NEW YORK — For all of those New York Mets fans out there, as well as any baseball historians and enthusiasts, mark your calendar…
Last Wednesday the Mets announced they would be retiring Dwight “Doc” Gooden’s #16, and Darryl Strawberry’s #18 uniform numbers. The ceremonies will take place April 14, and June 1, respectively — tickets available at Mets.com.
Secure your tickets NOW for our two number retirements! Use code LGM24 for presale tickets.
Doc – Sun., April 14 👉 https://t.co/vqmaxF2AZt
Darryl – Sat., June 1 👉 https://t.co/JiOUotXK8g pic.twitter.com/cTkcGy7jmB— New York Mets (@Mets) January 17, 2024
Mets owner Steve Cohen has made a commitment to honor the team’s history, and both players are worthy of such a high honor. Gooden was the Mets’ most dominating pitcher behind Tom Seaver, and no, I did not forget about Jacob deGrom. Strawberry remains the Mets’ all-time career home run leader with 252, although that mark will be eclipsed if Pete Alonso remains a Met after 2024.
While the retirement ceremonies will be joyous occasions, both Strawberry and Gooden admitted regrets about their careers, primarily because substance abuse prevented them from having Hall of Fame statistics.
“A lot of doors opened for me when I played for the Mets. I rarely had to pay for anything, and that’s not real life,” Strawberry said ruefully on the Zoom press conference call. He also admitted it was a mistake to leave the Mets for his hometown Los Angeles Dodgers after the 1990 season when he became a free agent. “I did not have a good relationship with (then Mets general manager) Frank Cashen,” Strawberry said. He blamed that lack of communication on his immaturity.
"Congrats brother, we did it!" 🥹🥹 pic.twitter.com/TBMwMOCUAU
— New York Mets (@Mets) January 18, 2024
In an interview with the panel on SNY’s “Baseball Night in New York,” Gooden thanked Mets fans for believing in him when he did not believe in himself. He spoke of the embarrassment of his drug addiction leading to stays in both a psychiatric institution, and later, prison.
Gooden admitted he was hurt when he asked the Mets about signing a one-day contract in 2001 when he was ready to hang up his spikes so he could retire as a Met. Steve Phillips, who was the Mets general manager then, turned down his request.
In Depth Interview with former New York Met Ed Lynch + Surfing Baseball with Ed Lynch
While the Mets will never retire his uniform number, Ed Lynch is their greatest renaissance man. In addition to having been a Mets pitcher, he has served as a scout, director of minor league operations for the San Diego Padres, an assistant general manager for the Mets, and as the general manager for the Chicago Cubs. In addition, he is an attorney, and currently a real estate broker in the greater Phoenix area. He brings all those perspectives to his new podcast, “Surfing Baseball with Ed Lynch.” His partner is USA Today baseball columnist Bob Nightengale.
Image Credit: Surfing Baseball with Ed Lynch
“I am still a Mets fan,” Ed said when I spoke to him last week. He is aware many Mets fans are grumbling about the lack of big personnel moves this winter. “Mets baseball president David Stearns is a sharp guy. He will be able to trade for a quality player from a team who can no longer afford him during the season. He’ll wisely utilize (Mets CEO) Steve Cohen’s financial resources.”
Not surprisingly, Lynch has strong opinions about how pitchers are being overseen. He believes most teams baby starting pitchers by limiting them to six innings in most starts but think nothing of burning out their bullpens in the process. “If you manage games in May as if you are playing in the World Series, you will fall apart in September,” Lynch warns. He added how today’s young pitchers are being taught to throw at maximum velocity, instead of learning how to pitch. Aside from risking injury early in their careers, they won’t know how to get batters out when they get older, and their arm strength is not the same.
He is also not pleased about the overemphasis on home run hitting. “The name of the game is to score more runs than the other team. You are more likely to do accomplish that by getting men on base and moving them around the diamond.” Lynch agreed with my assessment that teams do not seem to value productive outs. The Mets, for example, have made an art form of not scoring runs when they have a runner on third base with no outs. “Today’s hitting coaches seem more interested in launch angles than in making contact,” he rightfully grumbled.
Check out Surfing Baseball with Ed Lynch on Youtube as well as on most social media and podcasts platforms
Aside from giving his learned opinions on our national pastime, Lynch hopes to have candid conversations with former and current baseball players, executives, and broadcasters. Among his first guests are former Mets pitcher and current television analyst Ron Darling, and recently retired managers Terry Francona, ex-Mets skipper Terry Collins.
