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Tom Seaver, without question the greatest pitcher, the greatest player, in team history, was the first player to be immortalized and to have his number retired by the New York Mets organization.
It took a while, but eventually, Jerry Koosman and Dwight Gooden, two other Mets pitchers, have had their numbers retired. There was no surprise for most Mets fans that Doc was finally honored, given the electricity he provided for the Mets when he first emerged as a teenager. Like Seaver before him, he had fans coming to Shea Stadium just because he would be pitching on that day or night.
Koosman would always be relegated to No. 2 on the staff behind Seaver. But for those who actually saw Koosman pitch for the Mets, it was quite obvious that he, too, was deserving of such an honor to have HIS number retired by the club.
It’s true that Kooz always took a back seat to Tom Terrific, yet HE was the winner of Game 5, the clincher, of the 1969 World Series. And there is a guy who was in a similar position while sharing a spot in the rotation with Gooden – Sid Fernandez.
El Sid always took a back seat to Doc…and Ron Darling…AND Bobby Ojeda. Yet after being bumped from the post season rotation, HE was guy who saved Game 7 of the 1986 World Series by holding down the Boston Red Sox for 3 2/3 scoreless with 7 strikeouts while the Mets came roaring back from a 3-0 deficit to win the Series.
Alan Karmin is an award-winning journalist and author. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and spent most of his life growing up in the New Jersey suburbs. Alan's family were avid Brooklyn Dodgers fans and when the Dodgers moved west, the Mets became the team to root for. The Mets have always been a true focal point, Alan even wrote a term paper in high school to analyze what was wrong with the Mets. While at the University of Miami, Alan honed his craft covering the, gulp, Yankees during spring trainings in Fort Lauderdale for a local NBC affiliate, as well as the Associated Press and UPI. He broadcasted baseball games for the University of Miami, and spring training games for the Baltimore Orioles and Montreal Expos. New York Mets Mania is a forum for Alan to write about his favorite team and for baseball fans to chime in and provide their thoughts and ideas about New York's Amazin' Mets.
