Raising a Mets Fan
MLB is doing this new thing when a notable player joins a new team, they have them fill out a questionnaire so the fans get to know them better. For example, did you know Neil Walker‘s favorite baseball movie is Field of Dreams? Well, I’m sure he will now replace Daniel Murphy as a fan favorite.
I’m joking of course. I think it’s a good idea. For some people, getting to know a player makes you more emotionally invested. That’s a good thing. Speaking of Murphy and new teams, here’s his answers to the Nationals questionnaire:
He’s right, there is so much poop. Infants are popping machines. Luckily, when they’re infants it doesn’t smell so bad do you can keep it in your Diaper Dekor. For the uninitiated, the Diaper Dekor is a device designed to let you keep your child’s poop sitting in the house until either: (1) the bag fills up; or (2) it starts to smell. By the way, you’re exhausted when you have an infant. You will be willing to push those boundaries especially when the diaper changes are so frequent.
The worst poops are the first ones. The meconium poops. It’s this thick tar like bowel movement that gets on and sticks to everything. It doesn’t smell. It just gets onto everything just sticking to it and staining it. It lasts much shorter than you believe it does, but it does create havoc.
It reminds me of when I first gave my son a bath when we brought him home. By the way, the Blooming Bath is awesome. Anyway, I very carefully have my son a bath. I was more careful than a leper in a soup kitchen (his name is Stew by the way). I handled my son like he was nitroglycerine, and I was walking through a minefield on crutches. You get the picture. I was so proud of myself. When you’re a first time parent, everything is an accomplishment. Even your own ability to wake up in the morning and function like a member of society.
I turned around and started heading to the changer with my son, and then I got my reward. Meconium all over my favorite Gary Carter t-shirt. I tell you this younger generation doesn’t respect the greats in baseball history.
Anyway, I just remembered standing there with this poop dripping down my shirt. I was trying to hold my son, while supporting his neck and allowing him to continue to pool all over me. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was trying to angle his butt away from me so he didn’t continues to poop on me and so I wouldn’t have to redo the bath. When he was done, I knew I couldn’t go from tile to carpet. I was somewhat delirious from the lack of sleep, but I knew that much. So, I did then what every strong man does when he’s in a situation he can’t solve.
I called out to my wife, “Help! I don’t know what to do!” She came over and did what all supportive wives do. She laughed at me. She then cleaned up the mess. For the rest of the night, she mocked me for it. It was a story she told everyone when they came to see the baby. I was the butt of the joke. Get it?
In any event, I remembered using Dreft for only God knows how many cycles before finally getting the stain out. Trust me, at some point everything you own will be covered in poop. You can’t buy a new wardrobe. Stop judging me. In any event, that’s what came to mind when I saw Murphy’s answers to the questionnaire.
Just “so much poop.”
Editor’s Note: the products referenced were not paid advertisements. They were products we actually used.
My wife and I work really long hours. Before my son was born, dinner usually consisted of what do we have in the house that we can re-heat really quickly. With that in mind, we usually treated ourselves to a really nice place for dinner on Friday. It was a way of decompressing after a long week.
When my son was born that was no longer an option. It’s not fair to your child, and it’s not fair to the other diners. If you’re at a steakhouse or something looking for a romantic evening, do you really want a toddler screaming at the other table? Can you have a romantic evening with your toddler with you? The answer is no to both. As a result, my wife and I have changed our focus as to where we go. Instead of a nice steak dinner, it’s a burger and fries at a family friendly restaurant.
There’s a real problem with the family friendly restaurants. They’re very popular. They’re full of parents with their kids who want a night off from cooking. That means slower service. That means you’re asking a toddler to sit around and wait and wait. Even the best behaved toddlers will start acting up. They’re more likely to act up if they’re hungry too. Sometimes the crayons and mat don’t cut it. It ruins the experience. It makes you wish you were home eating leftovers. Chick-fil-A now has the perfect solution.
My mind was blown reading that. You can order your dinner in the drive-thru lane, and they’ll have it ready did you at a table when you enter the restaurant? I would seriously do this all the time, especially if they have a Coke Freestyle there (seriously, that’s my holy grail. I love soda). If you’ve ever went out to eat with a toddler, you know how much better it would be to have the food out when you get there than having to wait and wait.
Sadly, there are no Chick-fil-A’s near me. I can’t “eat mor chikin.” However, with that said, I don’t know why other restaurants can’t adapt this, especially those with Roadside Service.
