Displaying items by tag: Jerry Koosman

The 1976 season was a strange one for the New York Mets. Keep in mind that although Joe McDonald was the General Manager of the Mets, it was in name only, as M. Donald Grant was the man running the show and had his hands in everything.

The 1976 season actually got its start when Grant hired Joe Frazier as manager on October 3, 1975, immediately after the season had ended. The Mets had fired Yogi Berra two-thirds of the way through the 1975 season, replacing him with coach and former Mets shortstop Roy McMillan. Rather than keeping McMillan on, and giving him a chance, the Mets promoted Frazier from Tidewater to take over for the 1976 campaign. (Frazier would not get much of a chance either. Lasting only the one season and 45 games into the ’77 season.)

Then on December 12, 1975, Grant made his one big move of the off-season, basically banishing fan favorite Rusty Staub to the Detroit Tigers for an over-the-hill Mickey Lolich, the 1968 World Series hero.

The game has obviously changed. I never thought of baseball as a dangerous game. I thought of football as a dangerous game, but not baseball. I learned how to take out a second baseman to break up a double play in Little League. I learned how to barrel into a catcher if he had the ball and was blocking the plate. And I learned that I was going to GET BARRELED INTO if I was blocking the plate when I was catching. I got some of the eight broken noses I suffered over the years that way.

There are things that were just a part of baseball. There are things that were not in the rule book. It was just understood. It was the “code.” One thing I was always good at was stealing signs. It helped that I had a photographic memory. But I paid attention while everyone else was jerking around. I didn’t have to guess what pitch was coming when I was hitting, I often knew what was coming. And, no, I didn’t always peek back at the catcher, I wouldn’t do that. I picked up on the odd habits and, perhaps, tics that a pitcher might have that would give away what he was about to do. In fact, if a batter peeked back at MY signs, he got buzzed behind the ear on a throw back to my battery mate.

The best pitching staff in baseball. The best pitching staff the Mets have ever had. The best pitching staff ever assembled. Hmmm. Can’t miss. After years of hope…or rather…hopelessness…it is refreshing to hear such high praise…any kind of praise really…for the Mets. And I can understand why the excitement about the Mets starting rotation is erupting like Mount St. Helen.

But is everyone too quick to adorn this group as the greatest ever assembled? Is the hype truly deserved at this point…or is it premature?

Mets fans have been victimized by the hype before. Remember Generation K? The big three in that group were Paul Wilson, Bill Pulsipher, and Jason Isringhausen. Bobby Jones was also a part of that staff that was supposed to be the greatest staff ever coming together. However, that greatness never materialized. In fact, the only one who had any kind of an effective career was Isringhausen who emerged as a dominant closer for a short time after overcoming numerous arm troubles.