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If you spend enough time around collectors, you start to notice that the best collections rarely begin with money. They begin with moments. A handshake. A story. A childhood connection that somehow follows you for the rest of your life. This month’s Kollector’s Korner Met-o-ra-bil-ia Hall of Fame inductee has built a lifetime of those moments, often without even chasing them. Meet Paul Friedlander. Paul is 71 years old and has spent more than 45 years working as a tax account

Welcome back to Sunday School: Forgotten Faces of Flushing, our weekly rummage through the Mets’ attic, where we brush the dust off the bubble gum cards, flip through curling yearbooks, and rediscover the names that once made you stop mid knish and say, “Hold on… he was a Met, right?” Last week we stood, removed our caps, and revisited the voices that opened Mets games long before the first pitch and the first second guessing of the bullpen. From Pearl Bailey setting the tone

Even before analytics baseball has always been a numbers game. Not the kind that requires spreadsheets and algorithms, but the kind where a handful of digits become shorthand for a life’s work. Say 60 or 714 and the mind drifts automatically to immortality. Mention 56, .406, or 511 and you don’t even need to attach the names. Numbers in this sport have a way of sticking to players like pine tar. Some careers are defined by one unforgettable line on a stat sheet. For Elroy “Ro

The 1990s saw the end of an era for a beloved Mets third baseman, and the beginning of an era that still hasn't ended. That era is still shelling out just over $1 million a year until 2035, so we still got a ways to go. The decade ended with a legendary bat, who came through NYC and provided one of the best walk offs in team history. The Early 90s started the way the 80s ended, with the speed and the pop from the fan-favorite, Howard Johnson. In '90 he hit 23 HR and drove in

Welcome back to Sunday School: Forgotten Faces of Flushing, our weekly rummage through the Mets’ attic, where we brush off the dust, squint at old photos, and rediscover the people, places, and moments that once made Mets baseball feel new, hopeful, and occasionally sunburned. Last week, we were in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Mets’ original spring home. Before Shea. Before Port St. Lucie. Before winning seasons were anything more than a rumor. Back when baseballs occasionall

The Mets and the Diamondbacks may not have the most history as trade partners over the relatively few years, but they have had impactful players change sides. Their history came to a boil when they met in the 1999 Division Series, which the Mets won in four games. The first game of that series was given an 11:00 PM starting time! And since this was the first Mets playoff appearance since the 1988 Orel Hershisers, we were all going to stay up late. It was tied going to the top

Welcome back to Sunday School: Forgotten Faces of Flushing, our weekly stroll through Mets history, where we dust off the forgotten, squint at the overlooked, and remind ourselves that Mets lore is about far more than box scores and batting averages. The last couple of lessons wandered slightly off the basepaths. First, we tipped our cap to Kathy Kersch, Miss Rheingold 1962, the smiling face of the Mets’ first major sponsor and the most photogenic rookie of their inaugural se

The 1969 Miracle Mets hangover seemed to come in and out through the next decade for the franchise, trying to hold onto relevance, identity, and winning baseball in the 1970s. It was indeed a decade marked by transition, grit, and improvisation. No position reflected that reality more clearly than third base — the hot corner — where a rotating cast of players mirrored the Mets’ shifting fortunes throughout the decade. At the center of it all was Wayne Garrett, the most endu

This column focuses on impactful trades in Mets history. Well, the first three World Series appearances of the Mets were fortified by three different consequential trades with the Montreal Expos! The Mets most likely do not see 1969 (Donn Clendenon), 1973 (Rusty Staub), and 1986 (Gary Carter) without these dynamic trades. Do not worry, Washington Nationals fans, its not that I'm ignoring the Nats, its just that the most significant trades were made when they were Les Expos.

