May 6
Little-known fact: As part of Wille Mays’ contract, he had two white guys to help him get dressed before every game. Also, dude was ripped. Happy 83rd, Willie.
April 24
October 19, 2006 was a long time ago. Carlos Beltran is no longer a Met, Shea Stadium is no longer standing. But this still hurts. Ah well, happy 36th, ‘Los.
April 1
A very happy 69th birthday to one-time (actually two-time) Met Rusty Staub, Le Grand Orange. It’s Opening Day, let’s go Mets!
Hall of Fame fireballer Goose Gossage turns 61 today, and we bet he could still give teams an inning a month—and brush some people back in the process.
Darryl Strawberry was one of my first sports heroes. As a from-birth Mets fan, my first favorite player was Dave Kingman, a surly slugger who struck out more than he did anything else. So when Straw joined the Mets in 1983, it was easy to switch allegiances to the sweet-swinging rookie (Kong had 49 hits in 100 games that season — and struck out 57 times). Strawberry was the Rookie of the Year that season, and played in the next eight All-Star games. He never won an MVP, but was second in the voting in 1988, and third in 1990. Then, after his first season with the Dodgers in 1991, his career fell off a cliff. Strawberry never lived up to his boundless potential, derailed before 30 by problems with drugs and alcohol. But he lived, and in the end, that’s what counts most. And he’s still one of my heroes. Happy birthday, Straw.
I was born a Mets fan in 1971, but I always respected Willie Stargell. You had no choice in the matter — the man could hit, he was the consummate professional athlete and team leader, and when all was said and done he played 20-plus years with the Pittsburgh Pirates. By the time I knew who he was, he was nearing the end — he came up with the Pirates in ‘62 and played 10 seasons with Roberto Clemente. Not that he was anywhere near done. A key member of the 1971 World Champions, he was the undisputed leader of the 1979 We Are Family champs, and was named NL MVP at the age of 39.
Stargell was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988, and died far too young in 2001. Happy birthday, Pops.
I’m not entirely sure why, but Luis Tiant was one of my favorite baseball players in the late ’70s. I was a die-hard Mets fan, but I also liked the Red Sox, primarily because of Fred Lynn and Jim Rice. Maybe it was El Tiante’s unorthodox delivery, maybe it was his All-World mustache. Whatever the case, the great Cuban pitcher turns 71 today. Light one up for the old man.
