Download or read book Best Mets written by Matthew Silverman and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2014-06-16 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the New York Mets celebrate their fiftieth anniversary of National League baseball, this rollicking chronicle recounts a half century of the team’s ups and downs. Chapters recount the best and worst teams; the greatest players; the most thrilling wins and most excruciating losses; the most memorable and forgettable teams in franchise history; and even a guide to appreciating the Mets, including tips on spring training as well as the best sports bars to see the Mets on TV without having to fight for the remote. Sidebars relating Mets lore (i.e., Jerry Seinfeld’s obsession with Keith Hernandez), colorful Mets characters (both players and fans alike), and stats on the best and worst of all things Mets further add to this celebration of the first fifty years of New York’s most Amazin’ and frustrating sports franchise.
Download or read book So Many Ways to Lose written by Devin Gordon and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2021-03-16 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “This is a weird, wonderful, and essential book about both America and its pastime. It’s about a place as vast as New York City and as intimate as the human heart. Fred Exley meets Richard Ben Cramer—a funny, wild, heartfelt, and keenly observed portrait of yearning itself.”—Wright Thompson, New York Times bestselling author of The Cost of These Dreams “Mr. Gordon’s ability to explain the Sisyphean plight of all Mets fans is truly remarkable. Bravo!”—Ron Darling, New York Times bestselling author of Game 7, 1986 The Mets lose when they should win. They win when they should lose. And when it comes to being the worst, no team in sports has ever done it better than the Mets. In So Many Ways to Lose, author and lifelong Mets fan Devin Gordon sifts through the detritus of Queens for a baseball history like no other. Remember the time the Mets lost an All-Star after Yoenis Céspedes got charged by a wild boar? Or the time they blew a six-run ninth-inning lead at the peak of a pennant race? Or the time they fired their manager before he ever managed a game? Sure you do. It was only two years ago, and it was all in the same season. The Mets have an unrivaled gift for getting it backward, doing the impossible, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, and then snatching defeat right back again. And yet, just ask any Mets fan: Amazing and/or miraculous postseason runs are as much a part of our team's identity as losing 120 games in 1962. The DNA of seasons like 1969, the original Miracle Mets, and the 1973 “Ya Gotta Believe” Mets, who went from last place to Game 7 of the World Series in two months, and the powerhouse 1986 Mets, has encoded in us this hapless instinct that a reversal of fortune is always possible. It’s happened before. It’s kind of our thing. And now we've got Steve Cohen's hedge-fund billions to play with! What could go wrong? In this hilarious history of the Mets and love letter to the art of disaster, Devin Gordon presents baseball the way it really is, not in the wistful sepia tones we've come to expect from other sportswriters. Along the way, he explains the difference between being bad and being gifted at losing, and why this distinction holds the key to understanding the true amazin’ magic of the New York Mets.
Download or read book New York Mets written by Matthew Silverman and published by Zenith Press. This book was released on 2011-03-16 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of the New York Mets is presented with pictures and accounts of their greatest players and teams.
Download or read book The Amazin Mets 1962 1969 written by William J. Ryczek and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-03-10 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book traces the history of the New York Mets from the franchise's inauspicious beginnings--the 1962 team, led by Casey Stengel and made up of players like Rod Kanehl and Jay Hook, lost 120 games--through the miraculous championship season of 1969. Based on interviews with more than one hundred former players and extensive research by one of the more highly regarded baseball historians writing today, the book covers the era in unprecedented detail. Any Met fan from the 1960s will find some familiar stories along with some they've probably never read before. Presented in an easy-to-read, narrative style, this book traces the rapid ascent of the Mets and explores the reasons for their early failure and dramatic success.
Download or read book The New York Mets All Time All Stars written by Brian Wright and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2020-02-24 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Let’s say you’re the manager of one of the most beloved franchises in Major League Baseball, with every past and current player available on your bench. Game time is approaching and the ump needs your line-up card. Who’s your starting pitcher? Fireballer Dwight Gooden, lights-out Tom Seaver, or run-stingy Jacob de Grom? Is Gary Carter behind the plate or Mike Piazza? Who’ll bat clean-up? Combining statistical analysis, common sense, and a host of intangibles, Brian Wright constructs an all-time All-Star Mets line-up for the ages. Agree with his choices or not, you’ll learn all there is to know about the men who played for and managed New York’s Amazin’ Mets.
