal," he said. "It doesn't bother me at all. If it does show up in my mailbox one day, I'll be surprised. Somebody's got it." Rohr laughed when he said that, but later added: "I was measured for a ring. I'm sure there's a ring out there with my name on it. I don't know where it is." Yes, this article is four years old but I just found it. Maybe the Mets can send Les Rohr a World Series ring, finally? I'm sure the money can't be an issue. Oh. Right. Dang it. http://www.baseballnation.com/hot-corner/2013/6/13/4427850/les-rohr-mets-world-series-ring

Edgy MD Jun 14 2013 08:15 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Reports saying that Dykstra is getting sprung on Sunday.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jun 15 2013 10:24 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Edgy MD wrote: Reports saying that Dykstra is getting sprung on Sunday. I just hope for Juan Samuel's sake it's not a trade.

TransMonk Jun 23 2013 08:37 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Guided by Sheffield, Journeyman Pitcher Is Now a Star

G-Fafif Jul 07 2013 07:23 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

All-Star Ron Hunt reminisces in the Daily News. Ron Hunt calls it �alley ball� and it�s how he first started learning baseball from his grandfather. From the time Hunt learned to walk, he and his grandpa, Walter Gronemeyer, found places to play the game on the streets of St. Louis, all part of the education of a future big leaguer. So on the eve of the 1964 All-Star game, Hunt delivered a special treat to the man who had given him so much. Hunt, the first Met ever elected to start the Midsummer Classic, brought his grandfather for a grandson-guided tour of Shea Stadium, where Hunt and the rest of the game�s best would play the next day, July 7. Hunt�s pals among the grounds crew �turned the lights on for Grandpa,� Hunt recalls. �Oh, I thought that was outstanding. I had learned so much from him. It was hard to tell when Grandpa was thrilled, but he was thrilled to no end.� It�s one of the most vivid memories the now-72-year-old Hunt has of the last time the Mets hosted an All-Star game � and the only time it was at Shea � nearly 50 years before they host this year�s version at Citi Field July 16. Hunt, who started at second base, went 1-for-3 in the game and can still recite the pitch he hit for a third-inning single off AL starter Dean Chance. �3-1 slider, high and inside,� he says. Hunt and his wife, Jackie, will be at Citi Field this year, but it will be hard to top his experience in 1964, an electrifying 7-4 National League victory that came on a walk-off homer by Philadelphia�s Johnny Callison off Boston�s Dick Radatz. Hunt, who was in his second season in the majors, still recalls the surge of awe he felt sharing a clubhouse with the likes of Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente and Hank Aaron, and seeing stars such as Mickey Mantle and Harmon Killebrew across the field. The Mets, who were in their third season when they hosted the game, had had All-Stars the previous two years, but Richie Ashburn, a reserve in 1962, and Duke Snider, a sub in �63, had been stars with other franchises. The 23-year-old Hunt, however, belonged to the Mets, which meant something in another lost season (the Mets were 23-58 at the All-Star break, halfway to a last-place finish with 53-109 record). As Norm Miller wrote in the Daily News when Hunt was elected by his fellow players, who had the vote back then: �Hunt is the first Met to be elected strictly on his exceptional merit. It�s almost like putting a man on the moon.� Hunt, who was batting .311 at the break, got 172 votes, easily topping runner-up Bill Mazeroski, who had 52. Hunt and his wife were going out to shop for an air conditioner when they got the news. There were 270 votes cast by NL players who could not pick their teammates, which means the rest of the league appreciated Hunt�s talents, including the toughness that would later lead to Hunt becoming one of the all-time leaders in getting hit by pitches. �He had no power and choked up a lot, but he was a good little hitter,� All-Star teammate Joe Torre says. �He was a guy you�d want on your side � he�d do anything to win. He never gave in at second base. He was a gashouse-type guy,� a reference to the rugged Cardinals teams of the 1930s. To this day, Hunt credits Casey Stengel with helping him get elected because the garrulous, crafty Met manager stumped for Hunt during a mid-June trip to Pittsburgh. �He told the writers if I wasn�t starting in the All-Star game, there was something wrong,� Hunt remembers. �I was having a helluva year. I guess Casey rang a bell or two.� And made Met fans happy. Torre recalls the applause Hunt got from the 50,850 fans at Shea as �huge. It was a proud moment for the newly minted Met fan, who were basically (Brooklyn) Dodger and (New York) Giant fans rolled into one,� Torre says. �He got a tremendous ovation in the introductions.� In the game, the American League took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning and Radatz, an imposing, 6-foot-6 reliever nicknamed �The Monster,� stayed in for a third inning. Orlando Cepeda knocked in the tying run with a no-out single, and Callison homered with two men on and two out. Just before the Callison homer, Hunt was pinch-hit for by one of the game�s immortals. Hunt, who went on to a lengthy career running a youth baseball program, would tell his kids, �Guy by the name of Hank Aaron pinch-hit for me.� Aaron struck out, but Callison clinched the victory with a deep drive to right, prompting a celebration at the plate. �It wasn�t that beat him in the head stuff, or hit him in the gut, like now,� Hunt says. �It was shaking hands. �We played for the fans back then,� Hunt adds. �I don�t know what they play for now. I appreciated the fans of New York. I was glad to be able to show them my appreciation, playing the All-Star Game at home in front of them. That was a terrific feeling.� Jackie Hunt still has the ticket stub from her front-row seat, right behind home plate. The price? About eight bucks. Hunt also has a sterling silver punch bowl, the player gift Jackie chose. �We still have it in a trophy case,� Jackie says. �It�s in what I call, �Ron�s room� that has all his memorabilia. He has a bat with all the guys� signatures from that All-Star game and a picture of him and Mickey Mantle that says, �New York�s Finest.� I�ve got a picture of him in the on-deck circle, getting ready to go up to hit, too.� Hunt had a career average of .273 and a career on-base percentage of .368 in his 12 years in the majors, including 1963-66 with the Mets. He made the All-Star team in 1966, too, and is sixth all-time with 243 HBPs. �I wish I could�ve spent more time in New York,� Hunt says. �I never got into the postseason. I would�ve loved to do it for Mets fans, but it didn�t happen.� Hunt was stunned when he got a call from a sportswriter in November of 1966, telling him he�d been traded to the Dodgers along with Jim Hickman for Tommy Davis and Derrell Griffith. He still says, �I can�t understand why I was traded. I was broken hearted.� When he saw Mets owner Joan Payson in the stands one year later, he says, �I took my hat off and went over to her and told her I thought it was pretty poor that a writer had to tell me about the trade. She said she wasn�t aware of that, but I did also tell her that I appreciated everything the Mets had done for me.� After one season with the Dodgers, Hunt played mostly for the Giants and Expos and even says he thought the 1969 Giants could�ve perhaps won the NL pennant instead of the Miracle Mets if San Francisco had retained Herman Franks as manager. He appeared in 12 games for his hometown Cardinals in 1974 � he names the number of days he was on their roster, 28 � but when they wanted to cut his salary in spring training the next year, �I went home and I never did regret it,� Hunt says. �We were raising our kids. We did our thing as a family.� Nowadays, Hunt has a 110-acre farm with cattle and hay in Wentzville, Mo. Because of a back operation, he says he�s not as mobile as he used to be. �What used to take me a few hours to do takes me all day now,� Hunt says. �I�m glad I�m self-employed and have good friends.� After 18 years of running his youth baseball program the Ron Hunt Eagles Baseball Association, Inc., he stopped in 2003, though he still does an occasional clinic. Not bad for a coaching career that started years ago with a batting tee fashioned out of radiator hose by his father-in-law. It�s clear he�s still proud of coaching. �We put 98% of our kids in college with some kind of scholarship help,� he says. �We played 150-200 games a summer, everybody played and for 18 years I never (hurt) an arm because we had a pitch count. I walked off the field in the sixth or seventh or eighth inning if we didn�t have any more pitchers.� Sometimes, he says, kids would ask him about the big leagues. New Yorkers who went west to spend a summer playing for Hunt asked about the All-Star game at Shea. �I�d tell them about my career, how I got started, how I got help,� Hunt says. �I was an open book. Coaching helped me pay back some of my IOUs in the game.�

