I don't remember any baseball when I was growing up. My father wasn't too close with us kids and he didn't like sports anyway. But in the mid- sixties, as a teen-ager, I became aware of the grand old game! It seemed Utica was a Yankee town. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I was one to follow slightly altering paths of wisdom from the conventional crowd. Also I recall vividly John Sigbieny and Pete Muraca extolling incessantly the majesty of Yankee baseball. HMMM! For some reason an intense hatred for the pinstripes began to fester. I seen good old Yankee Stadium with the Sigbieny family in '68, but that tradition and timelessness of the game did not alter my stance.

Now New York City I loved and there was another ballclub in town. There was some game on tv in the summer of '67 and I can still see some guy hitting a game winning homer to win it for the home town and their rabid fans. It was the New York Mets and that fella was No.21, I kinda thought that was ultra- groovy! (Excuse the 60's lingo) So I kinda got hooked on that imfamous team and became a part of the Met mythos. Dang, if they don't go to the World Series in '69!!! I was mesmerized by the Cub battles in the summer and that incredible comeback in August. Clinching a pennant and annihilating the Braves in the what ever it was called back then. The World Series! The most renowned of sporting events and I sat transfixed as the drama unfolded in front of me. Oh well I did miss game 2 'cause we were out playing some football that Sunday at Murnane Field! HAHA Oh well, hey Carla did ya see me? Well them Mets won the Series, the greatest upset in modern history, and I could only imagine how much fun it would have been to be there!

My first Met game at Shea! What a classic! Early 70's? A train ride to NY with Lump and Dodge turned into quite the adventure! HAHA Ask 'em about it sometime. Couldn't even tell ya who played or won. Oh well.

I really enjoyed baseball in them days and the Mets had some decent teams and got back to the Series and even won another. 1986 was one incredible Met year as I saw a coupla regular season games, the pennant clincher at Shea with Simon, an amazing divisional game against the Astros with Gayle,LENNY DYKSTRA, and game 6 of the series with Boston. One that was a part of baseball history! I don't even remember Gayle's brother-in law's name anymore but Tommy G., ya missed out! But the tv cameras took their toll, changing the game and the money-such greed! It was getting nasty and the last game I ever sawwell the strike the following year and ...I didn't miss it....by-by baseball. OK I had enough talking about this stuff so I am ending it. OOPS! Did go to one more game as a lark, game 4 of a Yankee world series against San Diego- who cares. Baseball is bor-ing!