Joe Ginsberg, 1926-2012

[G-Fafif]

Joe Ginsberg, a two-game veteran of the 1962 Mets and their oldest surviving member during the franchise's 50th anniversary season died on Friday at 86.

[G-Fafif]

Joe was also the first Met to play his last game as a Met, as he hung 'em up on April 15, 1962, the team's fourth game ever.

[Edgy MD]

Surprised he only played two games. Never got to first base as a Met.

Also surprised to see services for Myron Ginsberg taking place at O'Guinn Family Funeral Home and overseen by Pastor Glen Pettigrove. Always filed him among Jewish Mets in my mental assumption drawers.

Had a nice career before fizzing out with the Mets --- sort of a lefthanded American League version of Wes Westrum --- a mostly part-time catcher who couldn't hit much but could always work a walk.

Faretheewell, Joe Ginsberg.

[G-Fafif]

Oldest surviving 1962 Met: Dave Hillman, born September 14, 1927. (Yogi Berra, born May 12, 1925, remains the oldest living Mets player by dint of his not being dead at the present time.)

[Edgy MD]

This article makes a passing reference to Ginsberg apparently converting from J to C.

[G-Fafif]

Caught the Home Opener two days before his release, which was necessitated by the Mets' not yet infamous trade of a player to be named later for Harry Chiti, which he accepted as a part of life: "I thought I had a good chance to stay. But then I got off to a bad start and I knew they had to make a move. It's the perils of the trade." Going at around the same time was Clem Labine, who had to make way for the aforementioned Dave Hillman. Labine was a little less generous in that he felt he and Ginsberg had been duped by George Weiss into serving as de facto coaches in Spring Training when in fact they were players who were going to be cut eventually, and thus no longer paid. "We were getting a snow job," is how Clem put it.

(Info gleaned from the incredibly thorough A Year In Mudville by David Bagdade.)

[Benjamin Grimm]

http://www.leaptoad.com/mets/oldestliving.php]Oldest Living Mets Players

Don Zimmer moves up into the Top Ten. Willie Mays now in 11th place.

[G-Fafif]

So, basically, given the date of his final Mets game, nobody lived longer being an ex-Met than Joe Ginsberg. If Bobby Gene Smith, whose final Mets game came nine days later, can live another week, he'll have the record.

[MFS62]

Edgy DC wrote: This article makes a passing reference to Ginsberg apparently converting from J to C.

But that still doesn't deter me from saying Olevai Shalom, Joe. (May you have Peace)

Later

[Guest metrotheme]

My first hearing of Ginsberg and Labine being held around just to get them through ST as extra "coaches."

I related some Stengel anecdotes that Ginsberg told a few years ago in my piece on his passing.

http://shar.es/G0NKk