batmagadanleadoff Jul 07 2013 10:31 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

All-Star Ron Hunt reminisces in the Daily News. Ron Hunt calls it �alley ball� .... Neat pictures, too. Ron Hunt was the only Met to play in the 1964 All-Star Game at Shea Stadium, becoming the first Met to start in the Midsummer Classic. Now, living on a ranch in Wentzville, Mo., the former infielder has plenty of mementos from that game, including a photo of himself in the on-deck circle. A bat from the 1964 All-Star Game (r.) is on display at Ron Hunt's Wentzville, Mo., home. Part of Ron Hunt's personal collection from the 1964 All-Star game is this picture with Yankees center fielder Mickey Mantle. An engraved silver punch bowl was a gift Ron Hunt received for playing in the All-Star Game. ________________ Not pictured or mentioned in the article: Look whose helmet Johnny Callison was wearing when he hit his game winning HR.

Edgy MD Jul 07 2013 08:38 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

That's a great shot. Assume that Domonic Brown will have to wear a stray Mets helm`this year as well.

G-Fafif Jul 12 2013 08:24 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Darryl Strawberry, playin' for the Lord, but not into baseball anymore. The four-bedroom, two-story modest house sits on a corner in this planned bedroom community, and when this 6-6 muscular-toned man welcomes you inside his home, there is no evidence Darryl Strawberry the player ever existed. There are no pictures of Strawberry in a baseball uniform. No trophies. No plaques. None of his four World Series rings. Nothing from his eight All-Star Games. None of his 335 home run balls. "I got rid of it all. I was never attached to none of that stuff," says Strawberry, 51, wearing a North Carolina jersey with Michael Jordan's No. 23. "I don't want it. It's not part of my life anymore." Darryl Strawberry, the former outfield great, is no longer. Darryl Strawberry, the ordained minister in this town 30 miles west of St. Louis, is very much alive. "I'm over 'Strawberry,' " he tells USA TODAY Sports. "I'm over Mets. I'm over Yankees. I don't want to exist as Darryl Strawberry, the baseball player. "People don't understand that's no longer you. I'm not a baseball player, anymore. "That person is dead." Well, not that dead... "I never wanted to exist as Darryl Strawberry, the baseball player," he says. "I wanted to let go that identity. It's not who I am. "I love that I was a great player, and won championships, and did all these great things, but I was always more driven. I knew there had to be more than just putting on a uniform and hitting grand slams and making millions of dollars. "I always believed there was a greater purpose to life." Strawberry, who remains proud of his baseball career, realizes there could be awkward moments this weekend when he travels to New York with 13-year-old daughter Jewel to the All-Star festivities and game at the Mets' Citi Field. There will be plenty of autograph and photo requests, and fans wanting to talk about the Mets' glory days when they won the 1986 World Series. There will be corporate parties, some that are mandatory, as part of his obligation with the Mets. But this is a man uncomfortable re-living the past, knowing he can change the future. "I used to be a big shot, let's put it that way," Strawberry says. "But I want nothing to do with baseball now. I have no desire to be working in baseball. No desire at all."

