Yogi's the first

1969 Mets reunion

I've met Yogi Berra a couple of times but never had a chance to get his autograph. I remedied that today at a show in Secaucus, immersing myself in a sea of Yankee fans to do so.

But rather than go with a black-and-white 8x10 photo in the true Yankee Stadium or the ubiquitous Hall of Fame postcard, I had the idea to recognize his Mets tenure, hence this photo. My hope is to fill it in with the other five -- Nolan Ryan, Jerry Grote, Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and Duffy Dyer. I've got Ryan and Seaver separately on other items, but I'd love to get them all together here.

And so the quest begins...

Jamie Moyer HAS played a long time

I was reading this piece on Jamie Moyer over at Seamheads and was struck by a remarkable occurrence, prompted by a tidbit I hadn't remembered: Moyer was one of the players who went with Rafael Palmeiro to the Rangers in the deal that brought Mitch Williams to Chicago. Palmeiro, like Moyer, came up in 1986, but he's now been retired five years and is on the Hall of Fame ballot.

So now get this: Should Roberto Alomar or Jeff Bagwell be elected when the results are announced in January, both players will have started and finished their careers and been elected to the Hall of Fame within the span of Moyer's career. That is, those players debuted after Moyer did (1988 for Alomar, 1991 for Bagwell), retired before he did (2004 for Alomar, 2005 for Bagwell) and were elected before Moyer's retirement. Even though the results are announced in January and the players are inducted in July 2011, the voting takes place in 2010. And even if Moyer's last Major League pitch came on July 20, 2010, he still pitched in the year of election for those players (should they get in). Of course, if Moyer comes back as he hopes in 2012, that will make this whole exercise that much easier.

In any case, it's pretty crazy that a player's career could see its genesis in the form of a Major League debut, conclusion with retirement and denouement in induction to the Hall of Fame. But it's happened before.

Nolan Ryan played in more seasons, 27, than any player in history. He debuted with the Mets in 1966 and retired with the Rangers in 1993, throwing his last pitch on Sept. 22, 1993. In between, five players came, went and were enshrined. Ryan's Mets teammate Tom Seaver debuted in 1967, last pitched in 1986 and was inducted in 1992; Johnny Bench came up in '67, retired in '83 and was inducted in '89; Rod Carew came on the scene in '67, retired in '85 and went into Cooperstown in 1991; Reggie Jackson debuted in '67, retired in '87 and received his plaque in '93; and finally, Rollie Fingers threw his first pitch in 1968, retired in 1985 and went into the Hall with Seaver in '92.

This is by no means a definitive list (for one thing, Roberto Clemente's untimely death and the waiver of the five-year waiting period that allowed his induction in 1973 meant that Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Al Kaline, Harmon Killebrew and Hank Aaron all debuted before Clemente and were still playing the summer of his induction), but it's pretty remarkable that the careers of some players, like Moyer or Ryan, can span the career and induction of others.

All my jerseys in Jersey

Fanboy

There's an interesting discussion over at Mets Police about personalized jerseys. I find it interesting because I have not come across such a large group of people who are in the "Your Name Here" group.

I have been drawn to sports uniforms since I was a kid, and I think the desire to own an authentic jersey for myself stems back to the sixth grade, when a classmate with generous parents would sport various jerseys, including an authentic Blue Jays shirt that still sticks in my memory all these years later. A couple years later, after saving up enough money, I had my dad take me to the mall, where I purchased a blank San Francisco Giants home jersey. I chose the Giants because, at the time, they sported the button-down design, while the Mets were still pulling theirs over their heads. My first had to be button-down.

There was no name or number on that Giants jersey, and there still isn't. It hangs in the back of my closet, too small at size 40 for me to wear anymore. Perhaps someday I'll have it autographed and framed, but there's no point now in getting Will Clark's or Matt Williams' name (the candidates at the time) sewn onto it. I own dozens of jerseys now, and while it may be a weird hobby to have, I'm lucky to work in an office where I can wear them during my shifts at night and on weekends. Truly, the dozens of ties I own, while not as costly to acquire as authentic baseball jerseys, are more of a waste of space and money, particularly now that I am at that age where most of my friends are already married.

