Great Quotes about Mets Hall of Fame

What's it like to be in the Mets Hall of Fame? Well to many of the inductees it is a great honor. Here are some quotes from all-time great Mets on being inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame.

1) "I'm very honored and humbled and you guys know it's not easy to humble me."
--Davey Johnson, said to reporters after being inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 2010

2) "If you're a baseball fan, you're a history fan. This is history and the best part of being a baseball fan. It brings back memories you have when you first fall in love with the game."
--Tom Seaver, on what the Mets new Hall of Fame in Citi Field means to him

3) "We're in the Mets Hall of Fame, that's the Cooperstown Hall of Fame to me."
--Darryl Strawberry, on being inducted into the Mets HOF in 2010 along side Dwight Gooden, Frank Cashen and Davey Johnson

4) "Growing up rooting for the Mets, it's an honor and very special for a kid from Brooklyn."
--John Franco, on being elected to the 2012 Mets Hall of Fame

5) "For me, I was always a Met at heart."
--Dwight Gooden, on being elected to the Met Hall of Fame

Who currently on the team will be in the Met Hall of Fame? Wright is a lock, Santana is a probable...Anyone else?

Top Ten Save Leaders in Met History

In honor of Johnny Franco being announced as the  newest member of the Mets Hall of Fame, I tthought it would be a good time to list the Top Ten Met Save Leaders. Notice how many more saves Franco has then any other Met pitcher. It is over a hundred more then the reliever in second place.

Here is the Top Ten:

1) --John Franco---276
2) Armando Benitez---160
3) Jesse Orosco--107
4) Billy Wagner--101
5) Tug McGraw---85
6) Roger McDowell--84
7) K Rod--83 (I'm sure he would have fought to stay if he knew he was only three away from being 5th on the list)
8) Neil Allen--69
9) Skip Lockwood--65
10) Braden Looper---57

My top three are:

3) John Franco---Best Met Reliever of all-time and should have had a World Series ring.
2) Tug McGraw--Loved his fun loving qualities and his enthusism. Rarely has a relief pitcher completely changed a team mindset as he did in their 1973 run
1) Jesse Orosco---When I think of Orosco, I think of the '86 World Series and how clutch he was. Without taking anything away from Ray Knight, Orosco should have been MVP. The reason the Mets won the Series is we had Orosco and they had Schiraldi.

Who is your favorite Met reliever?

Great Gil Hodges Quotes

There are only two Met managers in history to win World Series. Every Met fan knows who they are---Joe Frazier and George Bamberger. Just wanted to see if you were paying attention. Of course, it is Gil Hodges and Davey Johnson. Hodges was one of New York's most beloved sports figures, first as the great Brooklyn Dodger First Baseman. Joe Torre said of Hodges, "He played first base like a lefthander---he was so smooth." Of course, Met fans remember him as the Manager of the Miracle Mets of 1969. To his credit, even though he passed away forty years ago, he still is loved by his players.

Here are some great quotes about the managerial abilities of Gil Hodges:

"We should've been completing long after 1969, with his leadership we probably would have."
--Ed Kranepool, on Hodges as a manager

"I loved the man I really did. I think if you talk to anybody, the reason we won was him. He made us all better."
--Bud Harrelson, on Hodges.

"He was the most important man in my career."
--Tom Seaver, on Gil Hodges

Time to put the Gil Hodges in the Hall of Fame.

1969 New York Mets World Series

We have redesigned our web page to show a video bar of the highlights of the 1969 World Series. If you still get goose bumps when you see Cleon Jones make that final catch then this video bar is made for you. I watched it a few minutes ago and I screamed out, 'Way to Go Koos' Good thing I was far enough away from everyone else in my family.

Check it out on the left side of the blog for the highlights. In the mean time, less then a month till pitchers and catchers and the 2012 Mets are given about the same chance as the 1969 Mets. Hope springs eternal in the off season.

Some Classic Ralph Kinerisms: Kiners Korner

I loved Kiners Korner especially after a Met win. Everyone loved talking to Ralph---you knew it was puff stuff but you didn't care. It was not meant to be a forum for penetrating questions and Ralph was the perfect host. It also plays into the mentality of watching the game for two and a half  hours (at least back then) and then talking about it for the next two and a half hours.

Of course as we know, Ralph was more then a host--he was part of the announcing triumvirate that included himself, Lindsey Nelson (whose suit jackets would have made even Craig Sager blush) and Bob Murphy (the happy recap). Ralph was famous for several things including being one of the most powerful hitters of his era and a hall of famer. Met fans though love Ralph for his announcing days and his many malaprops. Here are some classic Ralph Kinerisms:

"Rookie Wilson was candidate for Mookie of the year."

