Why My Life and The New York Mets are Connected

I love baseball. I mean, I really LOVE baseball. The anticipation of my beloved New York Mets’ Opening Day makes me feel giddy. I have such hope at the beginning of the baseball season. For me, it signifies the official start of Spring and opportunity abounds!

Many of my happiest memories are tied to baseball. I was introduced to the Mets at a very young age. My mother and father were big fans. Growing up, I can remember sitting on our living room couch watching countless hours of New York Mets baseball with my family.

I vividly recall jumping up and down alone on that same couch the day the Mets won the 1969 World Series. I was nine years old. My parents were working but my grandmother was upstairs.

I watched Tom Seaver spraying his teammates with champagne. It was so crazy. I had literally run home from school that day in order to catch the end of the game on TV. I was, from that day forward, officially hooked on the New York Mets for life.

I grew up in Flushing, New York, the home of Shea Stadium and the New York Mets. Our house was 3.5 miles from the ballpark. Our grammar school, St. Kevin’s had ties to the New York Mets. We had many field trips to Shea Stadium because of this.

Rocco Torre (Joe’s brother) lived in our parish and often times he got Joe to come and speak at the Little League Awards nights. Joe Torre, at the time, was a professional baseball player with the St. Louis Cardinals. It was a big deal for St. Kevin’s! My dad coached Tyro Baseball with Rocco Torre. Both of my brothers played baseball and I frequently went to their games.

• 

• 

• 

I had two other connections to the Mets. My friend Barbara’s grandmother worked in the Mets’ front office, and my friend Michael’s dad was Head of Stadium Operations at Shea. I spent a lot of time in those blue and orange Shea seats!

When I was in my mid-twenties, my girlfriends and I bought season tickets. We had such great times going to the games! Barb’s grandma frequently got us passes to get into the Charcoal Room, a bar/restaurant at Shea. One of our other friend’s brother was a bartender there. We were definitely “hooked-up” good.

In 1986, we would share cocktails after a home win with the two ladies that sat behind home plate and rolled their arms continuously at opposing pitchers. Remember them? They were a mother/daughter pair and quite the characters. We definitely laughed (and drank) a lot with them!

The 1986 World Series was absolutely amazing. The team was a true cast of “characters” and New York embraced and loved them all. I could easily write an entire post on Game Six when the Mets came from behind and won in the 10th inning. The Red Sox’s Bill Buckner let Mookie Wilson’s hit dribble through his legs at first base and the Mets won the game. But, I won’t get into that right now. Let me just say, there was complete insanity in the stands that night!

That team brought true joy to New York City. One night, I was heading to meet friends to watch one of the away games at a bar on Second Avenue. I passed a homeless woman standing on the stairs of a church. There was a decent-sized crowd surrounding her. She had a transistor radio to her ear and was proudly reciting the Mets lineup as she heard it on the radio. She was the center of attention, and she was in her glory!

My girlfriends and I were at all of the home games of the 1986 World Series. Game Seven, the concrete stadium was truly rocking. How can that be? It was such a surreal feeling. I felt the sway of the ground beneath me but I didn’t care. I was just too happy to be there watching the New York Mets win the 1986 World Series.

People were doing cartwheels in the parking lot, hugging and kissing strangers and simply euphoric after that Game 7 win. No one wanted to go home. Gosh, that was a fun night and such a great memory!

I know that not everyone is a baseball fan. But, for those of us that are, there is such a parallel between baseball and life. Maybe that is why I love baseball so much.

You need drive, commitment, and skills to be a good baseball player. The same qualities you need to succeed in life. You need to be able to handle challenges and embrace how they will make you stronger. If you lose in the first round of the playoffs, you need to practice harder for next year. If you get turned down for a job, you need to hone your skills and go get the next one.

A baseball player needs to block out the fan taunting them in the stands just like you and I need to block out the naysayers at our job that don’t believe in us. At all times, you need to be a good teammate. That’s true for baseball, work and family life. You have to stay keenly focused with your eye on the ball (goal). You need to allow adversity to make you stronger and hard work to make you more successful. Sounds a lot like everyday life, right?

Sometimes, you need to outwit your opponent to make something happen. Life isn’t always balls and strikes – it’s helpful if you know how to steal and/or bunt to get things going. I could go on and on with these analogies.

One of the best days of my life was opening day 2017 at Citifield. I had had my last round of chemo on February 28th. I had just started radiation so I wasn’t feeling too terrible. I was tired, but I was so excited to be going to Opening Day that my adrenaline kept me going.

My dear friend, Maureen, surprised me and arranged for an Uber to take us there. She has season tickets, but she sold her usual tickets and bought us seats at Field Level. We were only a few rows behind the Mets dugout! To say I was in Heaven, was an understatement.

It was a beautiful day. I had been battling breast cancer for the prior six months and was so grateful to be out in the sunshine able to watch my favorite team. I soaked it all in, every-single-minute of it. The crack of the bat hitting the ball was music to my ears. I’d swear the hot dogs smelled better than I ever remembered. It was a perfect day.

Short of my wedding day and the days my children were born, it was the happiest day of my life. I had been through an extremely rough time with two surgeries, chemo and radiation. That day, all I cared about was a Mets win and they obliged. It was an unforgettable day for me.

Little did I know that three weeks later I would contract Sepsis and be fighting for my life. Obviously, and thanks to God, I beat the opposition.

What do you think will happen with the 2020 season? Up until a week ago, I was very excited and couldn’t wait for the season to start. This is going to be our year! I believe we have a great team with the right mix of talent and chemistry to win the World Series. The Corona Virus has pushed Opening Day out two weeks. I am not convinced it won’t be pushed out further. I hope not, but we shall see.

In the meantime, I will continue to remain hopeful that baseball starts soon. We need it, or, at least, I need it. I need to watch the Polar Bear and The Squirrel duke it out for a batting title. Wouldn’t that be awesome?

I need to see the man with the biggest heart in baseball (literally) run hard to first base after getting hit by a pitch. I need to hear the whoosh of a swing as DeGoat strikes out yet another batter. And, I need to see the 7 Line Army in their usual frenzy in the outfield.

I have faith in my Metsies. They will not let a virus derail their dreams in 2020. Just like I will not let the fear of Cancer’s return impact my goals. Let’s go Mets, you and me, we got this.

One last thing…wash your hands and be kind to your neighbor!