Sandy Alderson Is Trying To Avoid The Year "2" Blues

As the dawn of the new millenium arrived, while people were talking about whether Y2K was going to give them the blues, the Mets were one of the best teams in the National League.  They were in the middle of their only back-to-back playoff appearances in franchise history and things appeared to be on the up-and-up.

Only two years later, the Mets were at the bottom of the NL East standings, becoming laughingstocks of the league and making regular appearances on David Letterman's Top Ten lists due to their futility on the field.  How did the Mets fall so quickly from their perch atop the National League?  Blame it on Y2B, otherwise known as the Year "2" Blues, a condition that occurs every time the calendar ends in a "2".

The Year "2" Blues has taken other forms in the past.  In the Mets' inaugural season of 1962, fans were happy to have National League baseball back in New York.  However, the product on the field was more Little League than National League, as the Mets lost a record 120 games.  Ten years later, the 1972 Mets actually did well, posting an 83-73 record (six games were erased due to the first players' strike in MLB history) and finishing in third place in the NL East.  However, during that strike, the team suffered through the tragedy of losing their manager, Gil Hodges, to a fatal heart attack.

Then came the 1982 season, and Y2B as we know it today hit the Mets will full force.  It all began when the Mets were looking for a power hitter and thought they found one in George Foster.

Don't look at us like that, George.  You were the one who sucked as a Met.

Prior to the 1982 season, George Foster was one of the premier home run hitters in the National League.  In 1977, he became the first player since Willie Mays to hit as many as 50 home runs in a season when he banged out 52 long balls for the Cincinnati Reds.  He followed that up by pacing the NL in homers (40) and RBI (120) in 1978.  In the six years prior to 1982, Foster was a five-time All-Star who averaged 33 HR and 112 RBI per season.  He wasn't just a home run hitter, as he batted over .300 three times and finished the six-year stretch with a .297 batting average.

In his final year in Cincinnati (1981), despite one-third of the season being wiped out by a players' strike, Foster still managed to collect 22 HR and 90 RBI, good for third place and second place in the league, respectively, and earning him his first Silver Slugger Award (the award did not exist prior to 1980).  George Foster was at the top of his game after the 1981 season, making him the top trade target for then-Mets' general manager Frank Cashen.  Oops.

On February 10, 1982, Cashen traded three players to the Reds for George Foster, hoping that this trade with Cincinnati would work out better than the ill-fated 1977 trade of Tom Seaver, which sent the Mets into the chasm they were still in.  Foster responded by turning in the worst full season of his career, batting .247 with 13 HR and 70 RBI in 151 games.  Needless to say, the Mets finished the 1982 season in last place.  Although Foster recovered to pick up 28 HR and 90 RBI for the 1983 Mets, his batting average continued to go down (.241), and his 38 walks kept his on-base percentage down to a career-low .289.  The dozens of fans at Shea Stadium had seen enough of George Foster, and he became the prime target of boo birds until his final game in New York in 1986.

The Mets did win the World Series in 1986, but by then Foster was long gone, having been released by the team in August.  After their championship season, the Mets remained in contention until 1991, when they suffered their first losing season since 1983.  Again, the front office felt a change was needed to bring the team back into contention in the NL East, so they opened their wallets and spent freely in 1992.  What they got in return was The Worst Team Money Could Buy.

Bobby Bonilla.  Bret Saberhagen.  Eddie Murray.  Jeff Torborg.  All four had participated in the postseason for other teams prior to 1992.  All four became Mets to try to recapture their prior successes in New York.  All four tanked in 1992.

For Bobby Bonilla, his free agent signing meant he was coming back home.  In his final season in Pittsburgh, the future Bronx tour guide hit .302 with a league-leading 44 doubles, 18 HR, 100 RBI and 102 runs scored.  Once in New York, his play deteriorated, as he hit .249, drove in 70 runs and scored 62 times.  His 23 doubles were barely half of his 1991 total, although he did improve his home run output by an earth-shattering one (19 HR in 2002).

