My Top 10 Gary Carter Moments

In December of 1984, Mets general manager Frank Cashen made one of the most significant trades in club history. He sent promising third baseman Hubie Brooks to the Montreal Expos for perennial all star catcher Gary Carter.  The trade changed the Mets from a young team on the rise to an overnight powerhouse with expectations of winning a division title. It would take another season but the 1985 Mets were significantly better than the 1984 team that contended most of the season but lost the division to the Chicago Cubs by six games.

Gary Carter, a first ballot entrant into the Hall of Fame was one of the greatest Mets to ever put on the blue and orange uniform. His tenure with the Amazin’s was short, just five seasons, but the mark he left on the team will live forever in Mets history. On Thursday of last week, Gary died at age 57 from brain cancer which was diagnosed just 9 months earlier.

Below I have listed my top ten memorable moments of Gary Carter. Yours may be different but certainly many will overlap. I have placed the memories in chronological order but certainly the most memorable of the memorable occurred in 1986.

Number 1 – April 9, 1985 – Gary Carter’s very first game in a Mets uniform. So excited was I for the ’85 season to begin, me and a few friends purchased tickets for opening day. The two most significant things I remember was how cold it was that day as I sat in the mezzanine on the first base side and when Gary ended game number 1 with a walk off 10th inning home run into the left field bullpen. Former Met Neil Allen gave up the blast. Carter unlike so many players over the years who have come to New York and struggled initially started out with a flourish.

Number 2 – September 3, 1985 – Carter belts three home runs in San Diego driving in 6 runs. The Mets win the game 8-3 as Carter becomes the fifth Mets player in history to perform the feat. No Met has ever hit four homers in a game and no Met has hit three at home. After that win, the Mets were just a game behind St. Louis for the division lead.

Number 3 – April 11, 1986 – The Mets win their second of 108 wins as Carter drives in 5 runs in Philadelphia. In the game, Gary hit his first of 24 homers for the season.

Number 4 – April 25, 1986 – Carter goes 2 for 2 with 3 walks as the Mets destroy the St. Louis Cardinals 9-0. It was the second consecutive win over the Cardinals en route to a four game sweep in St. Louis. This series made a huge statement as to who the dominant power was to be in the National League East for 1986.

Number 5 – July 11, 1986 – Carter becomes the fourth Met to drive in 7 or more runs in a game. He hit a three run homer in the first and a grand slam in the second as the Mets defeated the Braves by a score of 11-0. Only Dave Kingman had driven in more (8) prior to this game. Since then, Carlos Delgado set the all time Mets mark with 9 driven in against the Yankees in 2008.

Number 6 – October 14, 1986 – With game 5 of the NLCS tied at one against Houston at Shea in the bottom of the 12th, Wally Backman was on second base and Keith Hernandez was on first. Gary Carter singled up the middle against Houston pitcher Charlie Kerfeld. Backman scored from second as the Mets defeated the Astros by a score of 2-1. As a result of Carter’s clutch single, the Mets took a 3 games to 2 series lead.

Number 7 – October 22, 1986 – The Mets trailed the Red Sox 2 games to 1 in the World Series. Game 4 was crucial for the Mets. When the chips were down, Gary Carter always seemed to shine. On this Wednesday night, he did just that as he belted two home runs over Fenway’s Green Monster to give the Mets a 6-2 victory and tie the series at two games each.

Number 8 – October 26, 1986 – Down to their last out and a Series loss, Gary Carter refused to make the last out of the World Series. The catcher lined a single to left that began the most improbably comeback in baseball history. Kevin Mitchell and Ray Knight followed with base hits scoring Carter to make it a one run game. Bob Stanley’s wild pitch and Bill Buckner’s error completed the comeback as the Mets took game 6 sending the ’86 series to a decisive game 7.

