50 Years a Mets Fan

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.

When Baseball Created Rebels

In 1987,the last daytime World Series game was played.  That means now,there's a couple generations out there where night games for postseason baseball is very much the norm. The popularity of baseball has declined over the years,some people attribute the decline to its slower pastoral pace,especially in this day and age of video games. Others claim football is now America's sport.

I have my own theory.

America has long been an incubator for mavericks,iconoclasts,and rebels of various stripes,and daytime World Series games helped to develop them. When postseason baseball was played in the day,kids had to hope their teacher was a baseball fan,and hope that teacher would bring a television into the classroom. If the teacher was not a fan,then one had to resort to other means to keep up with the scores.

From the time I first became a baseball fan in third grade, (the 1963 Dodgers-Yankees World Series was the Series that got me hooked) till I was in eighth grade,catching the World Series games at school was standard fare. Then came ninth grade,Watkinson School,and Colonel Leiby. This was 1969,the final year of a tumultuous decade.
Watkinson School is a small prep school in Hartford Connecticut.Ninth grade was my first year at Watkinson,and Colonel Leiby was my Algebra teacher.
Colonel Leiby was a rather mild mannered,soft spoken teacher. He kinda looked like Peter O' Toole in the movie Goodbye Mr. Chips. At the same time,you didn't mess with Colonel Leiby. For one,should you call him MR. Leiby by mistake,he would immediately stop you and say my name is COLONEL LEIBY. Watkinson for discipline had a demerit system. Anything from failing to wear your tie to class,to long hair(or short skirts for the girls)or being late could get you a demerit. Five demerits,and you were at school on Saturday morning. Colonel Leiby never hesitated to hand out demerits when he deemed it necessary.On top of it,Colonel Leiby was a no nonsense Algebra teacher. As one who always struggled with math,I immediately knew I was in trouble from the moment I first stepped foot in Colonel Leiby's classroom.
I was in for even more trouble when,in 1969,my favorite team,the New York Mets defied 100-1 odds and went from the bottom of the league to its first ever World Series appearance. For me,as well as many others,this was more miraculous than men landing on the moon. If Neil Armstrong had made his small step for man during the school year,I doubt if anyone in Colonel Leiby's class would have been permitted to watch it. It was just my luck that Game 3 of the 1969 World Series between the New York Mets and the Baltimore Orioles would start while I'm in Colonel Leiby's classroom.

I may have been the only Mets fan in the class but luckily,there were a couple other students who loved baseball,and who were not going to stand for missing the game. One of them was Bruce Edwards. Bruce was a troublemaker from the moment he stepped foot on Watkinson's campus. Saturday detention was generally just another day at school for Bruce. I generally did not get along with Bruce,in fact he would sometimes bully me in 9th grade,but getting over on Colonel Leiby would create strange alliances. The day before the game,Bruce,another student Mike Morgan,and myself agreed to bring our transistor radios to class. The plan was for all three of us to listen to the game,relay the score to those students interested,and with three of us tuned in,should Colonel Leiby catch one of us,there would be the other two to carry on..

Each of us had our own way of concealing our transistors. I chose to hide my radio in my pocket with the earphone cord going underneath my shirt. It was also imperative that the volume be at a whisper. I also had to appear somewhat slumped on my desk,which actually wasn't too unusual because being a poor math student,I tried to avoid Colonel Leiby calling on me in class. Each of us sat in different locations in the classroom. I was closest to the door. Edwards was towards the middle of the class,and Morgan was in the back of the classroom. When the starting lineups were being introduced,I used my notebook to write it down..Agee..Garrett..Cleon Jones. It was not uncommon for Edwards to be writing notes and to get away with it. It was his job to pass on the Orioles' lineup..Frank Robinson,Boog Powell,Brooks Robinson... We created hand signals to inform the class what was going on. It was Edwards' job to let folks know who was up for the Orioles,my job was the Mets lineup,and Morgan was to supply the play by play.

The first inning went without a hitch,but then came trouble. Mike Morgan was the first to get caught. "That will be 5 demerits for you" said Colonel Leiby as he pulled Morgan's transistor from the desk.
This created immediate problems for me,because now it was up to me to relay the play by play. It was easier for Morgan and Edwards to pull that sort of thing off.They were generally talkative in the classroom. I tried to keep a low profile in the classroom,but now I was going to have to raise my hand to signify outs. The first time I raised my hand,Colonel Leiby was pleased that I actually participated in the classroom,but after that he got suspected something was wrong,and sure enough caught me and confiscated my transistor. Bruce Edwards was the only one who got away unscathed,but he had demerits from other classes,so the end result was all of us saw a Watkinson study hall on Saturday morning.

I don't know whatever happened to Mike Morgan. He left Watkinson before we graduated..Somehow I can imagine him being involved in some Wall Street insider trading scheme.
Bruce Edwards ended up following his own muse,after getting busted with marijuana in the trunk of his car,he found his calling as a golf caddy for Tom Watson and was the subject of a book Caddy for Life by John Feinstein. Edwards passed away a few years ago of Lou Gehrig's disease. Some say I still carry the spirit of 1969 onto this day.
Some people rue the fact that the rebellious and idealistic spirit of the time seemed to fade with the era..Others are concerned that the youth are losing interest in baseball. Perhaps we can take care of both by bringing back Daytime Postseason Baseball!