I will start off by saying I love the Mets. I have been a die hard since 1973, hence my handle. For the love of God, why in the world will the Wilpon family celebrate only portions of Mets history?
This may come as a surprise, but the Mets existed before 1986! The idea of having a Shea countdown is great. We here at 24 Hours From Suicide...A Day In The Life Of A Met Fan, along with countless fans, have always contended that the Mets should have players who wore a particular number pull down the previous number to reveal their number.
This leads me to Friday night...How in the name of all Holy and Pure can you have long tenured employees pull down #16 to reveal #15? Let me be as unbiased as possible. There has been one and only one #15. For Mets fans post 1977, pick up a book and read. The only #15 for the Mets was Jerry Grote, the greatest defensive catcher to ever don the tools of ignorance. Better than Carter, Hundley, Piazza, Fitzgerald, Snyder, et al. Grote was with the Mets from 1966 – 1977. He was the best. End of discussion. Some others might have worn #15; Al Jackson, Claudell Washington, George Foster, Rick Aguilera, Ron Darling, Kevin Elster, Jose Vizcaino, Richard Hidalgo, and Carlos Beltran have all worn #15, but there is only one #15, JERRY GROTE!
Why won't or haven't the Mets ownership given the fans something to not only cheer about, but to allow us older fans to take a stroll down memory lane? There is no reason. None. If it might cost a few dollars to have a former player come in, PAY IT!
Why didn't Cleon Jones reveal #21? Why didn't Grote reveal #15? Why didn't Sid Fernandez reveal #50? Jerry Koosman #36?
I could go on and on, but I'm ready to do a swan dive, not Craig Swan (#27) off the Triborough!
C'mon Jeff and Fred, you charge prices so high, that I had to sell one of my kidneys to go to today's matinée, why can't you let us show the love for our baseball heroes of days past? Between not celebrating the majority of our Mets history, along with discontinuing Old Timers Day, and Banner Day – you are taking a part of our history away.
Let the youth of today see players from past eras. Let them see what Jerry Koosman looks like now. Let's give the fans something they can hold onto...I remember when Jerry Grote pulled down #16 to reveal #15 – Whoops, it never happened!
Talk me in folks...I'm on the ledge!
5 comments:
Your post is false and misleading. Many former Mets -- and in the case of deceased Mets, their family members -- have participated in the pre-game "numbers" events. Please post a list so readers, especially those who migrate from Rob Neyer's post, know what's actually occurred.
As far as Grote is concerned, he's was a solid defensive catcher. To compare him to Piazza or Carter is to diminish his skills.
And Carlos Beltran is the greatest #15 in Mets history.
Thanks for your comment Frank, but I never stated that Grote was better than Piazza...I said he was the greatest defensive catcher to ever don a Mets uniform.
As for the numbers on the OF wall, the Mets have done a great disservice to their past. Many of their old players were not there to reveal their number. When you think of 16, do you really think of Lee Mazzilli? The majority of Met fans will say that it was Dwight Gooden's number.
Why didn't Sid Fernandez reveal #50?
Why didn't Koosman reveal #36? Matlack #32? Clendonon, McReynolds, or even Leiter #22?
I didn't mean to imply the Mets had used none of their former stars, I'm simply stating they have blown a great chance to show respect for the history of this organization, and I still stand by that.
Once again, I appreciate your comments, and please feel free to leave comments to any of our posts.
Actually, you said "Grote was the best."
Why not post a list of who revealed which numbers? That would prove that the Mets did in fact honor their history and many beloved players with those events.
Perhaps you might say a few words about the event with Tommie Agee's widow, which I thought was a wonderful tribute to an often-overlooked player.
It's also possible that the Mets have tried to contact such players, but they declined or are unable to make it to Shea. There is a lot of speculation in this post.
For instance, yes Doc Gooden is THE #16 in Mets history, but there's not way they could get him to Shea. Same with Leiter, who's currently a Yankees announcer on YES.
Also it is my understanding that the '69 Mets are making an appearance at one of the last few games to change the numbers -- could be Grote would be attending that. We seem to forget these players are a bit...old...LOL. Getting around may be tough for a few of these dudes. Just sayin. BTW, love your site, I will def link it on mine!
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