Raising a Mets Fan
If you haven’t yet, you should read the New York Post today and see the story about Yoenis Cespedes’ defecting from Cuba. It’s reporting at its best.
I remembered growing up hearing about the oppression of communist countries like the USSR and Cuba. However, I never truly had context. Sunday’s Post story allowed me to do that. It’s hard to imagine for no reason a government trying to take away your dream of playing baseball. It’s unreal that you couldn’t use the Internet as freely as you can here. Lastly, it’s unfathomable you would have to leave your son behind to seek a better life for everyone.
For most people, our ancestors came to America because it was the land of opportunity. Most sought out this land of opportunity because they were escaping something. I think no matter how far removed you are, you need to remember your roots and make sure your children are aware of them as well.
My son comes from a line of survivors. On my side of the family, my ancestors escaped the English oppression of Ireland and the potato famines. My family’s story is mundane compared to my wife’s grandparents’ story.
Her grandmother was similar to Frank McCourt in that she was born in America, but she returned to her native country, the Ukraine (she returned because she was born while her mother was visiting family in the U.S., not due to extreme poverty). Therefore, when the Nazis invaded, she was able to return to America as a citizen. Her husband was not as lucky.
He couldn’t come to America immediately. So, while he waited to find a way out, he continued to run his tailoring business. Before he could escape, he was put in a concentration camp. He survived. When he and the other prisoners were freed, they were just released out into the wild. No one was given any help or support.
His ever-loving wife never gave up hope. She waited, and waited, and waited. Her American cousins told her to move on. Surely, anyone would’ve understood. The chances of his survival weren’t great. Them finding one another after all those years was infinitesimal. Years and years passed. Finally, with all of the searching, hoping, and praying her husband was located and brought to the U.S.
He became a proud American citizen. He and his wife saved money and purchased a home. He raised two daughters and put them through college. When he passed away, he left behind a loving wife, two daughters, and a smart, beautiful granddaughter. She, herself, was well educated, and very cognizant of her roots and her family’s history. She gave birth to an amazing baby boy. A boy who is fourth generation Irish-American (depending on which family member you select) and third generation Ukranian-American.
As you can see, we all have our stories. Some escape starvation and oppression. Others escape one of the worst dictators and atrocities the world has ever known. Some just want to play baseball.
Lucky for my wife, my son, and I, we were born in America, the greatest country in the world. We don’t know the oppression and hardships of our forefathers. We are here because of those who struggled and had to risk everything to come here. I couldn’t imagine them having to leave loved ones behind.
I feel pity for Cespedes not being able to see his son. No amount of money or phone calls can make up for that. I know I couldn’t do what he’s doing right now. I hope one day he and his son are united because as we see when families are united wonderful things happen.
When I was growing up, we got to watch Wayne Gretzky, who was the best hockey player of all time, and Michael Jordan, who was the best basketball player of all time. Way back in 1991, they teamed up with perhaps the greatest athlete of all time, Bo Jackson, to form the ProStars.
By the way, how hilarious is it that those athletes were played by voice actors, but Marv Albert played himself. I imagine the negotiation went like this. “Now Marv, we can get someone to play you. It’ll be less money, but it will also be less time for you, especially with you traveling around with the Knicks. Are you sure you want to do this?” Marv: “YES!”
Anyway, if you remember the cartoon, the superstars, sorry ProStars, would fight crime, help kids, and answer questions. You would also see live action clips of the athletes dominating their respective sports. In summation, this was amazing. Sadly, it was also short lived. There were only seven episodes in total. I’m sure this doesn’t measure up with the Honeymooners Classic 39, but they were fun. Sadly, there is a hole today in children’s programming on Saturday mornings.
On Saturday, NBC is airing the Today Show because that hasn’t been saturated enough to the point of falling ratings, has it? Obviously, ABC is airing Good Morning America to keep pace with NBC, or rather stay ahead. Let’s not forget CBS trying to enter this two man battle. They certainly aren’t because they are airing CBS This Morning: Saturday. Fox, to their credit, has children’s programming, but unfortunately, it isn’t cartoons. Sadly, the death of the Saturday Morning Cartoon is something to bemoan. I used to love getting up and having my breakfast in front of the television with my Dad watching cartoons like Looney Toons. Sadly, I won’t be able to recreate this experience with my son.
