Monday Morning — September 29th, 2003
And thus, the season is over. We can officially close the book, warm up the hot stove, and say "Wait 'til Next Year." While 2003 may not have been a pretty season for the Mets, it was at least an interesting one. Hopefully the youngsters will be able to draw on this season's experience and have a great year in 2004.
So Long, Murph! - Thursday, the Mets' final home game, was Bob Murphy's final game in the broadcast booth, after 42 years of calling Mets games and 50 years of covering major league baseball. The Mets honored Murphy's retirement with a moving pregame ceremony, and after the game FSNY aired a special episode of Kiner's Korner with Murphy as Ralph Kiner's special guest. It was an emotional night for all of us who follow the Mets, and it was appropriately touching to watch this original Met go out with the class and style that we have always seen from him.
Enjoy Honeydew Season Murph, and may you have a long, comfortable and happy retirement. Thanks for all of the Happy Recaps!
Mike's Milestones - Last Tuesday, Mike Piazza played in his 727th game as a Met and, thus, has now officially played more games for the Mets than he did for the Dodgers.
Meanwhile, during the 9th inning of Thursday night's game, Piazza made his long anticipated Mets debut at first base. He performed admirably in his new position, making three capable plays in the inning. Hopefully Piazza has now proven to himself that he won't embarrass himself as a first baseman.
Getting Wiggy With It - With his 146th hit on Saturday, Ty Wigginton set a Mets club mark for hits by a rookie, breaking the record that Ron Hunt has held since 1963.
The Game That Never Was - The question of the week last week was whether the Mets and Giants were going to have a game today, to make up for the August 14h game that was canceled due to the blackout on that date. The game would have been played if the Giants ended the season a half game behind the Braves for the best record in the National League, because that would have determined home team advantage for the NLCS. The Giants, however, did not relish the thought of traveling cross-country after Sunday's game to play the Mets, only to then travel back to San Francisco to play in the NLDS the following day. The Mets, likewise, weren't keen about flying back home to New York from Miami for a game that would extend a season that they would rather forget. With the Giants willing to relent NLCS home field advantage under that scenario, commissioner Bud Selig finally relented on Saturday and agreed not to have a game today.
Roster Notes - Jason Roach has cleared waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk.
It's a Family Affair - Last Tuesday, Prentice Redman's mother and stepfather came to watch him play in person for the first time in his major league career. It was a 2-for-1 deal, since they were also able to see Prentice's big brother, Tike, who was the starting centerfielder for the Pirates.
In the Community - Keith Hernandez is hosting the Field of Dreams Gala at the Hilton New York on November 19. The dinner is to benefit the Cobble Hill Center, a voluntary skilled nursing care facility in New York City that treats the elderly and victims of Alzheimer's Disease. This year's honorees at the dinner will include Hall of Famer Gary Carter. For more information, call (212) 794-4404.
A Seinfeldian Moment - On Friday, the public address announcer in Florida announced that Jason Alexander was pitching in relief of Aaron Heilman. What he meant to say was that Jason Anderson was entering the game.
Olympic News - Reliever Royce Ring is the only member of the Mets organization on the United States Olympic Qualifying trials team.
Saying Goodbye - With the conclusion of the season, I am announcing that this is my final Monday Morning Mets column. I have had a great time doing the weekly column, but after three years of reading the newspapers every day for Mets items I am reaching a point of burnout. I'd rather end the column now, and quit while I'm ahead, than get to the point of doing a halfhearted job.
However, while Monday Morning Mets is concluding, I'm still going to be an active part of the kcmets.com family. Starting next week, look for my new column -- Monthly Mets Musings. Basically, I will be writing a feature story each month, based on some kind of baseball-related event or news item. If you have any feedback or suggestions for story ideas, please feel free to e-mail me at s.chapman@kcmets.com.
I'd like to take a moment to thank some people for their help and encouragement these past three years.
Thanks KC -- you're the man who discovered me <g> It meant so much to me when you first approached me with the concept of writing a weekly sports column, which was something I had never envisioned for myself. Thank you for your vision and your friendship. Thank you for putting up with all of my corrections and additions. Thank you for seeing in me what I hadn't seen in myself. Thank you for helping my life take a direction that it never would have without prodding. I will appreciate all of these things more than you will ever know.
Thanks Dave Whitham -- for always letting me bounce ideas off of you, for reading my work, and for your tech support. Thank you for your beautiful photographs that we're privileged to have on the kcmets.com site. Thank you for pushing me to get interviews back at the time that I doubted anyone would want to take the time out to talk to ME. And thank you for being my friend, no matter what goes on in my life -- it means the world to me that you're always around to listen to me when I need it.
Thanks to my readers -- if not for you, I wouldn't have had the excuse to have all of this fun for the past three years. I've enjoyed the feedback you have given me. It amazes and energizes me when I hear that people relate to my experiences. I hope that you have enjoyed my weekly columns, and that you enjoy my new monthly format. Thanks to so many of you for taking the time to check me out and for coming back each week.
Thanks to my family -- thank you to my parents, for teaching me to love the game of baseball from an early age. Thank you to my children, who give me the incentive to teach a love of the game to the next generation. A special thank you to my son Ross, who always wants to check the scores and the standings, and who always roots for the Mets and against the Yankees and Braves.
Of course, most of all, thanks to my husband, Kevin -- thank you for always supporting me no matter what the venture may be. Thank you for putting up with me when I'm in manic writing modes. Thank you for taking me to 29 of the current 30 major league ballparks. Thank you for 20 years of marriage and for three beautiful children. Thank you for all of the adventures we have had, and for the adventures yet to come. And thank you for being the love of my life.
Special Feature: Baseball as America
Special Feature: Talkin' Baseball with Terry Cashman
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 , and www.mets.com reports.