batmagadanleadoff Jul 12 2013 12:19 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

All-Star Ron Hunt reminisces in the Daily News. Ron Hunt calls it �alley ball� .... Neat pictures, too. ________________ Not pictured or mentioned in the article: Look whose helmet Johnny Callison was wearing when he hit his game winning HR. Paul Lukas chronicles the history of players in mismatched batting helmets at the MLB ASG. Johnny Callison's is apparently the first known instance. http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/38106/uni-watch-all-star-helmet-mix-ups

G-Fafif Jul 23 2013 01:43 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Dwight Gooden talks to Alec Baldwin. Transcript here. Alec Baldwin: So when you�re facing a batter have you pre-assessed before a game every single batter you�re gonna face in that game? Dwight Gooden: The thing was I only had two pitches, fastball and curve. So a lot of times they�re like, �This guy�s a great fastball hitter and can�t throw this guy curve ball for strikes,� so I�m thinking, �Well, I shouldn�t be pitching. I�m done,� but basically always pitched to my strength and made the hitters adjust. A lot of times what I would do also I used to like watch in box scores. If I knew I was gonna face the Cardinals say three days from now I also watch the box scores seeing who�s hot, who�s doing what a couple days before that so I have an idea which guy�s swinging the bat well. Alec Baldwin: So you have � I�m not a baseball player. I love going to the ball game. I love watching a baseball game live. It�s a great treat. So you�re standing there and you�re at the top of your game. Now you�re 20 years old. You�re in your second season, you�re more confident, and you look in your mind at imaginary strikes on the knees, to the shoulders, you got the home plate there. In those four corners, high and tight, high and outside, low and tight, low and outside, can you basically throw the ball in a fastball anywhere you want it? You can make it go where you want it to go? Dwight Gooden: 1985 without a doubt. 1985 it was right from the first game to the � my last start. Alec Baldwin: You picked your spot. Dwight Gooden: I was just right there, didn�t think about it. Everything just came. Alec Baldwin: And the ball would go where you made it go? Dwight Gooden: And the ball basically go right there. I would say probably � Alec Baldwin: How many miles an hour? Dwight Gooden: Oh, I was anywhere from 95 to 98.

SteveJRogers Aug 05 2013 03:57 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

= http://www.csnphilly.com/baseball-philadelphia-phillies/todd-pratt-reveals-hes-also-been-battling-cancer

smg58 Aug 14 2013 09:26 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

http://magazine.columbia.edu/college-walk/summer-2013/safe-home Pete Falcone gets a brief mention in this interesting article about his son, a 27-year-old DH for the Columbia University Lions.

Edgy MD Aug 14 2013 09:35 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Wasn't there another story of recent vintage of an ex-Met who had a son who was an older-than-usual college baseball player? I'm thinking he was back in school after the military and playing for Wagner or another Staten Island school.

Edgy MD Aug 14 2013 09:36 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Oh, there it is. It must be him. He transferred from CoSI.

G-Fafif Aug 29 2013 11:04 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Benny Ayala remembers his big splash 39 years later. Don�t rock the boat. Everyone was saying that in August 1974 � it was from one of the most popular songs that summer. I wanted more than anything to get called up and play for the New York Mets. I had 11 home runs, among the league leaders that year for AAA Tidewater, tops on my team. I felt I was ready. I didn�t speak up much that year, but when I was with my teammates, I would tell them how I felt, in the dugout, our small clubhouse, in the local bars of Norfolk, Va, where you could hear the song. Their response was always the same; you will get to New York very soon. Don't rock the boat. The whole organization was having a tough season. The parent club had just come off an amazing 1973, coming within a game of the World Championship against the Oakland A�s. The next year, the bullpen was much worse, Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman had off seasons. Jon Matlack may have been the best pitcher in baseball, but the bullpen and batting order let him down again and again. The team was really out of the pennant race by the middle of August. Soon it would be time for them to call up players from Tidewater. I tried to be as patient as possible, but it wasn�t easy. I arrived at Metropolitan Memorial Park in the early afternoon on August 27th, 1974. The ballpark was ideally located very close to the airport in Norfolk. This was the first thing on my mind right after my manager John Antonelli called me into his office. �Benny, you�re in the starting lineup for the Mets tonight,� he said, �There�s a plane ticket waiting for you at the airport to Queens. Go right now.� It was calling it very close for an 8:05 game time in New York. No cell phones to call loved ones from the car to let them know what�s happening. No time to grab my glove & favorite bats. Only time to shake my kind manager�s hand and offer a sincere �Thank you.� Antonelli shook my hand and pointed to the door. �Go now,� he smiled, �The game starts in four hours.�

John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 29 2013 11:13 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Nice job by Benny.

Edgy MD Aug 29 2013 11:27 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

He might've hit the homer before anybody in his family knew he was a big leaguer.

batmagadanleadoff Aug 29 2013 11:32 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

G-Fafif wrote: Benny Ayala remembers his big splash 39 years later. Nice story.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Sep 05 2013 10:54 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Sitting in the Lowe's Broadcast Booth with John Sterling last night: CJ Nitkowski, subbing for Suzyn Waldman. He wasn't so bad, deep voice, enlightened-jock takes, evidence of some sense of humor.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Oct 01 2013 07:21 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

batmagadanleadoff wrote: G-Fafif wrote: Benny Ayala remembers his big splash 39 years later. Nice story. Even more Benny here in this really great bio. "He�s so good he knocks himself out of games." http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/d7be841b

Edgy MD Oct 21 2013 02:46 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

The Rangers gain a new coach for their bench, and his name is Tim Bogar. Wash was a Mets minor league coach when Bogar was coming up.