Number 9 – August 11, 1988 – Gary struggled at the plate in 1988. It had been almost two months since Gary hit his 299th career home run. On this date, at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Carter finally hit number 300. The Mets won the game by a score of 9-6 scoring 5 runs in the ninth inning. Carter’s homer, his 9th of the season was a solo shot to left field.

Number 10 – August 29, 1988 – Gary was also a great defensive catcher who helped young Mets pitchers develop into an awesome staff. Likely, Dwight Gooden does not have the Cy Young year in 1985 without Gary Carter to pitch to. No Met pitcher has ever thrown a no-hitter. David Cone came awfully close allowing just one hit and striking out 8 in a complete game shutout as Gary called a brilliant game from behind the plate.

Of course there were many other great moments involving Gary Carter. The Mets were a very good team in 1984. They became an exceptional club when Gary joined them for 1985. In the 50 year history of the New York Mets, there was no more dominant a club than the teams fielded from 1984 through 1988. With two playoff appearances and a World Series title, it is safe to say that Gary Carter played a huge part in most of those seasons.

Gary’s last game as a Met was on September 30, 1989. He went 0-5 in Pittsburgh as a disappointing Mets season drew to a close. Carter entered the Hall of Fame as a Montreal Expo. He played 11 seasons there and was an All Star almost in every one of them.  But his five seasons with the Mets were truly special. He was the final piece of the puzzle that transformed the Mets who were baseball’s laughing stock in 1980 to one of the best teams in baseball history.

Gary Carter’s time on earth was far too short. But the memories he gave Mets fans, Expos fans, Giants fans, and Dodgers fans will live on forever.

Gary

1954 – 2012

One of the all time great New York Mets. The memories you gave us will never be forgotten.

Image from 1986 New York Mets Yearbook

As Much As I Might Not Like It, the NL Should Use the DH

Let me say from the get go that I do not like the Designated Hitter rule. I never did and likely never will. I am a National League fan, obviously since I have been following the Mets my entire life. Having said that, what I am about to write, for me, is a bit conflicting.

It is high time the National League cries uncle and accepts the designated hitter. Geez, I really wrote that. I wasn’t sure my fingers would be able to type that out–seriously.

Today on this planet, there are baseball leagues literally around the world. The Caribbean leagues just concluded their World Series in the Dominican Republic. The Australian Baseball League just saw the Perth Heat win their second consecutive championship. College baseball is underway around the country while pitchers and catchers are about to report to professional camps in both the US and Japan. There are leagues in Europe too. High School, minor leagues–both independent and affiliated, will be starting soon also and let’s not forget the kids, the little leaguers. These multitudes of  leagues have one thing in common–they employ the designated hitter–all but one that is.

The National League, made up of 16 teams, soon to be 15 next season, is the only league on this entire planet that still holds on to the concept of the pitcher walking up to the plate with a bat in his hands. This rule is an original one, it was the way the game was meant to be played. Nine players in the field, those same nine get a turn to take a few hacks at the plate. But for 35 years now, the pitcher in the AL and all those other leagues mentioned have not swung a bat. Of course there are exceptions like when inter-league and playoff games are played between the National and the American Leagues. (In fairness, some minor leagues will make the pitcher bat when two NL affiliated teams are playing one and other.)

Basically there are two different games going on. One is played fast and crisp (NL) while the other moves like a dirge (Red Sox vs. Yankees approaching the length of an Engish Cricket match).

As I have said, I do not like the DH. But the reality is that the rule is not going away. The players union will never allow the rule to be abandoned. It is a job creating position. Perhaps the demise of the DH might occur if the owners agreed to increase the roster. However, more players cost more money and under the new collective bargaining agreement in regards to salary tax, payrolls will be going down, not up. Plus, ratings and gate statistics show that fans like offense and they pay the money to get into the ballpark and pay for hot dogs and Cracker Jack.