“Surfing Baseball with Ed Lynch” can be seen on YouTube and can be found on most social media and podcast platforms. You can also log onto surfingbaseball.com.
More Changes at WFAN
WFAN program director Spike Eskin announced last week he is leaving the station to return to his native Philadelphia to co-host the afternoon drivetime show on Audacy’s sports talk radio station there, WIP.
Eskin became a polarizing figure for longtime FAN listeners because he seemed more concerned about his station’s hosts producing “hot takes” (radio speak for saying outrageous things which they do not believe) for social media, than engaging in conversation which does not insult anyone’s intelligence.
WFAN Sports Radio – Image Credit: WFAN New York
Eskin’s successor has not been named, but whoever it will be will have trouble holding onto big-name talent such as Boomer Esiason since Audacy, WFAN’s parent company, is in bankruptcy.
Sports Illustrated Coming To An End?
Speaking of companies having financial difficulty, it appears Sports Illustrated’s days are numbered. SI’s current publisher, Arena Group, missed a $3.75 million loan payment to its creditor, Authentic Group, last month. On Friday, word leaked out that Sports Illustrated sent out termination notices to its entire staff.
Image Credit: AP
The handwriting has been on the wall for Sports Illustrated as far back as 1989 when Sports Illustrated’s original owner, Time Incorporated, merged with Warner Communications. Things went downhill quickly when Warner Media spun off its magazine division to Meredith Publishing, which in turn, flipped Sports Illustrated to a conglomerate known as the Authentic Group. Authentic then licensed the SI brand to Arena Group. Each succeeding SI owner had less capital than the preceding one. The advent of the Internet has had a deleterious effect on glossy magazines, and Sports Illustrated is no exception.
From the Mound to the Broadcast Booth: Adam Wainwright set to join FOX Sports
FOX Sports announced former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright will be joining their baseball broadcasting crew as an analyst.
Now in the Broadcast Booth: Adam Wainwright – Image Credit: FOX Sports
Mets fans will sadly recall Wainwright was the winning pitcher in Game 7 of the 2006 National League Championship Series in which the Cards defeated the Mets, 3-1, and went on to win the World Series.
NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt
Last Friday on “The NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt,” correspondent Savannah Sellers had a piece on how some high school seniors are making decisions on which college to attend based on the abortion laws of the state the college was located. A sports story which has not gotten any attention is whether top high school athletes are making similar decisions. I would have to assume it is a major factor.
Peacock witnesses record number of views in Dolphins-Chiefs AFC Wild Card Game
Comcast, which owns NBC, took heat from football fans when it elected to put the Miami Dolphins-Kansas City Chiefs playoff game on its Peacock streaming service which requires a paid subscription, instead of free over-the-air NBC. It turns out Comcast executives made the right decision as over 23 million people viewed the game. That is a record for a live event of any kind on a streaming service.
Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs superstar quarterback – Image Credit: NFL/Twitter
Peacock has been an also-ran to such streamers as Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Paramount Plus, and Max. It will be interesting to see whether this playoff game elevates them on a par with them. Peacock is currently showing the terrific movie, “The Holdovers,” and on February 16, it will make “Oppenheimer” available.
Nora Lum and Sandra Oh starring in Quiz Lady on Hulu
Forest Hills native Nora Lum, better known professionally as Awkwafina, co-stars with Sandra Oh in a Hulu original film, “Quiz Lady.” In a twist, it is Awkwafina who plays the straightlaced sister, Anne, to Sandra Oh’s free-spirit Jenny. The film is a comedy which spoofs “Jeopardy.” Will Ferrell plays the Alex Trebek-like host, while Jason Schwartzman plays a smarmy knock-off of Ken Jennings.
Walter Becker to be inducted posthumously in Songwriters Hall of Fame this June
Speaking of Forest Hills, the late Walter Becker who composed Steely Dan along with Dwonald Fagen, will be inducted posthumously in the Songwriters Hall of Fame this June. Becker has a street sign in his honor on the block he grew up in.
Remembering and Paying Tribute to Mary Weiss
On Friday, it was reported the lead singer of the Shangri-Las, Mary Weiss, who grew up in Cambria Heights, had died at the age of 75. Weiss’s voice can be heard on such 1960s classic hits as “Remember Walking in the Sand,” “I Can Never Go Home Again,” “Great Big Kiss,” and of course, the iconic “Leader of the Pack.”
You can read more of Lloyd Carroll’s columns posted weekly on The Queens Chronicle.