Edgy MD Oct 28 2013 06:23 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Ken Davidoff takes advantage of a trip to St. Loo to catch up with an overall-clad Ron Hunt. Hey, since when is Davidoff with The Post?

MFS62 Oct 28 2013 07:08 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Edgy MD wrote: Ken Davidoff takes advantage of a trip to St. Loo to catch up with an overall-clad Ron Hunt. Hey, since when is Davidoff with The Post? It would be easier for Ron to lead the league in getting hit by pitches with that new profile. Later

John Cougar Lunchbucket Oct 28 2013 09:01 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Davidoff moved to the Post more than a year ago I believe.

Edgy MD Oct 28 2013 09:05 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Not only hard to detach Davidoff from Newday in my mind, but it's surprising to think of sports columnists still jumping papers. If he was going to jump anywhere, I'd figure it'd be to an online-only outlet.

Benjamin Grimm Oct 28 2013 09:22 AM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

I'm afraid that newspapers are becoming "online outlets" that just happen to also have a printed version.

Mets Guy in Michigan Oct 28 2013 12:10 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I'm afraid that newspapers are becoming "online outlets" that just happen to also have a printed version. This is true. The goal is to give you the news in whatever format you want to read it in. Last year, mobile accounted for about half of our readership.

Edgy MD Oct 28 2013 12:26 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Yes, but I spoke explicitly about "online-only" outlets. The dailies still have the high profile of their centuries-old brand, and I'd rather be a columnist for the Daily News than Gotham Baseball (or even a more national site like SB Nation), even if I'm getting most of my readership online either way. ESPN.com, similarly, has the authority of being linked to the unbreachable broadcast anchor-entity. I therefore imagine it's tough for columnists to jump from one local paper to another anymore, as the main value of their name brand is their association with the paper's brand. Would Newsday jump at the chance to grab Bill Price if he became available? If he worked for something like an entry-level wage maybe.

Mets Guy in Michigan Oct 28 2013 12:36 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

I think a part of the problem is that there are fewer two-paper towns any more, and there are fewer places to jump if you don't want to uproot.

G-Fafif Oct 30 2013 12:14 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Listening to one of the late-season Mets-Giants games at which Giants fans outnumbered Mets by a ratio of at least 54:1, Howie recalled the late Vic Ziegel writing about his love of the New York Giants (while missing the fact that he despised their San Francisco successors). Some platitudes ensued directly between Howie and Josh about how great it is to live in New York where the papers have columnists like George Vecsey and Steve Jacobson, while it was acknowledged both were basically retired (at least from their longtime gigs). So to sum up, the greatest columnists in town, by the announcers' reckoning, were two who are no longer plying their craft and one who is no longer with us. Oh, here's that Jon Matlack feature story you were looking for from the Saratogian. Forty years ago this month Jon Matlack helped lead the Mets all the way to Game 7 of the World Series. One of his favorite memories from that 1973 campaign was playing for manager Yogi Berra, whose verbal idiosyncracies are the stuff of baseball legend. For good reason, Matlack sometimes couldn�t understand Berra when he came out to the mound. Exasperated, he finally turned to Hall of Fame hurler and teammate Tom Seaver for help. �It�s real easy,� Seaver said. �What do you mean, it�s easy?� Matlack responded. �When Yogi comes out to the mound and says whatever he says, if he doesn�t put his hand out, just say OK. He�ll go back to the dugout. If he puts his hand out, put the ball in it and you go back to the dugout. It�s that simple.� Matlack, who lives in Johnsburg, still smiles when recalling Seaver�s advice. Other than that, he thrived under Berra�s managerial style. �Yogi was a gem,� he said. �Yogi would not over-manage. By today�s standards he would under-manage. It was, �Let�s put the right people on the field and let them play the game. Maybe we�ll make a change here or there.� He was very easy to play for and work with.� Of the many changes in baseball since Matlack hung up his spikes, the one he laments most is the �SABR-metrics� approach to handling pitching staffs, where managers rely more heavily on spreadsheets and computer data than a hurler�s talent, heart and will to win. �Today, if the computer says this pitcher is most likely to get so-and-so out with a curveball at 4 o�clock on a Tuesday, when the sun isn�t shining, that�s who you go with,� Matlack said. �There�s so much emphasis on who faces who. It�s almost like Fantasy Baseball is being played on the field instead of baseball being played on the field.� He firmly believes, to his chagrin, that this limits a young pitcher�s progress and development over the long run. �The reason is that he gets no blame, no responsibility, or credit because all the information comes from the dugout,� Matlack said. �All he does is follow the script like a machine. If he�s wrong, all the people in the dugout didn�t know what they were talking about. If he�s right, �Oh, he�s supposed to do that.� They�re supplying me with all the information, the stats.� �So instead of having that chess match at 90 mph that used to take place, I think it�s just figuring the odds and following them, which is a shame,� he said. After his playing career, Matlack spent many years as a pitching coach at both the major and minor league levels. One of his longest assignments was with the Detroit Tigers, where he mentored all minor league hurlers, including Justin Verlander, who�s now one of the game�s premier pitchers. In 2012, Matlack held a similar position with the Astros and would periodically come to Troy to work with young Tri-City Valley Cats prospects, Houston�s affiliate in the NY-Penn League. This season was his first away from organized baseball in almost 20 years and at 63, he�s uncertain about his future in the game. Despite a proven track record of success, mountains of hard-won experience and a knack for conveying such knowledge to young people, Matlack finds himself on the outside looking in. �I may be permanently retired, who knows?� he said. �It seems very strange. �Forty-somethings are more popular than 60-somethings. There�s a whole different thought process these days.� "SABR-metrics" is not only not a word, but implies advanced statistics are a product of the Society for American Baseball Research.

