Carroll’s Column: 30 Years Of Mets Baseball Fandom All In One Book

Front Cover of My Mets Bible: Scoring 30 Years of Baseball Fandom - Image Credit: Triumph Books/Amazon

NEW YORK — With any sports fanatic, comes memorable stories and tales from past games that some remember as if it just happened yesterday, and others that forget the very next day. 

Regular listeners to WFAN’s afternoon drivetime show, “Evan & Tiki,” know Evan Roberts is an obsessive Mets fan, and his on-air partner, former Giants running back, Tiki Barber has fun with that.       

Roberts, who is now forty, has been following the Flushing faithful since he was eight, and has been keeping score of Mets games, both when he has watched them in person, and even at home on television, for the last thirty years. He has just authored a book containing the scorecards of his most memorable games during that time span, along with his recollections of those games, titled “My Mets Bible: Scoring 30 Years of Baseball Fandom” (Triumph Books). It is a fun oral history for Mets fans, even if reading about many of those games will bring back agonizing memories.      

As expected, Roberts includes nearly every Mets postseason game, and other marquee moments, such as the Subway Series through the years, Johan Santana’s no-hitter on June 1, 2012, and the 2013 All-Star Game in which short-term Mets phenomenon Matt Harvey started. I asked Roberts during a phone interview last week if there was a random game he watched which most fans would not remember but had special meaning to him.     

“Yes, there is, and I included it in the book. It was a game at Shea Stadium between the Angels and the Mets on June 11, 2005. I was working overnight shifts at WFAN, so I did not get a chance to watch many Mets games. This was a Saturday night game, so I was able to go to Shea Stadium. Marlon Anderson hit an inside-the-park home run to tie the game 2-2 in the ninth inning. That had never happened before in Mets history, Cliff Floyd then won it with a walk-off home run.”    

As was the case with many baseball fans, Evan thanked his dad, Joel Roberts, for sparking his interest in the national pastime, and for teaching him how to keep score. His dad would take him on road trips to Chicago, St. Louis, and every MLB city on the I-95 corridor to watch the Mets play.    

Roberts spoke to me about living in the Avalon on the Long Island City waterfront back when WFAN was housed in Kaufman Studios in Astoria. “It was fun running into (former Mets manager) Terry Collins, and many players when I was living there. I loved living in Queens. I biked everywhere, especially to work, and to Shea Stadium, and later, Citi Field,”    

The Mets’ recent resurgence, which began with winning the second game against the Philadelphia Phillies in fluky fashion, along with the return of Edwin Diaz, and the Mets finally taking a series from their historic nuisance NL East rivals, the Miami Marlins, have given Roberts hope. “At least they won’t be sellers at the July 30 trade deadline, barring a total collapse.”     

Remembering and Paying Tribute to Willie Mays 

I have little to add to the superlatives which have been stated by many about Willie Mays. I saw him play during the second half of his lengthy career, and he could hit for average, power, field, run, and throw better than anyone else for most of his career.     

I remember talking with his son, Michael Mays, at Citi Field in August 2022 when the Mets surprised everyone by announcing the team was retiring the #24 uniform number which he wore as a Met. I told him it was a shame his dad could not play his entire career in New York the way Mickey Mantle did.     

The Giants owner, Horace Stoneham, was always undercapitalized. He also made incredibly bad choices. While Walter O’Malley made the correct economic decision to leave Brooklyn for     bigger and growing Los Angeles (I know I will get heat for saying that), Stoneham foolishly agreed to O’Malley’s request to relocate his team to the far smaller metropolis of San Francisco. Major League Baseball owners would not allow the Dodgers to move to LA without another team on the West Coast. The odds are another National League club would have taken up O’Malley’s suggestion.      

Had Stoneham stayed, the odds are the Giants would have left the Polo Grounds for what would be Shea Stadium in Flushing Meadows, just as the Mets did after 1963. Instead, he built Candlestick Park in the one part of San Francisco which was not accessible by that city’s rail system. In addition, its location in the Bayview Heights neighborhood made it prone to freezing winds in the late afternoons and evenings. It is reminiscent of Alcatraz Island. Those inclement conditions kept fans away.    

So, it was not surprising that a cash-strapped Stoneham traded his highest-salaried player, 41- year-old Willie Mays to the Mets in 1972 in exchange for pitcher and Flushing native Charlie Williams, and more importantly, $50,000.      

Reggie Jackson’s comments on Fox Sports pregame show 

Reggie Jackson reminded everyone in stark language on Fox Sports last Thursday night about the racism he and other Black baseball players experienced in Birmingham, Alabama during the Giants-Cardinals game in Rickwood Field to honor those who played in the Negro League. It was brave of Alex Rodriguez to ask him about that on national television.  

Jason Zillo, and Yankees celebrate 15th year of Hope Week 

Congratulations to New York Yankees vice president of communications and media relations, Jason Zillo for completing the fifteenth year of Project H.O.P.E. (Helping Others Persevere and Excel) Week which is the gold standard of MLB community service.

Each year the Yankees honor individuals who help those less fortunate and who do so without seeking glory or remuneration. The Yankees send many of their players to visit the nonprofit groups these selfless folks have started. With all the well-documented negative attributes of the Internet and social media (the US Surgeon General’s office is treating it as a health malady), the Yankees wisely honored those who have used the digital world for public good.      

Celtics are back on top 

Red Auerbach had to be smiling above when the Boston Celtics won their 18th NBA championship by defeating the Dallas Mavericks in five games last Tuesday.

As good as the Knicks were this year, they are not in the Celtics’ echelon even if every one of their players remained healthy. Of course, the Brooklyn Nets are not even on the same basketball planet as the Celtics.      

Globetrotters set to visit American Dream Mall 

In basketball of a lighter variety, the Harlem Globetrotters will be having a Las Vegas-style residency at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, NJ. They will have eighteen shows in ten days (August 16-August 25). Team members will be conducting clinics for kids during that time. American Dream officials are hoping the Globetrotters will be making lengthy stays in the future.     

USTA expands Fan Week from four days to seven: August 19th – August 25th

The United States Tennis Association announced the best value in sports, Fan Week, has been expanded from its past four-day format to one of seven days with the action running from August 19 through August 25. Tennis can wander the grounds of the Billie Jean King Tennis Center for free, and watch top players compete for US Open wildcard spots, as well as see the big-name stars sharpen their game on the practice courts.   

There will also be ticketed events such as a Dierks Bentley concert at Arthur Ashe Stadium, a mixed doubles tournament consisting of current household names from the men’s and women’s tour, and exhibition matches from retired legends such as Douglaston’s own John McEnroe. For more info, log onto USOpen.org/FanWeek.     

Caribbean Tourism Organization holds annual Caribbean Week celebration in NY

The Caribbean Tourism Organization held their annual Caribbean Week celebration in New York last week. Sports was front and center as the CTO held a viewing party for last Monday’s West Indies vs. Afghanistan match.   

The Cayman Islands representatives were thrilled swimmer Jordan Crooks qualified to compete in the upcoming Paris Olympic Games. He is following in the footsteps of past Cayman Island natives as siblings Brett and Shaune Fraser, Another Caymanite, Charlotte Webster, will be going for the gold in sailing. 

Officials from Barbados were touting their early December marathon which they call Run Barbados. They are hoping to appeal to runners who were not able for whatever reason to run in the November New York City Marathon.

You can read more of Lloyd Carroll’s columns posted weekly on The Queens Chronicle.