It was 50 years ago today that Tom Seaver had one of the greatest starts of his career. He pitched a complete game and gave up just two hits and one run. But what made this game special was that he struck out 19 batters, including the final 10 of the game. Sure, it was the second-year San Diego Padres but no one holds it against Sandy Koufax for beating up the expansion-era Mets and Astros so don’t even think about trying to diminish Seaver’s great day, which produced a Game Score of 96.
Okay, after some solid baseball content in the first graph, let’s head off in a different direction. First, let there be no doubt that what’s to follow is a direct rip-off of David Capobianco from Amazin’ Avenue, who a few days ago asked readers to share information about themselves in an attempt for everyone to answer and discuss. It would be nice if you answered all of them but if one (or more) of them makes you uncomfortable in any way – just skip it and do the rest.
1. What is your first name? – Brian
2. Where do you live (e.g., state, city/state, country)? – North Carolina
3. Where are you from originally? – Staten Island
4. How did you become a Mets fan? – Older brothers
5. What is your dream job? – Mets GM
6. When and how did you find Mets360? – Co-Founder
7. Who is your favorite historical Met and your favorite current Met? – Duffy Dyer & Brandon Nimmo
8. What Met, past or present, do you dislike irrationally? – I like to think the ones I hate the most are all rational. But I was told that I had to like Tommie Agee because he was a World Series hero. Yet it was more important to me that he was just as bad as Jim Fregosi for most of the ’72 season.
9. Who is your favorite band or musician and song? – Well, my son has a band and I’m sort of partial to him so I’ll say The Burnt Biscuits. But if you make playing Madison Square Garden a requirement, I’ll go with Neil Young.
10. What is your favorite book? – With blogs, newspapers and magazines these days, I don’t read many non-sports books. In school I liked “The Crucible” and “A Farwell to Arms.”
11. What is your favorite movie? – Can’t really pick one but I bet it would have Jack Nicholson or Robert DeNiro in it.
12. What is your favorite TV show, past and present? – “WKRP in Cincinnati” & “Breaking Bad” (give me a break, it was this century.)
13. What pets, if any, do you have? – Just lost my dog. Still have one indoor and two outdoor cats.
14. What do you like to do for fun, non-baseball-related? Listen to my son play his gigs and going on day trips with my daughter. Last one we went on was a trip to the Weymouth Woods Nature Preserve.
15. What’s your drink of choice? I’ve started to drink Deer Park’s Black Cherry flavored Sparkling Water. Our local grocery store sells an 8-pack for $2.99 so I thought I’d check to see what kind of price I could get on Amazon. Not sure if it’s COVID price-gouging or what but they sell the exact same 8-pack for $20.99.
16. The world is scary, so what’s something that has made you happy recently? Going through some boxes of old stuff, I found four 1969 Citgo Mets portraits that I purchased from ebay around 20 years ago. Had no idea what happened to them. Now just need to find the originals I had from back in the day and see if I have the full set or if I need to fill it out.
Now, let’s hear yours!
1) Pete 2) Bkk,Thailand 3) Bronx 4) My dad 5) Met owner 6) A few years back watching highlights from a game saw an article about Mets 360 7) Tom Seaver deGrom 8) Jim Fregosi because we gave up on Ryan ) ELO or Queen 10) Dune 11) Star Wars- Godfather 12) Star Trek 13) no pets 14) Crossword puzzles 15) Chocolate milk 16) We New Yorkers are viewed as tough and arrogant but I have been watching videos on line on the compassionate deeds New Yorkers are sharing with each other. Despite our differences New Yorkers always come together in times of crisis.
Thanks Pete! Thailand – wow. And I definitely dig your last answer.