Edgy MD Oct 30 2013 12:23 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

I like that the success they cite is his work with Justin Verlander. I mean, good for him, but the guy was a #2 overall pick with a spectacular collegiate career and a brief, comet-like run in the minors. It's sort of the like the joke about private-school admissions: "Give us your brightest most successful students and we'll make successes out of them!"

John Cougar Lunchbucket Oct 30 2013 12:27 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Gee I dunno, Jon. Maybe they won't hire you because you come off exactly like a grouchy old man reluctant to understand, much less embrace, the modern game.

seawolf17 Oct 30 2013 01:14 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

G-Fafif wrote: "SABR-metrics" is not only not a word, but implies advanced statistics are a product of the Society for American Baseball Research. Well, they are, aren't they?

Edgy MD Oct 30 2013 01:24 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Not very much. "Sabermetrics" was goofy word coined by Bill James as a fun tribute to his colleagues that he's long expressed regret over, because it mis-represents both the science being entirely (or even mostly or primarily) emanating from one outlet, and the purpose of the organization as scientific stat crunching, which is a very small part of what they are about.

G-Fafif Oct 30 2013 01:43 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

And even if it was all SABR's doing, the guy on the paper upstate should know that it's cspelled sabermetrics. I've been a member of SABR for only a few years, but never once have I been given the impression that what "we" do is solely or mostly about statistics.

SteveJRogers Oct 30 2013 08:03 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Seaver gets a street named for him! http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/09/26/3520416/fresno-city-council-puts-pitcher.html

G-Fafif Nov 09 2013 02:35 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Lee Mazzilli chats with Ron Darling on MLB Network. Neither Walt Terrell nor Howard Johnson joins them.

Edgy MD Nov 09 2013 04:32 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Mitchell looks like he's biting at the bottom of that pile.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Nov 09 2013 07:10 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Lee belongs to the 70s but his brain belongs to the 50s.

Edgy MD Nov 09 2013 08:32 PM Re: Rico Brogna and the Long Sunset: Mets in Retirement, 201

Only a few seconds, but that footage of Mays teaching the basket catch to Mazz was golden. Where's that from? The 1976 highlight film? Not so golden is the shot of Lee's shorts the day the got traded.

[Edgy MD]

Remember the jokes we used to make about "Senator" Al Leiter. Well, that's now moved into the realm of the possible, with the job open, and Leiter being crazy qualified:
[list:20f3726p][*:20f3726p]rich,[/*:m:20f3726p]
[*:20f3726p]famous,[/*:m:20f3726p]
[*:20f3726p]Republican,[/*:m:20f3726p]
[*:20f3726p]no political past[/*:m:20f3726p]
[*:20f3726p]living under a Mets fan governor who has the power to make the appointment.[/*:m:20f3726p][/list:u:20f3726p]

Also has juice with both Mets and Yankee fans now. Philly fans will have to deal. I think last time his potential candidacy came up a few years back, however, he was officially a Florida resident. Aren't they all?

[Chad ochoseis]

Leiter mentioned in the NYT as a possible candidate.

On the Republican side, some lawmakers are reportedly considering running for the Senate, along with some political outsiders, including Al Leiter, a former major league pitcher who is now a broadcaster. Conservative activist Steve Lonegan, a former mayor of Bogota, N.J., said he is gathering signatures and raising money for a run.

[Zvon]

Vic Sage wrote: You played on the same little league field, Gil Hodges field (later renamed with grotesque genuflection as Joe Torre Stadium), as I did, you fuck.

Nice and enjoyable rant. A triboro Bridge too far. Classic. But this^

What's the point of naming a place in someones memory- to be there and forever remind us of this person- if you are going to change it! There are plenty of other fields out the that could have been named after Torre. Those fucks.

[G-Fafif]

Sandy, like his buddy Fred, went to Lafayette.

But WTF Joe Torre Field?

[G-Fafif]

For the longest time, an array of Als would show up in tabloid headlines -- Sharpton, Gore, D'Amato -- and I would inevitably guess wrong when I just glanced before knowing the story. Moving Leiter from the sports page anywhere else (not that I'm spending a lot of time reading tabloids these days) would reignite my confusion.

[Vic Sage]

G-Fafif wrote: Sandy, like his buddy Fred, went to Lafayette.

DOH!

"Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?"
"Germans?"
"Shut up, he's on a roll..."

Lets change that line to "you went to Lincoln HS, like my brothers and Arthur Miller, you douchebag!"

[Edgy MD]

Mets from Lincoln:
Lee Mazzilli
Nelson Figueroa

[Benjamin Grimm]

And Clem Labine!

[Edgy MD]

Others Brooklyn Schoolboys:

Boys
Tommy Davis

James Madison
Joe Torre

Lafayette
Bob Aspromonte
Kevin Baez
Benny Distefano
Pete Falcone
John Franco
Sandy Koufax
Fred Wilpon

LaSalle Academy
John Candeleria

Thomas Jefferson
Shawon Dunston

Tilden
Willie Randolph

Westinghouse
Joe Pignatano

Xaverian
Pedro Beato

All broke your heart, to one degree or another. Except maybe Piggie.

[MFS62]

Did some of this thread get lost?
I posted something about a week ago, and its not here. (OK, maybe I had a senior moment, so here goes again.)
Bud Harrelson is an executive, and third base coach, for the Long Island Ducks. You can follow their games on 103.9 on your FM dial.