Personally, I've always considered putting my name on a jersey to be a weird choice, and I've never done it. I don't have a common surname, so I'm pretty sure any jersey I put it on would be the first, unless there's a second cousin out there who has already done so. I just don't see the allure in taking the fantasy that far, though I do understand the awkwardness of wearing the shirt of a man 10 years younger and of far superior physical ability. As a teenager, my Nolan Ryan Rangers jersey was a sign of fandom; as an adult, my David Wright road jersey is slightly weirder, but still an indication of my admiration for his character and talent and the way he plays the game. Plus, I find the design of the Mets' road jerseys to be as much a work of art as any jersey design is, even with the black dropshadow.

I do suspect that many, if not a majority, of the unknown names on jerseys I see at Mets games are worn by former fantasy camp participants. (That's my theory on the above photo.) I tend to see a lot of men in their late 30s and older who sport the blue and orange with what appears to be their own names and some unique numbers on the back. Some years ago, I came to this conclusion, but I have yet to do any research. Perhaps, if I get to enough games this year and see enough examples, I'll start asking questions.

Along the same lines is the obscure player on a jersey. Straight Cash Homey chronicles this phenomenon, and I suspect the proliferation of these "in the wild," as Shannon likes to say, stems from the market available on eBay, at club fanfests in the offseason and in team clubhouse stores at the ballpark. Some people may get a kick out of sporting a game-worn jersey by a player, no matter how obscure he is or how small his role may have been.

There's only one authentic jersey I've ever bought and later sold. In 2006, fresh off the Mets' dethroning of the Braves, which was the only competitive rivalry in the NL East at that time, I purchased a Ryan Howard Phillies jersey with the All-Star Game patch from Pittsburgh. I loved the design of that patch (my wife is from there, so I have an affinity for the Steel City now) and the idea of commemorating Howard's first All-Star nod. I covered Howard when he played for the Lakewood BlueClaws in 2002 and enjoyed his rise to stardom -- before 2007, when his rise contributed to the Mets' demise. After that season, knowing I couldn't comfortably wear that shirt again, I sold it on eBay to someone in Atlanta who said he'd get it signed when the Phillies came to town the next season. I'll probably become a fan of Howard's again should he ever leave the Phillies, except if it's to bring Albert Pujols to Broad Street (but it won't be).

I now have nearly 50 Major League, minor league and college jerseys. Most are authentic, several are true-to-life remakes (mostly Mitchell & Ness) and a few are game-worn. For no particular reason other than I tend to be a completist -- I've started discussing my baseball jersey collection, so now I want to give the whole story -- here are the jerseys I own, in no particular order, grouped by various themes.

THE NEWEST ADDITIONS
2000 Rick Ankiel St. Louis Cardinals road gray
2006 Alfonso Soriano Washington Nationals red alternate
2008 Jeff Samardzija Chicago Cubs home pinstripe.
I obtained all three without names about two years ago through various means (a friend bought the Cardinals at the team fanfest one winter; I got the Nationals at a sample sale and the Cubs on eBay) and the friend who procured the Cardinals jersey also got me in touch with a guy he knows who does professional stitching at a reasonable price. A few weeks ago, these three came back with the names. Ankiel is with No. 66, his pitching number, because a) the jersey is from the 2000 set (it's on the tag on the inside) and b) I was at Game 5 of the 2000 NLCS at Shea Stadium. I purchased the Nationals jersey because it sports my initials, DC, and decided to go with Soriano because 12 was one of the numbers I wore in high school and his one season in D.C. was historic -- 40 homers, 40 steals, 40 doubles. Samardzija is a Domer, simple as that.

