Schwartz: New Book Provides Fun Numerical Stroll Through Mets History
By Peter Schwartz
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Six games over .500.
A one-game lead over the Nationals.
For the Mets and their fans, these are the most important numbers that come to mind, as the Amazin's have stormed back to the penthouse of the National League East.
Since their inception in 1962, the Mets franchise has been defined by a series of important, infamous, historical, record-breaking numbers. All of those numbers are detailed in a new book entitled "Numbers Don't Lie! The Biggest Numbers in Mets History."
The book takes the Mets fan on a unique numerical ride through the team's history, including moments from recent memory.
There is a chapter dedicated to Jacob deGrom, who recorded 144 strikeouts in 2014 on his way to National League Rookie of the Year honors.
There was one game where deGrom was part of a unique team milestone.
"I don't even know if a lot of Mets fans realize that he got the 4,000th win in Mets history," said Russ Cohen, who co-authored the book with Adam Raider. "I thought that was pretty significant."
Other chapters in the book chronicle Edgardo Alfonzo's .444 average during the 2000 postseason, the five gold gloves won by Keith Hernandez and the Mets' 45 seasons at Shea Stadium.
The Mets' old home saw its share of memorable moments during its history, but it also had some deficiencies.
"When I was a little kid, it never seemed like those escalators worked, so if you had upper-level seats, just getting to the seats was a nightmare," said Cohen. "The bathrooms, like we've all heard from Leon Hess and everyone else, and the amazing wind that used to come through that place for Jets games."
The book also has a chapter about the two seasons that the Mets called the Polo Grounds home, as well as chapters about Gary Carter, Willie Mays, Wally Backman, the 25-inning game, John Franco, Matt Harvey and "The Franchise," Tom Seaver.
"He was my favorite player growing up," said Cohen, who has also written other sports books including "Baseball's Best Rookies" and "The Winter Classic: The NHL's Savior." "He was everything to young kids in New York. We all wanted to be pitchers. I was a pitcher for a little while because of him.
"You have the memories of him with the driving leg and the dirt on the leg."
There are a number of chapters in the book that feature the stars of the 1986 World Championship team. There have been so many stories told about that memorable year, but there still might be some things about that season that you haven't read about before.
A key player on that team shares some insight before you even get to chapter one.
"I think Howard Johnson's forward is really good," said Cohen. "He told me some things about the 1986 Mets that I didn't know about, locker-room wise, and you had to be in the locker room to know it."
This book has it all when it comes to the history of the Mets. From Bob Murphy to Dave Kingman to David Wright to Juan Lagares, "Numbers Don't Lie!" has a little bit of everything and is a must read for all Mets fans.
With the way this season is shaping up for the Mets, perhaps there will need to be a few chapters added for a revised edition.
Just like the Mets used to do with their yearbooks each season!
For more information on "Numbers Don't Lie," visit www.triumphbooks.com.
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @pschwartzcbsfan. You can also follow Russ Cohen @sportsology, Adam Raider @adamjraider and @TriumphBooks.
