The first time I ever played baseball,I hit the ball and ran to third base. That move got me laughed at. As bad as that was,it was preferable to what happened in following games while in third grade. I never as much as put wood on the ball the rest of the year inviting ridicule,scorn and even threats.
... 3rd Grade Championship Game. Bases Loaded 2 outs and I'm at the plate. Kids begin to yell "NO!" "Can we pinch hit for him?" Mr.Cuyler,the third grade gym teacher,says no and sends me to the plate. Lawrence Young screams "You better get a hit"- Strike one swinging.
Lawrence Young was perhaps the best athlete in third grade and also highly rumored to be a gang member.(Yes,there were gangs in 1964)
Strike 2 swinging Lawrence "You better get a hit or I'm going to beat you up!" Other kids chime in "I'll beat you up too after school!"
I took a couple balls,but I already knew this wasn't going to end well. You expect the other team to be rooting against you.In my case I had everyone against me except for Mr.Cuyler and myself.
I took strike 3 swinging. Mr. Cuyler was the only one between myself and a charging Lawrence Young. Mr.Cuyler ended up escorting me home from school that day.Good thing because there were a few kids ready to take me down after school. Mr.Cuyler then encouraged my mom to expose me to baseball so that perhaps scenes such as what faced me would not be repeated.
In Hartford Connecticut,there were 3 teams that one could follow on TV or Radio.There were the New York Yankees. My grandmother who lived with us growing up was a huge baseball fan and I knew from her that the Yankees won all the time.Kids who liked the Yankees were the same ones that wanted to beat me up. I also knew from my grandmother that the Yankees weren't too keen on having black players on their team. Scratch the Yankees.
Boston Red Sox games were also readily available.In fact, all their games were broadcast on Mom's favorite radio station WTIC. Because that was the only station my mom would listen to,perhaps I linked the Red Sox with the Metropolitan Opera,Bob Steele and all the other corny things adults liked.
New York Mets games were broadcast on Channel 18,an independent station most noted for its foray into "Subscription TV" as it was called.Mets games were one of the few shows one could watch on that channel without ordering some sort of cable box.
They had a funny manager-Casey Stengel. They had a funny theme song "Meet the Mets". There was a carnival like atmosphere to their games. They didn't win too often.In fact they seemed to find new ways to lose with every game. and later I found out they were known as the "Clown Princes of Baseball" They had a female owner,Joan Payson who baffled the hardened New York sportswriters by hugging her players win or lose. "They're my Mets" she'd say.Through watching Mets games,I began to understand baseball and even like the game.
1965 was my first year as a Mets fan.My grandmother,while happy to share her love of the game with me for the life of her could not understand how I could like a team that lost all the time.
That year in school I announced to classmates that I liked baseball now and that I was a Mets fan. Lawrence Young: " I know why you like the Mets because you play like the Mets!" Maybe that was the case,but at least now I wasn't striking out with every at bat,and no one was threatening to beat me up anymore.
Being a Mets fan meant suffering through long losing streaks and embarrassing losses.Being a Mets fan gave one an appreciation for the underdog not only in baseball but in life. It also created bonds. My cousin Allen from Queens and I would write each other looking forward to the day the Mets would finish above the National League's basement.
In 1969,the Mets were 100-1 odds against going to the World Series. That didn't stop me from betting an 8th grade classmate on the Mets winning the pennant,and Mr Budaj, my shop teacher primarily to keep order in the class after my statement promised to buy me tickets to the World Series if they went.
In 1969,the Miracle happened,Mr Budaj vanished from the scene,and upon arriving home from school,there was my grandmother greeting me at the door saying "I know the Mets won the World Series and I'm happy for you,but you're going to behave and keep quiet in this house!"
After the World Series,Mr Budaj reappeared and promised to get those tickets for me the next time the Mets were in the World Series. The promise did me no good in 1973,as I am listening to the Mets-A's World Series on the radio while watching the snow fall from my college dorm room window in Anchorage Alaska. There was no live TV in Alaska then.
1976-1980 were among the darkest years for the New York Mets,and by virtue of living in New York at the time I got to witness first hand the tragedy of the Tom Seaver trade and the regime of M Donald Grant. To make things worse those same years were Yankees glory years,and insufferable Yankee fans were neighbors.
1986-Denver Colorado There was a nearly 6 month Rose laughing at her Dad while her mother shakes her head in disgust as I am on my knees in front of the TV,bags packed for a trip to New York with a World Series ticket in hand, pleading for Jesse Orosco to end this 16 inning marathon NLCS game 6 vs the Houston Astros.
I was back in Denver for Game 6 of the World Series and with 2 outs and the Red Sox on the verge of winning,the Mets cap was on,the phone unplugged when Gary Carter,Kevin Mitchell,Ray Knight,Mookie Wilson and Bill Buckner kept me away from a long night at various dive bars on Colfax Avenue.
After the 2000 World Series,I asked God to keep me alive till the day the Mets beat the Yankees in the World Series. So far it looks like my request is at least under consideration though it has meant witnessing the Great Mets collapses of 2007 and 2008.
Now in this 50th year of being a Mets fan,I've got my 2 year old grandson saying "Mets" and maybe just maybe this 50th year will be rewarded with post season action.
October Update: Since I originally wrote this,the Mets beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Division Series and defeated the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS. The Mets are going to the World Series!!
On that note Here's my all time favorite Mets players by position
1B-Ed Kranepool
2B Felix Millan
SS-Bud Harrelson
3B Ed Charles
Catcher
Gary Carter
Outfield
Cleon Jones
Ron Swoboda
Darryl Strawberry
Starting Pitcher
Jerry Koosman
Relief Pitcher
Tug McGraw
My personal favorite Mets Moments:
1965- Mets beat the San Francisco Giants for the first time on a Danny Napoleon pinch hit double.The Giants were my grandmother's favorite team and we were watching this game together.
1969- Ed Kranepool's Home Run in the World Series. Kranepool had played on some pretty awful Mets teams and you wondered if he'd ever play in a World Series much less hit a home run.Brought tears to my eyes. (Honorable mention Ron Swoboda's catch)
1979- Lee Mazzilli's Home Run in the All Star Game. As bad as Mets teams were then,one had to take solace with small things.
1986- Game 6 NLCS vs Houston Astros- 16 innings One of the greatest games ever played.
1986-Game 6 World Series vs Boston Red Sox
2001- Mike Piazza Home Run vs Atlanta Braves- Piazza,not Rudolph Giuliani was the true New York hero after 9/11
2006- Endy Chavez catch Game 7 NLCS vs St.Louis Cardinals. One of the greatest catches in postseason history that will never get the credit due because the Mets lost the game.
2015-Wilmer Flores. Hears from the fans that he'd been traded.With the manager unaware of the trade,he allows Flores to come to bat and take the field afterwards.Flores breaks down and cries.. By the time the game is over,the trade falls through. Couple days later in movie like fashion,Flores wins the game with a walkoff home run.
Wilmer Flores is a reminder of what makes a Mets fan.Pure love of the game of baseball and heart.