THE BLANK ONES
Circa 1989 San Francisco Giants home
Circa 2007 Cleveland Indians home sleeveless
2008 Altoona Curve home sleeveless
1993-94 Florida Marlins home pinstripe sleeveless
1995-97 Mets home pinstripe
1998-2000 Arizona Diamondbacks black alternate
2001-04 Pittsburgh Pirates home sleeveless.
The Giants one has been discussed. I stumbled upon the Mets jersey in a fan shop near Tiger Stadium in Detroit in 1999, when they'd gone to the black, and jumped on it because it has no dropshadow. I'm still debating what name and number to adorn it with. I bought the Indians, Marlins, D-backs and Pirates jerseys for cheap on eBay and will one day choose names and numbers to go with them. I'm leaning toward Grady Sizemore for the Indians and perhaps former Met and original Marlin Dave Magadan for the Florida shirt (Mike Piazza didn't wear this style during his one week in South Florida). I had long considered former Trenton Thunder prospect Freddy Sanchez for the Pirates jersey, but now that he's in San Francisco, I may go with Andrew McCutchen if he blossoms this year. I am still unsure about the Arizona choice.

THE MITCHELL & NESS COLLECTION
1944 Stan Musial St. Louis Cardinals road gray
1953 Satchel Paige St. Louis Browns road gray
1959 Nellie Fox Chicago White Sox home pinstripe
1968 Denny McLain Detroit Tigers home white
1969 Nolan Ryan New York Mets road gray
1973 Nolan Ryan California Angels home white
1976 Rollie Fingers Oakland A's green alternate
1979 Willie Stargell Pittsburgh Pirates yellow alternate
1993 Nolan Ryan Texas Rangers home white
2001 Cal Ripken Baltimore Orioles home white
All were purchased at steep discounts, either at sample sales, with online discounts or at this year's Super Bowl week sale at the Mitchell & Ness flagship in Philadelphia. In addition to being a fan of the 1969 Mets road jersey style, I'm clearly a big Nolan Ryan fan. The '93 Rangers jersey was a sample-sale find and augments the original authentic I received for my birthday in 1993. Like the Giants jersey, it's now a too-small size 40 for me. The last time I wore it was the day he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in July 1999. I didn't go to the ceremony, but I was at the ballpark in Detroit, visiting Tiger Stadium before the club moved to Comerica the next season. The Musial is a zip-up; the Paige is a mostly plain jersey save for the classic Brownie logo on the sleeve; the Fox sports No. 2 (another number I wore throughout my youth, because of my Sept. 2 birthday); the McClain is the classic Tigers "D" I've always loved; the Fingers is both from my birth year and he went into the Hall with Tom Seaver (an induction my family did attend); the Stargell is that garish-yet-beautiful gold; and the Ripken is the modern Orioles design that has always stood out to me.

THE MINOR LEAGUE COLLECTION
1966 Tom Seaver Jacksonville Suns home white
1998 Witchita Wranglers home white (there are two; one is a throwback, the other pinstriped)
2000 Cape Fear Crocs road gray
2001 Lakewood BlueClaws red alternate
2002 Williamsport Crosscutters road gray
2005 New Jersey Cardinals road blue
2006 Trenton Thunder home pinstripe sleeveless
2008 Altoona Curve home sleeveless
2004-07 Swing of the Quad Cities rust alternate
2004-07 Billings Mustangs home
The '66 Seaver and '08 Curve are reproductions/replicas obtained for their uniqueness (Seaver) and style (Curve). All the others are game-worn. The Wranglers were bought on eBay with letters of authenticity; the pinstriped one sports No. 15 and was worn by Carlos Beltran. Likewise for the Swing and Mustangs jerseys, bought because I love their quirky (Swing) and classic (Mustangs) lettering and colors -- the Swing is a rust orange with sky-blue lettering; the Mustangs features black lettering with red outlines in a old-West font, with a pair of horseshoes forming the "M." The Crosscutters features a cool lumberjack logo on the sleeve (and was worn by one-time Mets farmhand Henry Owens) and the Thunder is a simple, classic look I liked that season and features No. 12. It was bought from the team, as was the BlueClaws jersey from their inaugural season. Both were bought to fit me more than for the players who wore them (Vince Faison in Trenton and Anthony Kennedy, No. 33, in Lakewood). I bought the N.J. Cards jersey after the team's final season in 2005 because it was the one that had "New Jersey" written across the front. The Crocs were the franchise that was bought and "moved" to Lakewood; the jersey is in rough shape, not surprising for a team that played at an American Legion field and had its offices in mobile trailers.