Baseball purists enjoy a 1-0 game (I do) but most fans want to see balls hit over the wall. With two less teams last season than in the NL, AL batters slugged only 10 fewer home runs (2271 vs. 2281).  The average number of home runs hit by an AL team was 162.2 while it was 142. 6 in the NL. Only three teams in baseball last season hit over 200 homers, all were in the American League. Without boring you to death with lots of stats, in all offensive categories, the American League reigns.

Look at the two biggest free agent signings over the winter. Albert Pujols went to the Angels and Prince Fielder ended up in Detroit. Both abandoned the National League for long term, huge money contracts to head to the AL. Why? It’s simple.

As these players age and their agility leaves them, they can DH. American League owners can feel a bit more secure in these risky long term contracts because at least these players likely can still hit when their fielding skills will no longer be viable. Their potent bats can still be an offensive threat long after the ability to run around the field is gone.

The National League does not have that bargaining chip with these types of players. NL owners must be much more careful when considering offering a long term deal. These are the reasons why the NL is not as an offensive league as the AL and why NL teams have a much more difficult time landing big bats.

So why not just let it stand, keep the NL free of the the DH?

There are two leagues under one umbrella (MLB) playing by two sets of rules. Granted its only a one rule difference but it is a big one. How are players properly measured when the conditions they compete in are so different? How is an AL pitcher properly judged when compared to his NL counterpart that gets to face a pitcher at the plate at least once every three innings? Pitching is considered better in the National League but that’s only because the pitcher hits. Typically when a pitcher moves to the AL, they do better. The opposite is true when going to the NL. The playing field needs to be leveled.

Another point to consider is who’s really in charge? There is no National League office and president anymore. Same is true of the AL. The leagues were consolidated legally in 2000. Two leagues under one roof like the NFL run by a single commissioner but yet two sets of rules make no sense. It’s the National League owners that have been adamant in regards to no DH, not some league office.

The bigger question is would the National League radically change if it adopted the designated hitter?

Of course the senior circuit would change. But consider this. Instead of 15 teams attempting to lure the big DH hitter, there would be 30 teams fighting over their services. That’s 15 more possible landing spots for the DH hitter(s). There are not that many elite DH hitters to go around. If anything, I believe, the NL’s adoption of the DH, while increasing the league’s overall offense would actually minimize some of the AL’s power. In short time, the leagues would be more equally balanced in both pitching and hitting.

The down side to both leagues having the DH is that National League games could mimic the drawn out contests we often see in the American League. When the Yanks get together with the Red Sox we understand it’s a minimum of a four hour affair. That is not good for the game. Also, the loss of switching for the pitcher strategy late in games will be lost for ever. That is the purist’s last hold out position to not adopting the DH.

Speeding up the game would go a long way to making the DH more tolerable in the NL (and the AL for that matter). I spend a lot of money when I go to a major league game so I am not the one arguing for a two hour game. But a four hour game is a bit much. two and a half to three hours is plenty.

There are things that can be done to speed up the game. One is simple. MLB needs to make the umpires enforce a rule that is already in the book. If a pitcher doesn’t throw the ball after 12 seconds with no runners on base, the batter is awarded a ball. Also, create a new rule that prevents the batter from stepping out on the pitcher until he has two strikes. If a batter steps out before that, he’s given a strike. That certainly could help offset the length of games.

The perfect time for the NL to finally adopt the DH would be next season, 2013. The Houston Astros will be moving to the American League creating a 15 team American League, five teams in each division. The National League will decrease from 16 to 15 teams once the Astros move over. Because of an odd number of teams in each league, there will be an inter-league game every day of the season. Under the current rules, the pitcher will hit when the National League is the home team and a DH will be used in an American League ballpark. Again, what sense does this make? It makes the most sense and it is the most logical for both leagues to play under the same set of rules when the leagues realign next year.

