milagros317
Wielder of 500 Feathers
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2002
- Messages
- 657,127
- Points
- 113
Last week I was on the subway coming home from Coney Island where I had seen a minor league baseball game between the Brooklyn Cyclones (a Mets farm team) and the Hudson Valley Renegades (a Yankees farm team). Across the aisle from me were two friends, one a Mets fan and one a Yankees fan. They were discussing not the game they had just seen but rather the state of their respective parent clubs, the Mets and the Yankees.
They agreed that the state of NYC baseball was awful, because neither of those clubs was in first place. The Yankees were (and still are) in second place in the AL East, trailing the Toronto Blue Jays. The Mets were (and still are) in second place in the NL East, trailing the Philadelphia Phillies.
I kept my mouth shut. I never argue with strangers on the subway. But I could not help thinking ...
You don't remember how bad, how truly awful, it was. Not a failure of memory because you weren't born yet. But consider the 1966 MLB season.
Both leagues had expanded to 10 teams but had not divided into divisions. (That would come when each league expanded to 12 teams in 1969.)
In 1966, the Yankees finished in 10th and last place, with a record of 70-89, 26.5 games behind the AL Pennant winning Orioles.
In 1966, the Mets finished in 9th place, with a record of 66-95, 28.5 games behind the NL Pennant winning Dodgers.
Now, THAT was the truly awful year for NYC baseball. None worse, before or since.
They agreed that the state of NYC baseball was awful, because neither of those clubs was in first place. The Yankees were (and still are) in second place in the AL East, trailing the Toronto Blue Jays. The Mets were (and still are) in second place in the NL East, trailing the Philadelphia Phillies.
I kept my mouth shut. I never argue with strangers on the subway. But I could not help thinking ...
You don't remember how bad, how truly awful, it was. Not a failure of memory because you weren't born yet. But consider the 1966 MLB season.
Both leagues had expanded to 10 teams but had not divided into divisions. (That would come when each league expanded to 12 teams in 1969.)
In 1966, the Yankees finished in 10th and last place, with a record of 70-89, 26.5 games behind the AL Pennant winning Orioles.
In 1966, the Mets finished in 9th place, with a record of 66-95, 28.5 games behind the NL Pennant winning Dodgers.
Now, THAT was the truly awful year for NYC baseball. None worse, before or since.