didn’t notice my numbers were locked sorry
What is your first name? – David
2. Where do you live (e.g., state, city/state, country)? – Brooklyn Ny
3. Where are you from originally? – Brooklyn ny
4. How did you become a Mets fan? – My amazing dad
5. What is your dream job? – Rock star
6. When and how did you find Mets360? – Facebook
7. Who is your favorite historical Met and your favorite current Met? – Howard Johnson was my first fav but Wright is my all-time favorite. Nimmo and Conforto are my current faves
8. What Met, past or present, do you dislike irrationally? John Franco I hated trading Myers for him.
9. Who is your favorite band or musician and song? – Tool, Radiohead and Soundgarden are my top three
10. What is your favorite book? – Glory of their times and Snowden are my favs
11. What is your favorite movie? – Naked gun
12. What is your favorite TV show, past and present? The office, Frazier, curb your enthusiasm , Park and Recs and married with children
13. What pets, if any, do you have? – None
14. What do you like to do for fun, non-baseball-related? Watch Netflix, hang with family
15. What’s your drink of choice? Bartenura and Angry orchard
16. The world is scary, so what’s something that has made you happy recently? My dad passed away in February after being in a coma so basically 2020 is the worst year of my life
My condolences about your dad.
My mom fell and broke her leg. She was in the hospital and now in a rehab facility without any family members being able to see her. She’s essentially deaf – reads lips as much as anything. Which is tough when everyone in the facility wears a mask. I try not to be a wreck, with some days being better than others. So, in a way I feel your pain.
Thank you and I meant to write about how he was in a coma for two months and was in agony the last few months of his life he just had his last treatment for leukemia before getting sick again with five infections, worms in his intestines and pneumonia. I’m sorry to hear about your mother hopefully she gets better soon.
1. Dennis 2. Florida 3. Long Island 4. My Father took my two brothers & I to a game the first season & I have been a fanatic ever since 5. Mets Owner 6. Being a Mets fan & browsing Mets info on the internet 7. Tom Seaver & Jeff McNeil 8. Jed Lowrie (a total waste of a roster spot) 9. Led Zeppelin 10. Lord of the Rings, Ball Four & Shoeless Joe 11. Too many real good movies but to pick one maybe Rocky (inspirational) 12. Justified 13. Two dogs Thor a toy Schnauzer & Bella a rescue Chihuahua 14. Travel & canoeing 15. Budweiser & Coca- Cola 16. My wife & I are house hunting, exciting time.
Jed Lowrie might be the most perfect answer to that question.
1. What is your first name? – Rick
2. Where do you live (e.g., state, city/state, country)? – Oregon
3. Where are you from originally? – Newark NJ
4. How did you become a Mets fan? – Don’t recall
5. What is your dream job? – Never thought about it
6. When and how did you find Mets360? – Don’t recall
7. Who is your favorite historical Met and your favorite current Met? Nolan Ryan & Jacob deGrom
8. What Met, past or present, do you dislike irrationally? – Richie Hebner for obvious reasons
9. Who is your favorite band or musician and song? – Earth Wind & Fire and Miles Davis
10. What is your favorite book? – “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer and “Ball Four” by Jim Bouton
11. What is your favorite movie? – Aliens (Sigourney Weaver) and The Thing (Kurt Russell)
12. What is your favorite TV show, past and present? – “Sanford & Son” & “Sopranos”
13. What pets, if any, do you have? – Small parrots – love birds, budgies and parrotlets
14. What do you like to do for fun, non-baseball-related? Bicycling the Pacific Coast
15. What’s your drink of choice? Iced Tea
16. The world is scary, so what’s something that has made you happy recently? Surpassing 100K total views on my YouTube channel
Congrats on your YouTube success! What’s the link for your feed?
“What’s the link for your feed?”
Sorry that I never saw this. As for my channel, I prefer to keep a low profile. I’ll see if I can surmise an email address to which I can send you the name of my channel, if you’re interested. But the channel has nothing to do with Chemistry, Physics, Abstract Mathematics, Astronomy or NY Mets Baseball.
In a little less than 16 months, I’ve gone from about 100K visits to over 220K visits
First off – that’s a great Seaver card!
1. What is your first name? – Terry
2. Where do you live (e.g., state, city/state, country)? – Queens
3. Where are you from originally? – Queens
4. How did you become a Mets fan? – My Dad was a Mets fan
5. What is your dream job? – Right now any would be fine
6. When and how did you find Mets360? – Heard the podcast
7. Who is your favorite historical Met and your favorite current Met? Keith Hernandez and Pete Alonso
8. What Met, past or present, do you dislike irrationally? – Vince Coleman
9. Who is your favorite band or musician and song? – Soundgarden Black Hole Sun
10. What is your favorite book? – On the Road by Jack Kerouac
11. What is your favorite movie? – The Terminator
12. What is your favorite TV show, past and present? – Cheers and The Wire
13. What pets, if any, do you have? – None
14. What do you like to do for fun, non-baseball-related? – Pen & ink drawing
15. What’s your drink of choice? – Tanqueray & Tonic
16. The world is scary, so what’s something that has made you happy recently? – Binged Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars and every episode has some laughs
Glad to see a podcast listener here!