I wish everyone would come to their senses and eliminate the DH.  From the game perspective it would be the best thing to do. Games would be played faster, the strategy involving pitchers and pinch hitters would remain, and most importantly the game would return to its pure roots. But that is unrealistic. Baseball is a business and there is too much money to loose if the DH were somehow eliminated. Therefore it is not going away. As much as I might turn my nose up at the thought of an NL DH, it really makes the most sense to make this change. After 35 years, it’s time for the NL (and me) to join the rest of the world.

Tweeting the Fan Base

He’s here all week folks (cue the rim shot).

Sandy Alderson is the latest to hit the comedy scene. On Friday, he opened a Twitter account and began spewing out some gems.

In his first Tweet, he related how he was attempting to raise money through a PAC fund to be able to find enough gas money to drive to Florida. He then went on to say he was driving because his dog did not like flying. His last remark, perhaps the best, was his account of buying “new like” tires from one of the chop shops across from Citi Field. They even threw in some wiper fluid. Sandy said it was a better deal than the one for Zach Wheeler.

Wow, this guy’s on a role. Move over Bill Hicks, George Carlin, and Louis CK.

Of course the reviews are mixed. Should a GM of a major New York sports franchise be making light of the team’s financial woes? Is he just trying to have fun with the fans or is Sandy a bit thin under the skin in regards to all the criticism levied at the Mets?

Some fans think its a breath of fresh air while others think its unprofessional, simply more nonsense from an ownership group that has lost its way. Somewhere in the middle lies the truth I’m sure.

The overall flavor of Sandy’s Tweets speak to the constant criticism of the team’s finances from the media. Fifty million dollars have come off the books, a record amount for any franchise. Most of that money was from bad contracts. The Mets still have money tied up in bad contracts, namely Jason Bay and Johan Santana. Let’s hope of course these two players can contribute more than they have the last couple of seasons.

Fans assume the reason the Mets did not resign Jose Reyes was over money. You can understand the fans negative reaction to Sandy’s remarks. The fans are dying over this franchise behaving like a small market team. They want ownership gone, replaced by a new owner who will spend the money necessary to build a winner.

Sandy’s Tweets can be taken two ways. One, he is saying–listen, I know what I am doing. We have some money, but I am not going to piss it away just for a back page headline. An opposing view would be then why did he give so much money to Frank Francisco (6 million, assuming it’s half of the 12 million over two years) and Jon Rauch (3.5 million, one year). It has been pointed out by “moneyball” types the Mets could have likely received the same value for a lot less had they waited. But waiting is a dangerous game, especially in an area that was surely the reason the Mets failed to secure a better than .500 record last season. It could be argued that 9.5 million given to two pitchers of question could have been the first year of a new Jose Reyes contract instead.

A big criticism levied yesterday by WFAN’s Ed Randall on his “Talking Baseball” program was that it is shocking that a New York team lost an impact player over money. It’s a good argument however, as I have pointed out in a recent post, giving Jose Reyes the same, or better, contract than what Miami did would have been a huge risk. No question, Reyes ignited the crowd with his enthusiasm and his athleticism. However, when you remove his walk year, when he had the most incentive to do well, his stats simply do not support the money and years he was given. Plus his injury record makes his new contract a huge gamble, one the Mets were not willing to make.  In time, the Marlins may come to regret they signed Reyes, we’ll see. Plus, for my two cents, Reyes has little baseball smarts. He made up for a lot with those legs and if those legs are not working, then what?

But enough about Reyes. I have said this all before.

I am not trying to minimize those fans’ outrage at Sandy’s Tweets. They are frustrated and I am too. However, I do think that Alderson is trying desperately to rebuild the Mets. Yes, “rebuild”. If he won’t say it, then I will. The problem is the Mets are so full of question marks that it is going to take time. Add to that the uncertainty of ownership and  it’s no wonder so many fans have lost hope.

Personally I got a big kick out of Sandy’s comments. It says to me he’s completely aware of the perception surrounding the team. I would hope his humor is an indication that he knows more about what’s really going on than we do. I hope it means that his long term plan is working even it will be a couple of years before we begin to see the fruits of his labor.

