Mets Pride: For the Love of Mookie, Mike and David Wright

by Alan Ross

They started out as a joke, but the last laugh was on their foes. The New York Mets were birthed in a riotous jumble of errors, over-the-hill ballplayers, and Casey's barely decipherable Stengelese. And then there was Marv Throneberry, a player destined for infamy for his head-scratching botches on the diamond. But just eight years later, the Amazin' Mets were world champions, boasting a team of young athletes headed by near-bionic pitchers Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, and a young Nolan Ryan; outfielders Cleon Jones, Tommie Agee, and Ron Swoboda; and catcher Jerry Grote. The chumps were now champs. The Miracle Mets of '73 followed, before the "bad guys" of '86, with Darryl Strawberry, Doc Gooden, Keith Hernandez, and Gary Carter, marched the team to its second world crown. Another run came in 2000, with a much-anticipated Subway World Series with the Yankees. Today's Mets are a powerhouse team that sailed into the playoffs in 2006. The Mets are back. Mets Pride is their story as told by the players, managers, coaches, opponents, fans, and the media. It salutes the great stars, teams, moments, rivalries, fan stories, and origins of New York's National League franchise. It also includes the Mets' all-time team and world championship rosters. From Marv to Mookie, Backman to Beltran, Hernandez to HoJo, Piazza to Pedro, and Knight to Wright, it's all Mets.

255 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2007

About the author

Alan Ross (1922-2001) was a poet, writer, journalist, editor and publisher. In fact, he was a man of letters par excellence. Born in India, educated in England, he joined the Royal Navy in the Second World War and endured the Arctic convoys to Russia. Alan Ross took over The London Magazine (the definite article was later dropped) from John Lehmann and revitalized it. There, it has been said, 'he simplified as well as unified contemporary culture by the clarity of his unique editorial taste. He also discovered many new talents.' His writing embraced poetry, cricket journalism, biography, autobiography, criticism and travel writing.

Reviews

[elissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book of quotes taken from interviews with Met's players or from journalists covering the team. As a long time Met's fan, some of my favorite quotes are from the first years when the teams stunningly bad. Read this if you are a Met's fan.

Some of my favorite quotes:

"Seven hundred defeats later, here we are". Ed Kranepool on taking the field for the NLDS 1969

"Baseball is a lot like life. The line drives are caught, the squibbles go for base hits. It's an unfair game." Rod Kanehl

"Sometimes you can observe a lot just by watching.: Yogi Berra

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

How can you not love this book if your a fan??

[The Champ is Here · Rating 3 out of 5]

i would recommened it to people who like baseball.and anybody who wants to see how the worst team in baseball turned to be the best team in baseball.