It’s too bad because I also think it’s a lost opportunity for networks. You could easily recreate ProStars today. There are already rumors that SpaceJam is going to be recreated, and many want LeBron James in it. I’d say they should make the new ProStars around him. I think the natural choice to join him would be Mike Trout, who right now, is the best player in baseball. Finally, I would have Peyton Manning for the NFL player. I know he’s not the best player right now, but he’s in everything anyway. Go ahead, try to watch an NFL game without a Peyton Manning commercial. It just can’t be done. Sadly, I do not think there is room for a hockey player right now as the NHL is not very popular now.
I’d love to do a New York version. Since they are already good buddies, you can have Henrik Lundqvist and Matt Harvey star in the New York version of ProStars. I think for the third person, you would have to go with Eli Manning. I envision him as a master of disguises to help Henrik and Harvey. Note, I didn’t have a Knicks player because the Knicks are not relevant in New York right now. Once they turn things around maybe Carmelo Anthony can join the fray.
Anyway, I can long for the days of watching Saturday morning cartoons with my son. Instead, I guess the two of us will just go outside and work on his swing:
Enjoy your Saturday.
With the Mets off tonight and the draw of Donald Trump, there were a lot of eyes (mine included) drawn to the GOP Primary Debate. Prior to the debate, I saw some “sports” personalities already bemoaning the backlash for their opinions:
gonna be a BIG night for stay-in-your-lane twitter! #sticktosprots
— Katie Nolan (@katienolan) August 6, 2015
This is fascinating to me. On the one hand, no one should silence anyone who seeks to offer their personal opinions on any subject, no matter how distasteful we may find them. However, when offering opinions or rebutting them, we need to always be respectful and refrain from being dismissive or insulting.
Most sports personas don’t act this way. When told their opinions are wrong or they should stick to sports, they become dismissive. Their usual response is:
- The door’s on your left, or
- Ask for a refund for your free content.
This is smug and wrong. They’re given a platform for a different reason, and they abuse it. If they tell you not to read/watch them, take them up on their offer. Their salary is predicated upon their viewer/readership. If they push people away, they’ll learn real quick.
Also, if they’re offering an opinion, they should back it up. If they’re not willing to, they shouldn’t offer it. They shouldn’t treat Twitter like it’s different than their TV show or column. If that’s true, don’t promote yourself on Twitter.
Speaking of Twitter, Katie Nolan is a humorist. Her Twitter feed reflected that tonight. However, the other sports personas are sports people. The exceptions are Keith Olbermann, Sid Rosenberg, and Craig Carton. If they offer a political opinion, their reputation precedes them and you’ve been fair warned. Despite what Mike Lupica says and no matter how much the Daily Nrw placates him, he’s a sports writer.
That’s the thing. You don’t go to Bill O’Reilly for Super Bowl analysis. You don’t go to Rachel Maddow for trading deadline analysis. Similarly, you don’t go to ESPN or WFAN for politics.
I keep that in mind here. This space is for the Mets and raising my son. I do have definite thoughts about the debate, but I won’t offer them here. If you want to know them, please reach out, and I’ll be happy to discuss. If you disagree, I’ll be respectful and listen to your opinions. I hope you’ll do the same.
I know i want to raise my son to have strong, well researched, and well thought out opinions. I want him to engage in open and honest debate so he can learn from someone with an opposing view. I also hope he can teach someone else about the reasons for his opinions. That can’t happen when someone is dismissive before the debate actually can begin.
After two consecutive sweeps, the Mets are rolling. With the Nationals loss last night, the Mets increased their lead in the NL East. Not only do the players seem confident, the Mets fans also feel confident. So confident they have resumed the taking over New York talk.
When I grew up, the Mets owned New York . . . it was the first and only time. The reason the Mets owned New York was not only because they were the winning team, but also the sheer caliber of their star power with Strawberry, Gooden, Carter, and Hernandez. It was a fun team and it was a fun time to be a Mets fan.
It all came crashing down with the Worst Team Money Can Buy. The Mets were no longer likeable and they no longer winning. The Yankees then had a dynasty featuring the Core Four and the disturbingly forgotten Bernie Williams. Seriously, Yankee fans who refer to the Core Four do not deserve those championships.