"Third base is certainly a reactionary position"

"All the Mets' road wins against Los Angeles this year have been at Dodger Stadium"

"The Mets have gotten their leadoff hitter on base only once in this inning."

"They will pass the father-son tandem of Buddy Bell and Yogi Berra."
--on Bobby and Barry Bonds becoming the all-time father-son home-run leaders

Five Top Selling Cookies in the United States

Met fans love cookies. We especially love cookies because we have so much time on our hands especially from mid August through early October.

Check out my list on the five top selling cookies in the United States and my own favorites as well.  Probably not the best thing to be writing about since I'm on a diet. Check it out at http://listman.blogspot.com/

Gary 'The Kid' Carter Quotes

As a Met fan, I have such wonderful memories of Gary Carter especially from the 1986 run. He played the game with such unbridled enthusiasm. He was not just a steady influence behind the plate every day but he was a great all-around catcher. Sure, he had all-time great offensive numbers for a catcher, but people forget what a great defensive catcher he was. Pete Rose once said of Carter, "I don't think he has any weaknesses defensively." My thoughts are with him and his family during this difficult time.

In honor of his great career, here are some all-time great quotes by and about Gary Carter.

"I've never seen Gary Carter take a bad swing."
--Whitey Herzog

"We're all wearing the hats of a Hall of Famer, It doesn't matter what logo is on it."
--Gary Carter, asked if  he wanted to be enshrined as an Expo or a Met (he ended up going in as an Expo)

"You hate him when he's on the other team and you  love when he's a teammate."
--Davey Johnson

"You can count on the fingers of your right had, the number of times I've hit a homer to the opposite field--About ten."
--Gary Carter

"Carter is a great player. I'd love to see him catch for the Phillies."
--Mike Schmidt

"With Gary, it is as genuine then (as a rookie) as it is now (end of his career)."
--Steve Rodgers, on Carter's enthusiasm for the game

What Meet the Mets Means to Me

As a Met fan, if Meet the Mets doesn't get you going, I don't know what will. I don't know how many times I sang this song in my life, but it has to be in the thousands. It is the greatest motivational baseball song.

'Bring your kiddies, bring your wife, guaranteed to have the time of your life" It's not Robert Frost, but those lyrics are poetry to me.

So lets get psyched, we are only a month away from spring training. Remember last year who picked the Cardinal to win the World Series (especially after Adam Wainwright got hurt) or had picked the Giants the year before. Lightning in a bottle could strike and we could be contenders, but win or lose, we still have the greatest motivational baseball song....'Meet the M.E.T.S Mets of New York Town"

Rusty Staub Quotes and Video

Loved Rusty Staub. He was one of the greatest hitters and slowest runners in Met history. I would say he would be the prototype DH, but he was actually a decent fielder for a player with  no speed.

Here are a few Rusty Staub quotes:

"Jack Daniels stock doesn't drop when I'm flying between baseball games."
--Rusty Staub, on his fear of flying

"As a first baseman, he's a good hitter."
--Joe Torre, on Rusty Staub

Some video clips of Le Grande Orange, Rusty Staub

Tug McGraw in Quotes and Video

One of the all-time great Mets is Tug McGraw. The man who started the You Gotta Believe Campaign in 1973 which helped lead them to their second World Series.More then that, he was a terrific relief pitcher and one of baseball's all-time great characters (on top of that he is the father of country singing legend, Tim McGraw).

Here are a few classic Tug McGraw Quotes:

"In high schools, colleges and some countries, there learning a game that's not baseball."
--Tug McGraw, on the DH rule

"I have no trouble with the 12 inches between my elbow and my palm. It's the seven inches between my ears that's bent."

"Root only for the winner. That way you won't be disappointed."

"90% of the money I'll spend on good times, women and Irish Whiskey. The other 10% I'll probably waste."

Check out this Tug McGraw, Willie Mays, Ed Kranepool and other player interviews before  The 1973 World Series.

Tribute to 1962 New York Mets: Quotes and Video

To honor the lovable losers known as the 1962 New York Mets, here are some great Casey Stengel quotes as well as insight from other Met players.

"You might not be, but your outfielders are."
--Casey Stengel, after Stengel went to take Bob Miller out of a game and Miller said he wasn't tired

"Not a bit, we lose at any altitude."
--Casey Stengel, asked if the altitude contributed to the Mets losing an exhibition game in Mexico

"I don't know if a team that lost so much was so loved. I don't know if that existed before or after."
--Bob Miller