Download or read book Faith and Fear in Flushing written by Greg W. Prince and published by Skyhorse Publishing Inc.. This book was released on 2009-04 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Voted by Esquire as one of the top 100 baseball books ever written! The New York Mets fan is an Amazin’ creature whose species finds its voice at last in Greg Prince’s Faith and Fear In Flushing, the definitive account of what it means to root for and live through the machinations of an endlessly fascinating if often frustrating baseball team. Prince, coauthor of the highly regarded blog of the same name, examines how the life of the franchise mirrors the life of its fans, particularly his own. Unabashedly and unapologetically, Prince stands up for all Mets fans and, by proxy, sports fans everywhere in exploring how we root, why we take it so seriously, and what it all means. What was it like to enter a baseball world about to be ruled by the Mets in 1969? To understand intrinsically that You Gotta Believe? To overcome the trade of an idol and the dissolution of a roster? To hope hard for a comeback and then receive it in thrilling fashion in 1986? To experience the constant ups and downs the Mets would dispense for the next two decades? To put ups with the Yankees right next door? To make the psychic journey from Shea Stadium to Citi Field? To sort the myths from the realities? Greg Prince, as he has done for thousands of loyal Faith and Fear in Flushing readers daily since 2005, puts it all in perspective as only he can.
Download or read book Gotham Baseball New York s All Time Team written by Mark C. Healey illustrations by and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2020 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Baseball may be the great American pastime, but in New York, it is a religion. Names like Ruth, Mays, Gehrig, Wright and Robinson live in the hearts and minds of New York fans like apostles. From the street corner to the subway car, debates about which Yankee, Giant, Dodger or Met is better than another have raged on for more than one hundred years. Now, the best of the best are chosen for each position as New York's all-time greatest team is imagined. Shoo-ins like the Babe and Jackie have their stories told with a fresh perspective. The compelling case for Mike Piazza, not Yogi Berra, as catcher is sure to spark arguments. Sportswriter Mark Healey crafts the Gotham baseball team through captivating tales of the legends of the New York game.
Download or read book They Said It Couldn t Be Done written by Wayne R. Coffey and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1962, the New York Mets spent their first year in existence racking up the worst record in baseball history. Things scarcely got any better for the ensuing six years--they were baseball's laughingstock, but somehow lovable in their ineptitude, building a fiercely loyal fan base. And then came 1969, a year that brought the lunar landing, Woodstock, nonstop antiwar protests, and the most tumultuous and fractious New York City mayoral race in memory--along with the most improbable season in the annals of Major League Baseball. It concluded on an invigorating autumn afternoon in Queens, when a Minnesota farm boy named Jerry Koosman beat the Baltimore Orioles for the second time in five games, making the Mets champions of the baseball world. It wasn't merely an upset but an unprecedented, uplifting achievement for the ages. From the ashes of those early scorched-earth seasons, Gil Hodges, a beloved former Brooklyn Dodger, put together a 25-man whole that was vastly more formidable than the sum of its parts. Beyond the top-notch pitching staff headlined by Tom Seaver, Koosman, and Gary Gentry, and the hitting prowess of Cleon Jones, the Mets were mostly comprised of untested kids and lightly regarded veterans. Everywhere you looked on this team, there was a man with a compelling backstory, from Koosman, who never played high school baseball and grew up throwing in a hayloft in subzero temperatures with his brother Orville, to third baseman Ed Charles, an African-American poet with a deep racial conscience whose arrival in the big leagues was delayed almost a decade because of the color of his skin. In the tradition of The Boys of Winter, his classic bestseller about the 1980 U.S. men's Olympic hockey team, Wayne Coffey tells the story of the '69 Mets as it has never been told before--against the backdrop of the space race, Stonewall, and Vietnam, set in an ever-changing New York City. With dogged reporting and a storyteller's eye for detail, Coffey finds the beating heart of a baseball family. Published to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Mets' remarkable transformation from worst to best, They Said It Couldn't Be Done is a spellbinding, feel-good narrative about an improbable triumph by the ultimate underdog.