I should be able to call my order in to a place like Applebees, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Chilis, Ruby Tuesday, etc. and make my order. In turn, I can be told what time my table will be ready. To avoid issues, they could request pre-payment for my meal to ensure my arrival. It would create higher turnover of tables during the busy hours. It would also reduce screaming and crying children thereby making the dining experience better for everyone.
Imagine going to Olive Garden and having your meal on the table with the salad and breadsticks. It would be a quicker and much more relaxing dining experience for parents. By the way, this would also work out great for Olive Garden because people would go through less salad and breadsticks thereby helping the bottom line. Same goes for Red Lobster and those cheddar bay biscuits (for most people, not me. I’d still annihilate them).
This makes too much sense not to happen. Hopefully, these restaurants pick up on this and apply the practice to their business. If you do, my family thanks you in advance. Also, I wouldn’t object to a consultant’s fee either.
With the 2016 Hall of Fame class being announced yesterday, it’s hard to believe the Mets will have two Hall of Famers. Understandably and rightfully so, 2016 will be the year for the Mets to honor Mike Piazza. However, it’s high time the Mets also honor Tom Seaver.
Depending on your age, you identify the Mets with a particular player. Some will pick Piazza. Younger fans will pick David Wright. Many will pick any one of the players from the 1986 Mets. Part of this is a recency bias. Another part of this is the failure of the Mets organization to forever hold out Tom Seaver, The Franchise, as the Mets singular franchise player.
Go to other big league stadiums, particularly the new ones. The Yankees have Monument Park. In Monument Park, the Yankees have paid special tribute to five Yankees including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. The Giants have a statue of Willie Mays. The Phillies have one for Mike Schmidt. The list goes on and on. The Mets? They only have a special honor for Jackie Robinson.
Walk around Citi Field. There’s no special designation for Seaver. Yes, his number is retired. His retired number also hangs on the same wall as Jackie Robinson. There needs to be a Tom Seaver statue. The main reason is all Mets fans need to know who he was. For some reason, Seaver isn’t spoken about in the historical context as he should. Part of the reason could be the team he represents.
This isn’t an issue of the Mets finances. I’m not mocking the Mets here for not having enough money to purchase a statue. The Mets had the money to build Citi Field. It’s an issue or priorities. They never prioritized honoring Seaver. I still don’t understand why.
Every Mets fan needs to see Seaver on their way into Citi Field. Kids should be asking their parents and grandparents about Seaver. They should hear stories like I did from my father. Stories about how he was nicknamed The Franchise because he turned the Mets around. They need to hear about “The Imperfect Game.” They need to hear stories about the Miracle Mets. They should hear about how Seaver used his legs so much while he was pitching he got dirt on his knee.
There’s no better place to tell these stories than at the ballpark. It’s where my father told me about them. I hope one day he’ll get to tell my son those stories too. I’d love for my son to see the statute and ask, “Who’s Tom Seaver?” I’ll just then sit back as my Dad tells him the same stories he told me.
This is what we’re missing with the Seaver statue. We’re missing the history not only of the Mets, but also baseball. Sure, I look forward to my Dad telling my son about how he grew up a Brooklyn Dodger fan, and Jackie Robinson was his favorite player because he ran pigeon-toed just like my Dad did. It’ll be awesome, but it’s also a problem. My son will ask the Jackie Robinson but not the Tom Seaver question on his way into the ballpark.
The Mets have been around for 54 years and have developed their own rich history. It’s time to properly honor it with a Seaver statute. Then maybe one day we can have a Piazza statute when I can regale my son and hopefully grandson in the future with stories like the trade bringing him to the Mets, him being the greatest hitting catcher ever, and the post 9/11 homerun. Sure, I’ll relate those stories anyway because they’re great stories. However, I want my son to ask me about them. A statue honoring the Mets Hall of Famers would go a long way in that regard.
It’s time to honor Tom Seaver. It’s time to build him his statue. It’s not just for him, but for all Mets fans. The ones that saw him play and the ones not yet born. The a Mets need to honor their history now and set it in bronze.
If your Day Care is like mine, it is closed between Christmas and New Year’s. This means someone has to stay home with the little man. As my day job has more flexibility then, it’s my responsibility.