Bret Saberhagen and Eddie Murray also did poorly in their first seasons in New York, as Saberhagen won only three games in an injury-plagued season and Murray batted only .261 with 16 HR, despite playing in 156 games.  As a result, the Mets lost 90 games for the first time in nine years and did not finish above .500 again until 1997.

Clearly, former Manager of the Year Jeff Torborg did not have a clue how to keep his expensive bunch of underachievers focused as Bonilla became an earplug-wearing, error-questioning, reporter-threatening malcontent, Saberhagen tried to get bleach throwing to become an Olympic event and Murray became the Sultan of Sulk.

One would assume the Mets would have learned their lesson after being hit by the Y2B bug for the second time in 1992.  But we all know what happens when you assume.  We also know that the Mets sometimes have a hard time learning from past mistakes.

In 2002, the Mets were only two years removed from the franchise's fourth World Series appearance.  They followed up their pennant-winning campaign with a disappointing 2001 season, finishing 82-80 and needing a strong final month just to push their record above .500.  General manager Steve Phillips, who wasn't present for the previous Y2B infestations (the Mets were transitioning from Frank Cashen to Al Harazin in 1992), felt the Mets were just a few trades away from erasing the mediocrity of 2001 and returning to the playoffs.  Things didn't work out exactly as planned.

Phillips sought to improve the right side of the infield by acquiring former All-Stars Mo Vaughn and Roberto Alomar.  He also wanted to add power and speed to the outfield.  Enter former Mets Jeromy Burnitz and Roger Cedeño.  Four words can summarize how each player did for the 2002 Mets.

Bust.  Bust.  Bust.  Bust.

If only Mo Vaughn's batting average had been higher than his weight, things could have turned out differently for the 2002 Mets.  Or not.

Mo Vaughn was the only one of the foursome who had anything resembling a productive year for the Mets in 2002 (.259, 26 HR, 72 RBI).  Of course, that came from a player whose average season from 1995-2000 (.306, 38 HR, 118 RBI) left a little more to be desired.

Roberto Alomar, on the other hand, had just come off an MVP-caliber season in 2001 (Vaughn missed the entire 2001 season with an injury).  Alomar hit .336 with 34 doubles, 12 triples, 20 HR, 100 RBI, 113 runs scored and 30 stolen bases for the Cleveland Indians in 2001 and was poised to become the best all-around second baseman in Mets history.  That title still belongs to Edgardo Alfonzo, as Alomar was a shadow of himself in 2002.  In fact, his numbers in 1½ seasons as a Met (.265, 13 HR, 75 RBI, 22 SB) were less than what he produced in his final season in Cleveland.

From 1997-2001, former Met outfielder Jeromy Burnitz was among the most consistent power threats in baseball.  Playing five years in Milwaukee, Burnitz averaged 33 HR and 102 RBI per season and hoped to become the first legitimate power threat in right field for the Mets since Darryl Strawberry switched coasts following the 1990 season.  That did not happen, as Burnitz collected only 19 HR and 54 RBI in 154 games in 2002, while watching his batting average dip to .215.  Burnitz did follow Strawberry in one respect, as he became a Dodger in 2003 after being traded to Los Angeles in July.

Roger Cedeño came out of nowhere to have an amazing season with the Mets in 1999, batting .313 and setting the franchise record with 66 stolen bases.  He was then included in the trade that netted the Mets Derek Bell and 2000 NLCS MVP Mike Hampton, but came back to New York in 2002 to join fellow ex-Met Jeromy Burnitz in the outfield.  He thanked the Mets by reporting to camp out of shape and becoming the worst speedster acquisition since Vince Coleman.  Cedeño finished the 2002 season by batting .260 and stealing only 25 bases in 149 games.  In addition, his once-fleet feet produced only 19 doubles and two triples, but they did develop the uncanny ability to generate boos from the Shea faithful, boos that continued to be heard until the Mets' next winning season in 2005.

That was then.  This is now.  The year is 2012.  It's a Y2B season.