Download or read book Wherever I Wind Up written by R.A. Dickey and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2013-03-26 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The perfect gift for baseball fans, now with a new epilogue by author R.A. Dickey, winner of the 2012 Cy Young award. "An astounding memoir—haunting and touching, courageous and wise."—Jeremy Schaap, bestselling author, Emmy award-winning journalist, ESPN In 1996, R.A. Dickey was the Texas Rangers’ much-heralded No. 1 draft choice. Then, a routine physical revealed that his right elbow was missing its ulnar collateral ligament, and his lifelong dream—along with his $810,000 signing bonus—was ripped away. Yet, despite twice being consigned to baseball’s scrap heap, Dickey battled back. Sustained by his Christian faith, the love of his wife and children, and a relentless quest for self-awareness, Dickey is now the starting pitcher for the Toronoto Blue Jays (he was previously a star pitcher for the New York Mets) and one of the National League’s premier players, as well as the winner of the 2012 Cy Young award. In Wherever I Wind Up, Dickey eloquently shares his quintessentially American tale of overcoming extraordinary odds to achieve a game, a career, and a life unlike any other.
Download or read book The Bad Guys Won written by Jeff Pearlman and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-10-13 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Jeff Pearlman has captured the swagger of the '86 Mets. You don't have to be a Mets fan to enjoy this book—it's a great read for all baseball enthusiasts." —Philadelphia Daily News Award-winning Sports Illustrated baseball writer Jeff Pearlman returns to an innocent time when a city worshipped a man named Mookie and the Yankees were the second-best team in New York. It was 1986, and the New York Mets won 108 regular-season games and the World Series, capturing the hearts (and other assorted body parts) of fans everywhere. But their greatness on the field was nearly eclipsed by how bad they were off it. Led by the indomitable Keith Hernandez and the young dynamic duo of Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, along with the gallant Scum Bunch, the Amazin’s left a wide trail of wreckage in their wake—hotel rooms, charter planes, a bar in Houston, and most famously Bill Buckner and the hated Boston Red Sox. With an unforgettable cast of characters—including Doc, Straw, the Kid, Nails, Mex, and manager Davey Johnson—this “affectionate but critical look at this exciting season” (Publishers Weekly) celebrates the last of baseball’s arrogant, insane, rock-and-roll-and-party-all-night teams, exploring what could have been, what should have been, and what never was.
Download or read book The Worst Team Money Could Buy written by and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2005-03-01 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Even before the New York Mets began the 1992 season, they had set a critical record: the highest payroll ever for a major-league team, $45 million. With players Bobby Bonilla, Vince Coleman, Bret Saberhagen, and Howard Johnson, winning another championship seemed a mere formality. The 1992 New York Mets never made it to Cooperstown, however. Veteran newspapermen Bob Klapisch and John Harper reveal the extraordinary inside story of the Mets? decline and fall?with the sort of detail and uncensored quotes that never run in a family newspaper. From the sex scandals that plagued the club in Florida to the puritanical, no-booze rules of manager Jeff Torborg, from bad behavior on road trips to the downright ornery practical ?jokes? that big boys play, The Worst Team Money Could Buy is a grand-slam classic.
Download or read book If These Walls Could Talk New York Mets written by Mike Puma and published by Triumph Books. This book was released on 2021-05-04 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mike Puma of the New York Post provides insight into the team's inner sanctum as only he can The New York Mets are one of the most historic teams in Major League Baseball, with superstars over the years including Jacob deGrom, Mike Piazza, David Wright, and Tom Seaver. Aided by dozens of new, exclusive interviews, readers will gain the perspective of players, coaches, and personnel from Mets history in moments of greatness as well as defeat, making for a keepsake no fan will want to miss. Few fan bases display as much rabid devotion to their team as the New York Mets', win or lose. That spirit is celebrated in this colorful collection of stories about the Lovable Losers. The If These Walls Could Talk series is a one-of-a-kind, insider's look into the great moments, the lowlights, and everything in between in your team's history. Other New York titles include: If These Walls Could Talk: New York Giants If These Walls Could Talk: New York Yankees If These Walls Could Talk: New York Jets
Download or read book Mount Rushmore of the New York Mets written by Brett Topel and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-05-18 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mount Rushmore, located in the Black Hills of Keystone, South Dakota, is one of the most iconic landmarks in the United States. The face of the mountain features 60-foot heads of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. It depicts four of the greatest men our country has ever known. In recent years, it has become fashionable for sports fans to select the Mount Rushmore of their franchise’s history. For some franchise’s, which have been around for 100+ years, it can be a daunting task. Even for younger franchises, such as the New York Mets, picking a Mount Rushmore can be a challenge. Mostly because fans always seem to favor players that they have seen play—leading older and younger fans to differ on who belongs carved on that fictional mountain in Queens. In 2015, Major League Baseball announced its decision for each team’s Mount Rushmore. For the Mets, voters chose Keith Hernandez, Mike Piazza, Tom Seaver, and David Wright. No one would argue that Tom Seaver is on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore. He was, after all, “The Franchise.” Some might even argue that the Mets’ Mount Rushmore is Tom Seaver four times! However, that not-withstanding, when it comes to rounding out the other three players, did MLB get it right?? Thankfully, Mount Rushmore of the New York Mets tackles such a question. Covering the team by decade, author Brett Topel share the best players from the team’s almost sixty-year history. From Jerry Koosman and Ed Kranepool, Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, to Edgardo Alfonzo and Jose Reyes, each decade is covered, reliving the highs and lows of the Metropolitans. So whether you remember the Miracle Mets, the Amazin’ run of 1986, or the almost of the 2000s, Mount Rushmore of the New York Mets breaks down the fan favorites who earned their prominence in the Polo Grounds, Shea Stadium, and Citi Field.
