Growing Up A Mets Fan

By Ed "In Westchester" Semlies
Posted Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Oh, these are heady days to be a Mets fan.

The team has been very good for a couple of years now. We have young stars in Beltran, Wright and Reyes. We have potential stars in Milledge, Pelfrey, Humber, and others. We have veterans like Glavine, El Duque, and Delgado. A hard nosed catcher in Paul Lo Duca, and great role players like Endy Chavez. As a parent, I enjoy being able to start teaching my oldest daughter (she is nearly 7) about the game and about the players. It is easy, of course, since the team is going so well.

I bet my dad wishes he had it this easy when I was young.

The Mets of my youth were a far cry from the Mets of today. Instead of Glavine, we had Pat Zachry. Instead of Reyes, we had Doug Flynn. Instead of Wright, we had about 59 other guys playing third. We did have a hard nosed catcher, John “Bad Dude” Stearns, who to this day remains possibly my all time favorite Met. And instead of Endy, we had guys like Ed Kranepool and Rusty Staub. I speak of the late 70’s, early 80’s Mets of course. Not good times.

My dad was a Mets fan. He stood alone against the Yankee fans of my mother’s family. They tried hard to convert me, but it did not happen. Oh, I would learn the stats in the Sunday paper so I could wow the family with my ability to recite key numbers of Yankee players, but I also threw in Mets stats as well. Dad would take me to a few games a year whenever he could get tickets. My first game was at Shea, and I still remember the first time I walked out of the tunnel and saw the field. It was wonderful. Perfectly manicured grass, the smell of it. Hot dogs, pretzels (to this day, I HAVE to have a pretzel at a Mats game). We would get there early, have lunch in the parking lot, and then watch BP. Those were the highlights for me.

It was hard to be a Mets fan in those days. Wins were few and far between. All-Stars were what other teams had, and we were lucky MLB has the “one rep from each team rule” which made sure we had a guy there, who was usually Stearns. I enjoyed watching him trot out there with all the other stars. It was the highlight of the season. Those were few and far between as well. I didn’t fully understand all that went into the trading of Tom Seaver, though I know Dad was mad.

There was no Beltran in the outfield. The “closest” we came to a good outfield arm was Joel Youngblood. He and Stearns combined on a fantastic throw-em out where Dave Parker, who was quite a big guy, broke his cheekbone colliding with Stearns after Youngblood made a perfect throw from right. Youngblood is know for that and for getting hits for two different teams in two cities in the same day, after getting a hit for the Mets during a day game in Chicago, then, getting a hit that night as an Expo. Only the Mets of the 70’s would have that happen. Stearns would be converted to 3rd base, and his arm would go. Lee Mazilli would arrive, with high hopes, but the full potential, at least the hopes of what that would be, was never reached. There was a lot of losing. The highlights were few and far between. But the payback for all of it would be sweet.

You all know the history, the late 70’s and early 80’s turned to the mid 80’s and victory. Those who stuck it out as fans were rewarded. We saw the emergence of youngsters like Doc and Straw. Veterans like Keith and Gary. Scrappiness from Backman and Dykstra. Mookie tearing around the bases or in center field. The 80’s became the 90’s, and more losing. Now, we enjoy more winning. It is a cycle. Met fans are used to it, we savor it. It sounds cliché, but the winning is that much sweeter for all the losing.

As I start to teach my daughters about the Mets, I will tell them that winning is not something that happens all the time. There will be times when they lose. My oldest tells me a lot of her classmates are Yankee fans. But she has not fallen prey to peer pressure. Of course, the photo of Mookie and Buckner hanging on the wall helps, as do the hat I constantly wear, and the stuff I have bought her.

I am training the 2 year old as well.

She has a pair of Mets socks, and she loves to wear them. (note, they are NOT pink, they are white with the logo). I love it when the older one asks what the score is, and if they have gotten any points yet (we are working on the proper terms). She shows a genuine interest in learning about the game.

My neighbors are dealing with the peer pressure issue, and not having as much luck. One of them is a transplanted Red Sox fan, whose daughter is rooting for the Yankees, because that is what all her friends do. Another is from Baltimore, and his son is rooting for the Yankees as well. It is painful for both of them.

So, I have it easier than Dad did. The Mets are winning, and it is easier for kids to root for a winner. In a way, I wish they could follow the same path as I did, but it would be harder for them. Instead, they will get to enjoy watching winning baseball, and great young players come into their own. I hope I do as good a job as Dad did. I’ll ask him for some advise when I need it.

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