Later

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

You previously posted that in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=18924&p=515766&hilit=bud+harrelson#p515766

Works well in both spots.

[Benjamin Grimm]

MFS62 wrote: Did some of this thread get lost? I posted something about a week ago, and its not here. (OK, maybe I had a senior moment, so here goes again.) Bud Harrelson is an executive, and third base coach, for the Long Island Ducks. You can follow their games on 103.9 on your FM dial. Later

And... today is his birthday!

[Frayed Knot]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: MFS62 wrote: Did some of this thread get lost? I posted something about a week ago, and its not here. (OK, maybe I had a senior moment, so here goes again.) Bud Harrelson is an executive, and third base coach, for the Long Island Ducks. You can follow their games on 103.9 on your FM dial. Later And... today is his birthday!

Yup, 69 years old - and I know that without looking it up as Bud was born not just on an anniversary of D-Day but on the actual D-Day

[G-Fafif]

There is a 2013 version of this thread that seems to have been obscured by the magic that was 2012, here.

[Edgy MD]

Brace yourself for a merger.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I got no beef with Les Rohr

By Rob Neyer on Jun 13 2013, 5:15p ? @robneyer +

Back in the1980s when David Letterman and Jay Leno were still pals, Leno was a regular on Letterman's show. And part of his schtick was that he's complain about some silly little something. Dave would ask him about it, and Jay would say, "What's my beef, Dave?" And then there would be much laughter and rejoicing throughout the land. Today and most days, my beef is Americans who think they deserve something beyond the most basic human needs (food, shelter, education, decent health care, Jon Miller). Which is almost all people, of every age and creed and political persuasion. Makes me nuts, especially when the sense of entitlement is paired with rank hypocrisy. As it so often is. But enough about me. It's just so refreshing when you find someone who seems to take the opposite tack. Les Rohr, for instance. In 1965, the Mets chose Rohr with the second pick in the very first amateur draft. That didn't work out so well for them, as Rohr won exactly three games in the majors. His last action with Mets (or anyone else) came in 1969, when he got into one game, briefly. A few years ago, the Mets invited him to New York to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their first World Championship. He didn't go. For whatever reason, Rohr never got a World Series ring. About which he seemed unconcerned. From an article in the Billings Gazette: He was with New York during a portion of its amazing run to a National League pennant and World Series championship 40 years ago. "But I don't consider myself a Miracle Met, because I really did nothing," he said. "I was just lucky to be there." That's why he said he won't be attending the team's '69 Anniversary Celebration, which is scheduled for Aug. 22 at New York's new Citi Field. "They wanted me to come back," Rohr said. "I just told them there isn't any reason I should be back there with all those ballplayers that actually won the World Series. They're the ones that deserve it." --snip-- He said the Mets offered to "pay for everything" to get him to attend the reunion. And some would suggest that he is being unassuming and humble to a fault. "Yeah, I know," Rohr said. "But this is just how I feel." --snip-- And, to this day, it seems a bit unusual that Rohr doesn't have a World Series ring. He just shrugs that off and says he has no hard feelings. "It's only a material thing, just a hunk of metal," he said. "It doesn't bother me at all. If it does show up in my mailbox one day, I'll be surprised. Somebody's got it." Rohr laughed when he said that, but later added: "I was measured for a ring. I'm sure there's a ring out there with my name on it. I don't know where it is." Yes, this article is four years old but I just found it. Maybe the Mets can send Les Rohr a World Series ring, finally? I'm sure the money can't be an issue. Oh. Right. Dang it.

http://www.baseballnation.com/hot-corner/2013/6/13/4427850/les-rohr-mets-world-series-ring

[Edgy MD]

Reports saying that Dykstra is getting sprung on Sunday.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Edgy MD wrote: Reports saying that Dykstra is getting sprung on Sunday.

I just hope for Juan Samuel's sake it's not a trade.

[TransMonk]

Guided by Sheffield, Journeyman Pitcher Is Now a Star

[G-Fafif]

All-Star Ron Hunt reminisces in the Daily News.