Hey Brian and other 360ers. I’ve been lurking again and not participating. I truly appreciate this site, especially during this COVID lockdown time.
I wasn’t going to respond but then I saw that a namesake had responded.
1. What is your first name? – Terry
2. Where do you live (e.g., state, city/state, country)? – Austin, TX
3. Where are you from originally? – Staten Island. I was born on Governor’s Island.
4. How did you become a Mets fan? – My Mom was a Brooklyn Dodgers fan who adopted the Mets. I was 7 years old when she started taking me to Shea. We saw some classics, including the Cubs game with Agee scoring the winning run and Hundley jumping three feet in the air in protest. My dad was a diehard Cubs fan, so that was a fun summer!
5. What is your dream job? – Mets bullpen catcher
6. When and how did you find Mets360? – Google search looking for a better community than MetsBlog about 5 years ago.
7. Who is your favorite historical Met and your favorite current Met? Tie: Tom Seaver and Buddy Harrelson. Then Straw, Keith, and Doc. Now McNeil and Alonso.
8. What Met, past or present, do you dislike irrationally? – Billy Wagner and Tom Glavine
9. Who is your favorite band or musician and song? – This one is really tough to pick just one. Pink Floyd. Steely Dan. Gary Clark, Jr. Closet Fiends.
10. What is your favorite book? – The Sun Also Rises -Hemingway. A Prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving.
11. What is your favorite movie? – Shawshank Redemption, Young Frankenstein, The Godfather 1 and 2
12. What is your favorite TV show, past and present? – Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Wire, Better Call Saul, Six Feet Under
13. What pets, if any, do you have? – Bassett Hound (Jelly Roll) and a Schnoodle (Maybe)
14. What do you like to do for fun, non-baseball-related? – live music, restaurants, social drinking, working out, riding bikes, hiking
15. What’s your drink of choice? – Ketel One, a good reposado Tequila, a good single malt scotch, red wine
16. The world is scary, so what’s something that has made you happy recently? – Zoom Happy Hours.
Bullpen catcher – nice one, Bull!
1. John
2. Tennessee
3. born in N.Y.C, grew up in the suburbs of Albany
4. I started following baseball in 1957, just as the Dodgers abandoned Brooklyn. All my relatives had been Dodger fans. I still remember my mother saying in 1957, “We don’t like the Yankees, we’re for whatever team plays against them.” So the Yankees were not an option, and in 1962 I listened to the very first Mets game, against the Cards.
5. Opinion columnist for a major publication, ala Mike Royko
6. In 2015 after I retired, we got MLB TV and I started following baseball again after a hiatus and I stumbled on this site.
7. Rusty Staub and Jeff McNeil
8. Dilson Herrera
9. Not exactly answering the question, but seeing Jefferson Airplane perform live in an outdoor free concert in 1970 was memorable
10. Red Star Rogue
11. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
12. Rockford Files and Outlander
13. Our last cat, Charlotte, passed away 2 years ago, and I miss her every day.
14. SWim laps
15. Good old H2O most of the time, but a nice cup of Swiss Miss is good in season.
16. My wife has sewn a lot of home made virus masks, some donated to local hospital, some to relatives and neighbors, and it is gratifying to see how grateful the recipients are.
It’s pretty clear your mom is good people, John. And where was the Airplane concert?
Brian,
it was on the Suny New Paltz campus and there were other performers including Joe Cocker
1 Bob
2 Bridgewater, NJ
3 Staten Island, NY
4 My dad
5 MLB manager
6 Online search for Mets blogs
7 John Stearns and Jacob deGrom
8 Mickey Lolich – traded Rusty for him
9 Bob Seger
10 The Stand
11 The Bad News Bears
12 The White Shadow, The Office
13 Cat
14 Exercise and hang out with my 17 and 19 year old sons. But that part usually involves baseball.
15 Crystal Light iced tea
16 I’m the CFO of a senior living company in NJ with 9 communities and no COVID cases in 7 of them and a small number in the others. Also converting my commute time to exercise.
