In July of 2019, I blogged about "The Miracle Boys of Summer". Today, we have one fewer. Hall of Famer pitchTom Seaver died yesterday, at the age 75. He had Lewy Body dementia but it was announced the contributing cause of death was COVID-19.
A couple of times over the years, I blogged about Tom Seaver and the Midnight Sun game he pitched for the Alaska Goldpanners in 1965.
Seeing the Midnight Sun game is on my bucket list - it is played in Fairbanks on the longest day of the year, starting around 10pm, and is played without any artificial lighting.
As for "The Miracle Boys of Summer", here is that post:
With age comes nostalgia. In my mind, they will be forever young. Even
if you don't like baseball, please stick around for this story.
I grew up in the Bronx in the 1950's and 1960's. The New York City I
was born into had three major league teams. The teams were the New York
Yankees, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants.
The year I was born, the Yankees played the Dodgers in the World Series,
and the Yankees won. In fact, until 1959, the World Series featured at
least one New York City team. Sometimes both were New York City teams.
But by the time I was old enough to discover and start loving baseball,
those days were over. As it happens, neither of my parents were baseball
fans, but I managed to discover the sport. Meanwhile,the Dodgers and
the Giants fled New York City for California. There was only one team
left in town, the Bronx Bombers (nickname for the Yankees) and I became a
Yankees fan.
In 1962, New York City gained a second team - the New York Mets.
Managed by the former Yankees manager Casey Stengel and populated with a
combination of young players and players way past their prime (some of
them from the Dodgers), they quickly gained the love of New York City
fans. Lovable, yes. But champions they were not.
They were bad. No, they were BAD. Their first season, they won 40
games and lost 120. The second year they improved, winning 51 games (and
losing 111). For several years, they were mired in mediocrity, but the
love of their fans never wavered. And, during that time period, I
abandoned the Yankees and turned to the New York Mets. The Amazin'
Mets.
Then, along came 1969. In a series of what seemed to be miracles, the
Mets started to win game after day (that year, they won 100 games) as
the front runner Cubs faded. The Mets united a city that seemed to be
deteriorating daily. My spouse was at the game where they won the
pennant against the Braves. I cheered from the classrooms I was
attending as a high school senior.
Then, in one final miracle, they went to the World Series - and won in five games (the Series is a best four of seven).
This past weekend, the 1969 Mets were given the keys to the city by the
Mayor. It was a weekend of memories, a weekend of nostalgia.
It's been 50 years. I am a senior citizen now and no longer a baseball
fan. But this brought me back to a special time. I wish I could have
been at Citi Field, but it wasn't all joy. The years have not been kind
to all of the Miracle Mets, just as the years aren't necessarily kind to
us.
Not all of the 1969 Mets were there. Their manager, former Dodger Gil
Hodges, died at the age of 47. Their general manager (Johnny Murphy)
died in 1970. One of their stars, Tommy Agee, died in 1981 at age 58.
Another, Tug McGraw (better known to many as Tim McGraw's father) died
from brain cancer in 2004 at the age of 59 . Donn Clendenon, who became a
lawyer after his playing days were over, is no longer with us. Ed
Charles died last year.
Tom Seaver, the Hall of Fame pitcher, has dementia (he wasn't able to
attend). Eddie Kranepool recently had a kidney transplant.
And there are those who are still active in their communities such as
Cleon Jones, who was 26 when he played in 1969. Now he is 86 and a
community volunteer, still active in making where he lives in Alabama a
better place for its residents.
A weekend of nostalgia over, we all return to everyday. Time marches
on, and we know there will be no 75th anniversary with the original
players. Time marches on.
But for this weekend, it was a chance to look back at our youth, our childhoods.
Tom Seaver, may you forever RIP.
Seaver’s passing makes me sad. And I worry for Bud Harrelson. We barely saw him at Long Island Ducks games last year, heisnot well.
ReplyDeleteI saw the notice yesterday, but I didn't know who he was. Thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love the game of baseball. My favourite movie is 'Field of Dreams'. I'm not sure what it is about the huge pull of nostalgia for the game, but it definitely is big. Maybe it brings back the care-free days of childhood summers?
ReplyDeleteI would have loved to be there for this. There's just something about the game...
Tom spent three years with the White Sox, during which time he got his 300th win. I remember him from that '69 team because several players on that team had come from the White Sox (Tommie Agee and Al Weis came in the Tommy Davis trade, and JC Martin was the PTBNL for Ken Boyer). It's a sad day....
ReplyDeleteDuring the early 60s, our family was really into baseball. The LA Dodgers. The players were all so cool. My younger twin brothers middle names were Sandy and Walter after Sandy Colfax and Walter Alston. Sad about Tom Seaver.
ReplyDeleteAh, the Miracle Mets, the team I loved to hate! Tom Seaver was a great pitcher, one of the best in his day. I actually saw more of him when he played for Cincinnati, but I'm sure he always carried that Mets team in his heart.
ReplyDelete