#16? #18? Does anyone know what these numbers mean? If
you are a New York Mets fan, you should. They mean the same as 37, 14, 41, 42,
31, 36, 17 and 24. Mets Immortality.
And now, Steve Cohen, Mets fan first and owner second, is
retiring 16 and 18 next summer.
Dwight Gooden and Darrel Strawberry will join teammate
and Captain, Keith Hernandez on the roof of Citifield as a tribute to the last
World Series team in 1986 and through the portal of a rich history. They will
join the two greatest managers, Gil Hodges and Casey Stengel, the best pitchers
of the early Mets, Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman, the greatest catcher, Mike Piazza
and the best representatives of the Mets’ proverbial ancestors, the Brooklyn
Dodgers and New York Giants, Jackie Robinson, and Willie Mays.
While the Mets have not had a winning history like that
other New York team, it is however, rich with meaningful and exciting events
and occurrences which have brought joy and memories Mets fans cherish. Banner
Days, Old Timers Games, the aforementioned World Series championships, Tom
Seaver’s “almost perfect” game, the “Ya Gotta Believe” season, Johan Santana’s “no-hitter”,
and the “Chavez Miracle Catch” are just some of them.
As a long time, long-suffering, loyal Mets Fan, who has
bled “Orange and Blue Since ‘62”, I can assure you that these retirements are
well-deserved. After all, Doc is only
surpassed by Tom Seaver in all-time wins and followed by Jerry Koosman. And The
Straw leads all players in home runs, followed by only David Wright and Mike Piazza.
In my view, there are three numbers which should be
retired next: #45 for John Franco, all-time saves leader, #5 David Wright, number
two in home runs and #7 Ed Kranepool, all-time games played leader, who played
from 1962 to 1979. There may be others that you may think should be recognized
with this honor, but you cannot really argue with mine.
But for now, let’s celebrate with Doc and Straw in 2024.
Lets Go Mets!
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