Sandy is not going anywhere, not unless new ownership comes in and want’s to move in another direction. But even a new owner would find it difficult to replace the acumen Sandy had his staff have bought to the organization.

I am putting all the bad news behind me. While I will read every article that comes my way in regards to the pending Madoff-Picard trial, the Santana health situation, and other stuff, I will do my best to compartmentalize it and not let it interfere with how I view the game on the field.

I will hope that Johan Santana is ready. Ed Randall reported yesterday that some Mets insiders are giddy that Santana is way ahead of schedule. I will hope that Jason Bay has finally figured out his problems and has the year we all expected before 2010. I will hope that David Wright reverts to his earlier self, hitting the other way with confidence and that the shorter fences will help. I hope Mike Pelfrey gets back on track and that Jonathan Niese develops into the pitcher his ability suggests. I hope Ruben Tejada continues on his upward trajectory and at least minimizes the loss of Reyes with good defense and smart heads up play. I will hope that the new restructured bullpen can hold slim leads allowing the Mets to win those elusive one run games. Most of all I hope the Mets collectively embrace the underdog role and together set out to prove that everyone is wrong.

If I do not hope for these things, than what is the point? That’s the beauty of spring training. We all can dream. And these dreams are not without some evidence. No one predicted the San Francisco Giants would win the World Series two years ago. No one saw the Arizona Diamondbacks making the playoffs last season or the Cardinals upsetting everyone in their path or the Tampa Bay Rays winning the wild card on the last day of the season. While I won’t be so bold to predict a World Series appearance by the Mets this season, there is enough evidence in recent years to suggest you just never know.

Anyway, that’s the way I see it and really, I wouldn’t get too alarmed by Sandy’s fun with Twitter. After all, baseball is just a game and games are suppose to be fun.

I Will Continue to Wait

Another year of getting sand kicked in our face by the kids next door. The kids in this case are the Yankees, next door is the Bronx.

For the past couple of years, I keep waiting for the Yankees to grow so old they begin the long overdue decent to the lower end of their division. But that just never seems to happen. I thought the Mets kids like Ike Davis, Dan Murphy, Josh Thole, Mike Pelfrey, and Jon Niese, combined with veterans David Wright and Jose Reyes (oops) would have already begun the transformation of city ownership back to the Mets. But that just never seems to happen either. Instead, for what is now going on 18 seasons, the Yankees will continue to dominate and out “fan” the Mets at about a 60-40 percent clip.

It’s funny how this winter, the Yankees and Mets have both done very little in terms of transforming their team. However, you know the move of catching prospect Jesus Montero to Seattle for pitching phenom Michael Pineda will turn to gold for the Bombers.

I am not as confident in the Mets bringing in Andres Torres in exchange for Angel Pagan. Look, Angel needed a change of scenery, no doubt, but Torres is not the long term answer in center. But the deal was really centered around obtaining pitcher Ramon Ramirez (finally the Mets get a Ramirez, just not the one we were hoping for a few years back).  Hopefully Ramon will do the job and help improve a very leaky bullpen from a year ago.

Perhaps I have become too cynical. But I just know that every move the Yankees made will outshine every move the Mets made. An aging Derek Jeter will rise up each time a big moment comes. A-Rod with his aching hip, now infused with magical medicine off the American continent, will likely rebound and hit 44 home runs and drive in over 110.  Mark Teixeira will have his typical slow start then be ripping the cover off the ball by June. And their pitching staff could be one of the best in baseball. By mid season, the same old story will be playing out. The Yanks will be on their way to another playoff spot while the Mets with a very questionable starting pitching staff will be struggling to stay near .500.

The Yankees will continue to fill their house and pay their bills while the Mets shiny new park will rival crowds at Brooklyn Cyclones games. Mets management will be spending more time on where to get another loan to pay their bills instead of thinking who they can get at the trade deadline for the playoff push.