Seemingly, the Mets are primed yet again to take back New York. They have star power with Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard. When David Wight comes back, we can include him. It also helps that Matt Harvey and Steven Matz are local kids.
The last time we had this conversation was 2006. The Mets were the best team in the regular season that year. They had star power with Wright & Reyes, the two Carloses, and Pedro. That was an immensely likeable team. Their attempt to take over New York ended with that Adam Wainwright curveball.
After the 2007 & 2008 collapses and the Yankees’ 2009 World Series title, the possibility of taking over New York was dead. You see it’s not enough the Mets be really good; it’s also important they’re clearly better than the Yankees. Right now, the Yankees are also in first place.
We Mets’ fans quickly forget most people now were raised Yankee fans, who worshipped the temple who was Derek Jeter. I’ve heard people like Mike Lupica say New York is a National League town. He’s obviously referring to the ghosts of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants.
My grandfather was a New York Giants fan. He passed away almost thirty years ago. Initially, my father was a Brooklyn Dodgers fan. The Dodgers moved to LA when he was eight years old. When the Mets came into existence, the Yankees were the only team in town for five years. Effectively, it was for another seven as the Mets were mostly awful and always sub .500 prior to 1969. The New York is a National League town was either a myth or an outdated fairy tale. Long story, short, most people now have no concept of New York as a National League town.
With that said and looking at everything, the Mets can potentially START taking over New York. Much of that will depend on the young pitching this year and in the ensuing seasons. Even if the Mets were to win the World Series this year, I’m not convinced the Mets take over New York. It will, however, accelerate the process. It’s not important to me that the Mets take over New York. However, I would still like to see it.
I want to see it because it means we’ll see a stretch of baseball like we did from 1984 – 1992. It also means the Yankees fell on hard times, which is always good for the soul. Most importantly, it’s easier to raise my son a Mets’ fan when the team is actually good. I’d love for him to see Mets’ teams like the ones I had growing up.
The way the Mets have been playing, and with the way the Narkins have been playing, this game was effectively over after the Mets four run third. Once Juan Uribe hit a three run homerun in the fifth, the game was over. By the way, this park is so cavernous thst Uribe’s homerun was that much more impressive. Lucas Duda, himself tried to hit two out to CF and only came up with a SF in the ninth.
Rather than lifting Matt Harvey after five, when he was essentially assured the win, he came out for the sixth and the seventh. You don’t throw him those additional unnecessary innings. Why even have Carlos Torres or Sean Gilmartin on the team if they can’t eat up some innings in a laugher?
I hate to be negative after two sweeps and the Mets in first place, but I just don’t understand what the Mets are doing. If Harvey has a no-hitter going, I understand. Absent that, he should’ve been pulled. It makes me question how many innings the Mets have wasted with him, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard.
Further on the negative, Bobby Parnell was not good again. At least, Eric O’Flaherty came in and got out the lefty to snuff out the Markins only threat. He then let up two hits to lefties in the ninth to allow a run and give up the shutout. He let up a second run on an Ichiro RBI single. Collins’ then had to use Hansel Robles, who threw gasoline in the fire.
Collins saw enough and was forced to bring in Jeurys Familia in a save situation in an inning that started 8-0. Talk about wasting a pitcher. Familia let up an RBI single to Dee Gordon to make it 8-6. By the time I was having Padres flashbacks, Familia induced Yelich to groundout to Duda to save the game. Again, if Torres and Gilmartin can’t pick up these innings, I have no idea why they’re on the team. By not using them, the Nets burned through a lot of arms.
In other Mets news, we may have seen the first cracks in the platoon system with Uribe playing and Kelly Johnson sitting against a righty.
I do want to focus on the Dee Gordon groundout to Daniel Murphy. He always comes to play. The Mets were up 7-0, and yet he’s hustling on a routine ball to second. When he was initially ruled safe, he made Murphy look bad (correction: Murphy made himself look bad). Credit is due to Murphy there for immediately accepting responsibility for being lackadaisical. It reminded me of the famous George Brett quote:
I want to hit a routine grounder to second and run all out to first base, then get thrown out by a half step. I want to leave an example to the young guys that that’s how you play the game: ALL OUT.
