Alumni Classic a Classic Reunion

Moments become memories, and the Mets certainly have had their share.

Decades worth of memories resurfaced Saturday at Citi Field with their Alumni Classic Game, a worthy event that dressed some 40 former Mets in the team’s classic white pinstripe unis for one more day.  

Arbitrarily separated by their “home” stadium, Shea or Citi Field, the two “teams” played to a 2-2 tie in the abbreviated two-and-a-half-inning exhibition.  But those results were inconsequential to having the celebrated exes back in the building.

Piazza.  Martinez.  Franco.  Strawberry.  Delgado.  Reyes.  Santana.  Dickey.  Colon.  Leiter.  Mookie.  Granderson.  Zeile.  Agbayani.  Harvey. And so on.  Mets fans did not need further identification to motivate those memories.

Prior to the game, the alumni gathered on the field and reminisced with themselves and the media.  Mike Piazza was seen chatting with former Met Ace Jacob deGrom.  Al Leiter also shared a few moments with deGrom.  Pedro Martinez held court with current pitchers, including Edwin Diaz, in the Mets dugout.  Former Mets broadcaster Ed Coleman was hugged by every former Met that found him on the field, including Johan Santana.  

Fans in the stands dusted off their favorite “placards” and proudly held them aloft during the reunion, including one woman who proclaimed in signage, “We Still Love Bix Sexy,” a direct reference to Bartolo Colon, who also enjoyed one of the event’s biggest ovations.  Curtis Granderson was feted with, “Curtis, Thanks for the Grand Memories.”  

Granderson joined a handful of alumni pregame in the press conference room and expressed how much the event meant to the players as well as the fans.

“As much as everyone here are fans, we’re all fans, too,” remarked the ebullient former outfielder.  “This Shea team are guys I grew up with and wanting to be around and to be on the field with them.  I’m still a fan and to get all these players together for this day is not only for them but for us, too.”

Most took BP and Jose Reyes was quick to boast that he hit a home run during batting practice.

“I feel like a rookie right now,” said Reyes, beaming.  “Just running around the field, I feel like a kid again.  I hit a home run in BP.  I’m getting ready for the game, very happy to be here.”

The “Moment of the Day” at this presser, which surely was recalled when they got together later after the event, focused on Carlos Beltran.  The former outfielder was genuinely grateful for the opportunity to revive friendships before another memory got the whole room roaring.

“I’m super happy to connect with the guys I played with before,” said Beltran.  “A lot of times, the game of baseball puts you in a position where you spend so many times with teammates and you retire and you go home, you don’t get to see them often.”

Then someone asked about 2006.  “We knew in spring training, we looked around at the team and knew we had a good team, but at the end of the day, we fell short and didn’t end up going to the World Series.  Everybody knows what happened…”

Reyes piped in, “What happened, Carlos?”  And that triggered waves of laughter from the panel and the media.  

What happened is that the Mets lost the Seventh Game of the 2006 NLCS when Beltran was caught looking at a called third strike to send the St. Louis Cardinals to the Fall Classic, a moment that seems to never be erased in the minds of Mets fans.

Reyes went behind Beltran’s back and pointed to Delgado, who pointed back at Reyes with looks and smiles that said, “I can’t believe he went there.”

Beltran realized he opened up a wound, but smiled at his own foibles and added, “But we tried hard.”

Putting the onus back on Reyes, Beltran laughed at his own expense and punted back to his infielder buddy as a lovable instigator.  “This guy, is the same guy.  He never changes.”  

The event was festooned with other moments.  Both Bobby Valentine and Terry Collins, acting as managers, feigned dismay at various calls so they could get “tossed” by the former umpires serving as arbiters.  Valentine then intentionally came back to the field in a new fake glasses and mustache disguise.

Valentine was asked if he misses managing.  He said, “No, not really.  It’s that I miss managing.  But I don’t miss being a manager.”

The Game was preceded by a video tribute to the late Davey Johnson, the team’s manager for their last World Championship in 1986. 

Mets longtime broadcasters Howie Rose and Gary Cohen “called” the Alumni Game was seats adjacent to the home dugout to the fans in the stands.

Unfortunately, the event’s good vibes didn’t lend itself to a Mets victory, as they lost their eighth-consecutive game, a loss to the Rangers, 3-2.