top of page

KinersKorner.com is your one-stop multimedia source for all things Mets


Sunday School: Forgotten Faces of Flushing #59 : The Time Jesse Owens Wore a Mets Uniform — As a Coach
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

Mark Rosenman
Feb 154 min read


Roy Face, Pirates Legend and Frequent Mets Nemesis, Passes at 97
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

Mark Rosenman
Feb 145 min read


Saturday Seasons: 2009, Shea Goodbye, Hello Citi Field
The Mets were trying to put the disappointing finishes of the previous two seasons at Shea Stadium behind them as they approached the 2009 season with new hope and a new ballpark. The season would be defined by the new venue (3rd in franchise history) and a mind boggling spate of devastating injuries. General Manager Omar Minaya made some changes during the off season to improve the bullpen. With Billy Wagner undergoing Tommy John surgery in September, 2008, Minaya signed fre

Howie Karpin
Feb 147 min read


Flipped, Traded, Loved: Happy 75th to Topps and the Cards That Raised Us
If you’re anything like me and my wife insists there is no one like me (I’m still not sure if she meant that as a compliment), you can remember exactly when and where you bought your very first pack of baseball cards. Just reading this probably has your sense of smell kicking into gear right now. (Is that… that smell?) That unmistakable aroma of cardboard, ink, and gum, or what passed for gum in the 1960s, especially when you peeled back that last card in the pack, hoping for

Mark Rosenman
Feb 119 min read


R.I.P. Mickey Lolich: The Beer-Drinker’s Idol, the Workhorse Lefty, and the One-Year Met Who Wouldn’t Ice His Arm
There are Hall of Famers, and then there are baseball lifers—guys who looked like they could’ve been sitting two stools down from you at the bar, but instead went out every fifth day and took the ball like it owed them money. Mickey Lolich was that guy. Lolich, who passed away on February 4, 2026 at the age of 85, described himself as “the beer-drinker’s idol,” and nobody ever accused him of false advertising. With his sturdy frame, soft belly (which he insisted was “all musc

Mark Rosenman
Feb 44 min read


Sunday School: Forgotten Faces of Flushing #50 : Randy “Moose” Milligan The Mets Minor League Monster Who Helped Discover David Wright
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 yearbooks that still smell faintly of pretzels, and rediscover the players who made you pause mid potato knish and mutter, Hold on, he was a Met, right? Last week, we took a sentimental stroll through Shea Stadium’s old organ loft and revisited the legacy of Jane Jarvis, the musical magician who could turn a

Mark Rosenman
Dec 14, 20254 min read


Best Mets First Basemen of the 1960s: From Hodges to Clendenon
As we wait to see who'll be starting at 1st base in 2026, the editors and writers here at the Korner thought it would be interesting to turn back the clock and see all the great (and not-so-great) 1st basemen in Mets history. We'll break the list down by decade. For example, we know undoubtedly that Pete Alonso is the best 1st baseman to play for the Mets in the 2020s; that's going to be easy to write once we get to the present. However, when you turn back the clock to the 19

Manny Fantis
Dec 9, 20254 min read


40 Years Later: How 60 Minutes Captured the Rise of Dwight Gooden
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

Mark Rosenman
Dec 1, 20255 min read


Sunday School: Forgotten Faces of Flushing #48 : From Penn State Hero to Flushing Footnote: D.J. Dozier’s Remarkable Journey
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

Mark Rosenman
Nov 30, 20254 min read


Saturday Seasons: 1997, A Return to Relevancy
Despite coming off a disastrous 1996 season where they finished 71-91 and were 25 games out of first place and 19 games out of a wild card spot, the Mets became one of the surprise teams and challenged for a playoff spot in 1997. Manager Bobby Valentine replaced Dallas Green and was heading into his first full season as the “dugout general.” During the off season, the Mets made a very shrewd trade when they sent pitcher Robert Person to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for f

Howie Karpin
Nov 22, 20259 min read


From Shea to Immortality: The Mets’ 2026 Inductees: Beltrán, Mazzilli, Valentine
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

Mark Rosenman
Nov 13, 20257 min read


Sunday School: Forgotten Faces of Flushing #43 :The Yankees Had M&M, the Mets Had H&H: Meet the Mets’ Hiller and Haddix in ’67
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

Mark Rosenman
Oct 26, 20256 min read


Saturday Seasons : 1993 The Worst Sequel Money Could Buy.
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

Mark Rosenman
Oct 25, 20254 min read


Sunday School: Forgotten Faces of Flushing #41 : The Beagle and the Mule That Time Forgot: Mets Mascot Madness
Welcome back to Sunday School: Forgotten Faces of Flushing, our weekly rummage through the Mets’ attic, where we dust off the bubble-gum...

Mark Rosenman
Oct 12, 20255 min read


What Do Soupy Sales, Tony and the Tigers, and ‘Hullabaloo’ Have to Do with the Mets?
Today was one of those raw, gray October mornings, the kind that makes you reach for an old Mets yearbook instead of the remote, because...

Mark Rosenman
Oct 8, 20255 min read


Sunday School: Forgotten Faces of Flushing #40: From No-Hitter to Miracle: The Story of Don Cardwell
Welcome back to Sunday School: Forgotten Faces of Flushing, our weekly rummage through the Mets’ attic, where we dust off the bubble-gum...

Mark Rosenman
Oct 5, 20254 min read


Ralph Kiner Talks with the Amazin’ Mets: The Vinyl Time Capsule of 1969
Back in 1969, if you were a Mets fan (and if you weren’t, you probably rooted for the Cubs and still haven’t forgiven Ron Santo for...

Mark Rosenman
Sep 20, 20254 min read


Saturday Seasons: 1981: The Split Season
The final record of the 1980 Mets did not tell the whole story. Despite ultimately finishing in fifth place and losing 95 games, there...

Mark Rosenman
Aug 2, 20253 min read
bottom of page