centerfield maz

  As the Who took the stage Pete Townshend informed the audience it was the 36th time they had played in that building. New York had always been a second home to the Who with the area being their largest US fanbase.  The Who & Madison Square Garden: Some of their MSG highlights include, 1974 their first MSG Shows for four nights, in 1979 they started their first US Tour without Keith Moon with new drummer Kenny Jones for five nights at MSG. In 2001 they stole the show at an emotional star-studded Concert for NY after the 911 attacks, which turned out to be John Entwistle's last US live performance. In 1996 & 2012 they performed Quadrophenia in its entirety over a total eight nights, in 2019 they performed with an orchestra & now in 2025 they played their final New York gig.  Farewell Tour: The Who had Farewell tours before, dating as far back as 1982 but now as Pete Townshend & Roger Daltry are in their eighties, it's most likely the last one just as the...

Clarence Coleman was born August 25, 1937 in Orlando, Florida.  Choo- Choo Moniker:  Clarence said, as a kid he was quick & ran so fast, that his friends started calling him Choo-Choo in reference to a speeding train. The name stuck The five foot nine, left hand hitting Coleman started out playing in the Negro Leagues, playing with the legendary Indianapolis Clowns. In 1955, he was then signed by the Washington Senators but was soon released. He then signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers but was taken away by the Philadelphia Phillies as a Rule V draft choice in the late fifties. Choo Choo played in the minor leagues from 1955- 1961 before getting a big league call up. He would play 13 seasons total in the minors batting .251 with 67 HRs & 212 RBIs.  Choo-Choo hit his minor league best .288 with good power 13 HRs 10 doubles & 45 RBIs in 73 games. Trivia: At AAA Spokane in 1961 he was a teammate of former Brooklyn Dodger pitcher, Don...

Thursday August 28th, 2003: Art Howe's fifth place Mets (59-73) were struggling thru another season at this point in time, but there was some bright spots in the teams future. That June, the rookie speedster, Jose Reyes had just been brought adding some excitement to the ball club.  From June 10th to August 27th thru 65 games, Reyes was batting .309 with 12 doubles, four triples 44 runs scored & had stolen 13 bases in 16 attempts. He was  dazzling everyone with his speed, as well as his fine play on the field. Tonight, the Mets were in Atlanta taking on Bobby Cox's first place Braves (85-48) in front of 27,856 fans at Turner Field. Al Leiter (12-7) went up against former Met, the 2000 NLCS hero, Mike Hampton (12-5). Leiter had won four of his last six starts. Thru the first four innings, both pitchers held each opponent down scoreless. In the top of the 5th inning, the switch-hitting Jose Reyes led off  with a solo HR to left field batting from the right side of the...

Monday August 28th, 1989: For the first time in MLB history, the two reigning Cy Young Award winners faced off against each other in a regular season matchup. The New York Mets sent Frank Viola to the mound to face the reigning World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers & their ace Orel Hershiser. In 1988, Frank Viola had been the A.L. Cy Young winner while pitching with the Minnesota Twins. In 1987 he had won the World Series MVP for World Champion Twins.  On the July 31st, 1989,  Viola came to New York at the trade deadline.  It was a huge addition to the Mets staff that featured Dwight Gooden, David Cone, Sid Fernandez, Ron Darling & Bob Ojeda. Frank Viola had gone 8-12 that year in Minnesota & was 1-3 entering this game on a personal three game losing streak with the Mets for an overall 9-15 season record.  Orel Hershiser was the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner & the 1988 World Series MVP. The Los Angeles Dodgers had surpri...

  August 30th 1965: Casey Stengel was to turn 75 years old on July 30th, 1965. The Mets were having a ceremony for him between games of a double header on July 25th. The previous night, Stengel was getting out of a friend’s car after a party; he fell & broke his hip. Two days later he needed surgery & had a metal ball inserted in the hip to reduce the fracture. Due to his health issues & his age the long baseball career of Casey Stengel on the field, came to an end on July 30th, 1965. In a press conference at Shea Stadium, Stengel announced his retirement, stepping down as Mets manager.  He was to be named vice president of Mets West Coast operations. More a title than anything else, so he could be near his home in Glendale, California. The Mets new manager was to be Wes Westrum. Westrum who had been a Mets coach, had taken over when Stengel broke his hip. He would now assume the role of full-time manager, the second skipper in team history. On Septe...

After the 1972 season, the Mets traded pitchers Gary Gentry & Danny Frisella to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for pitcher George Stone & second baseman Felix Millan. Millan was an All-Star infielder & a good singles hitter. The Mets were obviously looking for an upgrade at second base. Ken Boswell had not been hitting & his defense had always been questionable for everyday play. With the acquisition of Millan, Boswell's playing time was certainly going to be limited.  In 1973, the steady Millan would lead the team in hitting (.290) hits (185) runs (82) & games played (153). Ken Boswell secretly wanted to be traded where he could play every day, but he wasn't the kind of guy to threaten "play me or trade me".    He became a utility player & became the team's top pinch hitter embracing his new role. Boswell collected a dozen pinch hits on the season going 12-51 batting .235 in that role. From late August to the ...

Kerry Jerome Tillman , known as Rusty ; was born on August 29, 1960, in Jacksonville, Florida. The six-foot right hand hitting outfielder, attended Florida College & was the first player out of the school to make it to the big leagues.  Tillman was drafted by the New York Mets in the tenth round of the 1979 draft. In 1979 Rusty began playing in the Mets organization at the Northwest & New York Penn. Leagues. In 1980 he hit .316 at A Ball Lynchburg, getting to AA Jackson the following season where he hit .278.  In 1982 he reached AAA Tidewater playing for manager Jack Aker, with teammates Ron Darling, Walt Terrell, Bruce Bochy, Mike Fitzgerald, Mike Cubbage & Jose Oquendo. In 108 games with the Tides, Tillman hit .322 second on the club to veteran Gil Flores. MLB Career: On June 6th, he got called up & made his MLB debut as a pinch hitter in a 6-3 Mets win over the Cincinnati Reds at Riverfront Stadium.  Tillman's next three games would be exciting, as...