centerfield maz

Francisco Javier Alvarez was born November 19th, 2001, in Guatire, Venezuela. His parents Jose & Yolanda had four children. Sadly, Francisco lost an older sister as a teenager. As a boy he worked for his father's construction company.  Trivia : His nickname is "the Troll". Alvarez was a fan of fellow countryman Henry Blanco, who inspired him to be a catcher. Blanco spent part of 2009 with the Mets as well. Mets: Alvarez was part of the Mets Latin American Baseball Acadamy, getting signed by the team in 2018.  Learning the English Language: At age 16 he came to the US to play baseball & was accompanied by his parents to help the transition. At the time he also spoke no English. Francisco studied the English language, through his first few seasons, he got help from coaches, as well as teammates Jose Butto, Bret Baty & SNY's Steve Gelbs. He soon was proudly able to conduct interviews, something all foreign players should make the effort to do. Minor League...

Calvin Lee Koonce was born on November 18, 1940, at Fayetteville, North Carolina. The six-foot right-handed pitcher attended Campbell Town University.  In his freshman year with the Fighting Camels he earned All American honors. Koonce was a star & basketball player getting elected to the schools Hall of Fame. Trivia: Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry & his brother Jim Perry also attended Campbell University  In 1961 Koonce signed with the Chicago Cubs. Koonce was in the major leagues the next season, making relief appearances in his first two outings. On April 27th, 1962he made his first start, pitching a complete game one run victory in St. Louis against the Cards.  One Hitter: On July 13th he pitched the best game of his career, it came at Wrigley Field against the Cincinnati Reds. In the 4th innings he allowed a base hit to the Reds; Don Blasingame, but he then retired the next 17 batters in a row, finishing off a one hit shutout. He pit...

Saturday October 20th, 1973, World Series Game #6 Oakland Alameda Coliseum, Oakland California Tom & Nancy Seaver arrive in  Oakland . Bud & Yvonne Harrelson Arrive in Oakland Managers Yogi Berra & Dick Williams As the Mets arrived in California, they were one game away from winning their second World Series in four years. The Mets were confident & were feeling good, they had their ace Tom Seaver scheduled to start in a rematch with Catfish Hunter. Yogi's Pitching Decision: Yogi Berra made the pitching decision days before, but it may have affected the outcome of the series.  The Mets went with a three-man rotation which was pretty much the norm in a short series in those days. But the Mets had George Stone ready to go. Stone had become their fourth starter he went  12-3 with a 2.80 ERA & a .800 winning % in the regular season. Since July 14th he had won his last eight decisions.  Stone  had last pitched six d...