February 2002
The days are getting longer, and spring training is a mere fortnight away! Pitchers and catchers report on February 15th, so on Monday, February 18th I will resume my weekly Monday Morning Mets columns. The 2002 season is almost here!
Get Out Your Credit Card - Mets regular season tickets go on sale Sunday, February 17th! Ticket prices are the same as they were last season, despite the acquisition of so many stars this offseason.
Keep It On The WB! - The Mets and WPIX/Channel 11 have reached an agreement that the station will air 50 Mets games on "free" TV for each of the next two seasons.
New to New York - Right-hander Pedro Astacio came to the Mets as a free agent on January 16th.
Five days later, in a blockbuster 11-player deal, the Mets acquired slugger Jeromy Burnitz from Colorado along with minor leaguers Craig House and Ross Gload, as well as pitcher Jeff D'Amico, utility infielder Lou Collier and outfielder Mark Sweeney from Milwaukee. Burnitz is not really new to New York, as he started his career as a Met in 1993.
Free agent infielder John Valentin and free agent catcher Jimmy Gonzalez signed minor league contracts with the Mets on January 30th. Valentin is reunited with Mo Vaughn - the two were teammates both at Seton Hall University and on the Boston Red Sox. That same day, they named Juan Lopez as a major league coach.
The Mets claimed Endy Chavez, who had been in the organization from 1996-2000, off waivers from the Tigers last week. Chavez's younger brother, Ender Chavez, was acquired by the Mets from the Rockies in December. Like Edgardo Alfonzo and his brother Edgar, the Chavez brothers are bound to cause a certain amount of confusion with their similar names.
Hello, Good-bye - After five whole days as Met property, Ross Gload was sent back to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for cash!
Bragging Rights - On January 15th, the Mets signed journeyman outfielder Darren Bragg to a minor league contract. Bragg played 18 games with the Mets last year, wearing number 56 in honor of NY Giants great Lawrence Taylor. After being waived by the Mets, Bragg was picked up by the New York Yankees, thus becoming the 69th person to play on both teams.
Goodbye, So Long, Aloha - In the 11 player deal mentioned above, the Mets traded some familiar faces.
Todd Zeile was sent to the Colorado Rockies, along with Benny Agbayani. Zeile was active in the community, especially with diabetes research and the New York Public Library's Summer Reading Club. Hawaiian Agbayani was a fan favorite ever since hitting a pinch hit grand slam home run to win a game in Tokyo against the Cubs at the beginning of the 2000 season.
The deal also sent Glendon Rusch and Lenny Harris to Milwaukee. Washingtonian Rusch was an effective part of the 2000 National League Champion Mets, although he struggled in 2001. Harris finished the 2001 season in dramatic fashion by breaking Manny Mota's major league record for pinch hits.
In the excitement of the big trades and free agent signings that were made this offseason, the departure of two Mets flew in below our radar. The Mets did not pick up reliever Donne Wall's option, and reliever Tom Martin signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on January 28th.
kcmets.com wishes these former Mets success with their new teams (except, of course, when they are playing against the Mets).
Home Again For The First Time - Ted Robinson, a Rockville Center, Long Island native, has been hired as a play-by-play announcer for Mets television and radio broadcasts. Robinson, who grew up a Mets fan, has worked as an announcer for the San Francisco Giants the last nine seasons, and has previously announced for the Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics. The Mets will not drop any of their current announcers, but have said that Bob Murphy, who has been with the team since their inception in 1962, will do fewer games on the road.
Ironically, Robinson's replacement in San Francisco is former Met announcer Tim McCarver. Does this make McCarver the announcer-to-be-named-later in the Ted Robinson deal?
In the Community - Bobby Valentine was on hand on January 15th in Stamford, Connecticut for Community Health Charities when Special Olympians and organ transplant athletes donated their medals to Connecticut policemen and firefighters who went to Ground Zero to help out in the wake of the September 11th attack.
On January 22nd, new Mets Mo Vaughn, Shawn Estes and David Weathers joined veterans Mike Piazza, Al Leiter, John Franco and Jay Payton, as well as manager Bobby Valentine at the Chelsea Piers for a clinic for 28 Staten Island children who lost loved ones on September 11th.
John Franco hosted the third annual "John Franco Celebrity Bowl-for -Babies" at Staten Island's Bowling on the Green on January 23rd. Proceeds from the event, expected to total about $300,000, benefited the March of Dimes. Franco's fellow Mets in attendance included Mike Piazza, Edgardo Alfonzo, Al Leiter, Mo Vaughn, Shawn Estes, Mark Johnson, Joe McEwing, Jay Payton and Bobby Valentine. Former Mets Bobby Bonilla, Jerry Grote, Bret Saberhagen, Mike Torrez, and Robin Ventura also participated in the charity event (thanks to MetsOnline.net for the list of participants), as well as Mayor Bloomberg. When WB11's Sean Kimmerling kidded "So, they're letting Yankees into this event?" Ventura deadpanned in reply "I was grandfathered in. When I received my invitation, I was still a Met."
Al Leiter was given a humanitarian award at a January 23rd dinner hosted by the Baseball Assistance Team (BAT).
Shawn Estes paid a visit to and answered questions from two fifth grade classes at the Francis F. Wilson Elementary School in Rockville Centre, Long Island on January 23rd.
Mo Vaughn visited with kids at P.S. 28 in Washington Heights on January 24th as part of MLB's "Breaking Barriers" program. The program is run by Sharon Robinson, the daughter of Jackie Robinson. With Ms. Robinson in attendance, Vaughn spoke to the kids and told them, among other things, how he wears number 42 in order to keep Jackie Robinson's legacy alive.
The New York Baseball Writers Association's 79th annual dinner took place on January 27th. At the event, Bobby Valentine was given the Joan Payson Award for his work helping families of September 11th victims and rescue workers, Mike Piazza received the Good Guy Award for his accessibility and candidness, and Rusty Staub was given a standing ovation for raising over $100 million for the New York Police and Fire Widows & Children's Benefit Fund. Armando Benitez, the 2001 National League Rolaids Relief Man, was not present at the dinner to receive his award.
Gary at QSAC (Quality Services for Autistic Citizens) tells us that the organization is having a charity fundraiser at Bobby V's Sports Bar and Restaurant on February 13th from 6:00-9:00 PM. Bobby Valentine, Rusty Staub, Art Shamsky and others are scheduled to attend the event. Tickets are $40 apiece, or $75 per couple. For more information contact QSACMets@aol.com.
Ready For His Close-Up - A couple of weeks ago, Mike Piazza was filming a new long distance telephone commercial with tennis great John McEnroe. Keep an eye out for the ad, which features Piazza having a McEnroe-esque tantrum.
New To The Mets Family - On January 22nd, Marni Phillips, the wife of general manager Steve Phillips, gave birth to the couple's fourth son. Drew William Phillips weighed in at 7 pounds, 4 ounces. In honor of the occasion, Phillips didn't complete any trades that day (which is pretty rare for this offseason, or so it seems). Congratulations to the Phillips family on its newest addition!
At the Movies - I saw "In the Bedroom" last month. I found it very well acted, although the ending didn't provide the kind of resolution I would have liked. But, on a baseball note, I was amused by one error in the film. Towards the end of the film, some time after Labor Day but clearly before October, there is a radio broadcast of a Red Sox/Braves game. Someone should have told director Todd Field that interleague games only take place in June or July!
Unless otherwise stated, these stories have been extracted from reports on www.nydailynews.com, www.nypost.com, www.nytimes.com, www.njo.com, www.newsday.com, www.bergenrecord.com, AP , www.metsonline.net, www.mets.com reports.