Download or read book Long Shot written by Mike Piazza and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-02-18 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The twelve-time All-Star catcher describes the inspiration he gleaned from his self-made father, his early career with the Dodgers, his memorable 2000 World Series with the Mets, and the controversies that have marked his career.
Download or read book 108 Stitches written by Ron Darling and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2019-04-02 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times Bestseller This is New York Times bestselling author and Emmy-nominated broadcaster Ron Darling's 108 baseball anecdotes that connect America’s game to the men who played it. In 108 Stitches, New York Times bestselling author and Emmy Award-winning broadcaster Ron Darling offers his own take on the "six degrees of separation" game and knits together wild, wise, and wistful stories reflecting the full arc of a life in and around our national pastime. Darling has played with or reported on just about everybody who has put on a uniform since 1983, and they in turn have played with or reported on just about everybody who put on a uniform in a previous generation. Through relationships with baseball legends on and off the field, like Yale coach Smoky Joe Wood, Willie Mays, Bart Giamatti, Tom Seaver and Mickey Mantle, Darling's reminiscences reach all the way back to Babe Ruth and other early twentieth-century greats. Like the 108 stitches on a baseball, Darling's experiences are interwoven with every athlete who has ever played, every coach or manager who ever sat in a dugout, and every fan who ever played hooky from work or school to sit in the bleachers for a day game. Darling's anecdotes come together to tell the story of his time in the game, and the story of the game itself.
Download or read book The Mets written by New York Daily News and published by Harry N. Abrams. This book was released on 2011-09-01 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In honor of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the amazing New York Mets, the "New York Daily News" has created the definitive commemorative tome for fans. Features include more than 200 of the newspaper's greatest Mets images and a fantastic foreword by Ron Darling.
Download or read book Mookie written by Mookie Wilson and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2014-04-29 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WITH NEW UPDATES FOR THIS EDITION! They said it was the “Curse of the Bambino.” They said “the bad guys won.” Now, for the first time in trade paperback, one of baseball’s all-time good guys, New York Mets legend Mookie Wilson, tells his side of the story—from the ground ball through Bill Buckner’s legs that capped the miraculous 1986 World Series Game Six rally against the Boston Red Sox to the rise and fall of a team that boasted such outsize personalities as Darryl Strawberry, Keith Hernandez, Dwight Gooden, Gary Carter, Lenny Dykstra, and Davey Johnson. Growing up in rural South Carolina in the 1960s, Mookie took to heart the lessons of his father, a diligent sharecropper who believed in the abiding power of faith—and taught his son the game that would change his life. When Mookie landed in Shea Stadium in 1980, the Mets were a perennial cellar-dweller overshadowed by the crosstown Yankees. But inspired by Mookie’s legendary hustle, they would soon become the toast of New York. And even when their off-field antics—made famous by a contingency of the team called “the Scum Bunch”—eclipsed their on-field successes, Mookie stayed above the fray. In 1986, the Mets were a juggernaut, winning 108 games during the regular season and edging the Houston Astros for the National League pennant following a grueling 16-inning Game Six classic. In the World Series against Boston, in an epic at-bat that led to the Buckner error, Mookie would ignite a fire under the Mets, helping to force a Game Seven. New York would win to become World Champions. In an era when role models in sports were hard to come by, some tarnished by their own hubris and greed, Mookie Wilson remained the exception: a man of humility and honor when it mattered the most. WITH A FOREWORD BY KEITH HERNANDEZ