THE RECENT DESIGNS
2004-07 Craig Counsell Milwaukee Brewers road gray
2006 Moises Alou San Francisco Giants 1982 orange throwback
2006 David Wright New York Mets road gray
2007 Pittsburgh Pirates red alternate vest
2008 J.J. Putz Seattle Mariners powder blue throwback
2008 Johan Santana New York Mets home white
2008 Randy Johnson Arizona Diamondbacks home white
2009 Victor Martinez Boston Red Sox home white
2009 Joe Mauer Minnesota Twins 1982 home white throwback
Yeah, the Counsell is definitely a weird choice, but it was a relatively cheap game-worn jersey of a Domer found on eBay. My initial bid won out, so I can't complain. The Alou and Putz jerseys were clearance items at MLB.com, both bought after they'd become Mets. The Wright has been explained and the Santana features the Shea Stadium patch. The Pirates is the garish and not-so-great and now-ditched alternate. I bought it to actually play in (when it's not too hot) because no one would really wear that design as a sports fashion statement. I bought the Big Unit on eBay because I liked the new design of Arizona's uniforms. The Martinez Red Sox jersey, with no name on the back, can double as a rare Seaver as well, if you ignore the MLB logo on the back by the neck or the Majestic logo on the sleeve. The Mauer is a great classic design that now has more staying power, even though that version was nameless on the back as well.

THE ALL-STAR GAME JERSEYS
2007 Jose Reyes National League (San Francisco)
2008 David Wright National League (Yankee Stadium)
2009 Francisco Rodriguez National League (St. Louis)
2009 Carl Crawford American League (St. Louis)
I bought these because I like the designs, the incorporation of the Golden Gate Bridge and Gateway Arch into the lettering in the '07 and '09 versions and the Yankee Stadium facade in '08. Though I understand they're mostly for marketing purposes and I hope MLB never goes the way of the NBA and has the teams wear uniform uniforms in the actual exhibition game, they are cool and comfortable on hot summer nights. The three Mets choices are obvious, and I bought the Crawford because I had him in the MVP pool at work last year. I used the modest winnings to buy the jersey. I'm still trying to obtain a yellow National League jersey from 2006, preferably Wright or Reyes, but I'm no longer being picky. I missed out on a Reyes jersey in my size that went for cheap on eBay several months ago. I opened the daily e-mail alert for 2006 MLB All-Star jerseys too late and the auction had ended. I believe the winning bid was under $15. Alas.

I'm askin', can you see?

Been a bit busy the last couple of days. On Monday, I only got four hours of sleep, took care of some things in the morning, then napped in the afternoon before work. Tuesday, I was out of the house all day, then did the same on Wednesday, when my wife, a friend from work and I drove to Philadelphia for the Mitchell & Ness sale. (I went in without a wish list, figuring I'd see what was available, and came away with three jerseys, three hats and a pennant of the Colorado Rockies -- not the baseball team, but the hockey team that would one day become the New Jersey Devils. One of the jerseys is right up there. I never really considered it, having only seen it online, because I have a current road jersey featuring David Wright's name and number and figured that filled the need. But seeing this one in person -- the blue and orange of the "NEW YORK," sans drop shadow, standing out so nicely from the gray flannel -- had me hooked. Then I went onto eBay and bought the home version of the Tom Seaver for $100, shipping included. I even saw the strangely numbered Tug McGraw, but had no desire for it.)