Loved The White Shadow! That was the about the same time as WKRP. Bosom Buddies was that same period. And Soap, too.
1. What is your first name? – Kostas
2. Where do you live (e.g., state, city/state, country)? – Corpus Christi
3. Where are you from originally? – Brooklyn, NY
4. How did you become a Mets fan? – My buddy made me
5. What is your dream job? – Not running a restaurant, LOL
6. When and how did you find Mets360? – Amazin Avenue listed it as a Mets oriented blog on their list. I tried it, and stayed.
7. Who is your favorite historical Met and your favorite current Met? – Mike Piazza and Brandon Nimmo
8. What Met, past or present, do you dislike irrationally? – John Franco, way too smug for my tastes and Tom Glavine, he was a Brave.
9. Who is your favorite band or musician and song? – U2, “It’s a Beautiful Day” and “Pride”
10. What is your favorite book? – The Bible, ”Baseball is a Funny Game”, “The Winner Within”, ”If At First”
11. What is your favorite movie? – ”How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days”, ”My Big Fat Greek Wedding”
12. What is your favorite TV show, past and present? – “Happy Days”, “Restaurant Impossible”
13. What pets, if any, do you have? – None.
14. What do you like to do for fun, non-baseball-related? Go to a quiet, secluded spot and listen to the ocean’s waves splash on the land and nothing else anywhere near me.
15. What’s your drink of choice? Jameson and water
16. The world is scary, so what’s something that has made you happy recently? – Actually had a very hard time answering, that’s scary! I guess being closed for two weeks this last month, albeit for a bad reason, but getting my body rest in a way it hasn’t had in a very, very long time. I actually felt very strong when we went back to work.
I never would have pegged you as a U2 fan. I’ve never seen them live and they might be the one big act I’d pay the going rate to see right now.
It was between my former most favorite, Phil Collins, and U2. However, Phil’s song “Land of Confusion” is perfect for today’s times.
Gump is my second favorite Met. If only he practiced his defense once in a while. You leave Flores alone, Chris.
1. What is your first name? Chris
2. Where do you live (e.g., state, city/state, country)? – Knoxville TN
3. Where are you from originally? – Los Angeles, upstate NY
4. How did you become a Mets fan? – taking trips to Shea with my dad and grandpa from Binghamton
5. What is your dream job? – the job I have
6. When and how did you find Mets360? – 2011, looking for some deeper reading about the Mets
7. Who is your favorite historical Met and your favorite current Met? – Lenny Randle and Jerry Koozman, deGrom/Alonso
8. What Met, past or present, do you dislike irrationally? – Flores, but thats rational, right? Otherwise Bobby Parnell.
9. Who is your favorite band or musician and song? – U2, but really, theres no one band/song
10. What is your favorite book? – Moby Dick (fiction), Private Yankee Doodle (non-fiction), The River Where America Began (non-fiction)
11. What is your favorite movie? – Jurassic Park or Indiana Jones
12. What is your favorite TV show, past and present? – M*A*S*H, West Wing, The Wire, Modern Family
13. What pets, if any, do you have? – We have an indoor cat
14. What do you like to do for fun, non-baseball-related? Road cycling, Colonial American history
15. What’s your drink of choice? Pepsi Max, Hint Cherry, Old Fashioned, Patron margarita
16. The world is scary, so what’s something that has made you happy recently? None of my family has succumbed to COVID-19
Fate was not kind to Parnell, who got hurt after he got his command issues under control and then was never the same. I think you would have come around on him…
Great exercise ..
(1) First name? Bill
(2) Live in? Outside of Binghamton, in Broome Co. New York
(3) Originally from? same .. have always lived in upstate New York
(4) How did you become a Mets Fan? This one is odd . .my father was never a sports fan, so I didn’t have that, but when I was about 10, we moved to a neighborhood where there were more kids and a couple of them introduced me to baseball cards, so my Mom gave me a dollar, I walked down to the local drug store and bought 10 packs – the top card on the first pack that I ever opened was the 1969 Ron Taylor card with METS written across the front. I remember thinking Mets . that sounds cool, I’ll be a Mets fan (and I liked that card). I didn’t know much about them at that time, but 51 years later .. still at it.