Second-year general manager Sandy Alderson is not falling into the trap his predecessors couldn't avoid jumping into.  There have been no blockbuster trades featuring former All-Stars to report this offseason and the only acquisitions of note have been to strengthen the bullpen (Jon Rauch, Ramon Ramirez, Frank Francisco) and outfield (Andres Torres).  Scott Hairston was re-signed to a one-year deal and four arbitration-eligible players (Mike Pelfrey, Manny Acosta and the aforementioned Ramirez and Torres) were signed as well.

This is not your father's Mets team.  Nor is it Frank Cashen's, Al Harzin's or Steve Phillips' team.  It's a new Mets team with a different general manager who, unfortunately, is restricted by what he can do by the owners' ongoing financial problems.  However, even if the team did not have money woes, Alderson was not going to be the type of GM to make big-ticket moves just to make a splash in the free agent and trade market.  He is a thinking man's GM who takes fiscally reasonable risks, rather than ones that can blow up in his face.

Is Sandy Alderson the general manager who finally has developed immunity to the Y2B bug?  Only time will tell, but the way things are being set up for the 2012 Mets and beyond, the team on the field isn't going to be laden with malcontents and aging has-beens.  The Mets are a young team that's going to play their hearts out for the fans.  They may not produce all the wins the fans would like, but they are going to be a team that's fun to root for.  That's a lot more than could be said for the teams of George Foster, Bobby Bonilla, Roberto Alomar, et al.

One Season Wonders: Terry Leach

Many players have dreams of making it to the major leagues.  Some go through many years of minor league seasoning before getting their first call to the big show.  Others bounce around from team to team in the hopes of getting a small taste of big league baseball.  Those who do both rarely get to stay in the majors for very long, usually getting a cup of coffee with the parent club before being relegated to the bench or back to the minors.

One former Met fit the criteria for all of the above scenarios, as Terry Leach was originally selected by the Boston Red Sox in the seventh round of the 1976 MLB January draft.  Soon after, that pick was voided and Leach became a free agent.  In 1977, Leach signed with the Atlanta Braves, toiling in their minor league system for four years before being released midway through the 1980 season.  New Mets GM Frank Cashen, always on the lookout for fresh young talent, scooped up Leach four days after his release from the Braves.

Leach had two brief stints with the Mets in 1981 and 1982 as a spot starter and reliever.  In 1981, he went 1-1 with a 2.55 ERA in 21 games (one start).  Leach regressed in 1982, posting a 5.35 ERA over his first 20 appearances, all in relief, before finally getting a start during the last weekend of the season against the Philadelphia Phillies.  In that start, Leach gave the Mets one of the best pitching performances in franchise history.  He threw ten shutout innings while allowing only one hit, a fifth inning triple to Luis Aguayo.  The Mets, who themselves had only one hit through the first nine innings, won the game for Leach by manufacturing a run in the tenth inning.  It was Leach's first career victory as a starter.

The dominating start by Leach to close out the 1982 season didn't translate into future success with the Mets, as Leach began the 1983 season at AAA-Tidewater and fared poorly, going 5-7 with a 4.46 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in 113 innings.  He was traded to the Chicago Cubs that summer for two minor leaguers and it was believed that his once promising career with the Mets had come to a close.  However, this was not the case, as a few short years later, Leach turned in one of the most unexpected seasons in Mets' history.

It took many years and organizations for Terry Leach to become a one-season wonder for the Mets.

Terry Hester Leach had thrown his last pitch for the Mets following the 1982 season, or so he thought.  The 1982 season only turned out to be the final chapter in Act One of Terry Leach's career with the Mets.  After his trade to the Cubs in 1983, Leach was dealt back to the Atlanta Braves, the team for which he began his professional career in 1977.  A month later, Leach was released a second time by the Braves and was re-signed the next day by Frank Cashen.  Given a new lease on his baseball life by the Mets, Leach was not going to disappoint the team.