As a “Mets Daddy,” I appreciate Gordon and Murphy there. It’s great to be able to show him someone who not only plays the right way, but also someone who never gives up. I appreciate Murphy there because rather than make a scene because Gordon should’ve been called out (which he was after replay), he accepted responsibility. I know there was a lot better parts of the game to focus upon, but as a Dad and baseball fan that was my favorite play if the game.
One of the funniest and most absurd episodes of The Office was “Diversity Day.” In this episode, Michael Scott tries to prove he’s not a racist by holding his own diversity seminar entitled “Diversity Tomorrow.” The highlight of the episode is when Michael encourages/forces the employees to celebrate the melting pot of America by acting as the stereotypical versions of a particular race and guessing what race that particular person is.
The reason why this episode was great, other than the genius of that show, was showing how even the most innocent of us carries or knows of biases. I don’t think it’s always purposeful, intentional, or with malice. Sometimes, it’s something we have been told is always true and had no reason to deny.
That’s why today’s Fangraphs’ post “Examining Latino Hitters’ Plate Discipline” is so thoughtful and provocative. We’re all familiar with the phrase, “you never walk off the island.” It’s meaning is fairly innocuous. It just means in order to get noticed by scouts, you need to hit the ball. A scout will be more impressed with power and plate coverage than the ability to draw a walk.
However, the correlation is that Latino baseball players don’t draw walks. You can get them out with pitches outside the zone because they’ll swing at everything. Its not just that they need to hit to get noticed, it’s also that they’re undisciplined, at least at the plate. It’s like a perceived flaw with a whole group of people. It just seems true, doesn’t it?
Well, it turns out that Latino players do “‘indeed swing their way off the island.'” However, it’s not true that they are less disciplined as American players. Latino players strike out less frequently and walk just as frequently as American players. Frankly, I was somewhat surprised by the result. I don’t have the time on my hands that Fangraphs does, so I limited my sample size to one player: Vladimir Guerrero.
In my opinion, he is the stereotype that fits the bill. He was an incredible baseball player. Everyone thought he was a wild swinger. His plate coverage reputation was Ruthian in scope. This video perfectly represents what we believe about Guerrero (and to a lesser extent Latino ballplayers):
It’s absurd, isn’t it? In one sense, it shows his greatness. In other, it highlights the undisciplined stereotype. But was Guerrero really undisciplined? The answer is a resounding NO. Guerrero had a career .379 OBP. That’s better than renown American players like: Derek Jeter, Pete Rose, Willie McCovey, Paul Molitor, and Craig Biggio (to name a few).
So like Michael Scott, Vladimir Guerrero shows that there may be some truths to reputations others have, it does not make them inferior.
This is important to me as a “Mets Daddy.” My grandfather had a saying, my father always repeated, which goes something like “every generation should do better than the one before.” It’s why my grandfather was a construction worker, who insisted his son go to college. It’s why a DAV insisted his children go to graduate school.
In my opinion, it means more than that. We also need to be smarter and more enlightened than the prior generation. Please note, this is not saying my father and grandfather were racists. They were far from it. Rather, this is merely an acknowledgement that each generation views race differently.
I think now we need to be open and honest as to what makes us different and unique. A child growing up in the Dominican Republic will have a different life and baseball experience than my son. By extension, I want him to be open and honest enough that there are differences between different people. I want him to be able to realize that while Latino players hit their way off the island, it doesn’t mean there’s something inherently wrong with Latino players.
I’m not going to be a phony and say I want his group of friends to resemble the United Nations. I’m saying I want him to have no issue or problem befriending anyone of any race or culture. I’d like for him to celebrate the similarities, like baseball, rather than treating people differently due to their different background.
I acknowledge that starts with me. In a small way Fangraphs helped with that. So to that, I say, “thank you.”
Normally, when my son sees a television, he starts asking for Elmo. When you don’t acquiesce, he begins to become upset. As you don’t want to upset your child, you usually relent.
Yesterday, I didn’t immediately relent. I just wanted to finish watching the highlights of the Wilmer Flores’ walk off homerun before putting in that little monster. Before my son could protest, he saw the ball leave Flores’ bat. First, he let out a “Whoa!” when he saw it go over the left field wall. Then he yelled “Yay!” when he saw the Mets players and coaches celebrating. We shared a high five.