(5) Dream job? I kind of have it now – retirement; but I always thought it would be cool to be the manager of the Mets
(6) How did I find Mets360? I don’t remember exactly – was surfing through around the web a few years ago looking for something better than Metsmerized, and tripped over this site … this and Mack’s Mets are my two favorite Mets sites now.
(7) Favorite Mets? Wow .. that is hard. . so many I have rooted for, but I guess Tom Seaver has to be at the top of the historical list. I think Brandon Nimmo is the current one I am rooting hardest for; Conforto and DeGrom are up there as well.
(8) Disliked Met? I have never really had that nerve, altho if I had to pick a couple, certainly Jed Lowrie – I thought that was a bad signing to begin with – and historically Oliver Perez.
(9) Favorite band/song . . I cannot do this one – I have an eclectic interest – oldies, pop, country, and we currently follow lesser known Americana/Folk artists. Our favorite touring group now is Red Molly.
(10) Favorite book. Again . .anything historical – David McCullough is a great author . .his book on the Brooklyn Bridge is good. Also Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals” about Lincoln is excellent.
(11) Favorite movie? I am not much into movies. I appreciate a good comedy once in a while. I did think Forrest Gump was really good. Tom Hanks and Robin Williams (Dead Poet’s Society) were a couple of favorite actors.
(12) Favorite TV shows? MASH in the older days; The NCAA March Madness tournament would have been it in the 80’s had it been a “TV Show”. I have never been that much into TV and never watch it any more (haven’t turned on a TV in over 10 years).
(13) Pets? None now. . I always had cats and would love to have another, but we decided after the last one died that we would go without for a bit more freedom of movement. My son has a dog he brings every once in a while – I really enjoy her.
(14) Fun, non-baseball activities? A lot of stuff. I like to build things – I do a lot of work for the local charity building ramps for local folks in need through the (normal) summer. I enjoy many outdoor activities – biking, hiking, gardening, just mowing the lawn. If it can get me outside, it is good. I also always have a crossword and/or a sudoku puzzle going, and read when I can. Playing cards (a good nickel-dime poker game is great). I am an internet junkie – baseball sites aside, I spent too much time reading the news.
(15) Drink of choice? Orange Juice for breakfast, coffee after breakfast, water the remainder of the day. I agree with the comment about the Black Cherry Vanilla sparkling water – I don’t drink a lot of it, but usually have a 12 pack of it from Wegmans sitting around.
(16) Happiness in a scary world? Hmm . . there is not a lot to be happy with now. I feel so much pain for those that are sick, those that died, the front line workers – both the health care professionals and others deemed essential – the delivery drivers, the food workers, grocery store employees .. etc. What a terrible time for all of us. I can’t even complain about no baseball (although I miss it terribly). I guess if I had to do a personal comment, it is that I have take this time to lose some weight and get in overall better shape – I have been trying to (and overall generally accomplishing) get to a goal of 11000 steps a day.
Brian, thanks for not only posting this, but running the great blog all year – the internet junkie in me never goes a day without reading every post!
Don’t know how I missed this post. Responses are wonderful
1. What is your first name? – Conrad
2. Where do you live (e.g., state, city/state, country)? – Yonkers
3. Where are you from originally? – Brooklyn
4. How did you become a Mets fan? – Dodgers deserted
5. What is your dream job? – Retired & content, thank you.
6. When and how did you find Mets360? – From Macksmets fellows
7. Who is your favorite historical Met and your favorite current Met? Past: Ron Hunt / D.Magadan; Present: McNeil / D.Smith
8. What Met, past or present, do you dislike irrationally? – Darryl — what could have been
9. Who is your favorite band or musician and song? – Lionel Hampton: Flyin’ Home (toughest question, btw)
10. What is your favorite book? – Tinker, Taylor …
11. What is your favorite movie? – Pvt Ryan
12. What is your favorite TV show, past and present? – Monty Python / Kaminsky Method
13. What pets, if any, do you have? – None
14. What do you like to do for fun, non-baseball-related? – Write children’s books/stories
15. What’s your drink of choice? – Guiness
16. The world is scary, so what’s something that has made you happy recently? – Connected with (very) old friends (via Zoom) out of contact for decades
Thank you, Brian