World serious

Mere words in a humble blog post can do justice to the run the New York Mets are on. The Mets. Heading to the World Series. It has a surreal sound to it. Understand that I am a lifelong Yankee fan who has been corralled into Met fandom this spring, summer and fall – the result of an enthusiastic 9-(now 10)-year-old son who is all Mets, all the time. We went to four games at Citi Field this summer, one more fun than the other. We were at the game that everyone points to as their nadir – the 6-hour/rain-delay/Justin Upton goes deep game versus the Padres. We watched on TV the excruciating extra inning game against the Dodgers when the Mets were like 0-for-infinity with runners in scoring position, before finally winning in the 18^th inning or something like that. We’ve watched almost all the games. There was a period, in midsummer, when James wore his Lucas Duda short-sleeve shirt for about three weeks in a row (including every day for two weeks of Marist Baseball Camp), with occasional pauses for the washer and dryer. So yeah, we have somehow morphed into a Mets’ household. Wait, did I say “Murphed” into a Mets’ household? Well. I should have.

Daniel Murphy! He happens to be my favorite Met player (along with Bartolo Colon), and not because he has been on an all-time postseason tear. Murphy reminds me so much of my favorite player growing up – Roy White of the Yankees. Number 6 in left field on some bad Yankee teams. Consistent hitter. Consistent player. Not flashy. Not spectacular. Not even close to best player on the team. But you know he’ll end the season hitting around .280, and he’ll play almost every day. Well. Murph has morphed into something a bit more spectacular than that, hasn’t he?

It’s been a long time for Mets’ fans. Nine years since the playoffs. Fifteen years since the Subway Series, one that the Yankees won in five games and one that somehow seemed to lack the juice that we had anticipated back then. It’s been nearly 30 years since the Mets WON the World Series. The last time they won the World Series was the year I graduated from Marist – 1986. That’s a LONG time ago, my friends; a lifetime ago, really.

The World Series starts tomorrow versus the Royals. Who have not won it all since 1985. Some fan base is going to be extremely happy with the outcome of this World Series. It promises to be a great World Series, one that almost certainly seems destined for 6 or 7 games – if my assessment is correct, this means it will stretch into November. Fine with me. More baseball is good for us.

The World Series is always special for a baseball fan like me. This year it is seriously special with a New York team in there. Let’s Go Mets.