The Mets have announced the 2023 inductees for their Hall of Fame Museum, located in the rotunda of Citi Field. Former third baseman Howard Johnson, southpaw starting pitcher Al Leiter and team broadcasters Gary Cohen and Howie Rose. Former t…

Two weeks ago I wondered whether Mets CEO Steve Cohen would regret announcing he had signed Carlos Correa the day after the San Francisco Giants withdrew their offer to him just hours before their scheduled introductory press conference. The …

Last Thursday the New York Yankees announced they had hired former Mets General Manager Omar Minaya to be an adviser to General Manager Brian Cashman. Minaya, who grew up in Corona and graduated from Newtown High School, had been a goodwill a…

It is to be seen whether 2023 will be a bullish or bearish year on Wall Street, but the bulls will be kicking off the new year in New York this weekend as the Professional Bull Riders return to Madison Square Garden for their three-day “Unlea…

Last Tuesday the Mets held a press conference for the man they hope will replace Jacob deGrom as their ace, newly acquired free agent Justin Verlander. While it is to be seen how well Verlander will pitch for the Mets, it is safe to say the t…

Sports Video Group, curator of the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame, held its 2022 induction ceremonies at the New York Hilton last week. As always, the movers and shakers in the sports media were in attendance. The emcee was NBC Sports lead …

The Mets re-signed popular leadoff hitter and centerfielder Brandon Nimmo to an eight-year, $162 million contract last Thursday. Nimmo’s timing to be a free agent could not have been any better as there was a dearth of available quality cente…

When the baseball off-season began it was clear the Mets were not going to offer their ace pitcher Jacob deGrom a contract in excess of three guaranteed years. There is no argument over deGrom still being the most dominant pitcher in baseball…

The four-day baseball winter meetings get underway Sunday in San Diego. Back in the day, this was the time when exciting trades would be made. While trades still take place, they generally involve second-tier players and minor leaguers rather…

Mets skipper Buck Showalter was named the National League Manager of the Year last week by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Showalter had won the award three times previously in his long baseball career, but this marked the first …

The Mets exercised their option to bring back pitcher Carlos Carrasco for the 2023 season. In 2022, at a salary of $14 million, Carrasco posted a 15-7 won-lost record with a 3.97 earned run average.Carrasco had good statistics, and clearly im…

Fans who come to Citi Field hoping to hear Timmy Trumpet’s “Narco” will be overjoyed to learn potential free agent closer Edwin Diaz has signed a five-year, $102 million contract to remain the Mets’ closer. “Narco” is Diaz’s entrance song.Dia…

In 1966, “Homeward Bound,” from the pride of Forest Hills High School, Simon & Garfunkel, was the follow-up to their first hit, “The Sounds of Silence.” The song, about yearning to return to where one grew up, is a classic. This winter, h…

The Arthur Ashe Institute of Urban Health held its annual major fund-raiser, Sportsball, for the first time in three years last Thursday.The AAIUH was founded by tennis great Arthur Ashe, who won the first-ever US Open at Forest Hills Stadium…

As soon as the Mets were bounced from the playoffs by the San Diego Padres, SNY air personalities Gary Cohen, Gary Apple, Todd Zeile and Jerry Blevins discussed the numerous free agents who will no longer be under contract once the World Seri…

On Sunday night Mets manager Buck Showalter and stars Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor spoke about the great season the team had, and how their loss in the Wild Card Series to the San Diego Padres would not alter that. Centerfielder Brandon N…

In the 1930s, France, under the aegis of Minister of War Andre Maginot, built a series of fortifications and trenches along its border with Germany. The project became known as the Maginot Line, with its primary goal being to deter its large …

All Elite Wrestling, the nation’s second-largest professional wrestling promotion behind World Wrestling Entertainment, returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium last Wednesday. More than 20,000 fans came out for its “Grand Slam” card.AEW has establish…

Mets President Sandy Alderson announced last Thursday his plans to step down from his current role. He will do consulting work with the organization starting this off-season. Alderson, who is 74 years old and has had health issues, had been t…

This past Friday night, the Yankees honored Derek Jeter for his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown last year. Jeter, of course, has been honored by the Yankees many times before, so it was not surprising that thi…

Last Wednesday was a beautiful blue-sky, low-80s with low humidity day, which seemed more like LA than Flushing. That was only fitting because the Mets were playing the Dodgers in a battle of two of baseball’s best teams. It was an ideal day …

Mets Vice President of Alumni Affairs Jay Horwitz did a fine job arranging last Saturday’s Old Timers’ Day celebration; 65 Mets alumni took part. Jay told me he received numerous calls from former Mets players who were miffed they were not in…

The 2022 US Open should resemble what life was like before Covid-19. The US Open Qualifiers, canceled in both 2020 and 2021, have returned to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The matches, which give a shot at the tournament to tho…

Keith Hernandez is a fun listen because not only is he extremely knowledgeable about baseball, he is happy to go off on humorous tangents.He knew he was going to miss this past weekend’s Phillies-Mets series, as he was going to be in St. Loui…

Mets General Manager Billy Eppler experienced his first trade deadline last Tuesday. Fans remembered how the Braves made several low-impact trades at the deadline in 2021 and wound up winning the World Series. It is safe to say Eppler was awa…

