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Showing posts from May, 2020

Chris Young: Former Mets Pitcher Who Came Back To Haunt Them In the World Series (2011-2012)

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Christopher Ryan Young was Born on May 25, 1979 in Dallas, Texas. The tall six foot ten inch right hander was a star pitcher & basketball player in high school. He tossed two no hitters in baseball & led his team to a Texas State Championship in basketball.  Young attended Princeton University & became the first Ivy Leagues two sport Rookie of the Year. He was selected in the third round of the 2000 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Young went to the Montreal Expos & Texas Rangers organizations as he was rushed through the minor leagues. He debuted with the Rangers at the Ballpark in Arlington on August 24th earning no decision against the Minnesota Twins. He earned a loss next time out then went 3-1 in the month of September. The next season he was 12-7, tying a Rangers record for most wins by a Rookie. He also posted a 4.26 ERA which were both second to Kenny Rodgers on the Ranger staff. Young led the team with 137 strike outs in 164 innings pitched. Tha

Remembering Mets History: (1988) Mets Seven Game Win Streak & Benches Clear in L.A.

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Saturday May 21st 1988: Davey Johnson's first place Mets (29-11) were riding a five game win streak, 4 1/2 games in front of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL East.  Tonight they were in Los Angeles facing Tommy Lasorda's Dodgers (22-16) who were 1/2 game behind the Houston Astros. The starting pitchers were Dwight Gooden & Tim Belcher. Doc Gooden came into the game with a 7-0 record, one of the best starts any Mets pitcher has ever had. Tonight the Doctor was in again, he pitched a complete game four hit shut out, he struck out six batters & walked just one.  Gooden went to 8-0 on the season with a 2.77 ERA. Gooden would go on to start the All Star Game in Cincinnati & finish the year at 18-9 (5th most wins in NL) with 175 strike outs (8th in the NL) & a 3.19 ERA. In the Mets 2nd, Howard Johnson singled, Mookie Wilson doubled & Dave Magadan drew an intentional pass.  Gooden came through with base hit putting New York up 2-0. The Mets put put

Remembering Mets History: (1978) Bobby Valentine Drives In Mets Winning Runs

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Tuesday April 18th 1978: This one is a blast from the past to honor Bobby Valentine as  a player. Remembering a game winning hit he had in the late seventies having his moment in the sun...... Early on in this season the Joe Torre's New York Mets (7-5) were in first place as they visited St. Louis to play Vern Rapp's Cardinals (5-6). A small crowd of 5,728 showed up at Bush Stadium to see the Mets Mike Bruhert go against Eric Rasmussen. Starting Lineups New York Mets         St. Louis Cardinals 1 Lenny Randle 3B 1 Jim Dwyer RF 2 Doug Flynn 2B 2 Garry Templeton SS 3 Bruce Boisclair RF 3 Jerry Morales CF 4 Steve Henderson LF 4 Ted Simmons C 5 Willie Montanez 1B 5 Keith Hernandez 1B 6 Lee Mazzilli CF 6 Ken Reitz 3B 7 John Stearns C 7 Dane Iorg LF 8 Tim Foli SS 8 Mike Tyson 2B 9 Mike Bruhert P 9 Eric Rasmussen P The Cards struck first as the pitcher Eric Rasmussen singled & moved on to second after a base hit by Jim Dwyer. Gary Templeton then dou

The History of Yogi Berra & Yoo-Hoo

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Yogi Berra & Yoo-Hoo go all the way back to the 1950's. Yogi had met the owners of the Yoo-Hoo company (the Ol iveri family) at a Country Club function near his home in New Jersey. The product wasn't selling that well and they asked Yogi's opinion. He said he liked the soft drink and started promoting it. Soon Yogi put Yoo-Hoo on the map, by appearing in commercials, ads and supermarkets promotions.  He would show up at the factory in Carlstadt, New Jersey and was a hero to the factory workers. He became a Vice President of the company and owned a large amount of stock. Yogi wrote in his auto biography "One time I was in the office and the phone rang, I always answer a ringing phone, the woman on the other end asked if Yoo-Hoo was hyphenated. I said, 'No ma'am, it's not even carbonate d." He was still involved with the company while he was coach & then manager of the Mets in the mid seventies. Eventually as the company's ownershi