Now, he wasn’t asking for Elmo. He was asking me to replay the homerun. Thank God for the Roku and You Tube. After each time we saw it, he would say “more homerun please daddy.” We must’ve watched that homerun 15+ times in a row yesterday.
Then I took out his Little Tykes’ baseball set. After he hit the ball off the tee (we alternate sides of the plate), he ran around the house screaming homerun! Apparently, both 20 month olds and chicks dig the long all. This went on seemingly forever, and I loved every minute of it.
Last night during the game when everyone came up, he said, “homerun please!” Lucas Duda was the only one who obliged. Although we missed the first one to bath time, he saw the second. He was excited. Remember, Duda is his favorite player.
I used to be happy just because he showed an interest in the game. Now that he knows what a homerun is and he wants to see one is all the more awesome. The fact that he created the moment in our living room still astonishes me. While Duda’s two homeruns were key in the Mets’ win, my favorite homeruns yesterday were the ones hit in my living room.
After the Carlos Gomez trade fell through, I wrote how Wilmer Flores is a role model. We can add another title to that: fan favorite.
Last night, he received four standing ovations. Each of them more deserving than the next. As Terry Collins’ noted, the fans picked him up. This was important because, as Matt Harvey noted, Flores has been through a lot. Naturally, his teammates were happy for him (as were the fans). Collins basically said everything that happened last night couldn’t have happened to a better man.
Isn’t that great? It’s fun rooting for good players. It’s nice to root for good guys. It’s incredible to root for both. While, I think the jury is out on whether Flores will become a good player, we know he will work at it. He deserves the fans admiration, and Mets’ fans know how to treat their favorites. For example, Mike Piazza received a curtain call as a visiting player.
Today of all days, it’s important to root for the good guy. On the same morning as the Flores’ love fest, we discovered New York Jets defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson was arrested while driving 143 MPH with a 12 year old in the backseat. Oh yeah, he also threw weed out the window. This comes off the heels of other disgusting NFL stories from Ray Rice to Greg Hardy.
I’m not saying MLB and its players are perfect. By no means. I’m sure you can find several stories (like Tony LaRussa’s DWI). However, I don’t recall a MLB player with a domestic violence problem. I am saying that it is nice to watch a sport where the main focus is what is on the field more than what happens off of it.
This is a reason why I lament the rise of the NFL. Now, I realize most NFL players are good guys. However, the sport is always dominated by negative news from “recreational” drug suspensions to steroid use to cheating scandals to domestic violence issues. I don’t want my son to be constantly exposed to that.
I want to enjoy sports with my son. I want him to have role models. I don’t care what Charles Barkley said, children will always look up to their favorite players. I just wish more of this players were more like Wilmer Flores and less like Sheldon Richardson.
Last night when I thought a huge trade was consummated, I wrote Wilmer Flores needed his own post. While I have been wrong from time to time, I was prescient on this one.
First, we should address his performance this year. To be fair and objective, he hasn’t been good. His has a triple slash line of .249/.281/.378 with an OPS+ of 83. This is a fancy way of saying he hadn’t been hitting well. We could go into advanced statistics on Flores’ defense at SS, but it was a small sample size for statistics. What we saw on the field he was a fish out of water, who had trouble turning the double play. To be fair, he was better at second.
From what we’ve seen, Flores is a player who has been bad offensively and defensively. You may ask why should we care about someone who looks like a AAAA player right now. Well for starters, he’s a Met. You care about anyone they put in the field even if you love or hate that player. Also, he’s still only 23 years old with the ability to improve.
And he does look to improve as a player. Even though he was handed the SS position by the team, he sought ways to improve at the position (unlike some players). He has shown flashes of offensive potential. He’s hit 10 homeruns and has shown that he may have the clutch gene. Also, he cares and wants to be a New York Met.
We all saw it last night. He was crying while at his SS position. Despite being shaken up by the ordeal, he was a man and took questions at his locker. In the impromptu press conference, he described himself as being with the Mets forever. He effectively has been as he was signed as a 16 year old kid out of Venezuela.
