Al Weis, Rod Kanehl and Jerry Buchek carried the utility-player’s job through every phase of the Mets’ first decade—from expansion-era chaos to an improbable world championship. On October 16, 1969, Al Weis stepped to the plate at Shea Stadium with the Mets trailing Baltimore, 3–2, in the seventh inning of World Series Game 5. Dave McNally threw a pitch that Weis lifted over the left-field wall, tying the game and jolting Shea into bedlam. The Mets went on to win, 5–3, and ca

These days, Mets fans can get their fix of trade rumors easily. There is nothing that quite gives fans the hope of getting through the winter like a good rumor. Back in the day, before sports talk radio and the internet, I remember a two-inch blurb in the Daily News that perked me up! It simply said, "Mets Closing in on Trade For Foster" George Foster? Dominant MVP, 50 home run dynamo from the Reds? I must have read those few sentences 15 times. Well, the Foster the Mets did