Memories of R.A. Dickey

[batmagadanleadoff]

Anybody......?

[Edgy MD]

Dickeyface Invitational.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=15421&hilit=dickeyface

[bmfc1]

I went to his first Mets start:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/WAS/WAS201005190.shtml

[metirish]

Honorificabilitudinitatibus

[seawolf17]

Knuckleballer, IIRC.

[Centerfield]

I remember watching him and really believing that he would throw the Mets first no-hitter. When he was on, it seemed like it was just a matter of time before it happened.

I attended one of the one-hitters he threw. Great pitcher, great story. Hope he kicks the Yankee's ass.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

He was great. He was the best thing about the Mets for the past three years. Now he's gone like every other thing I've ever loved about the Mets.

[Frayed Knot]

My mother follows baseball only casually - and by baseball I mean the Mets. Starting with the birth of the team through my father and then through the reflected fandom of her three sons, she's generally been aware of the fortunes of the team even though over that half-century-plus now there were stretches when she followed little or not at all. But during those times when there is time to devote some attention to the team she'll sometimes pick out a favorite player. There isn't always one and there doesn't always seem to be an explainable reason for her choice when there is one, but just sometimes she has someone who stands out among the always-changing cast of characters.
The first one I remember was Koosman. She was one of the handful of '60s Mets fans who never particularly liked Seaver and chose instead to root for 'The Kooz'.
The last one was Dickey. And rather than being a band-wagon thing or being inspired via the media-assisted onslaught from his "story" (since she pays little or no attention to the sporting press) she just decided to pull for him from his very early days on the team and was therefore was genuinely excited that he won the CY this year not the least of which because he had been her guy all along.

Needless to say she's not happy these days.

[Chad ochoseis]

Mets � Willets Point wrote: He was great. He was the best thing about the Mets for the past three years. Now he's gone like every other thing I've ever loved about the Mets.

Anything anyone ever loves about any team is temporary. Baseball gods willing, one day we'll have a thread where we discuss D'Artagnan's HOF induction and concurrent number-retiring ceremony.

In addition to being great on the mound, he was probably the Mets' best hitting pitcher since Mike Hampton. A skill that will go for naught in Toronto.

I saw him pitch at Nats Park against Strasburg in July 2010, when Strasburg starts were known locally as "Strasmas" and you still had to explain to non-New Yorkers what an "R. A. Dickey" was. Dickey outpitched Strasburg through six. Parnell and Frankie blew the game.

And he had a name that turned us all into Fmen. I'll miss the puns. Even the really dumb ones.

[G-Fafif]

"Inconsequential."

We'd already gotten a taste of what R.A. Dickey was for two months, both with the pitching and the talking, but the night he passed from novelty into icon for me came in July 2010 after he had been outpitched (a little) by Tim Lincecum in San Francisco. It wasn't the game itself, but the media scrum afterwards wherein he was asked about the effect of the Phone Company Park winds on his knuckleball. R.A. paused, contemplated and pronounced the impact "inconsequential". It's not that amazing a word in real life, but to hear a ballplayer express it...to watch a ballplayer think...it was breathtaking in the context of these sorts of things.

I was at Dickey's first Citi Field start, his last Citi Field start and 18 Dickey starts altogether. Even in the lousiest of Mets stretches, there was juice for every one of them. The last, of course, was the 20th win, and, not having been at Johan's no-hitter, I would call it easily the most electric atmosphere I've ever experienced in that generally dim bulb of a ballpark.

With the possible exception of Pedro Martinez, there was no Met from 2005 to the present about whom I enjoyed writing more. If this trade really leads to us having a contending team, then that's a whole other level of blogging fun. But when you're sitting at your computer ruminating over another solid, unspectacular evening with Chris Young or Chris Capuano or whoever's not R.A. Dickey when the team you're committed to won't stop sucking, you really, really appreciate a pitcher who is both fascinating and effective.

JCL's anti-R.A. backlash, whether it was sincere or performance art, was Really Awesome in its own right.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Chad Ochoseis wrote: I saw him pitch at Nats Park against Strasburg in July 2010, when Strasburg starts were known locally as "Strasmas" and you still had to explain to non-New Yorkers what an "R. A. Dickey" was. Dickey outpitched Strasburg through six. Parnell and Frankie blew the game.

I remember that game about as well as any Dickey start. That was the pre-injury, better than the Big Train Strasburg.

Often, when I log onto this site with Dickey on my mind, I'm reminded of a terrific photo of RA snapped by Ceetar a few years ago. It's an overhead shot of Dickey capturing the pitcher right after releasing his pitch. Dickey's follow-through momentum carried him to the front of the mound which, from Ceetar;s persepective, looks round, but flat, like a sumo wrestler's ring. Dickey is in full Dickeyface mode, growling towards the plate, defending his section of the infield ferociously. It's one of my favorite action shots of Dickey.

[Ceetar]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Chad Ochoseis wrote: I saw him pitch at Nats Park against Strasburg in July 2010, when Strasburg starts were known locally as "Strasmas" and you still had to explain to non-New Yorkers what an "R. A. Dickey" was. Dickey outpitched Strasburg through six. Parnell and Frankie blew the game. I remember that game about as well as any Dickey start. That was the pre-injury, better than the Big Train Strasburg. Often, when I log onto this site with Dickey on my mind, I'm reminded of a terrific photo of RA snapped by Ceetar a few years ago. It's an overhead shot of Dickey capturing the pitcher right after releasing his pitch. Dickey's follow-through momentum carried him to the front of the mound which, from Ceetar;s persepective, looks round, but flat, like a sumo wrestler's ring. Dickey is in full Dickeyface mode, growling towards the plate, defending his section of the infield ferociously. It's one of my favorite action shots of Dickey.

