batmagadanleadoff

Zvon wrote: So am I to understand this is the last year there will be minor league baseball in St. Petersburg? The Rays left Miller-Huggins Field in 1999. That was an old pic of the Rays groundskeeper mowing the field. http://www.sptimes.com/News/121299/SouthPinellas/Rays_present_city_wit.shtml

Rod Kanehl at Butterball Field, pre-cage.

Chris Cannizzaro on the mound at Butterball Field. The parking lot is there, even though the picture is pre-cage and old side fence without the middle beam/pipe.

In this pre-1962 image, there's a paved parking lot behind the pre-cage fence. I was under the impression from other photos, that that area was mostly foliage for the Mets first or first two seasons.

Zimmer and Hickman at Butterball Field, 1962.

Zvon wrote: This is a recreation of how the field looked round 66-74. I have found some pics that confirm certain things and show other things to be incorrect. But this is done. I might make an alternate to reflect the actual name of the fields, lake, tree (yea, that tree has a name) and other stuff. I thought the fields would line up perfectly put they didn't. They just couldn't without changing the parking lot. I may even have the top field a little too close to the corner. But it makes sense, and if you follow the right field foul line of the bottom field, that could be that strip where the grass didn't grow on other pics, like Botz. This is really coming along. Excellent work! That orange outfield fence is new. I'll post pictures of that fence during the Mets era later on. I thought the Sadecki spot was a lot closer to the cage.

Edgy MD wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: Ahh, look at all the lovely people photographed by The Man From Topps. Who is he? the un-lovely Teddy Martinez? Sorry about anything I said about Josh Satin's eyebrows. Encore!

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Orosco's record is very safe. Rivera loomed as a real threat until he injured his knee and then announced his retirement. Here are your active leaders in games pitched. K-Rod might be the next challenger to the crown.

Orosco's record is very safe. Rivera loomed as a real threat until he injured his knee and then announced his retirement.

Met Hunter wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: Who is this Toppless ex-Met who never appeared on a Topps baseball card in a Cardinals uniform? Joe Grzenda. Grzenda wore a Senators cap on his Cards card. He was a Toppless Met, but appeared in a Mets uniform on his Twins card.

The Mets have 73 wins with two games left to play. Here are our pre-season predictions, in readable format. (Bold, italicized contestants are in contention): willets 107-59 (4 tiebreakers? what?) fman99 97-65 edgymd 97-65 seawolf 88-74 metsmarathon 87-75 Ceetar 86-76 metsguymich 85-77 swanswan 81-81 Grimm 80-82 Transmonk 79-83 leiterwags 78-84 VicSage 77-85 batmags 76-86 doctee 74-88 msf62 74-88 G-Fafif 73-89 sharpie 73-89 GWreck 72-90 bmfc1 71-91 nymr83 71-91 Lefty 68-94 ashie62 67-95 If the Mets go 2-0 over this weekend, then it's a three-way tie between batmags (that's me), DocTee and MSF62 If the Mets go 1-1 over this weekend, then it's a two-way tie between DocTee and MSF62 If the Mets go 0-2 over this weekend, then it's a two-way tie between G-Fafif and Sharpie.

HahnSolo wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: Ahh, look at all the lovely people photographed by The Man From Topps. Who is he? the un-lovely Teddy Martinez?

A Toppless Met. Butterball Field. A The Man From Topps photo. He never broke into a Topps set - not with any of the four teams he played for. But maybe one day, he'll wind up in the Citi Field Topps Historical Mets Exhibit. Who is he?

Ahh, look at all the lovely people photographed by The Man From Topps. Who is he?

Who is this Toppless ex-Met who never appeared on a Topps baseball card in a Cardinals uniform?

Who am I? No hints. The Man From Topps shot this shot at Butterball Field in 1967, perhaps for the '68 set. It ended up on the cutting room floor. Someone here could use this photo.

Here's the water tower in 1962. I've had this photo for a while and always assumed that the structure was some observation tower for the coaches to view the activity on the field from above.

Zvon wrote: Oh yea, the Sadecki Spot.... here's the field today. That looks like Clendenon Field and the clubhouse. Butterball Field is now right field. The adjacent infields are now one big field. Looks like the stands are gone, too.

Pitchers who made the cover of SI before ever pitching for the NY Mets. (I have this nagging feeling that I left somebody out). Technically, Johan had yet to pitch in a regulation game for the NY Mets when this cover appeared. I've got to learn to phrase this topic to make it Prince-Proof. Last time I posted these covers under the heading Players who appeared on the SI cover before they were Mets. And you came up with this cover:

Wait a second! Johnny Bench is a bust? And Joe Namath? So then, what chance did poor Ed Hearn ever have?

Pitchers who made the cover of SI before ever pitching for the NY Mets. UPDATED. AND THIS TIME, I MEAN IT!

Pitchers who made the cover of SI before ever pitching for the NY Mets. UPDATED.

Edgy MD wrote: Do commemorative issues count? Good find on the Nomo. I wouldn't count commemoratives, but that's just me. I'll check the rule-book later.

Frayed Knot wrote: September 23rd, 1973 -- 2nd of the two-game series vs the Cards at Shea Tommie Agee* hits a 1st inning 2R HR against Geroge Stone. Those would be the last runs the Cards would get in this game although it wouldn�t be due to Stone. After allowing five hits over the first two innings and only being saved from further damage by two StL GiDPs, Yogi chose not to wait around for more and Stone was gone for a PH-er in the bottom of the 2nd even though there were two outs and nobody on at the time. The PH move didn't pay off (Lute Barnes struck out) but the relief did as the Mets got four innings of 1-hit ball from Harry Parker and zeroes over the final three from McGraw On the offensive side, the Mets loaded the bases in the 3rd on three straight walks but netted only one via a Cleon Jones Sac Fly Staub�s single knocked in Garrett (who had led off with a single) in the 5th to tie the game before Garrett�s (there�s that name again!) 2-RBI Triple in the 6th put them ahead to stay. Cleon�s 7th inning HR ended the scoring. Pitt won a DH from the Expos this day so the Mets� lead actually shrunk to just 1/2 game. But it dropped St Looie to 3 full games out and the Expos & Cubs to 3.5 * Agee had been picked up by the Cards from Houston about five weeks earlier. This HR would be the final one of his career and his second to last hit. He would try hooking on with the Dodgers the in �74 but was released during spring training and would never play again. I went to that game. The Mets gave out coffee mugs with the Mets logo and a sticker with a player's autograph -- and not just the stars and popular players. Some of the mugs had Duffy Dyer's autograph. I think that just about every Met was represented. I got two mugs -- a Willie Mays and a Tug McGraw.