The real tragedy about all this doesn’t effect fans like me, or perhaps you, who have been Mets fans for so many years. But the young fans of the tri-state area who are just discovering the magic of baseball will gravitate to the team that always wins. Why shouldn’t they? What parent who truly loves their children would encourage them to begin a lifetime of misery by becoming a Mets fan?

However, I really believe the Mets brass understand this…finally! Let’s face it, there are two things currently threatening the Wilpon’s ability to remain owners of this franchise. One of course is the ongoing Madoff soap opera. The other is the waning fan base, disgusted with the Madoff situation and completely fed up with the losing.

Do not think for a minute that Bud Selig did not have a huge hand in getting Sandy Alderson into the Mets organization. Selig is a friend of Fred Wilpon who has always supported the commissioner in baseball matters. But more importantly, Selig recognizes MLB’s need to have a very strong National League franchise in New York. That called for the complete restructuring of the Mets organization that had become completely dysfunctional. From the lousy long term contracts to the director of minor league operations ripping off his shirt challenging double A players to a fight, the Mets became the laughing stock of baseball.

They are getting it right now. The minor league system is beginning to develop better ball players. Alderson has recognized how ludicrous the Citi Field dimensions were and is now repairing that. Little by little, Alderson with the help of the talented people he has brought in are beginning to turn this franchise around.

Unfortunately Rome, or the Mets, was not built in a day. And more unfortunately, while the Mets should improve somewhat this year, if they can overcome the loss of Reyes, they still are a few years away of becoming anything close to what goes on across the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (when did they change that from Tri-Borough Bridge?).

As I have said before, pitching is the key. Right now, there are just too many question marks in the Mets rotation and bullpen to believe something Giant like can happen in Flushing. But I will continue to wait. What else can I do?

An Addendum to A Model Franchise

It has come to my attention that I made a couple of errors in my previous post titled “Giants a Model New York Franchise”.

After thinking about it, I want to amend my information in regards to the New York (football) Giants’ place in New York franchise history. I mentioned that in addition to their four Super Bowl wins, five appearances in all, that they had also won three NFL championships prior to the NFL/AFL merger in 1969.

First, that is incorrect, the Giants first championship was in 1927. My research was a bit lax here. In 1927, no playoffs were played. A champion was crowned based on clinching first place. The next three championships were the result of winning a championship game.

Secondly, it is not fair for me to suggest the Giants only have had four championships in their history when they won four championships prior to the creation of the Super Bowl. In fact the Giants played in 14 championship games (winning 3 of them) prior to the first Super Bowl played in January of 1967.

Another error I made involved the New Jersey Nets. They won an American Basketball Association (ABA) title in the 1973-1974 season and the 1975-1976 season prior to the merger with the NBA. They were also in the ABA playoffs in 1971-1972 playoffs but lost. The ABA never played the NBA in a championship series. The two leagues merged for the 1976-1977 season.

I have updated the list of New York champions I posted on Monday to include these changes.



*In 1927, there was no championship game in the NFL.

Giants a Model New York Franchise

Congratulations to the New York Giants who won their fourth Super Bowl in history. What a fantastic game as it went down to the last play. Eli Manning is quickly proving to be one of the very elite quarterbacks in the game.

The Giants have been in five Super Bowls since the event first began in 1966. With their win last evening, I wondered where is their place in the history of sports franchises in New York City. Winning four Super Bowls puts the Giants in rarefied air in the NFL considering only the Pittsburgh Steelers (6), the Dallas Cowboys (5), and San Francisco 49ers (5) have won more. Can the Giants be considered one of the best franchises in New York professional sports history? The short answer is yes.

It all depends on what constitutes a great champion. Is it the amount of times a team has played for a championship or is it simply the bottom line, the ones they have won?

The New York Giants are now 4-1 (.800) in Super Bowl outcomes. Percentage wise, its the second best of all New York franchises.