Two things you should know about watching a toddler all day: (1) it’s great spending that much time with your son; and (2) it’s exhausting. It’s a constant challenge. However, if you keep in mind that most little boys want to be like their daddies, it can help you get through the day. The next thing to keep in mind is that the more things you plan in advance, the better.
After your son is up and gets dressed, make your way to the kitchen and make breakfast together. Every kid wants to be a help and be involved. Tell him you need his help making breakfast for him and daddy.
One day I made scrambled eggs with my son. It’s easier said than done. You have to do some prep work while entertaining him. I got the bowl out to mix the eggs, put a little milk in a cup, cut a small piece of butter, and I got the frying pan on the stove. I showed him how we crack the eggs, and I put them in the bowl. As I started to whisk them together, I gave him the cup, and I had him add the milk. Once that was done, I had him throw the butter I into the hot frying pan. Note, out the frying pan on the far burner and have your hands on your son’s wrists to prevent him from touching the hot pan. When the butter is melted, obviously put the eggs in the pan. Now, I got myself a spurtle, and I gave my son a large serving spoon. As the eggs cooked, I allowed him to move the eggs in the pan like he was cooking them. Once the eggs were cooked, I had him help me take the eggs from the frying pan and put them on our plates.
Now, toddlers are notoriously picky eaters. However, I found when my son participated in the process, he ate his eggs without hesitation. Considering how much work the eggs were, I tried doing toaster waffles the next day. No, he told me he wanted to “make eggs.” So, we had eggs all week. My advice to you is start with the waffles.
After breakfast and clean-up, you need to figure out what to do before lunch. Keep in mind you’re going to want your kid to take a nap after lunch. It’s usually how it’s done in Day Care, and you really want to stick to that schedule. With that in mind, I suggest a physical activity. That means if you got a yard, go run outside in the yard. If there’s a park nearby, go there. If there’s inclement weather or it’s too cold out, run around the house. Just run your kid tired.
On multiple days, I set up my son’s baseball stuff. We worked on hitting the ball as hard as he could. We played catch. One suggestion here is don’t force it on your son. If he doesn’t want to play, move on to something else. If you want him to like baseball, don’t force it down his throat to the point he hates it. On days he wasn’t interested, we ran races, played other sports like basketball, or we just played with his cars and trains. Again, the goal is to tire them out.
Now, instead of staying home after breakfast and running around, it may help to do an activity. My family has a zoo membership allowing us to go whenever we want. This is really helpful. After walking the zoo and getting lunch, it’s time to go home. If your kid is anything like mine, it’s easier to get him to fall asleep in the car than it is to get him to nap at home. Coincidentally, I ran into another father from the same Day Care at the zoo, and he agreed with this assertion. In fact, even if you stay home, take your kid for a drive and get him to nap. It’s worth your sanity.
While your kid is napping, you have time to clean up dishes. If you’re an overachiever, get dinner started. Personally, I suggest something like a baked ziti that you can have for more than one night. If that’s too much or not a good cook, find an easy slow cooker recipe. Keep in mind, you may need that nap yourself as that week progresses and/or you’ll want to use that time to get some work done.
One important thing to remember is to have a snack rest for your kid when he wakes up from his nap. He’s going to be hungry when he gets up. Set it up at the table, so there’s as little problems as possible.
At the table, I also like to have some crayons and/or Play Doh handy. Something you can give him right after snack time if you need to buy a couple of minutes in preparing dinner. Right after snack, I usually like to see if I can keep my son at the table. Sometimes it’s drawing a picture for mommy. Other times it’s Play Doh.
Overall, no matter what activities you do, you should be looking to incorporate ways to teach your kid something . . . you know other than getting him to swing level. There’s always an opportunity to count things. When he’s using crayons, use some yourself and draw the alphabet or numbers and try to get him to identify them. At this age everything and anything can be used to learn something.
Hopefully, once snack and activity time is over, your wife is home. Most likely, you still have time. That’s time that can be spent doing a myriad of things from reading books to coloring more, or basically whatever activity your son has in mind. Keep in mind, no one is going to judge you if you need to put on Sesame Street for a little bit. You can justify it to yourself because the show has a number, letter, and word of the day. Seriously, there are some benefits to Sesame Street.
Hopefully, your wife is home at this point, and you can surprise her with dinner. Then it’s cleaning up after dinner, and you’re close to bath time, story time, and bed time. Congratulations, you’ve survived the day. Your son had fun, and your wife is happy and impressed with you. Think it was a hard day? Your poor mother did that and a lot more for longer. Maybe at this time give your poor mother a call and let her talk to her grandson.
