Dave Kingman

My early Mets memories consist almost entirely of Dave Kingman. It's probably a composite memory but I can clearly recall Kingman striding to the plate in the bottom of the 9th at Shea, with the Mets down 2 runs and 2 runners on. My young boy brain knew, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that Dave Kingman was about to hit a 3 run home run and win the game. 

I can just as clearly picture Kingman striking out to end the game, leaving those 2 runners stranded.

Dave Kingman played only 6 seasons, in 2 stints, with the Mets. Yet it seems like he was there forever. Or least for the entirety of the late 70's and early 80's, which for Mets fans, was forever. Those years, after the World Series of 1973 until the buildup to 1986, were a black hole in Mets history. Those were also the formative years of my Mets fandom. 

Kingman appeared in 664 games for the Mets. He hit 154 home runs and struck out 672 times. Even my young boy brain should have realized in that 9th inning that Kingman was 4 times more likely to strike out than he was to hit a game winning blast. And that sums up what being a Mets fan is all about: Hope for the Best, Expect the Worst. I learned that sitting on the floor in front of our ancient console Magnavox that I had to get up and change the channel on physically. I passed that onto my children watching Tom Glavine give up 7 runs in the first inning on Sunday, Sept 30, 2007. As good as we are now, I know what's coming down the road. But I am ready.

No matter what tragedy befalls the Mets, no matter what disappointments come, I am prepared. Dave Kingman made sure of that. And for that I thank him.

I believe I will wear my Dave Kingman jersey today.

Mets Card of the Day - 1996 Topps #214 Paul Wilson

Paul Wilson was selected with the #1 overall pick in the 1994 draft by the Mets. Wilson was part of "Generation K" along with Jason Isringhausen and Bill Pulsipher. 

After spending 1994 and 1995 ascending through the Mets system, Wilson made his debut with the big club at Shea Stadium on 4/4/96, starting against the Reds. He went 6 and got a no-decision, giving up 8 hits and striking out 2. Wilson would finish the year going 5-12 with a 5.38 ERA, 1.530 WHIP and 109 K's. That would be the only year Wilson made it up with the big club, he was traded to Tampa Bay on 7/28/2000.

This post isn't really about Paul Wilson, though. It's also not about Generation K. It's about a player that Wilson played with in 1993 on team USA, Steve Reich. Wilson and Reich both had cards in the 1993 Topps Traded set and they are shown below:

In 1996, while Wilson was making his way through his debut MLB season, Reich toiled away for the High Desert Mavericks of the California League, making 2 appearances. Reich had signed with the Baltimore Orioles organization once he completed 2 years of his military commitment after graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point. While at West Point, Reich set the record for most wins by any Army Pitcher. Reich was highly touted as a prospect coming out of High School, but he chose to attend West Point instead. 

After realizing that the California League was probably about as far as he was going to go in professional baseball, Reich re-entered the United States Army and would eventually serve 4 tours in Afghanistan.

Reich was Killed in Action on June 28, 2005. He was aboard a MH-47 Special Operations Helicopter that was hit by an RPG while trying to rescue a 4 man Navy Seal team. This incident is covered in the book and movie "Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell.

"Generation K" is something that should rightly be forgotten by Mets Fans. Nothing personal against Paul Wilson, but I prefer to remember his Team USA teammate Steve Reich.

RIP Maj. Stephen C. Reich 

1971-2005

God Bless the men and women of our Armed Forces. 

Go Army! Beat Navy!

Mets Card of the Day - 1975 Topps #619 - Benny Ayala

August 27, 1974. A small bungalow in Lavalette, NJ. We spent 3 weeks a summer here, gathered with cousins, aunts and uncles. I was 6, my brother was 4, my mother was 32. My father wasn't with us, he only came down on weekends, not wanting to miss work. Ironworkers didn't get vacation, they got stamps in their paychecks that they could cash in. If you worked a full year you got enough stamps to make up a week or 2 salary so you could take some time off. But, ironworkers usually didn't work full years, the work was dependent on demand and competition was stiff. Even if you did work enough to accumulate the stamps you needed to make up a week's salary, why would you take a week off when you could just cash those stamps in for some extra cash and keep on working? That was my father's viewpoint. Maybe that's why he died before he hit 60. Maybe that's why the two most important lessons I learned from my father are:

• work hard
• take vacations

Anyway, back to Benny Ayala. The Mets were playing the Astros at 8:05 PM at Shea Stadium. I know we were in the bungalow, we probably spent the day at the beach rafting and catching rock crabs in hand nets. I don't remember much (I was only 6) but I recall the game was on the radio. My Mother was a Met Fan, a huge Met Fan. She was possibly the biggest Met Fan of all time. She is gone too, listening to the Mets in Heaven. Because, as we all know, if anyone deserves to go to Heaven, it's Mets Fans. We have suffered enough.


In the second inning, with no one on, Benny Ayala came to the plate for his first Major League at-bat. I don't know what the count was, I don't know who was pitching for Houston. I do know, and can recall it as clear as if it happened yesterday, Benny Ayala deposited one into the left field Loge seats, just to the right of the foul pole. I remember my Mother jumping around, happy as can be. I knew, in my 6 year old brain, that Benny Ayala was going to be a star. This was our Babe Ruth. How could he not be? He just homered in his first at bat. Benny Ayala was the first Met to homer in his first MLB at bat. Benny Ayala was the first Puerto Rican player to home in his first MLB at bat. Benny Ayala was great.

This is my first Mets memory.

This is when I became a Mets fan.

The next year, 1975, was the first year I collected baseball cards. I still have the Benny Ayala Rookie Outfielders card from that set. It's possibly my favorite card of all time.

As for Benny Ayala, he went on to hit one more homer for the Mets in 1974 and after spending 1975 at Triple A Tidewater, he hit one more for us in 1976. On March 30, 1977, the Mets traded Ayala to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for second baseman Doug Clarey, who never played a game for the Mets and who has, incidentally, no baseball card. Ayala subsequently landed with the Baltimore Orioles, where he played until 1984. Ayala retired after playing in 46 games for the Cleveland Indians in 1985.

They won yesterday Mom, I know you were watching.