Anyway, I have three of the next four days off from work, so I hope to catch up on some posts, both timely as the news of the days warrant, and others I've saved drafts of with the intention of filling them out eventually. That list of drafts has gotten a little long for my tastes.

So we'll get to that, soon. For now, MLB.com columnist Mike Bauman seems to have decided that if MLB is going to try to speed up the pace of games from the first pitch to the final out, why not try to pick up the pace on the national anthem, too. Really? That's the column you felt had to be written? I find some anthem singers grating, too, but it's not the cause I'd choose if I had that kind of a platform.

Baseball history in living color

Love this photo of former teammates Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan at the 1972 All-Star Game in Atlanta. The pic comes from the outstanding Steve's Baseball Photography Pages, which I've casually browsed through before but had not fully investigated. This morning, I merely scrolled through the main page, but there are still the links to team galleries left to explore.

Last year, I made a resolution on my photo blog to take at least one picture a day and post it. I kept to that promise and enjoyed both the process and the results. My hope for 2010 is to be more active on this blog and my personal one (I like to keep the baseball and photos separate from everything else, for some reason). And one way I hope to generate new content for myself is to finally sit down and scan in all the photos I took with my SLR back in the days before I went digital. There were a lot of baseball pics in particular (from the '90s on), so hopefully I can post some of those here.

But for now, there's plenty to see on Steve's pages.

Stories of Seaver and Ryan on the Network

I've been watching MLB Network here and there, both at work and at home, and I really should start keeping it on in the background or as my default channel for idle loafing. ("Idle loafing" -- not oxymoronic, just hyper-loaf-like.)

First, there was the second part of an interview with Tom Seaver on "MLB Tonight" in which he talks about the Hall of Fame's Induction Weekend. The best part -- his favorite part, he said -- is the Sunday night dinner. There are only three types of people allowed into the room: Hall of Famers, the Commissioner of baseball and the president of the Hall of Fame (and, presumably, the catering staff, so I guess that's four types).

If I could have access to any room anywhere in the world -- perhaps at any time in history -- that room would be in the top five. Off the top of my head, I'd add: Independence Hall when they were hashing out the Declaration of Independence; the Oval Office at some seminal moment in history, perhaps when FDR learned about Pearl Harbor (or when, if the legend is true, he learned of a possible attack ahead of time and decided to let it happen to justify entering the U.S. into World War II); a pop-culture moment or two, like when Bruce Springsteen met Clarence Clemons or played "Thunder Road" for the first time, or when Jack Kerouac met Allen Ginsberg or Neal Cassady; and the ballroom or wherever Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "Mountaintop" speech the night before he was killed.

But back to the Hall of Famers dinner. Can you imagine that room? Seaver, Bob Gibson, Stan Musial, Reggie Jackson, Mike Schmidt, Ralph Kiner, Hank Aaron. And so many more. But maybe I wouldn't want to be in that room some day -- because it would mean I'd have to leave.

Later on the Network -- now, actually, as I wrap up at the office -- is a re-airing of Nolan Ryan's seventh no-hitter, from May 1, 1991. I remember reading about it the next morning. In New Jersey, of course, we didn't get the game on TV, and there was no MLB.TV or Extra Innings package on cable (not that my family had cable in 1991). It doesn't even appear that it aired locally in Texas. I've only been half-listening, but I got the impression that this was the Blue Jays broadcast. Part of what led me to that conclusion was one announcer -- the color commentator, so presumably a former player (he sounds young, and not like a veteran TV/radio man) -- noted how Ryan grunted when he threw his fastball. "Nolan only grunts on the fastball. As a hitter, if you can pick up on that, you know it's a fastball. He doesn't grunt when he throws a curveball."

But then there's the matter of physics -- light travels faster than sound, so by the time the batter hears the grunt, it's too late to catch up to the fastball.