In any event, after five days of that, you’re pretty beat. With that said, come Monday morning, I’m going to miss it. I’m going to miss the little guy. I look forward to the next time I can do it.
Back in July, I began this blog at the suggestion of my wife. It was her idea to create a site not only to talk about the Mets, but also to discuss how our son is becoming a Mets fan. My wife has been and continues to be my biggest supporter. I couldn’t do this site, or really anything, without her.
At the core of this site is my son becoming more and more of a Mets fan. It began with him screaming and cheering “Duda!” in response to Gary Cohen Spring Training call for a Lucas Duda RBI double. From that point forward, our evening ritual was my son and I watching the Mets games together until he fell asleep.
I used that time to tell him what was happening and about all the players. I’d say he learned a thing or two:
Whether, it was because of his “Mets Daddy” or just his own watching the Mets games, his favorite player became Daniel Murphy. I think it is a reason why he likes hitting lefty:
There’s no convincing him to hit righty. He wants to hit homeruns like Murphy. We were all enamored with Murphy during October, sorry, Murphtober. My son was enamored with him long before that. He was a fan during the season. He was a Mets fan. In fact, he became a bigger Mets fan than even I knew.
After agonizing over the decision, I left my son home during Game 3 of the World Series. It was tough, but I was thrilled to go with my Dad and brother:
While I was at the game, my son told my wife to turn on the game. Here was his reaction when Curtis Granderson hit a go-ahead homer:
My Dad shows this video to everyone. At my cousin’s wedding, he played that for each and every relative. I don’t blame him. I’m still amazed by it. Even though I was to there when it happened, it’ll be one of the things I take away from this season. It shows me, he is a big Mets fan, and he is understanding the game. I love that.
Below are some images of some of my favorite moments with him at Citi Field:
As 2015 draws to a close, I have to say it was a good year. I’m married to a woman who still hasn’t figured out she’s too good for me. I have a brilliant son, who makes me proud each and everyday. As you can also see he’s a good looking kid (he turned two recently -it’s kid, not baby now, right). He clearly gets his looks from his mother. I’m thankful each and everyday I’m with them.
I’m also thankful for my parents. This includes my Dad, who made me a Mets fan, and my mother, who doesn’t get nearly as many mentions on the blog as she should. Luckily, they’re in goodish health right now. I’m thankful for my brother, who’s always been by my side whether it was a Mets game, my Best Man, or my son’s “Mets Godfather.” I keep telling him to create that site.
I appreciate all of my readers, especially my cousins.
Lastly, I wanted to take time to acknowledge those who provided assistance along the way, a retweet, or a link my to site. If I omitted anyone, I’m truly sorry as my phone is acting up, and there are many to thank. With that said, I wanted to acknowledge the following:
- The Oh Murph guys Harry & Keith
- Joe D., Michael Mayer, and the Mets Mezmerized crew
- Keith Law
- Mark Simon
- Greg Prince and his standard bearer Faith and Fear in Flushing
- Justin Weiss
- Danny and all involved at Rising Apple podcast
- Studious Mets
- Sons of Sam Horn
- Again all of my readers including George and TP Survey
Everyone have a happy, healthy, and safe New Years, and remember . . .
LETS GO METS!
I still can’t believe this will be my son’s third Christmas.
For the first one, he wasn’t even a month old. I still don’t know how we pulled it off, but my wife and I hosted that year. Seriously, the ability to do anything with a one month old is a Herculean feat. The only thing I remember was I constantly played my favorite Christmas song as a way to soothe a crying baby:
Now, my son is older. It’s all about A Charlie Brown Christmas. He knows it’s Jesus’ birthday. He knows Santa brings presents on Christmas Day. He made cookies with mommy to leave for Santa. He’s all excited. It’s great to see him excited.
Every kid is excited around Christmas. Christmas is a magical time of year. Somewhere down the line each and every adult loses the magic. That is until you see a child at Christmas. They understand this time of year better than anyone. When you see them, it takes you back. You remember when Santa brought you that special toy. Mostly, you remember family.
I remember getting together at my grandparent’s house each Christmas Eve. I remember sitting down with my family to dinner. Those dinners. Nana was the best cook. Then an uncle would dress as Santa while my cousins and I would get excited for our presents. I reminds falling asleep on the drive home.
