Happy Birthday to one time Mets player, Don Cardwell. Cardy would have turned 81 today.
He was a clutch pitcher during the stretch drive of the Mets 1969 World Series, winning five games in a row. Though overall his record with the Mets was 20--34, he only had a 3.31 ERA.
As a great hitting pitcher and a clutch performer in 1969, the Mets baseball birthday quote of the Day goes to Don Cardwell.
"When Cardy is right, he is among the very best pitchers in the entire league."
--Goldie Holt
Really, the Mets quote of the day is Larry Bowa? That is a surprise. I completely forgot that the feisty Bowa was a one time Met for a very brief time at the end of his career.
He played his final fourteen games with the Mets, acquired late in the 1985 season. He had nineteen at bats and had two hits and drove in 2 rbi's.
Of course his legacy was sealed years earlier with his outstanding play with the Phillies. He was a five time all-start and two time gold glove winner. He has also been a long time manager and coach. He was the 2001 National League Manager of the Year with the Phillies.
In honor of his short stint with the Mets, he gets the Mets Birthday Quote of the Day,
"One of the best two out shortstops I've ever been around. He catches every ball when there's two outs."
--Dallas Green
December 5th was the birthday of short time Met, Al Moran. Moran had 370 official at bats in 1963 and hit a solid .193. He had 22 at bats in 1964 and hit .227.
He is the recipient of today's Mets Baseball Birthday Quote of the Day,
"The fellow has tremendous range, a good arm and makes all the plays."
--Solly Hemus, talking about Moran (notice he didn't say anything about his hitting)
One Time Met and almost two time Met, Carlos Gomez celebrates his birthday today, December 4th.
Gomez made his major league debut as a Met in 2007. At that point, he was the youngest player in baseball. Gomez was part of the trade that brought Johan Santana from the Twins to the Mets. Gomez has played for several teams since then and is a two time all-star.
In Mets lore, he is also known as the man in the 2015 season who was almost traded for Zach Wheeler and Wilmer Flores. All Mets fans are familiar with the reaction from Flores after he thought he was traded from the Mets.
His tears of sorrow became tears of joy after Gomez failed his physical and the Mets instead traded for Yoenis Cespedes. The rest is Mets history.
In honor of the birthday of former Met Carlos Gomez, he gets the coveted Mets birthday quote of the day:
"There wasn't anyone I played with who had more athletic ability."
--Shawn Green, on Carlos Gomez
If you like the Mets birthday quote of the day, check out the Baseball Birthday Quote of the Day at http://baseballbirthdayquote.blogspot.com/
Not a lot of great Mets born on December 3rd. Some of the notables are Mets third baseman from the 1969 World Series winning team, Wayne Garrett. Darryl Hamilton had his birthday today. Current Met Matt Reynolds' birthday is today as is a player with one of the greatest names' in team history---Tobi Stoner.
Since today is my birthday, I will give it an opportunity to talk about my lifetime passion for the Mets. Growing up in Long Island, it was either the Mets for the Yankees. My father and older brother had an allegiance to the Brooklyn Dodgers so my fate was sealed at a young age.
Shea Stadium was not that far from my house so I spent many a day of my youth at the ballpark. People deride it now, but I found Shea to be beautiful but I think it reflects my love of the Mets more than the Stadium. Still got a chill every time I saw that diamond, but I get the same chill with any baseball diamond.
Best Met game I ever attended in person---that's easy. First the story. I was eleven years old and my brother went to Stony Brook. My mom and I picked him up at the train station before Game 1 of the 1969 World Series. Because my Mom loved my brother and I more than anything in the world, she decided to drive us to Shea Stadium to see if there were any tickets left for World Series games.
As luck would have it, the Series was not sold out (can you imagine that possibly happening today) and there were a few tickets left for Game 5. Well, the rest is history. My brother and I went to the game and were there to watch it all. We even joined the thousands of fans who ran on the field. I still have my ticket and grass hanging in my wall today.
Best Mets game, I ever saw, not in person, easy answer for any Mets fans who was around in 1986--Game 6. My wife and I were newly married and she was well aware of my fanaticism. We sat there watching the game with my brother and my closest friend. There is no doubt in my mind that the collective screams of the four of us were louder in decibels than any you would see at a Guns N' Roses concert.
I voiced the same enthusiasm in the 2015 World Series. Even got my son to become a Mets fan for that run. I'm sorry, I don't buy the narrative that the Royals were the better team--we were. The whole series amounted to one player--Wade Davis. If we had him, we would have won, but they had him so they won.
So today I turn 59, I'm not a kid anymore, though I still think like one. My thoughts are already on 2017. Love hot stove league but love the magic words of spring training even more. Signing Cespedes was a great move as was signing Neal Walker. We are loaded to bear this year with that pitching staff. We also come back with a healthy Duda and hopefully a healthy Wright. Love Cabrera and Curtis and hopefully a consistent Bruce.
I am doing what I love most about baseball and the Mets. I am always looking forward and dreaming of the day of our next World Series. Sure, I take shots at Mets karma and have dealt with Mets jokes all my life, but you know as long as they still play this magnificent game, the Mets will have a chance to win it all. Bring on 2017.
Only Met player born on December 2nd was catcher Jay Kleven.
Despite thousand and thousand of quotes in www.baseballquotations.com (shameless plug), there are none about Jay Kleven.
However, there is a great trivia question about him.
Kleven played in two games in 1976 and had five total major league at bats. He had one hit in those five at bats and it was against a future Hall of Famer. Any guesses?
The answer Mets trivia buff is the one and only Bruce Sutter.
George Foster was one of the most feared hitters of the 70's. He was a vital cog in the Big Red Machine and lead the National League in Home Runs in 1977 and 1978 and was the league MVP in 1977.
I remember how excited I was when we acquired Foster---one of the most legitimate power threats in Mets history.
Foster ended up playing with the Mets from 1982--1986. Though he put together some decent years, he never had the number close to what he had with the Reds.
He still gets our Mets Baseball Birthday Quote of the Day.baseballquotations.com
"The planes at LaGuardia better not fly too low when I'm at bat."
--George Foster, after he was acquired by the Mets
