Although I know some teams have already played their opening days in major league baseball.. I think it is what I consider "Official" opening day in major league baseball.. tomorrow afternoon.. which caused me to stop and think.
On Youtube: I found "A Year To Remember" the highlight video of the 1986 Mets.
When I went to Shea Stadium, to see the Mets and Braves play for the first time.. it was.. May 1984. I was a 14 year old skinny kid. My dad was only a few months younger than I am now. A rookie named Dwight Gooden had just come up from the minor leagues, and the Mets were about to turn a corner. Men named Gooden, Strawberry, and Murphy were playing for the Mets and Braves. We thought they would all make the Hall of Fame. None of them ever did.
My dad had his 44th birthday that year. I just had mine, as most know. Now.. my dad is a 73 year old man who spends his winters in Florida. My mom will be dead two years this Friday, and I'm a middle aged man trying to make it as an insurance agent. How time flies.
Most of the players I went so crazy for in the 1980s and 1990s, are now in their late 40s, 50s, in some cases. 60s,. and in some cases.. have passed away.. such as former Braves players Rick Mahler, Rick Camp,. Donnie Moore, and Mets catcher Gary Carter.
Dwight Gooden will have his 50th bday this year. I remember the first time he pitched. I was 14, he was 19. In 1985.. we thought he was going to be the next Nolan Ryan. He might have been, have not for his substance abuse issues. He still won almost 200 games, even with all of his troubles.
Now, this summer.. a new group of Braves prepares to enter the Hall of Fame. The ones I rooted for in the 1990s. when I was in my 20s. Greg Maddux, and Tom Glavine, and Bobby Cox, and next year, hopefully, John Smoltz, the only guy with 200 wins and 150 saves. They all belong, as they were so good, and did it honestly.
I know that it probably wont be long until I'm 73, but I'm trying not to think about that. It really is amazing.. how time flies.
On Youtube: I found "A Year To Remember" the highlight video of the 1986 Mets.
When I went to Shea Stadium, to see the Mets and Braves play for the first time.. it was.. May 1984. I was a 14 year old skinny kid. My dad was only a few months younger than I am now. A rookie named Dwight Gooden had just come up from the minor leagues, and the Mets were about to turn a corner. Men named Gooden, Strawberry, and Murphy were playing for the Mets and Braves. We thought they would all make the Hall of Fame. None of them ever did.
My dad had his 44th birthday that year. I just had mine, as most know. Now.. my dad is a 73 year old man who spends his winters in Florida. My mom will be dead two years this Friday, and I'm a middle aged man trying to make it as an insurance agent. How time flies.
Most of the players I went so crazy for in the 1980s and 1990s, are now in their late 40s, 50s, in some cases. 60s,. and in some cases.. have passed away.. such as former Braves players Rick Mahler, Rick Camp,. Donnie Moore, and Mets catcher Gary Carter.
Dwight Gooden will have his 50th bday this year. I remember the first time he pitched. I was 14, he was 19. In 1985.. we thought he was going to be the next Nolan Ryan. He might have been, have not for his substance abuse issues. He still won almost 200 games, even with all of his troubles.
Now, this summer.. a new group of Braves prepares to enter the Hall of Fame. The ones I rooted for in the 1990s. when I was in my 20s. Greg Maddux, and Tom Glavine, and Bobby Cox, and next year, hopefully, John Smoltz, the only guy with 200 wins and 150 saves. They all belong, as they were so good, and did it honestly.
I know that it probably wont be long until I'm 73, but I'm trying not to think about that. It really is amazing.. how time flies.