Ironically enough, the team they trail is a perfect 1-0–the New York Jets who sniffed the Super Bowl the last two seasons but just could not win the AFC championship game to get there. Jets fans remain in a holding pattern for 44 years and counting. Joe Willie Namath was the quarterback the last and only time the Jets won a Super Bowl.

However, percentage is a misleading statistic because of the differing number of opportunities the New York teams have had over time to win a championship. No one could support the Jets being a better franchise than the Giants or any other New York team considering they only had one opportunity to prove themselves and it was so long ago.

The Jets also have the distinction of being the only New York franchise of modern time (since 1900) to be in just one championship finale. But at least they won. The basketball New Jersey  (first New York and soon to be Brooklyn) Nets were in two NBA championship series but lost both. They are the only New York area franchise to have never won a single championship.

The long departed Brooklyn Dodgers, like the Jets, also won a single championship. That was in 1955. However, unlike the Jets, the Dodgers were in the World Series nine times. In their first two World Series, the team from Flatbush was known as the Robins. Think about this bizarre statistic. Whom did the Brooklyn Dodgers play in their final seven fall classics, (the ones in which they were officially known as the Dodgers)?  — One team, the New York Yankees.

Our beloved New York Mets are tied with the New York Knicks with two championships. The Mets have the higher percentage (.500) only because they appeared in the World Series 2 less times than the Knicks did in the NBA championship series.  The fans of these two teams, like the Nets, have been waiting a long time to celebrate again. The Mets last won in 1986 and you have to go back to 1973 to see the Knicks in a ticker tape parade.

The New Jersey Devils, the only New York area franchise to have never put New York on a uniform have won three Stanley Cup championships against one loss. Year in and year out, the Devils have been a model franchise usually making the playoffs every season (granted, not a hard thing to do in the NHL). But as far as Ice Hockey goes, the Devils do not have as many wins as the other two NHL teams, the Islanders and Rangers.

In the early 1980′s, the New York Islanders became a dynasty winning 4 consecutive Stanley Cups then losing one in the fifth year of their Stanley Cup run. They have not won since.

The New York Rangers, the most popular of the three local hockey teams also have four championships and have been in the Stanley Cup final series 10 times. Three of the four Rangers championships occurred prior to 1941 before they finally won again in 1994.

The football Giants now join the ranks of the Rangers and Islanders with four championships. I hate when people refer to the Giants as the football Giants for reasons I have stated in the blog before. But I must do so today because a team that has more than four championships in New York is the New York (baseball) Giants. They won five championships, most in the early twentieth century, the last in 1954.

Am I forgetting anybody? No, I guess that’s it.   

Oh but of course, the Yankees…

The New York Yankees make a joke of all other franchises–period. The Yankees have won 27 championships and have been in the World Series 40 times. That’s just plain sick.

There are many fans of the Yankees who are fans of the Giants. It probably goes back to when they both played in the old Yankee Stadium. Can I just say something to you fans who call yourselves Yankees/Giants fans… Shut up. I don’t want to hear a peep from you. If 27 World Series titles and now four Super Bowl championship are not enough for you then you are greedy beyond belief.  Think about those Mets, Knicks, Islanders, Rangers, and Nets fans who are starving for a championship. Have some compassion, please.

Also, I should point out that the New York (football) Giants history reaches way back prior to the Super Bowl’s inception. The Giants also won 3 NFL championships before the NFL began playing the AFL. The Giants were in 14 NFL championship games, last winning in 1956. The over-time game in 1958 at Yankee Stadium when the Giants lost to the Baltimore Colts by a score of 20-17 is till considered one of the greatest football games ever.

All in all, the eleven major professional teams that have or still call their home New York (New Jersey) have won a collective 53 championships and lost 49. If anything, it says if you like sports, it’s good to be from the New York metropolitan area.

So congratulations once again to the New York Giants. May all of the teams you root for live up to the example set by John Mara and Steve Tisch. The Giants are an exciting team and truly a model franchise.

New York Area Champions…