Leach, now in his 30s, began the 1985 season in the Mets' minor league system, but didn't stay there very long.  In 24 relief appearances for Tidewater, Leach was dominant, posting a 1.59 ERA and 0.90 WHIP.  His performance for the Tides got Leach a call to the majors in June, where he once again pitched in relief with an occasional spot start when needed.  Leach performed well in his first extended stay in the majors, going 3-4 with a 2.91 ERA in 55.2 innings of work.  However, it was his work as a spot starter that got the most attention.  In four starts, Leach went 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA and 1.05 WHIP.  Opposing batters were confounded by Leach's submarine delivery and when they did get on base, they didn't hit the ball very hard.  Leach held hitters to a .221 batting average in those four starts, to go with a .272 on-base percentage and a lilliputian .295 slugging percentage.

Judging by his performance in four starts during the 1985 season, Leach appeared to be on his way to becoming a successful starting pitcher in the major leagues.  But then came the 1986 season, a season in which Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, Bobby Ojeda and Rick Aguilera made 148 of the team's 162 starts and combined to go 76-30.  With Gooden, Darling, Fernandez and Ojeda all pitching over 200 innings each, and Roger McDowell and Jesse Orosco combining to throw over 200 more, it was difficult for Leach to pitch in any role for the 1986 Mets.  As a result, Leach pitched mostly at Tidewater, going 4-4 with a 2.49 ERA in 34 appearances (15 starts), while only making six appearances (all in relief) for the 1986 Mets.

The 1987 season appeared to be no different for Leach, as the same five starters who took over the 1986 season were scheduled to begin the '87 season in the rotation.  Then Gooden missed the first two months of the season to check himself into rehab for cocaine abuse, giving Leach a spot on the major league roster.  It was an opportunity that Leach had been looking forward to for the better part of a decade.

At the age of 33, Leach was finally part of an Opening Day roster for the first time in his professional career.  Although he began the season pitching out of the bullpen, Leach performed extremely well in that role.  Leach made 18 relief appearances in April and May, going 3-0 with a 2.37 ERA and 1.19 WHIP.  But once Rick Aguilera was placed on the disabled list in late May with a strained elbow ligament, joining the rehabbing Dwight Gooden and the injured Bobby Ojeda, another spot opened up in the starting rotation.  Leach was tabbed by manager Davey Johnson to face Fernando Valenzuela and the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 1.  It would become the most important start in Terry Leach's career.

Leach pitched well against the Dodgers, besting Valenzuela with six strong innings.  He allowed one unearned run on four hits while walking one batter in the 5-2 Mets victory.  It was the first of 12 starts Leach would make during the 1987 season and each one appeared to come after another starter got hurt.

As players continued to succumb to injuries, Leach continue to thrive with his increased workload and responsibility.  Eight days after making his first start of the season,  Leach made his second.  He pitched well again, allowing two earned runs to the Chicago Cubs in six innings of work.  But the bullpen failed that afternoon at Wrigley Field, as Randy Myers and Roger McDowell combined to give up the go-ahead runs in the eighth inning of the Mets' 6-5 loss.  With the loss, the Mets dropped to 28-28 on the season.  They were in fourth place in the NL East and hopes of repeating as World Series champions were fading fast.  It was then that Terry Leach went on an unprecedented run of success for the Mets.

Following the bullpen meltdown on June 9, the team went on a major roll, going 35-18 over the next 53 games to move into second place in the NL East and within striking distance of the first place St. Louis Cardinals.  By the time the run ended in mid-August, the Mets had added Sid Fernandez to the long list of players who spent time on the disabled list.  But by then, Terry Leach had done what no one had expected him to do and what no other Mets pitcher had ever done before him.

From mid-June to mid-August, Leach made eight more starts.  The Mets won all eight of those starts.  Over that magical two-month stretch, Leach went 6-0 with two no-decisions.  He allowed two runs or less in six of those eight starts, which included his second career shutout, a two-hit masterpiece over the Cincinnati Reds on July 2.  When his streak of excellence ended, Leach's record stood at a perfect 10-0, making him the first pitcher in Mets history to win his first ten decisions in a single season.

