As a kid it took me a long time to warm up to baseball. Until about the age of ten I considered myself a New York baseball fan, but never really watched the sport. However, despite that I always leaned toward the Mets over the Yankees. Partly, I liked the stories about the '69 Miracle Mets better than the majesty and aura of the Yankee dynasties. Then there was the game in 1980 my father went to won by a walk-off homer by Steve Henderson and the way the fans at Shea went wild. The next step in my becoming a diehard Mets fan came in 1983. My dad was excited that Seaver was back with the team and we watched several games on TV. Being a novice baseball spectator, I wasn't too impressed by Seaver, but did like that the Mets had players named Hubie and Mookie. The more I followed the Mets the more Mookie Wilson became my favorite player. Of course, he's most remembered for diving from a passed ball and hitting a dribbler between Buckners legs, but before being overshadowed by Keith, Daryl & Doc he was really the heart of the team with his speed and grace. He may just be one of the nicest people ever to play the game. One thing that impressed me is that he's devoutly Christian and into clean living, and yet amid all the wild antics of the 1980s Mets he never seemed judgemental of his teammates. I almost met Mookie in 1987 when he came to my (soon-to-be) high school for an autograph-signing fundraiser. While I got autographs from Tim Teufel and Lee Mazzili, Mookie's line was way too long and I never got to the front. The line was long not just because Mookie was popular but because Mookie was taking his time to chat with the fans and write personalized messages to them. I was excited when Mookie came back to coach the Mets in the 1990's & as you saw in the Photo of the Week thread I saw him bat in the exhibition game against the Tides. Anyhow I've rambled on long enough. I need to slow down my posting rate because I like being Mookie Wilson.