The N. Y. Mets continue to show the true grit that this team has become.
The class and dignity that Mets manager Carlos Mendoza has shown has been nothing short of magnificent.
Knowing Carlos from my years with the Yankees, it doesn’t surprise me that his players gravitate to him the way that they do.
The manager is the true battery of his baseball team. He is the person that when a player is having his worst spiritual moment that particular manager can for one moment make you feel like Superman, as it seemed was the case with Pete Alonso. Pete has gotten some gigantic hits at the right time and has now become a very feared bat again.
One player told me that the confidence that Mendoza installs on some of the players is incredible. His communication skills are very strong. That same player said that he really makes you truly want to believe in yourself.
When Steve Cohen and the Mets hired Carlos, there were a lot of Mets fans who were asking WHY? Now the question is Why Not!
Carlos has impressed so many in the game that at one game recently a seasoned sports writer compared Carlos to the famed chess champion grandmaster Bobby Fisher because of how he strategizes his every move. The last manager that I saw with those kind of skills was named Billy Martin. Not bad company.
I really want to congratulate Steve and Alex Cohen and team President David Stearns and the Mets organization not just for winning the N. L. D. S. but for having the great foresight to hire such a skilled baseball man like Carlos Mendoza. All he needed was the opportunity to show the world what he could do.
Good luck to a great organization that has made our city proud during a period in time when we needed something great to root for.