Just think about that for a second. For those of us who went away to college, it was the first time we ever truly leave the house. You don’t see your mother and father everyday. You’re effectively on your own for the first time. Sure, you’re excited. Your whole life is in front of you. However, it’s also sad. When your parents go home, you won’t see them for a while. If anyone tells you they didn’t get the least bit emotional, they’re lying to you.
Flores left his home and his country when he was 16. He went to a country with a different culture and spoke a different language. I don’t care what anyone says. This takes courage. He showed character in making his way to the majors even if he wasn’t ready; especially so with how the Mets have jerked him around this year.
I dare say Wilmer Flores is a role model. He’s someone that works hard on his craft. He gave up a lot to pursue his dreams. He never publicly complained with how he’s been moved all over the infield in the two years he’s been in the majors. He cared enough about the team and his teammates that he was moved to tears at the prospect of leaving them all behind. In his most trying hour in the big leagues, he faced reporters and answered their questions.
I don’t know if Flores will ever hit enough to cover his defensive problems, but I do know he’ll do everything he can do to improve. Now that he hasn’t been traded, I hope he sticks around for a while (for right now that should be on the bench). If he moves on, I will applaud for him when he returns.
It’s possible that one day I will discuss this with my son as it’s a teachable moment. I’ll tell him to pursue his dreams. I’ll tell him he needs to work hard everyday to perfect his craft. I’ll tell him we’ll support him no matter where life takes him. I’ll tell him that even in the most trying of times, you have to be a man. That means meeting your responsibilities (for Flores it meant playing the field and answering reporter’s questions). It also means you can be moved to tears when it’s time to pick up and move away. I know I’ll be in tears when he does . . . thank God that’s a long time away.
There was a lot of stories and distractions today around the Mets. First, there were fans clamoring for the return of Jose Reyes. Then the Mets made it clear they had no interest in Reyes. Next, David Wright resumed baseball activities. Finally, Jenrry Mejia embarrassed Major League Baseball, the Mets, and himself with his second PED suspension THIS YEAR!
Noah Syndergaard took the mound Tuesday night and made himself the story. He was perfect through six innings, and he finished with an incredible line of 8.0 innings pitched, 9 strikeouts, 3 hits, and no walks.
After Thor allowed the first single to potential trade target Will Venable, he allowed an infield single to Yangervis Solarte. On the Solarte single, Ruben Tejada tried to do too much. Rather than smother the ball, he tried a glove flip to Daniel Murphy to try to get the force out. Instead of a Web Gem, Tejada nearly put the ball into right field. Venable advanced to third on the play. It was 2-0 with runners on first and third with no outs.
Thor then threw down the gauntlet (sorry comic book fans if this is mixing metaphors). He got Matt Kemp to pop out and induced Justin Upton, another trade target, to hit into a 6-4-3 double play. Despite having only thrown 107 pitches, Thor was lifted after eight innings (perhaps due to the innings limit dilemma). Tyler Clippard made his Mets debut and worked his way around a leadoff double.
After this inning, I finally put my son to bed. Growing up, there was a rule in my household: bed time was suspended until a Mets’ pitcher allowed their first hit. The longest bed time reprieve I remember was David Cone losing a no-hitter on a dribbler down the third base line that refused to go foul. I knew my son wouldn’t remember seeing Thir pitch a perfect game, but I would remember watching it with him. That would’ve made it all the more special maybe next time.
When setting today’s lineup, Terry generally followed the platoon system. With the righty Shields on the mound, Collins went with Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Daniel Murphy. However, after his walk-off hit on Sunday, Juan Uribe was in the lineup. It should be noted that coming into the game Uribe had gone 2/5 with one walk and a triple against Shields.
My belief is that this is the Mets’ best defensive infield alignment. Incredibly, Murphy was the defensive star of the game making two nice defensive plays whe the no-hitter was still viable.
Kudos is also due to Lucas Duda, who hit a mammoth two run homerun in the first inning. It appears the pressure is off and the power is back. His other outs were hard hit balls. Curtis Granderson put the game away with a two run homerun in the eighth.
However, the story of the game and th day was Thor, who pitched like an ace. It seems the stud muffins are pushing each other to be better. It’s incredible, and it’s the type of thing that drives a team towards the postseason.