Thanks!

Now..where did I save said picture.. *digs*

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Chad Ochoseis wrote: Mets � Willets Point wrote: He was great. He was the best thing about the Mets for the past three years. Now he's gone like every other thing I've ever loved about the Mets. In addition to being great on the mound, he was probably the Mets' best hitting pitcher since Mike Hampton. A skill that will go for naught in Toronto.

Don't forget there will be interleague games everyday this coming season. He'll still be able to hit in NL ballparks.

[bmfc1]

Oh, that game still haunts me. Hot as hell. Moved to 4 PM so FOX could show Strasburg. The Mets had a good first inning and Francoeur just missed a Slam. Yes, Parnell and F. Rodriguez gave the game away.

Here's my picture from that game:

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

If not for Hamels' stinky flare, he would have beaten Johan to it.

I gotta say, though... as much as I'm generally a rather-be-there guy re: ballgames, I think I preferred being at home for Dickey starts, all the better to appreciate the whiffing and batter confusion.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

seawolf17 wrote: Knuckleballer, IIRC.

Post of the year.

I'll remember spurring him to ever-greater heights by constantly keeping him focused on the game and not getting soft on all the adulation from fanboys like you and my mom, and the press.

Honestly as I recall the whole thing started when I was pissed off that the Mets lost a game in which Dickey gave up 2 leads to Clayton Kershaw and afterwards the only thing the press and fans could talk about was how many big words Dickey used in the press conference.

Goes down as one of the greatest personalities the Mets ever had.

[TransMonk]

Mets � Willets Point wrote: He was great. He was the best thing about the Mets for the past three years...

This is how I feel. My memory of him may fade a little more quickly because the Mets teams he was great for were not terribly great themselves.

The one-hitter he threw against the Rays in TB this past season was one of my faves. If we didn't have him to root for in late 2012, there would not have been much left.

[Gwreck]

My Dickey memories go back to a spring training 2008 article that Alan Schwarz wrote in the New York Times about Dickey. Dickey was pitching for the Mariners and it struck me as a fascinating story at the time. He would later throw 7 shutout innings against the Mets that June when the Mariners visited.

I remember attending Dickey's first home start against the Phillies with KC. Faced Jamie Moyer, "no pitch above 85 MPH or your money back." My recollection is that it was the first of three straight shutouts of the Phillies.

I too attended that now-infamous July 3, 2010 game in Washington. My standout memory of R.A. -- aside from his being better than Strasburg that day -- was his post-game quote about facing Strasburg as a batter: how he was happy that he could see the ball, given all the hype.

I was fortunate to be there for the first of the 1-hitters, against the Phillies in August 2010. It was then that he had me really hooked.

I think I only attended one Dickey start this past year, the pitchers-duel-that-wasn't against CC Sabathia. Still, at a time when the Mets had no shot to contend, Dickey was the one player who kept me interested all year. Those back-to-back one hitters were magical.

[Edgy MD]

Here's my picture from that game:

See, this is why Charlie Samuels needed to be thrown in prison. NO team dressed like that deserves to win.

[Ceetar]

[Ceetar]

Dickey in the rear




Dickey from the side



other side

[Frayed Knot]

Ceetar wrote:

Matsui, I presume.
Funny how easily you can tell some players just by their stance even in a still shot where no features are visible.

[Gwreck]

Edgy MD wrote: is why Charlie Samuels needed to be thrown in prison. NO team dressed like that deserves to win.

Bud Selig, too. Those white caps were the truly horrendous "Stars and Stripes" model that they made everyone wear for Independence Day weekend (among other occasions).

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

My picture of Dickey from his Banner Day victory. It sucks, but it's mine.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Chad Ochoseis wrote: Mets � Willets Point wrote: He was great. He was the best thing about the Mets for the past three years. Now he's gone like every other thing I've ever loved about the Mets. Anything anyone ever loves about any team is temporary. Baseball gods willing, one day we'll have a thread where we discuss D'Artagnan's HOF induction and concurrent number-retiring ceremony.

Yeah, but I like to have him on the team a little longer. I'm so sentimental I still want Benny Agbayani and
Tsuyoshi Shinjo to have a chance to be on a Mets' championship team. This is the kind of thing I hold out for, that a Mets' player will come out of nowhere and achieve greatness. And it finally, happened. A pitcher no one had any expectations for wins the Cy Young. And then weeks later he's gone to another team. It's so deflating.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Gwreck wrote: Edgy MD wrote: is why Charlie Samuels needed to be thrown in prison. NO team dressed like that deserves to win. Bud Selig, too. Those white caps were the truly horrendous "Stars and Stripes" model that they made everyone wear for Independence Day weekend (among other occasions).

You guys know the whole stars-n-stripes hats was a Fred Wilpon Thing. It is tied somehow to the veterans charity he was (is?) trying to get going with Seaver as the spokesman.

[Ceetar]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Gwreck wrote: Edgy MD wrote: is why Charlie Samuels needed to be thrown in prison. NO team dressed like that deserves to win. Bud Selig, too. Those white caps were the truly horrendous "Stars and Stripes" model that they made everyone wear for Independence Day weekend (among other occasions). You guys know the whole stars-n-stripes hats was a Fred Wilpon Thing. It is tied somehow to the veterans charity he was (is?) trying to get going with Seaver as the spokesman.

http://web.welcomebackveterans.org/index

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

MLB Charities but I think Fred's baby within it.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: MLB Charities but I think Fred's baby within it.

Fred's baby?

[Ceetar]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: MLB Charities but I think Fred's baby within it.

yeah, I was just naming it for you.

the 'buy a cap' link on the main page is a Mets hat.