Ron Hunt calls it �alley ball� and it�s how he first started learning baseball from his grandfather. From the time Hunt learned to walk, he and his grandpa, Walter Gronemeyer, found places to play the game on the streets of St. Louis, all part of the education of a future big leaguer. So on the eve of the 1964 All-Star game, Hunt delivered a special treat to the man who had given him so much. Hunt, the first Met ever elected to start the Midsummer Classic, brought his grandfather for a grandson-guided tour of Shea Stadium, where Hunt and the rest of the game�s best would play the next day, July 7. Hunt�s pals among the grounds crew �turned the lights on for Grandpa,� Hunt recalls. �Oh, I thought that was outstanding. I had learned so much from him. It was hard to tell when Grandpa was thrilled, but he was thrilled to no end.� It�s one of the most vivid memories the now-72-year-old Hunt has of the last time the Mets hosted an All-Star game � and the only time it was at Shea � nearly 50 years before they host this year�s version at Citi Field July 16. Hunt, who started at second base, went 1-for-3 in the game and can still recite the pitch he hit for a third-inning single off AL starter Dean Chance. �3-1 slider, high and inside,� he says. Hunt and his wife, Jackie, will be at Citi Field this year, but it will be hard to top his experience in 1964, an electrifying 7-4 National League victory that came on a walk-off homer by Philadelphia�s Johnny Callison off Boston�s Dick Radatz. Hunt, who was in his second season in the majors, still recalls the surge of awe he felt sharing a clubhouse with the likes of Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente and Hank Aaron, and seeing stars such as Mickey Mantle and Harmon Killebrew across the field. The Mets, who were in their third season when they hosted the game, had had All-Stars the previous two years, but Richie Ashburn, a reserve in 1962, and Duke Snider, a sub in �63, had been stars with other franchises. The 23-year-old Hunt, however, belonged to the Mets, which meant something in another lost season (the Mets were 23-58 at the All-Star break, halfway to a last-place finish with 53-109 record). As Norm Miller wrote in the Daily News when Hunt was elected by his fellow players, who had the vote back then: �Hunt is the first Met to be elected strictly on his exceptional merit. It�s almost like putting a man on the moon.� Hunt, who was batting .311 at the break, got 172 votes, easily topping runner-up Bill Mazeroski, who had 52. Hunt and his wife were going out to shop for an air conditioner when they got the news. There were 270 votes cast by NL players who could not pick their teammates, which means the rest of the league appreciated Hunt�s talents, including the toughness that would later lead to Hunt becoming one of the all-time leaders in getting hit by pitches. �He had no power and choked up a lot, but he was a good little hitter,� All-Star teammate Joe Torre says. �He was a guy you�d want on your side � he�d do anything to win. He never gave in at second base. He was a gashouse-type guy,� a reference to the rugged Cardinals teams of the 1930s. To this day, Hunt credits Casey Stengel with helping him get elected because the garrulous, crafty Met manager stumped for Hunt during a mid-June trip to Pittsburgh. �He told the writers if I wasn�t starting in the All-Star game, there was something wrong,� Hunt remembers. �I was having a helluva year. I guess Casey rang a bell or two.� And made Met fans happy. Torre recalls the applause Hunt got from the 50,850 fans at Shea as �huge. It was a proud moment for the newly minted Met fan, who were basically (Brooklyn) Dodger and (New York) Giant fans rolled into one,� Torre says. �He got a tremendous ovation in the introductions.� In the game, the American League took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning and Radatz, an imposing, 6-foot-6 reliever nicknamed �The Monster,� stayed in for a third inning. Orlando Cepeda knocked in the tying run with a no-out single, and Callison homered with two men on and two out. Just before the Callison homer, Hunt was pinch-hit for by one of the game�s immortals. Hunt, who went on to a lengthy career running a youth baseball program, would tell his kids, �Guy by the name of Hank Aaron pinch-hit for me.� Aaron struck out, but Callison clinched the victory with a deep drive to right, prompting a celebration at the plate. �It wasn�t that beat him in the head stuff, or hit him in the gut, like now,� Hunt says. �It was shaking hands. �We played for the fans back then,� Hunt adds. �I don�t know what they play for now. I appreciated the fans of New York. I was glad to be able to show them my appreciation, playing the All-Star Game at home in front of them. That was a terrific feeling.� Jackie Hunt still has the ticket stub from her front-row seat, right behind home plate. The price? About eight bucks. Hunt also has a sterling silver punch bowl, the player gift Jackie chose. �We still have it in a trophy case,� Jackie says. �It�s in what I call, �Ron�s room� that has all his memorabilia. He has a bat with all the guys� signatures from that All-Star game and a picture of him and Mickey Mantle that says, �New York�s Finest.� I�ve got a picture of him in the on-deck circle, getting ready to go up to hit, too.� Hunt had a career average of .273 and a career on-base percentage of .368 in his 12 years in the majors, including 1963-66 with the Mets. He made the All-Star team in 1966, too, and is sixth all-time with 243 HBPs. �I wish I could�ve spent more time in New York,� Hunt says. �I never got into the postseason. I would�ve loved to do it for Mets fans, but it didn�t happen.� Hunt was stunned when he got a call from a sportswriter in November of 1966, telling him he�d been traded to the Dodgers along with Jim Hickman for Tommy Davis and Derrell Griffith. He still says, �I can�t understand why I was traded. I was broken hearted.� When he saw Mets owner Joan Payson in the stands one year later, he says, �I took my hat off and went over to her and told her I thought it was pretty poor that a writer had to tell me about the trade. She said she wasn�t aware of that, but I did also tell her that I appreciated everything the Mets had done for me.� After one season with the Dodgers, Hunt played mostly for the Giants and Expos and even says he thought the 1969 Giants could�ve perhaps won the NL pennant instead of the Miracle Mets if San Francisco had retained Herman Franks as manager. He appeared in 12 games for his hometown Cardinals in 1974 � he names the number of days he was on their roster, 28 � but when they wanted to cut his salary in spring training the next year, �I went home and I never did regret it,� Hunt says. �We were raising our kids. We did our thing as a family.� Nowadays, Hunt has a 110-acre farm with cattle and hay in Wentzville, Mo. Because of a back operation, he says he�s not as mobile as he used to be. �What used to take me a few hours to do takes me all day now,� Hunt says. �I�m glad I�m self-employed and have good friends.� After 18 years of running his youth baseball program the Ron Hunt Eagles Baseball Association, Inc., he stopped in 2003, though he still does an occasional clinic. Not bad for a coaching career that started years ago with a batting tee fashioned out of radiator hose by his father-in-law. It�s clear he�s still proud of coaching. �We put 98% of our kids in college with some kind of scholarship help,� he says. �We played 150-200 games a summer, everybody played and for 18 years I never (hurt) an arm because we had a pitch count. I walked off the field in the sixth or seventh or eighth inning if we didn�t have any more pitchers.� Sometimes, he says, kids would ask him about the big leagues. New Yorkers who went west to spend a summer playing for Hunt asked about the All-Star game at Shea. �I�d tell them about my career, how I got started, how I got help,� Hunt says. �I was an open book. Coaching helped me pay back some of my IOUs in the game.�

[batmagadanleadoff]

All-Star Ron Hunt reminisces in the Daily News. Ron Hunt calls it �alley ball� ....