Leach finally suffered his first loss of the season on August 15, allowing four runs in a 7-3 loss to the Cubs.  He made one more start after that loss, receiving a no-decision in the Mets' 7-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants on August 20, then returned to the bullpen for the rest of the season once the injured starters returned to the land of the healthy.  As a reliever, Leach won his 11th game of the year on September 8, earning the victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.  That win, followed by the following night's victory, pulled the Mets to within 1½ games of the division-leading Cardinals.  It was the closest the Mets would get to first place in 1987.  However, the Mets would never have found themselves in such close proximity to the division lead had it not been for Herculean effort of Terry Leach.

With injuries no longer a problem following the 1987 season, Terry Leach went back into the Mets bullpen for good.   Leach made 52 appearances in 1988, all in relief, en route to a 7-2 record and 2.54 ERA.  In 1989, Leach made 10 relief appearances for the Mets, but saw his ERA rise to 4.22.  On June 9, the Mets traded Leach to the Kansas City Royals for minor league pitcher Aguedo Vasquez.  Vasquez never pitched for the Mets and was out of professional baseball by age 24.  Leach's trade began a flurry of activity for the Mets, as a number of mainstays from the 1986 World Series champions such as Lenny Dykstra, Roger McDowell, Mookie Wilson, Lee Mazzilli and Rick Aguilera were either waived or traded.

Once traded by the Mets, Leach's career resembled his early days in professional baseball.  He was released by the Royals in 1990 and was signed by the Minnesota Twins.  He pitched two seasons in Minnesota, appearing in 105 games (all in relief) and winning a World Series ring in 1991.  He then signed with Montreal as a free agent in 1992 before being released by the Expos prior to Opening Day.  One day after his release, he was signed by the Chicago White Sox, pitching the final two seasons of his career (1992-1993) as a member of the Pale Hose.

Terry Leach was not a typical pitcher.  He didn't overpower opposing batters with a blazing fastball or possess a standard out pitch.  But for one incredible season, he was as dominant as any pitcher in the Mets' rotation.  In 1987, Leach was 11-1 for the Mets in a season where each member of the starting rotation spent time on the disabled list.  Leach pitched in six other seasons for the Mets but only managed to win 13 games in those other half-dozen campaigns.

Terry Leach's overall numbers in New York were very good.  He was 24-9 with a 3.11 ERA in 176 career appearances.  Of those 176 appearances, all but 18 came in relief.  But what he did in those 18 starts was more crucial than anything he did in his plethora of relief appearances.  Terry Leach did everything he could to save the Mets' season in 1987, but couldn't do it all on his own.  Despite his best efforts, the Mets still finished three games behind the pennant-winning St. Louis Cardinals in the NL East.  But the season could have been over well before Terry Pendleton effectively ended it on that infamous night in September at Shea Stadium.

From his beginnings in Selma, Alabama to the bright lights of New York, Terry Leach did nothing but fight his way to get to the big leagues.  He could have given up on his dream every time he was released or traded, but instead chose to use the rejection as motivation to continue to be the best pitcher he could be, regardless of the role he was used in.  Terry Leach had a dream season for the Mets in 1987 and although it was his only year in the spotlight, it was one of the most important seasons by a pitcher in club history.  Not bad for the kid from the small town in Alabama.

Note: One Season Wonders is a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting those Mets who had one and only one memorable season in New York.  For previous installments, please click on the players' names below:
 
January 2, 2012: Bernard Gilkey

It's A Bird! It's A Plane! It's The Super Mets Friends!

Greetings, true believers! Unless you've been living under a Sally Struthers-sized rock, by now you know that the Mets have undergone a complete overhaul in the front office.

First, Sandy Alderson joined the team as their general manager. He was then followed by former Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi. Now comes the news that former Dodgers GM Paul DePodesta has joined the Mets as vice president of player development and amateur scouting.

