I Waited 50 years for a New York Mets No Hitter

It started out as a normal Friday night as I watched Jeopardy at 7 PM and turned on Bob Radil’s 60s 70s show on Rewound Radio at 7:30.  Bob even played my request for With a Little Help from My Friends by Joe Cocker.  I always check in with Karen and Lee as they were watching the Met game.  At 8:30, it was in the 5th inning as Johann Santana had not allowed a hit.  There was still a long way to go, but I had to watch.  I have been a Met fan since the team’s inception in 1962 and thought that I would never see a no hit game.  On 3 occasions Tom Seaver brought a no hitter into the 9th inning, but lost it.  Several pitchers had no nos before or after they came to the Mets.  Around 2006 or 2007 we went to a game at Shea Stadium where Tom Glavine lost a no hitter after 7 2/3 innings.

In the 6th inning  third base umpire Adrian Johnson ruled a foul ball on a Carlos Beltran shot down the line.  The replay showed that the ball hit the foul line and should have been an extra base hit.  Santana had gained by a bad call, but umpires are human.  Left fielder Mike Baxter made a spectacular catch in the 7th inning as he crashed into the wall.

Finally at 9:49 PM David Freese struck out on pitch #134 and Santana got the first no hitter in Mets history.  I have tickets to this afternoon’s game as I missed this historic event by one day.  Back in 1961, I went to see the Yankees one day before Roger Maris hit his 61st Home Run.  Thus I have missed two historic baseball events by one game.

I decided not to turn on my computer after the game to write a blog entry., but to wait for the next day for my thoughts to settle in.  I did receive a congratulatory tweet from Laura Nygard, a big fan of the Milwaukee Brewers whom I met a few years ago on the Jay Buckley Baseball Tour.  So far this season has exceeded most people’s expectations.  Will Santana’s no hitter encourage the team to over achieve?  Only time will tell.

It Was 45 Years Ago Today

I was a senior at Forest Hills High School anticipating my graduation in a few weeks.  It was the day that Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band was released.  Many consider it the best album that was ever recorded.  In honor of that anniversary please see the video of Joe Cocker singing With a Little Help From My Friends.  I heard both Darren De Vivo and Bob Radil play it today on the radio.

Montage of 1960s New York Radio DJs

Enjoy!

Sometimes even the president of the United States is a Bob Dylan Fan

Today Bob Dylan was among 13 distinguished Americans who was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Obama.  This time the President of the United States is standing very proud.  Let me quote from the article in the Huffington Post:

"In college days, Obama said, he listened to Dylan and recalled "my world opening up, because he captured something about this country that was so vital." Dylan's appearance drew the biggest whoops from the crowd, and he dressed for the event – sunglasses, bow tie and black suit embellished with shiny buckles and buttons."


It is a very proud day for all Bob Dylan fans.

Staycation is over - Back to work tomorrow

It's back to work for me tomorrow.  I did accomplish some things this past week:

• Karen and I bought new furniture for the living room
• I visited my mother twice
• We saw Men in Black today
• We saw the Mets beat the Padres 9-0
• I read:


• Dickey, R A, and Wayne R. Coffey. 
Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity, and the Perfect Knuckleball. New York: Blue Rider Press, 2012. Print.
• I listened to WABC Rewound
• I saw Happy Traum and friends cover Bob Dylan songs in honor of his birthday

Remember Musicradio WABC 1960-82

Back in the 1960s and early 70s popular music on AM radio was king.  Until 1970 WABC and WMCA were the biggest competitors for listeners of Top 40 radio.  Play lists were very tight back then since listeners wanted to hear only the biggest hits of the day.  As we moved into the 1970s and 80s music transitioned to FM as new radio formats which appealed to niche audiences developed.  In 1982 WABC dropped music completely and adopted a talk format.

For many years WABC on Memorial Day had special programming called WABC Rewound which featured airchecks from the music radio era.  A few years ago when the station stopped this feature it moved to Rewound Radio .  Many radio enthusiasts including myself thank Alan Sniffen for continuing this tradition.  It is fun to hear radio personalities including:

• Harry Harrison
• Ron Lundy
• Dan Ingram
• Cousin Bruce Morrow
• Charlie Greer
• Herb Oscar Anderson
• George Michael
• Robie Younge
• and many others

Oldies Radio Enthusiasts See Mets Blow Out The Padres 9-0

The photo above is the original home run apple from Shea Stadium which is now placed outside Citifield.  In today's game the home run apple went up 3 times after blasts by Scott Hairston, Vinny Rottino (his first major league homer) and Mike Nickeas (grand slam).  The last few years have been tough for the Amazins so it was nice to see a blowout.  Johann Santana pitched a shut out given the bull pen a well deserved rest.

Game Summary

Alan Berman organized this as a gathering of oldies radio enthusiasts.  I am getting a little tired of the M&G moniker, so we'll save it for the annual gathering in November at Ben's Deli.  Frank DeRosa and Mary Shaw were there.  Late in the game we were surprised by a visit by Jerry Gillespie.