Neat pictures, too.


Ron Hunt was the only Met to play in the 1964 All-Star Game at Shea Stadium, becoming the first Met to start in the Midsummer Classic.


Now, living on a ranch in Wentzville, Mo., the former infielder has plenty of mementos from that game, including a photo of himself
in the on-deck circle.


A bat from the 1964 All-Star Game (r.) is on display at Ron Hunt's Wentzville, Mo., home.


Part of Ron Hunt's personal collection from the 1964 All-Star game is this picture with Yankees center fielder
Mickey Mantle.


An engraved silver punch bowl was a gift Ron Hunt received for playing in the All-Star Game.

________________

Not pictured or mentioned in the article: Look whose helmet Johnny Callison was wearing when he hit his game winning HR.

[Edgy MD]

That's a great shot. Assume that Domonic Brown will have to wear a stray Mets helm`this year as well.

[G-Fafif]

Darryl Strawberry, playin' for the Lord, but not into baseball anymore.

The four-bedroom, two-story modest house sits on a corner in this planned bedroom community, and when this 6-6 muscular-toned man welcomes you inside his home, there is no evidence Darryl Strawberry the player ever existed. There are no pictures of Strawberry in a baseball uniform. No trophies. No plaques. None of his four World Series rings. Nothing from his eight All-Star Games. None of his 335 home run balls. "I got rid of it all. I was never attached to none of that stuff," says Strawberry, 51, wearing a North Carolina jersey with Michael Jordan's No. 23. "I don't want it. It's not part of my life anymore." Darryl Strawberry, the former outfield great, is no longer. Darryl Strawberry, the ordained minister in this town 30 miles west of St. Louis, is very much alive. "I'm over 'Strawberry,' " he tells USA TODAY Sports. "I'm over Mets. I'm over Yankees. I don't want to exist as Darryl Strawberry, the baseball player. "People don't understand that's no longer you. I'm not a baseball player, anymore. "That person is dead."

Well, not that dead...

"I never wanted to exist as Darryl Strawberry, the baseball player," he says. "I wanted to let go that identity. It's not who I am. "I love that I was a great player, and won championships, and did all these great things, but I was always more driven. I knew there had to be more than just putting on a uniform and hitting grand slams and making millions of dollars. "I always believed there was a greater purpose to life." Strawberry, who remains proud of his baseball career, realizes there could be awkward moments this weekend when he travels to New York with 13-year-old daughter Jewel to the All-Star festivities and game at the Mets' Citi Field. There will be plenty of autograph and photo requests, and fans wanting to talk about the Mets' glory days when they won the 1986 World Series. There will be corporate parties, some that are mandatory, as part of his obligation with the Mets. But this is a man uncomfortable re-living the past, knowing he can change the future. "I used to be a big shot, let's put it that way," Strawberry says. "But I want nothing to do with baseball now. I have no desire to be working in baseball. No desire at all."

[batmagadanleadoff]

All-Star Ron Hunt reminisces in the Daily News. Ron Hunt calls it �alley ball� .... Neat pictures, too. ________________ Not pictured or mentioned in the article: Look whose helmet Johnny Callison was wearing when he hit his game winning HR.

Paul Lukas chronicles the history of players in mismatched batting helmets at the MLB ASG. Johnny Callison's is apparently the first known instance.



http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/38106/uni-watch-all-star-helmet-mix-ups

[G-Fafif]

Dwight Gooden talks to Alec Baldwin. Transcript here.

Alec Baldwin: So when you�re facing a batter have you pre-assessed before a game every single batter you�re gonna face in that game? Dwight Gooden: The thing was I only had two pitches, fastball and curve. So a lot of times they�re like, �This guy�s a great fastball hitter and can�t throw this guy curve ball for strikes,� so I�m thinking, �Well, I shouldn�t be pitching. I�m done,� but basically always pitched to my strength and made the hitters adjust. A lot of times what I would do also I used to like watch in box scores. If I knew I was gonna face the Cardinals say three days from now I also watch the box scores seeing who�s hot, who�s doing what a couple days before that so I have an idea which guy�s swinging the bat well. Alec Baldwin: So you have � I�m not a baseball player. I love going to the ball game. I love watching a baseball game live. It�s a great treat. So you�re standing there and you�re at the top of your game. Now you�re 20 years old. You�re in your second season, you�re more confident, and you look in your mind at imaginary strikes on the knees, to the shoulders, you got the home plate there. In those four corners, high and tight, high and outside, low and tight, low and outside, can you basically throw the ball in a fastball anywhere you want it? You can make it go where you want it to go? Dwight Gooden: 1985 without a doubt. 1985 it was right from the first game to the � my last start. Alec Baldwin: You picked your spot. Dwight Gooden: I was just right there, didn�t think about it. Everything just came. Alec Baldwin: And the ball would go where you made it go? Dwight Gooden: And the ball basically go right there. I would say probably � Alec Baldwin: How many miles an hour? Dwight Gooden: Oh, I was anywhere from 95 to 98.

[stevejrogers]

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http://www.csnphilly.com/baseball-philadelphia-phillies/todd-pratt-reveals-hes-also-been-battling-cancer

[smg58]

http://magazine.columbia.edu/college-walk/summer-2013/safe-home

Pete Falcone gets a brief mention in this interesting article about his son, a 27-year-old DH for the Columbia University Lions.

[Edgy MD]

Wasn't there another story of recent vintage of an ex-Met who had a son who was an older-than-usual college baseball player? I'm thinking he was back in school after the military and playing for Wagner or another Staten Island school.