All three new hires have ties to the Oakland Athletics teams that were the focus of Michael Lewis' book, "Moneyball". Alderson served as A's GM from 1983-1997. Ricciardi was a minor league instructor and scout for Oakland from 1986-1996, before being promoted to the front office as Alderson's special assistant. DePodesta was the analytical mind who brought sabermetrics into the equation when he became the assistant to Oakland's GM Billy Beane in 1999.

In addition, all three men have shown that they can create something out of nothing, as Alderson and the other two all had a part in the transformation of the A's from a sub-.500 team to a perennial contender. (It is not known whether they were the ones who encouraged Mark McGwire to utter "by the power of Grayskull" sometime between his 98-pound weakling Rookie of the Year season in 1987 and his days as an andro-fueled behemoth a decade later.



So what is a possible explanation for the past successes of the trio of Alderson, Ricciardi and DePodesta? It appears that the threesome were inspired by superheroes and Saturday morning cartoons. Absurd? Not at all.

The 1970s cartoon, "Super Friends", featured a brother/sister superhero combo, Zan and Jayna, who were also known as The Wonder Twins. They were always accompanied by their pet monkey, Gleek.

The heroes were known for their shapeshifting abilities that they used in their quest for truth, justice and the cheesy '70s way. To use their powers, they would utter the words "form of _______", where whatever form they chose, that would be what they would transform into.


Sandy Alderson initiated the "Moneyball" way of thinking in Oakland and it was Paul DePodesta's statistical analysis that was used by the front office to determine who to draft and who to trade for. When Alderson became the CEO of the San Diego Padres, he made sure to bring DePodesta along for the ride.

Clearly, Alderson and DePodesta have been studying the ways of Zan and Jayna to become the Moneyball Twins. They have been inseparable since the '90s and have found a way to combat the traditional way of thinking in the front office with their extensive analytical procedures. When Alderson exclaimed "form of Paul Bunyan", Mark McGwire appeared. When the on-base percentage-loving DePodesta shouted "from of treadmill", the walking machine appeared in the forms of Jason Giambi and Nick Swisher.

Alderson's pet monkey in those years was J.P. Ricciardi. He assisted him in the front office and was elevated to director of player personnel once Alderson's understudy, Billy Beane became the A's general manager.

Now the Super Mets Friends are members of New York's front office, where they will try to mold a contending team with their powers to shift things around, but they must be careful with how they approach things.

For example, when Alderson hires a new manager, he might choose to say "form of fireball" and Waly Backman will appear. Of course, he must be careful to say that and not "form of firestorm", because then Francisco Rodriguez will show up with his boxing gloves on.

If DePodesta suggests that the Mets will benefit more if their walks go up, he must phrase his "form of _______" carefully or else Oliver Perez might show up.

If Ricciardi says anything...well...he's Gleek, so he's only there as a special assistant to Alderson. Despite his relatively unimportant sounding title, Ricciardi can still contribute to the franchise just like Gleek did to Zan and Jayna. He can be there to clean up any messes left by the Moneyball Twins if they make a decision they thought would help the Mets and ends up backfiring.

Of course, no mistakes should happen at the Hall of Just Us. After all, the Mets now have superheroes in the front office. They will make fans forget that the Legion of Doom (whose members include Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino and the Roy Boys [Halladay and Oswalt]) is still the four-time defending NL East Champion, won't they?

One thing Alderson and his Merry Men should remember is that Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, et al. are still fighting for justice. Where are the Wonder Twins and Gleek now? Perhaps the Super Mets Friends should have a sense of urgency to make this team better sooner than later. A five-year plan (a la the one Frank Cashen successfully implemented in the early '80s) will not work with this incarnation of the Mets.

The Mets must begin to turn things around now. If not, the Super Mets Friends might be visiting the Wonder Twins and Gleek in limbo soon.

