A History Lesson for Mets Fans

My father had a story he loved to tell.

In the Fall of 1951 he was in the Naval Reserve on manuevers somewhere out at sea, and he and a couple of his crewmates were in the wardroom trying to get the first game of the World Series on the radio. It wasn't easy because the reception was lousy but they kept trying and finally they managed to get Armed Forces Radio through the static.

"Welcome.. [crackle crackle] to the first game of the 1951 World Series... [crackle crackle] between the New York Yankees..."

At this point my father took a big sip of coffee.

"... and the New York Giants."

My father spit the coffee all over the table and probably on a few of his fellow officers as well.

"The GIANTS?" he yelled. "WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO THE DODGERS?"

The Brooklyn Dodgers, you see, had been in first place by a dozen or so games when the ship had left port, some weeks ago, but after one of the biggest swan dives in baseball history, capped off by Bobby Thomson's "shot heard 'round the world" in a one-game playoff (which was 56 years ago today) they blew their chance to be in the World Series.

I would like to remind Mets fans, who are still grieving over the fact that their team blew a seven-game lead with 17 games left to play, that it's not the end of the world. There will always be a next year.

And in point of fact, the Dodgers were in the World Series four out of the next five years -- something Mets fans should keep in mind right about now.

Tom Moran