Welcome back to Sunday School: Forgotten Faces of Flushing, our weekly rummage through the Mets’ attic, where we brush the dust off the bubble gum cards, flip through the curling pages of old yearbooks, and rediscover the players who once made you pause mid–potato knish and mutter, “Hold on… he was a Met, right?” Last week, class focused on Joe Frazier , not the heavyweight champion, but the Mets manager whose brief tenure somehow produced a better winning percentage than Ter

Welcome back to Sunday School: Forgotten Faces of Flushing, our weekly rummage through the Mets’ attic, where we brush the dust off the bubble gum cards, flip through the curling pages of old yearbooks, and rediscover the players who once made you pause mid potato knish and mutter, “Hold on… he was a Met, right?” We closed out 2025 by revisiting one of the strangest detours in Mets history, when Tom Seaver, Ron Swoboda, Ralph Kiner and Yogi Berra paid a visit to Sing Sing pri

While the 70s featured some good 1st basemen for the New York Mets, it wasn't exactly a great decade for the team. The end of the decade was a very dark time for the team. The 80s, however, would provide great players at the position and some historic moments for the team. The 80s started off with a fresh face at 1st. Lee Mazzilli, 25 years old at the time, started the 1980 season at 1st, after being moved from the outfield. Mazzilli was one of the few bright spots for the te

Last week, we decided Ed Kranepool was the best Mets 1st baseman of the 1960s. He was a solid fielding option who could also hit for average. The 1970s, however, did not start the way Kranepool or anyone else had planned for the life-long Met. Kranepool started in 1970, probably trying way too hard, after a humbling 1969 season. The Mets organization went out and traded for a slugging first baseman in '69, Donn Clendenon, who ended up being World Series MVP. Clendenon returne

Pete Alonso said goodbye to New York this week. And not just any goodbye. This was a full-on, heart-clutching, cue-the-violins, sun-setting-over-the-Queensboro-Bridge emotional farewell on Instagram. And by emotional, I mean the kind of scene that makes even the toughest Mets fan well up like they’re watching the end of Field of Dreams—you know, the “Hey Dad… wanna have a catch?” moment that destroys grown adults on contact. Here is Pete’s message exactly as he posted it: New

If you’ve read any of my stuff over the last three years, first of all thank you, and second of all my condolences. You already know I am dangerously prone to falling down Mets rabbit holes on the internet. One minute I’m innocently looking for a Gary Carter highlight to avoid doing something productive, and the next thing I know I’ve lost three hours, three 20 ounce bottles of Diet Pepsi, and any grip on the space-time continuum while watching pixelated footage of long-forgo

If you want to understand just how big Dwight Gooden was in 1985 how he went from Tampa teenager to the most unhittable pitcher on planet Earth you don’t have to watch a highlight reel, or read a stat sheet, or listen to your Mets-fan uncle explain that he “hasn’t been the same since Doc left.” All you have to do is go back to Sunday, August 18, 1985, when one of the most powerful institutions in American journalism, 60 Minutes, showed up and said: Yep. This kid belongs her

Welcome back to Sunday School: Forgotten Faces of Flushing, our weekly rummage through the Mets’ attic, where we dust off the bubble-gum cards and game-used jerseys of the guys who made you squint and go, “Wait… didn’t he play for us?” Last week, we spotlighted the slime-soaked, neon-splattered Nickelodeon crossover era, a chapter of Mets lore so bizarre you’d swear it was dreamed up by a pack of sugar-fueled 10-year-olds who’d just mainlined Fruit Gushers and were ready to p

The Mets announced today that three of the franchise’s most memorable figures Carlos Beltrán, Lee Mazzilli, and Bobby Valentine will be inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 2026. That brings the total to 38 Mets immortals and three new plaques for the wall at Citi Field, which, at the pace we’re adding them, may need its own renovation soon. Maybe not quite East Wing-of-the-White-House territory, but close enough that an architect should probably start warming up. When t

Welcome back to Sunday School: Forgotten Faces of Flushing, our weekly rummage through the Mets’ attic, where the dust smells like pine tar and nostalgia, and where we occasionally stumble across treasures we thought we’d forgotten. Last week, we focused on Ron Herbel, a sturdy right-hander whose brief but reliable stint with the Mets in 1970 made him the kind of pitcher every team needs: steady, uncomplaining, and quietly effective. This week, we return to the 1960s, to a Me

If 1992 was “The Worst Team Money Could Buy,” then 1993 was the Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice. a straight-to-video disaster that made Toe Blake spin in his grave and the Hanson Brothers beg for a line change. This was supposed to be a bounce-back year, the baseball version of a redemption tour. A new shortstop (Tony Fernández), a few veteran arms, and the faint hope that all that expensive talent might actually act like, well, talent. Instead, what we got was 59 wins, 103 los