Mets memorabilia review 2013 yearbook

According to the New York Mets Memorabilia Club’s Checklist, 2013’s edition is the 103rd different Met Yearbook (counting the Spanish editions of 1988-1990, and 1992 as well as all the various editions of the Yearbooks through the years, even “Final Shea Stadium Homestand” and SGA reprints of the 1969 (two actually), 1973 and 1986).

In honor of the 2013 All Star Game at Citi Field, the cover of the 53rd Met annual Yearbook features a collage of all 48 Mets to have been selected to a Major League All Star Game, including recently departed R.A. Dickey, and former Mets still playing Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, R.A. Dickey, and I’d guess Francisco Rodriguez can be put into that category for the time being.

It is a nice collage, and is an upgrade from the 1973 “Gallery of All Stars” that featured All Star appearances by those on the current (Spring Training) roster. No doubt the sight of Jim Fregosi on that cover as late as October must have been a head scratcher for any fan picking it up!

What is also nice is that the Mets still charge a decent enough price for what is produced, $12 for a heavy stocked paperback of 240 pages. Pretty cheap when you consider the price of a yearbook in Da Bronx is $25!

Nice to see a photo from last year’s Banner Day grace the table of contents as well. Gives one hope that despite the scheduling snafu with the game time acquiescing to ESPN, that the Mets are committed to keeping the rebirth of the tradition going.

The usual up front stuff with photos of front office personnel, manager profile, photos of the coaching staff and player profiles are all there.

Following that there is a couple of fluff pieces on the Met Hall of Fame & Museum, spotlighting this year’s All Star Mets display, the chefs responsible for Citi Field’s top of the line food, cultural diversity days at Citi, including Sergio Vargas performing his post-game concert on Merengue Night, Banner Day, soccer events at Citi Field and last year’s Summer Concert Series.

Johan Santana‘s no-hitter gets a page, as well as Big Shots at Citi Field, whether it is Met Loving Big Shots like Matthew Broderick and Matt Dillon, or people around to toss out the first pitch or for other functions like Dominique Dawes and John Cena. This is followed by the usual fluff giving info on Citi Field and it’s brief history, and Met 2012 community outreach activities.

Next up is the feature, and as per usual in recent years, it is bi-lingual with English on one side of the page, and Spanish on the other. The feature is on Mets All Stars, kicking off by spotlighting the last time the Met franchise hosted the game, 1964 in the midst of Shea Stadium’s inaugural year. It also gives a rundown of what the schedule of events will be for July 12th through the 16th.

A section dedicated to the members of the Mets Hall of Fame is next, spotlighting last year’s inductee, John Franco, followed by the retired numbers, and a listing of the All-Time Met roster. Which leads into thumbnail bios of the Club Ambassadors; Tom Seaver, Rusty Staub, John Franco, newly on board this year Edgardo Alfonzo and Mookie Wilson.

Which leads in nicely to the next section, the Alumni Association in action with community outreach activities in 2012 at Citi Field and throughout the New York City area.

The stats on players profiled in the book’s profile section are up next, followed by a second feature looking back at the 1973 NL Champions. The piece is an article Marty Noble wrote up for this year’s BBWAA New York Chapter’s program for their annual winter awards dinner.

Up next is the usual rundown of the scouting and development department, including the coaching staffs of all of the minor league affiliates. Followed by spotlight thumbnail sketches on 20 prospects.

Nearby Flushing Meadows-Corona Park gets a spotlight in a section titled A Day At The Park, along with the Queens Zoo, Queens Botanical Garden, The Aquatic Center, New York Hall of Science, Queens Museum of Art, and Queens Theater.

The actual Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown gets a feature section, a photo of Seaver’s plaque along with his induction photo are featured.

Next up is the usual photos of the broadcast teams and various Met employees. Followed by same headshot section for the Brooklyn Cyclones, Florida Ops, Sterling Equities, and Metropolitan Hospitality (handles Citi Field’s non baseball events). Next up are the Met training and clubhouse staff, and various Citi Field grounds crew, engineers, plumbers and electricians. And the Behind The Scenes section wraps up with the medical staff.

And Citi Field fan information, and a clear page for “autographs” closes out the book.

Some interesting things about the ads;
Bad timing Award I goes to Generac generators/Home Depot with it’s “Did your little storm knock out the power? Excuse me for not noticing” come-on line. Okay, understandable, but considering Sandy hit last autumn, it might be a bit too soon to run in a publication that is primarily sold in the New York City area!

Bad timing Award II goes to Sesame Place using an image of a mascot sized Elmo getting a kiss from a kid. Okay, it isn’t the actual Elmo, but geez!

The hmmm, interesting coincidence ad award goes to a college prep school in Katonah, NY. It’s come-on slogan? “Bring Your A Game to Harvey.” Wonder if they’ll try to have Matt up there at The Harvey School for some nifty appearance!

Overall, a pretty average publication. Nothing really to complain about, but nothing stands out in terms of it being anything above and beyond the annual Met yearbook. Still, a solid addition to a Met memorabilia collection.