by David Green. 2008, Stewart, Tabori & Chang.
ST&C have published a series of these books for several teams already, including the Yankees and Red Sox. The binding/dust jacket is reminiscent of an old photo album and that’s exactly the feeling the reader will get. In fact, like that old keepsake, these little books are basically interesting to those with a direct relationship to the team.
Green does a nice job in picking the highlights of the Mets’ 40-plus year history, bringing to many of the highlights (and low ones) and some of the ball club’s most beloved characters/players, including Casey, Choo Choo, Marvelous Marv, Krane, Tom Terrific, Mookie, The Kid, Rusty, Mex, Nails, Straw, Doc, HoJo and a host of others. Then there are those great moments: The 69 world Sries, the Game Sixes of 1986: the playoff against the Astros and the Buckner Boot in the Series; the first interleague win against the Yankees; Piazza’s game-winning home run in the first game back after 9/11. The cover price, a relatively low $14.95, is worth the price of admission to a walk down memory lane.
A few more “Reasons”:
- Harry Chiti, the player who was traded…for himself
- Gil Hodges walking to the outfield to pull a lackadasical Cleon Jones from the field
- David Cone’s 19 strikeout game
- Bret Saberhagen’s 1994 season in which he won more games (14) than walked batters (13)
- Anthony Young’s 27 consecutive game losing streak (Hey, they’re not all gems.)
I could go on, but then there’d be no point in reading the book.
is available on Amazon.com,
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