Last week’s pair of Subway Series victories for the Mets at the expense of the Yankees may be just two games out of the 162-game schedule, but they carry a lot more weight than that small sampling size would indicate. The Yankees have been a …

Last Wednesday the Knicks introduced their coveted free agent signing, point guard Jalen Brunson, to the public. Brunson fielded questions from MSG Networks interviewer Bill Pidto while friends and family watched from seats set up in the lobb…

The sports media were abuzz last Saturday when news filtered out that Washington Nationals superstar outfielder Juan Soto had rejected a $440 million, 15-year contract from the team. Soto’s agent, the inimitable Scott Boras, told Nationals ex…

A couple of weeks ago Mets pitcher Chris Bassitt tested positive for Covid-19. He had decided to take the home test after feeling fatigued, and he informed Mets management of the results. The Mets immediately placed him on the Covid-19 unable…

This Saturday the Mets will rectify a long overdue omission when they retire the No. 17 uniform worn by the best first baseman in their history, Keith Hernandez.At a press screening for “He’s Keith Hernandez,” the documentary commissioned by …

The NBA Draft returned to Barclays Center after a three-year absence. The Knicks held the 11th selection, but team president and general manager Leon Rose was unable to trade up to get the players he wanted and was unimpressed by who was avai…

One of the Mets’ off-season moves that went under the radar was the signing of outfielder Travis Jankowski, who was a 2012 first-round draft choice of the San Diego Padres. While he never was an All-Star, Jankowski developed a reputation for …

When Mets general manager Billy Eppler traded a pair of minor leaguers to the Oakland Athletics for starting pitcher Chris Bassitt, the conventional wisdom was the Mets got a steal. Bassitt would be a solid No. 3 starter behind co-aces Jacob …

Last Tuesday the Mets commemorated the 10th anniversary of Johan Santana’s no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals. It remains the only complete game no-hitter in the team’s 60-year history. The Mets welcomed back the manager at the time, T…

The Sports Emmy Awards, honoring the best in televised sports, returned to New York for its first in-person ceremony in three years. The movers and shakers of sports media were on hand.Whitestone native and Bayside High School alum Mike Tiric…

When the Mets signed Max Scherzer to a contract that would pay him $43 million for the next three seasons in late November, there was unbridled joy among the Flushing faithful. They were thrilled to have a future Hall of Fame pitcher, who had…

All Elite Wrestling, the three-year-old competitor to long-established World Wrestling Entertainment, made a statement when it was able to sell out 25,000 seats for a card at the Arthur Ashe Stadium last September. Tony Khan, the CEO of AEW, …

Ironically, it was a hit that may have ended Robinson Cano’s Mets career. Two weeks ago, Cano smacked a perfectly placed ball down the left field line. It should have been a standup double.Instead, Cano was thrown out at second base, and it w…

New York Jets General Manager Joe Douglas has been in his current position for three years, and the results have not exactly been an overwhelming success. Last season, the Jets won a measly four games. The “good news” was that was double the …

Last Tuesday the Mets played their first doubleheader of the 2022 season as they swept the San Francisco Giants by scores of 5-4 and 3-1. This was the first doubleheader in two years in which both games were scheduled to go nine innings inste…

One of the big questions going into the 2022 season was “Will Aaron Judge sign a long-term contract with the New York Yankees, or will he test free agency waters at season’s end?” Judge made it clear he did not want to negotiate a new pact du…

Most Mets fans were not happy when they learned the only way they could watch their team play the Washington Nationals last Friday night was on the streaming service Apple TV Plus.There was plenty of interest about this game because it marked…

Mets fans needed to step off the proverbial ledge after processing the news ace pitcher Jacob deGrom was diagnosed with shoulder inflammation and will not throw a baseball for the next month.It was especially frustrating because the Mets’ 202…

The legalization of sports team gambling in many states, including New York, has been, pardon the pun, a game changer. States now have a new source for raising revenue while gamblers no longer must flock to Nevada to place sports bets.It also…

It didn’t take long for Mayor Adams to dampen the joy of Mets and Yankees fans almost as soon as the Major League Baseball lockout ended.The Mayor’s Office announced that the “Kyrie Rule,” under which unvaccinated athletes employed by the hom…

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred was the No. 1 villain for fans and the media during the recent lockout. He didn’t help with deadline threats or when he seemed to be inappropriately smiling or laughing as he announced another br…

Baseball fans were understandably disgusted at the breakdown of talks between club owners and the Major League Baseball Players Association last Tuesday, particularly after things had looked promising the day before.The refrain heard on sport…

Marcus Stroman was a terrific pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays for the first five years of his MLB career before being traded to the Mets on July 31, 2019. The Mets’ general manager at the time, Brodie Van Wagenen, hoped Stroman would be the…

Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks will recall the translation of Scottish poet Robert Burns’ famous line from his poem “To a Mouse” whenever he thinks of James Harden. Burns wrote, “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”A …

Last Tuesday the New York Mets announced they’ll have the first-ever Old-Timers’ Day at Citi Field Aug. 27 before their game with the Colorado Rockies. The last time the Mets held an Old-Timers’ Day was in 1994 at Shea Stadium. And yes, 1994 …