RIP – The Disgruntled Mets Fan

Two-Time All-Star Catcher Jerry Grote Dies at 81, Stalwart for the Mets’ ’69 Championship Team

8 Apr

Buddy Harrelson R.I.P.

11 Jan

Harrelson couldn’t hit much (tho he was a two-time All-star) and it’s lazy to just associate him with the infamous fight he had with Pete Rose during the 1973 NLCS. But he was pretty good defensively, loved by teammates and fans, managed the Mets for a couple of years and of course, was a world champion. He’ll be greatly missed.

Longtime Mets Catcher Ron Hodges Passes Away at 74

24 Nov

Ron Hodges

ESPN.com:

Ron Hodges, a catcher who spent his entire 12-season major league career with the Mets, died Friday. He was 74. Hodges died at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital after a short illness, Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said.

Selected by the Mets in the second round of the second phase of the January 1972 amateur draft, Hodges finished with a .240 batting average, 19 home runs and 147 RBIs during a big league career that ran from 1973 to 1984. Hodges had a .342 on-base percentage with 224 walks and 217 strikeouts.

He played under seven managers with the Mets: Yogi Berra, Roy McMillan, Joe Torre, George Bamberger, Frank Howard and Davey Johnson.

Hodges was a mainstay who played on a lot of bad Met teams. RIP.

World Series Champion, TV Analyst & Former Mets Broadcaster Tim McCarver Dies at 81

16 Feb

Tim McCarver Ralph Kiner
ESPN.com:

Tim McCarver, the All-Star catcher and Hall of Fame broadcaster who during 60 years in baseball won two World Series titles with the St. Louis Cardinals and had a long run as one of the most recognized, incisive and talkative television commentators in the country, died Thursday. He was 81.

McCarver’s death was announced by the National Baseball Hall of Fame, which said he died Thursday morning in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was with his family.

Vin Scully was obviously the GOAT. But Tim McCarver was definitely a Top 10 broadcaster of all-time.

RIP 4x All-Star John Stearns

17 Sep

The fact that despite his illness Stearns was able to will himself enough to attend last month’s Old-Timer’s Day festivities showed you what kind of dude/player he was. RIP.

RIP Gerald Williams

8 Feb

NYPost.com:

Gerald Williams, who had two stints with the Yankees, has died after a fight with cancer, Derek Jeter announced. He was 55. Williams was drafted by the Yankees in 1987 and made his debut in pinstripes in 1992. The outfielder played five seasons in the Bronx before being traded to the Brewers during the 1996 season. Williams returned in 2001 and played parts of two more seasons for the Yankees.

“Gerald Williams passed away this morning after a battle with cancer,” Jeter said in a statement on The Players’ Tribune Twitter account.

A Met at the tailor end of his career, what I remember most about Williams was that great catch he made in centerfield during the 2nd inning of Dwight Gooden’s no-hitter in 1996 while a Yankee. RIP.

RIP Pedro Feliciano

9 Nov

From ESPN.com:

Former New York Mets reliever Pedro Feliciano, who pitched so often he earned the nickname Perpetual Pedro, has died. He was 45.

Friends and former teammates told the Mets that Feliciano was found dead in his sleep Monday at home in Puerto Rico.

The left-hander led the majors in appearances for three straight years, pitching 86 games in 2008, 88 in 2009 and a whopping 92 times in 2010.

“I never had to look down to the bullpen to see if Pedro was ready. He was always on call and never said no. I know some days he was tired, but he always took the ball,” former Mets manager Willie Randolph said in a statement.

Feliciano was 22-21 with four saves and a 3.33 ERA in a nine-year career, spent entirely with the Mets, that stretched from 2002 to ’13. He pitched 484 games overall, second most on the Mets’ list behind John Franco’s 695, and worked a total of 383 2/3 innings.

In the days of left-handed pitching specialists, Feliciano was one of the best. RIP.

Tom Seaver, The Greatest Mets Player Ever, Passes Away At 75

2 Sep

I can still remember how excited I was when the Mets got Seaver back in 1983 and how weird it was to see him in the dugout during the ’86 World Series as a Red Sox. 3 Cy Young’s, a World Series ring, a no-hitter, 300-plus wins, lifetime ERA less than 3.00, Mets and Yankees broadcaster, a successful career after baseball with his vineyard in California and beloved by family, friends and of course Mets fans like me. He earned his Franchise nickname. RIP to the greatest Met ever.

All-Star Slugger Bill Buckner Dies at 69

27 May

Bill Buckner was much more than Game 6 and it wasn’t his fault (Dave Stapleton should’ve been playing 1st and as many foregt, there was a Game 7) the Red Sox lost the ’86 World Series. Buckner was a batting champ, an All-Star and had a long and distinguished career. Still, it was a good thing that he and Red Sox fans were able to reconcile before he passed and how awesome was it for Larry David to show Buckner’s ‘true spirit’ in that infamous Curb Your Enthusiasm episode years back.
RELATED: Saddened Mookie Wilson: Bill Buckner is more than that one play