I went back to the first blog I ever wrote on this site. I promised a few things, first thing being "constant shots at the Wilpon fmily."
(I alos promised an essay about why Jeanne Zelasko should be dipped in motor oil and lit on fire, which I admit in hindsight may have been a little extreme ... though I think I might still have it in my drafts somewhere. Hey, it was 2005. Different times. Sorry, Jeanne.)
The Wilpons, however, should absolutely be dipped in motor oil and lit on fire. I'm not apologizing one bit for that, especially after Doc's number retirement speech on Sunday. To you millenials and Gen Z-ers who treat everything as if it's the first time we've ever heard it, we knew in '94 how much the Wilpons' took it personally when Doc relapsed with substance abuse problems. The further away we get from that time, and the more we learn about substance abuse, the more we realize that the Wilpons were absolute morons for taking it so personally. So when Doc said touchingly that he called the Mets every time he left another team, whether it be the Yankees, Cleveland, and Tampa Bay, it wasn't a surprise to hear that the team rebuffed him at all turns.
At least with that, you could always explain it away at it being a baseball decision. It's not as if the Mets couldn't justify not bringing a guy back who had a 4.94 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP between 1996 and 1999. But then when he said that he tried to retire as a Met with a one day ceremonia contract, and the Wilpons wouldn't even do that ... are we serious? The Wilpons couldn't even do that? Could they not afford that luncheon?
I've always felt that number retirements weren't solely based on how many years a player played for a franchise, or the statistical counting number that they put up. "This wasn't enough. That wasn't enough." Yes, that's certainly part of it. But there's also an element of how that player made the bulk of the fan base feel (yes, there will always be dissenters.) But Doc WAS Mets baseball from 1984-1988. In many ways, he was New York baseball during that time, and in 1985, he WAS baseball. His arrival in 1984 coincided with the rebirth of the Mets franchise that saw them leave the dark days post-Seaver trade and M. Donald Grant. And that 1986 title was the first and only title that a lot of us Gen-X Mets fans had ever seen.
And the Wilpons couldn't even give Doc a day ... A DAY ... to acknowledge the part he played in this. Doc wanted to come back. Begged it of you. And you couldn't give him a day, you no good lousy snake oil salesment. You treated the fans like peons for your entire reign of terror, and any roses you presented to the fan base had more thorns than a Ryan Church flight to Denver had bad ideas. And I'm glad Doc mentioned the Yankeesduring his speech. Yes, the fans booed ... it drove home the point that the Wilpons are petty. While I'm so glad they're gone, man ... think of how much different the last 20 years would have been with current ownership, or even non-toxic ownership. LOLMets makes sense when you realize that nobody treated Mets fans worse than the owners of the team. It all sends my vibes lower than Doc's '85 ERA.
Congratulations to Doc for finally getting the day you desereved ... 23 years too late thanks to certain people who should be metaphorically dipped in motor oil and lit on fire.
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