Five Questions For An Average Mets Fan (Fan #20)

Next up for Five Questions For An Average Mets Fan…here’s Jordan.


1. When did you start following the Mets?


– 1995, when I was 6 years old

2. What is your favorite Mets memory?


– Seeing Timo Perez jumping in CF at Shea Stadium to catch the final out of the 2000 NLCS to send the Mets to the World Series

3. What is your worst Mets memory or experience?


– For some reason I loved Lance Johnson as a kid and when he was traded I remember crying. That or watching Armando Benitez blow game 1 of the 2000 World Series.

4. If you could change one off-field thing about the franchise what would it be?


– I would really like for ONE person from the Front Office to report on team activities, ideally a competent GM. I feel that most other organization’s GMs do the talking and everyone else drops the occasional line or two. With the Mets I feel like I see Omar, Fred (Not so much anymore), Jeff, and now John Ricco chiming in.

5. If you owned the team starting tomorrow, what is the first thing you would change?


– I would get people who are of the moneyball mode. I would blend the old baseball types with the new super educated stat people. In addition, I would put vast resources into developing the Minor Leagues by overslotting and seeking out the best in minor league instructors. My goal would be to combine new stat techniques with the finanical backing the Mets have (This assumes I had as much money as the Wilpons)

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Five Questions For An Average Mets Fan (Fan #19)

Let’s wrap up the weekend with Coop who takes a turn at the Five Questions.  (more tomorrow)

1. When did I start following the Mets?

In 1983 — 1984 was my official first game and my first vivid memories associated with the Mets. 1983 was special though, because not only was I old enough to understand what baseball actually was, also a dude named Seaver was pitching and a guy named Keith was traded to the team. Dad could not stop talking about them. I was hooked.

2. Favorite Mets memory?

I have three — top being in attendance at Game 7 in 1986. I was old enough to understand but too young to fully appreciate it.

The next one has to be watching Game 4 of the 1999 NLDS (The Pratt HR) at my old apartment with Mr. E, Uncle Gene and two of his three kids. If you remember correctly, the Mets don’t win that game, there was force back to Arizona against The Unit himself, Randy Johnson. I remember turning to my dad right before the at-bat, saying, “I DON’T want to go back and face Unit. We can’t.” A few seconds later, as I like to describe it, four cautious hineys (Kay Jay wasn’t a Mets fan at the time yet) lift off the respective sofas…as soon as we saw Finley’s face, it was time for cathartic Zorba the Greek-like dances.

Close tie with that game is the grand-slam single…Watching that with the same crew except it was at Aunt Melissa and Uncle Gene’s house. Same cautious hineys lifting off the sofas…and then of course the Zorba-the-Greek-like dances.

3. Worst Mets memory?

Last game of 2007. Nuff said. After the high of the day before, with John Maine’s almost no-no, it was such a deflator. I think I slept most of that offseason. It was harder to swallow than 2008 — at least we were prepared from the year before.

4. One off-field change I could make?

Start buying out the chop shops in the Iron Triangle and start razing, to make a little community there for fans, and gathering places to watch sports events, even in the offseason. I can’t tell you what it’s like to go to other stadiums and there are so many fan-friendly options in and around the stadium areas. And what it’s like to have to get off a few stops earlier on the train to enjoy some pre-game cocktails.

5. First thing I would change if I owned the team?

Fire everyone. And I mean everyone. And start paying overslot in the draft.

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Who Would You Put In The New York Mets Hall Of Fame?

Now that the Mets are taking this Hall of Fame business seriously, who do you think should be in?

Lets first take a look at who is in already…

Joan Payson (1981); Casey Stengel (1981); Gil Hodges (1982); George M. Weiss (1982); William A. Shea (1983); Johnny Murphy (1983); Ralph Kiner (1984); Bob Murphy (1984); Lindsey Nelson (1984); Bud Harrelson (1986); Rusty Staub (1986); Tom Seaver (1988); Jerry Koosman (1989); Ed Kranepool (1990); Cleon Jones (1991); Jerry Grote (1992); Tug McGraw (1993); Mookie Wilson (1996); Keith Hernandez (1997); Gary Carter (2001); and Tommie Agee (2002).




…and what have they been doing since 2002?

Some names jump out…..Mike Piazza and Dwight Gooden.   How about Stawberry?  John Franco?  Howie Rose has been associated with the team for a good 20+ years as has Gary Cohen….both longer than Lindsey Nelson.  If a Rusty Staub is in then shouldn’t the likes of Wally Backman, Lenny Dykstra and Ray Knight go in?

Can you water down a Mets Hall of Fame…or is a good thing to remember the past as much as possible?   I’d put in every name I mentioned…not all at once, but they could induct two a year for the  next 5 years and have a nice Saturday afternoon at the ballpark for everyone.  Maybe it would even be part of the Saturday Plan.

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Five Questions For An Average Mets Fan (Fan #18)

Next up for the Five Questions is Kevin who writes..

Thanks for taking time out to do this. It’s a good enterprise.

1. When did you start following the Mets?

Since I can’t technically say “since birth” (1980), I’d say I started paying particularly close attention in 1991.

2. What is your favorite Mets memory?


–Easily the Grand Slam Single. I’m still kicking myself for passing on tickets to that game, but something can be said about being in your college dorm room with a few close friends and a dozen complete strangers who wandered in to watch, then leap into the air in unison once the ball left Ventura’s bat.


–My favorite at-game memory was Game 162 on Oct 3, 1999. Just knowing that we didn’t choke like we did in 1998 had me floating on air (and after 2007 and 2008, this game looks better and better). October of 1999 was the only time in my adult life I’ve had no fear when it comes to the Mets. This game was the first of a few huge rewards to come.

3. What is your worst Mets memory or experience?


For 10 years I’ve said “Kenny Rogers”, but now that Game 162 in 2007 has settled in, I’d say that sitting in the Upper Deck on Sept 30th of that year, after the Mets had lost, waiting for the Phillies win to become final–that’s my lowest point as a fan. But man, Kenny comes close.

4. If you could change one off-field thing about the franchise what
would it be?


Completely change the way the Yankees impact the club–don’t try to keep up with them every single year on-field, sometimes patience is key (see 1969, 1986); and off-field, do try to keep up with the Yankees and start doing a much better job celebrating team history (maybe not at the over-the-top Yankee level, but there’s serious room for improvement, all of which has been well documented).

5. If you owned the team starting tomorrow, what is the first thing
you would change?


Citi Field. First I’d make it a decent place to actually watch a game (what a concept!), perhaps by going with the theory that moving home plate forward x-number of feet would greatly improve sightlines. Second, I’d lower ticket prices–particularly in obstructed view seats. Third, I’d Mets-up the place with posters, a public (and active) Hall of Fame, and a few more retired numbers (31, 17). In other words, I’d make Citi Field as much like Shea as possible, only with a more hands-on Mets history experience.


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