Most baseball fans know the story of Roberto Clemente. The Hall of Famer played 18 years in the majors, all with the Pirates. A 12-time All-Star, Clemente also won 12 Gold Glove Awards in his career. A four-time batting champion, Clemente played on two World Series winners and was chosen World Series MVP for his [...]
Just like us regular folk, Major League Baseball teams look towards the winter months for something special. The only difference is your mother would be happy with a $50 sweater and the Red Sox spent $20.3 million a year for Carl Crawford. Now it’s common knowledge the New York Mets don’t have much financial flexibility [...]
1971 TOPPS KEN BOSWELL #492 I have a thing about bridges. An armchair analyst would probably trace it back to my childhood trips across the Throgs Neck (or Frog’s Neck, as I called it), on the road to Uncle Buddy’s house in New Jersey. My older brother would work hard to convince me that we [...]
Among baseball statistics, the save is relatively new. It was created by sportswriter Jerome Holtzman in 1959 and officially adopted by MLB in 1969. The Mets have had their share of the top closers in the game. Nine of the top 26 players on the all-time saves list played for the Mets at some point [...]
Perhaps no issue in baseball today is more divisive than pitch counts. Advocates of pitch counts claim that it helps to protect young arms and that it is better to get 15 years of a guy throwing 200 IP a year than risk just getting five years of a guy throwing 300 IP a year [...]
If you asked most Mets fans what is the greatest individual game in team history, most would answer Tom Seaver and his outing on July 9, 1969. Seaver took a perfect game into the 9th inning, when with one out Jimmy Qualls broke it up with a single. Seaver retired the next two batters and [...]
Back in the winter of 2004, Carlos Beltran signed a lucrative seven-year $119 million deal with the New York Mets. Beltran was immediately expected to lead the Mets to great heights and live up to his lofty contract. Beltran was coming off a marvelous 2004 post-season run with the Houston Astros in which he hit [...]
1974 TOPPS TOM SEAVER #80 It was all too rare during the Golden Age of Topps (1952-1980) for star players to get cards that matched their luster. I think of cards like the 1967 Mickey Mantle. I’ve seen more flattering photos on DWI mug shots. The 1973 Willie Mays did its best to make a [...]
One of the reasons cited for getting rid of Omar Minaya was that he did not build a strong farm system. Last year, six players who made my top prospect list contributed to the Mets and no longer have rookie eligibility. This includes Jenrry Mejia and Fernando Martinez, both who lost their rookie status because [...]
The Mets have already had their team Christmas party but they must have decided this year not to exchange gifts. Now, you may be wondering what millionaires give as gifts or what millionaires want to receive as gifts. I cannot answer that question. But I can tell you what players on the Mets really need. [...]
Former Mets batting coach Phil Cavarretta passed away yesterday at age 94. Cavarretta joined the Mets in 1973 as a batting instructor, working with major league hitters during Spring Training and then the minor league hitters once the season started. In 1975 he was added to the major league staff on a full-time basis, where [...]
"Anecdotal evidence suggests the Mets will continue to be players in Latin America. They opted to keep on Ismael Cruz, the organization's international scouting director who had a hand in signing the top three prospects on this list, as well as Aderlin Rodriguez and Juan Urbina. Be sure to look for Ben Badler's feature on [...]