An interview with the Foxdenizen, John Fox

No one who writes for the site makes my job easier than John Fox.  I am especially grateful for his reliably early submissions, to say nothing of his article topics, which always seem carefully chosen.  Two years ago, when I was contemplating the future direction of Mets360, one plan was to have just John as the only other contributor.  Alas, he nixed that idea.  So, for those of you who want to see more articles from him, please know that I tried.  On to the interview!

How old are you?  Under 25, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55+

55+

Do you live within an hour’s drive of Citi Field?

Not since I was 5 years old have I lived within an hour.

What are the memories of first Mets game you saw in person, whether Polo Grounds, Shea Stadium or Citi Field?

In the very first season, 1962, I attended one game, a July night game against the Dodgers with my family.  It was a pretty good pitcher’s duel between Sandy Koufax and Roger Craig, of course, the Dodgers won.  We had pretty good seats, behind home plate.  I think the most vivid memory I have is entering the stadium, you descended down some stairs and the panorama of the stadium unfolded before you.  It was an old stadium but freshly painted and I thought it was a spectacular sight.

How did you get involved with Mets360?

My Interest in baseball and the Mets had waned over the years, especially after the 1994 strike.  Then in 2015 my wife wanted to be able to watch a certain tv show, and we had to upgrade our cable package.  The new package included   MLB TV, and I started watching when a Mets game was on, I began to think the ‘15 team would do well.  I started following a few websites as well and in 2016 there was a notice on the 360 site about writers wanted and apparently my sample submission was good enough.

Who was your favorite Mets player as a kid?  Who’s your favorite now?

Favorite Met as a kid, if a kid is upper teens to low 20s, I would pick Jerry Koosman.  He always came up big in big games.  Saw him pitch in July 1969 in person against Ferguson Jenkins of the Cubs, a comeback victory that was just before the near-perfect Tom Seaver gem.  Current Met would be Jeff McNeil.  He hits (batting champion), he hits in the clutch (BA RISP .336.)

Tell me about how you go about writing an article for the site and how long (roughly) you spend on each facet.

I try to come up with an original concept.  Once I have the idea, I do probably an hour or so of research and an hour or so to write it up at a minimum, often it takes longer.

How would you describe the 2022 Mets season?

It was the best of times, and the worst of times, with the worst of times kicking in right after the Old Timer’s game.

If Jacob deGrom simply wants to have the highest contract he can get (no preference in location) – how high are you willing to go, both in years and dollars, to retain him?

How does 3 years at $43,333,333 sound? That’s the same as Max Scherzer signed for.

Edwin Diaz picked a good time to have a monster season.  Is he a priority to re-sign given his terrific year or do you view closers as eminently replaceable?

If the Mets plan on contending, he should be a priority.

It looks like there are going to be new rules next year, including Banning the Shift, Bigger Bases and a Pitch Clock.  Please weigh in on each of these changes.

Shift… You’ll still be able to shift, you’ll see plenty of time where the shortstop is practically touching second base as the play starts.

Bigger bases.. If it does actually improve safety I’m for it, although I am a bit skeptical.

Pitch clock… Speeding up the game is a good thing.  Don’t expect the big decreases as were found in the Minor League test, with all the commercial breaks, the between innings times are longer in the Majors.  As to the limit of 3 throws to first base, are there any restrictions on catchers throwing to the base?  Tomas Nido has a good snap throw that could be a bigger weapon if that’s the case.