Then Santa came! He brought presents because I was good all year. I remember having hot cocoa in my Santa mug as my mother made breakfast. I cherish these memories. It’s the type of memories I want to create for my son. I want to recapture that magic for him.
I mostly want to recapture that magic this year. For the past month or so, my father has not been doing well. He just had his second surgery in a month. He didn’t respond well to the first one, but so far so good after Tuesday’s surgery.
It’s why I want to recapture this magic this year more than any prior year. More than anything I want to give my son an amazing Christmas. I also want my family to enjoy it without any worries. We’ve had enough of those lately. Now is just a time to bask in that Christmas magic, even if it’s just for a couple of days.
I hope this Christmas finds you and your family happy and healthy. I hope you can recapture some of that Christmas magic even if it is for a day or so.
Merry Christmas!
It’s been an incredible year. The Mets played in the World Series. There was a Rocky sequel. Starting tonight, there’s going to be a Star Wars sequel. My son really is a good luck charm.
Speaking of which, I was reminded of the first real time in my life when the Mets and Star Wars intersected. It was this Halloween when the Mets played a World Series game and my son went as Yoda for Halloween:
Today, I thought it would be fun to compare current Mets to Star Wars characters:
Noah Syndergaard – Luke Skywalker
- Both were raw until there were leaders who showed him how to harness that potential. Both eventually became leaders themselves helping bring everyone to the promised land. Also, let’s face it, both can get a little cocky.
Matt Harvey – Han Solo
- Mets fans still question if he’s truly on their side, but when the chips are down he comes through.
Bartolo Colon – Jabba the Hut
- Both are large and in charge
Curtis Granderson – Lando Calrissian
- I know what you’re thinking. It’s lazy to compare the Mets lone black player to one of the few black Star Wars characters. However, consider that Lando initially aided the Evil Empire only to later join the good guys and blow up the second Death Star. If that’s not Granderson leaving the Yankees to join the Mets to have an incredible postseason, I don’t know what is.
Jenrry Mejia – Jar Jar Binks
- They’re supposed to be on your side, but all they do is just ruin everything. You just want them to go away before they do something else stupid.
David Wright – C3PO
- Both have been there through everything. Both seemingly fall apart a little too often. Both have helped in more ways than you can count.
Terry Collins – Obi Wan Kenobi
- Both were exiled. Both were called upon to mentor and protect young prospects. Both found redemption in this role.
Lucas Duda – Wedge Antilles
- Both survived battles no one expected them to survive. For Duda, it was first base. For Wedge, it was blowing up the Death Star. Both have seen their roles and contributions to their causes being overlooked and disregarded even if both were vital to the cause.
Jacob deGrom – Princess Leia
- Both are rocking the long locks. Both had their abilities overlooked for another. Both were instrumental in all that was accomplished. I just don’t want to see deGrom in the golden bikini.
Jeurys Familia – Mace Windu
- Mace Windu constantly appeared in dangerous situations in order to save everyone, much like Familia did this year. Both were successful against all odds until their last chapter. Also, when you’re played by Samuel L. Jackson, you’re just awesome. Familia is awesome.
Wally Backman – Uncle Owen
- Both are entrusted with the future, but both ultimately will not be the ones that bring everyone to the next level.
Wilmer Flores – R2D2
- Overall, there’s no getting rid of either. They’re indestructible. They’re in the center of everything. They’re also fan favorites.
Kirk Nieuwenhuis – Chewbacca
As I think of more, I’ll add to the list or amend the existing list. I didn’t add a Yoda because as you see above, you’re not doing better than that Yoda. If you have a suggestion, I’ll be happy to add it to the list giving you full credit. For example, here’s Jason Fry’s point-of-view:
https://twitter.com/jasoncfry/status/677612060092596224
Yes, this is the same Jason Fry who wrote The Weapon of a Jedi, which is available for sale now.
By the way, don’t be that guy. Keep the spoilers to yourself. Don’t ruin the movie for everyone.
Yesterday was an extraordinary day. Putting your political leanings aside, two Cuban-American U.S. Senators, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, took the stage to participate in the GOP Primary Debate. To get to this point, their ancestors had to flee an oppressive Communist government to find a better life for themselves and future generations. Sens. Cruz & Rubio are the embodiment of those hopes and dreams.