June 15, 1983: The Magic Is Back

June 15. It's a date that many Mets fans will remember as the day the Franchise was traded to the Cincinnati Reds. Tom Seaver's trade was the beginning of a dark time for the Mets. They struggled to do well in the standings and because of that, they struggled to do well at the ticket office.

When Nelson Doubleday bought the team in 1980, one of his first courses of action was to hire a general manager who could construct a team that would make the Mets relevant in the National League again. Enter Frank Cashen.

Through inspired draft picks (Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden) and shrewd trades (Lee Mazzilli for Ron Darling comes to mind), Cashen was removing the older players in lieu of younger talent in the hopes that they could harness their talents together and form the nucleus of a contending team. Some of these players had already been promoted to the Mets by 1983. However, for all the young talent the Mets were bringing up from Tidewater, they lacked leadership. Cashen knew the team needed a veteran presence for the players to look up to. They needed a gamer whose passion for perfection would spread throughout the clubhouse. The day was June 15, 1983. The player was Keith Hernandez.

Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog had made it clear that he was not pleased with Keith's attitude. He thought Hernandez was more interested in smoking cigarettes and doing crossword puzzles than focusing all his attention on the game. At the time, Hernandez was also being mentioned as one of the players involved in a cocaine scandal, which also convinced Herzog that a change was needed. Whitey had coveted Neil Allen for some time now, and when the Mets offered Rick Ownbey and Neil Allen in a packaged deal for Keith Hernandez, the deal was consummated.

Hernandez was not shy to voice his displeasure at being traded to the "Stems", as Tom Seaver called the team. But for all the negativity Whitey Herzog claimed Hernandez brought to the Cardinals, his arrival in New York infused the team with a desire to win and play well. His Gold Glove defense made the rest of the infield better, preventing many potential throwing errors and instilling confidence in the young pitching staff. No one was better at positioning himself at first base and his coverage on bunt plays was legendary.

Similar to when the Pedro Martinez signing before the 2005 season gave a struggling Mets franchise instant credibility and enticed other free agents (Carlos Beltran) to sign with the team, the trade of Keith Hernandez to the Mets on June 15, 1983 awakened the team from their six-year lull that had them in a state of hibernation since the Midnight Massacre trade of Tom Seaver. When Frank Cashen was hired as Mets GM, the Mets trotted out a new slogan to bring the fans back to Shea Stadium. They were told to come see the Mets play because "The Magic Is Back". It may have taken a few years, but 27 years ago today, the Magic arrived at Shea Stadium in the form of our beloved soon-to-be captain, Keith Hernandez.

On a related note, June 15, 1983 is special to me for another reason, for it was on that date that I attended my first Mets game at Shea Stadium. I went to that game with the rest of my Little League team. I remember how happy the sparse crowd was when the news was flashed on Diamondvision that the Mets had acquired Keith Hernandez from the St. Louis Cardinals. I also remember how confused I was that the biggest cheer of the night was reserved for the "big TV screen in left field" rather than the events taking place on the field.

Craig Swan started that game and was hit hard by the Cubs. By the time I got back from my second bathroom break (my Little League teammates were not amused that I kept stepping on their feet every time I tried to squeeze by them in our upper deck seats), Swan was out of the game and the Mets were down 4-0. The bullpen pitched very well after Swan's early exodus and the Mets rallied to tie the game, necessitating extra innings and causing some of the parents and chaperones to wonder if they should take the kids home. The Mets lost that game to the Chicago Cubs in 10 innings by the score of 7-4. If I remember correctly, Bill Buckner drove in the go-ahead run in the 10th. Who knew that he would play such an important role in Mets history just a few years later when the little roller went behind the bag?

It didn't matter that the Mets had lost that game. It was one of 94 games they lost that season anyway. That day was important to me for more than just a game. That day began my love affair with Shea Stadium and my subsequent appreciation of Keith Hernandez. I should have known the Mets had acquired someone special when I listened to the sweet voice of Bob Murphy after the game during the radio post-game show when he said "the Mets lost the game tonight, but they have gained a superstar." Twenty-seven years ago today, the magic entered my life. It has never left.