Yesterday also marked the day that Cuban born baseball players had the opportunity to return home and see their families for the first time in years. Jose Abreu, Brayan Pena, Alexei Ramirez, and Yasiel Puig got that opportunity because they returned to Cuba as part of MLB’s trip to promote the game. The Cubsn defectors left to seek a better life leaving behind parents, siblings, spouses, and yes, even children. Abreu has been away from his son for two and a half years.
Essentially, Abreu left when his son was a little older than my son is now. I have trouble leaving him in the morning when I go to work. I can’t imagine leaving him knowing that I was most likely leaving him forever. I can’t imagine a situation so dire that I could actually entertain the idea let alone follow through with it.
More so, I can’t imagine how MLB didn’t bring along all current and former Cubsn born players. I don’t know how many of them were given the opportunity. I don’t know how many declined. I think of the former Mets who did not go or get a chance to go. Yoenis Cespedes still has a son in Cuba, but he is staying in the U.S. Whatever the reason, he might’ve missed the last chance he’ll ever get to see his son again. That thought is just incredibly depressing.
MLB is making this trip in part to determine the future of Cuban baseball, and what, if any, role MLB will have in said future. MLB makes this trip while Jose Fernandez seeks the opportunity to play in the U.S. after defecting from Cuba. He defected after being banned from playing for a year because they knew he wanted to defect. It’s an odd situation to say the least.
We also don’t know what opportunities Cuban baseball players will have in the future. We don’t know if these defectors like Cespedes will be able to return to see their families. We don’t know if players like Cespedes missed the chance of a lifetime. On a lesser note, we don’t know if these players will be permitted to play for Cuba in the WBC.
While MLB should be commended for creating this opportunity for the Cuban born players, it should be noted there’s more to do. They need to negotiate a posting system like there is with the Japanese Leagues. This may prevent the harrowing tales we hear from players after their defection. They should be setting up a way for their current a former players the right to see their families. Every year, MLB sends a contingent of players to Japan to play in an exhibition series.
You may not think MLB has that power. I respectfully disagree. This is the league that had a home and home between the Cuban National team and the Baltimore Orioles. This was before President Obama made any steps to formalize relations. Imagine what MLB could do now. It’s their duty and responsibility to help their players and their families.
In any event, I’m happy these families were reunited. I’m hopeful for better treatment of Cuban players and their families. Something has got to change. MLB could choose to be on the forefront of this change, or they could sit around and wait for someone else to do it.
With that said, I’m going to come home tonight and tuck my son into bed tonight. No government can stop me from doing that. We live in a place where I don’t have to make that choice. We live in a country where the children of immigrants could possibly one day become the President.
For players like Jose Abreu, he only got December 14, 2015 to do that. We still don’t know if that’s the last time he ever sees his son. Here’s hoping MLB steps up and helps change that.
To this day, I will never forget the feeling. I was sitting in the back row of Section 126 with my son on my lap. Yoenis Cespedes stepped up to the plate, and I thought for a moment that it was a bad idea to sit there.
The thing is when Cespedes gets a hold of one, he gets a hold of one. They are line drive rockets out of the ballpark. After seeing him this season and in the Homerun Derby, can you honestly tell me there is anywhere in the ballpark that is truly safe from a ball off the bat like a player like that? So I sat there nervously as Cespedes struck out.
Now, I like that area because bathrooms are nearby, and it’s close to the FanFest section. Also, it’s an area of the park where you shouldn’t have to worry about batted balls. In fact the closest there ever was to a problem was when someone tried to push past me while I was holding my son, while standing in front of my seat, so they could catch a t-shirt from the presumably now defunct Pepsi Patrol. Note, I may or may not have had a hand in that person not catching the t-shirt.
In any event, I thought of the Cespedes at bat when MLB announced their new netting guidelines. I thought about how I was nervous that day when in reality there wasn’t any real reason to be. I then remembered why I was nervous. I was actually paying attention to the game.
First and foremost, let me state that I don’t want to see anyone get hurt at a game. I also do acknowledge that a screaming line drive could harm even the most alert fan. With that said, I believe the netting guidelines is a cosmetic and unnecessary gesture in response to a public outcry for extended netting. Why is it unnecessary? Well because teams like the Mets were already in compliance:
The Mets say the reason they're not changing netting at Citi Field is because it's already in compliance in going to edge of dugouts.
— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinMedia) December 9, 2015
Also, there’s something lost in all of this. There’s a certain level of responsibility when you sit in those seats. The first is you shouldn’t sit there if you’re not going to pay attention. Baseball is an interesting game. You should watch it. If you’re not, in most ballparks, you have terrific club access. If you’re not going to watch the game, why not ignore it from a climate controlled room with a wait staff?
The next responsibility is you don’t sit kids there. It’s too close. Way too close for their reaction time. Furthermore, kids are always doing a million things at once. They’re eating hot dogs, asking to go to the bathroom, and watching the game. They’re easily distracted, and they’re distracting you. If you have the money to sit in these seats, you have the money to sit pretty much anywhere else. Go sit in the right section with your kids and come back when they’re older.
I honestly can’t think of a good solution to the batted ball problem than people paying attention and/or sitting in an area where it’s not an issue. The game starts with a warning about batted balls in the stands. Why make it more frequent than that? Think about it logically? If the person isn’t paying attention to anybody, why would this announcement reappeared on occasion cause this person to start paying attention? They’re not going to hear it because they weren’t paying attention in the first place.
The next is assigning security to watch out for people in hazardous areas to find people not paying attention. The gist is security could warn the person and/or move them to another section. This is a non-starter for me. Because someone is too good to pay attention to a game, a security guard is supposed to be wandering around and watching people. While this is happening, there’s a game on the field. The security guard is now at risk. He/she is walking the aisles making sure people are paying attention. Batted ball comes his/her way, and there is is sufficient time to spot the ball and move.
The other suggestions is the Japanese Leagues netting from foul pole to foul poul. I don’t like that either. First, one of the charms of being in that area is the ability to get an autograph. That goes out the window. The next problem is you’re preventing players from trying to catch a flyball in the stands. It’s always an exciting play. You’ve now taken it out of the game.
I’m sure there are other suggestions too. If they’re suitable to the play on the field and the fan experience, I’m all for it. However, none of the ones I’ve heard so far handle that delicate balance. Again, there’s no substitute for sitting there and paying attention. You’re not supposed to text while driving because it’s dangerous. Don’t text while the game is in play. It’s really that simple.
As for me, I quickly realized my fears were overstated. It happens a lot with parents of young ones. No one hits a ball there. If they ever do, I’ll be prepared because I actually watch the game.
With the Mets moves yesterday, what was once thought to be a foregone conclusion became a reality. The Mets will not be re-signing Daniel Murphy.
There’s not a Mets fan alive that wasn’t a huge Murphy fan in 2008 when he was first called up. He hit and hit well on a Mets team trying to avoid a second straight collapse. Naturally, he was slotted in as the Opening Day LF for the first year in Citi Field. Only problem was he wasn’t a LF, and he was sent down.
We learned over time that Murphy wasn’t much of a fielder, but it wasn’t for the lack of trying. The man always hustled and competed. It’s a testament to who he was that he became an All Star second baseman. Murphy had his flaws, but he can through when it mattered. This year he got another chance to play for a winner, and he made the most of it.
He almost singlehandedly won the fifth and deciding game of the NLDS in what can only be described as “The Murphy Game.” He was the NLCS MVP during the month of Murphtober. His amazing hit streak helped bring the Mets to their first World Series in 15 years. Murphy was a big reason why my Dad, brother, and I got to go to a World Series game. It’s not what I’ll remember most about Murphy.
I’ll remember when I met him during batting practice when my wife was expecting (she was at home). I had a Mets onesie I was getting autographed for him. Murphy stopped by when he saw it. He was the first player to come over that day. He of course signed the jersey, and he sent some players over.
He would congratulate me and wish me the best of luck. Before he left, he picked up a baseball from batting practice, and he handed it to me. Being a little greedy, I asked him to autograph it. He didn’t. Instead, he said he was giving it to me, so I could teach my son how to play baseball with a baseball from the Mets.
It was a gift for my son, but really it was a gift for me. It was a touching gesture that I’ll never forget. I still know where the ball is, and I do intend to have catches with my son using the ball. It’s only fitting that Murphy is my son’s favorite player. He’s the reason my son likes to hit left handed. At least in my house, he will always be the Mets second baseman:
That will be the lasting memory for me. I wish Murphy well wherever he goes next. When he plays the Mets, I hope he goes 4-4 in a loss. I’ll root for him wherever he goes, and I hope he will return one day.
Mostly, I hope whoever the next player who becomes my son’s favorite player is as worthy of the honor as Murphy was.