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Murphy's Law

How Player A began his career

10 H, 20 AB, 5 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 4 K, 4 BB

How Player B began his career

10 H, 20 AB, 6 R, 1 2B, 0 RBI, 3 K, 2 BB

Player A is Daniel Murphy, 2008

Player B is Alex Ochoa, 1995

Hopefully things work out better for Player A than they did for Player B. Alex Ochoa finished 1995 1-for-17. Stardom was not to be.

Another comparison for you (thanks: Baseball-Reference)

The beginnings of Danny Heep's time with the Mets, circa 1983.

14 H, 28 AB, 8 R, 3 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 4 K, 8 BB (.500 BA)

Let the record reflect that I'm already a big Murphy fan. He's already got a better place in my heart than Roberto Alomar ever did. I bring this up because upon getting off the No. 7 train at Shea on Saturday, we saw two people wearing Alomar attire (amazingly, standing a few feet apart, but not together).

I'm trying to recall the times I've been to a game in which a player hit his first major league homer. Both my recollections are of pitchers- Dwight Gooden and Esteban Yan (an unlikely duo). I'm trying to recall seeing a home run that cleared the fence by 90 feet, as Carlos Delgado's did. Mark McGwire's scoreboard-denter, a Mo Vaughn bank shot off the Budweiser sign, and Mike Piazza's smash against hapless Yankee reliever Carlos Almanzar come to mind.

I'm also trying to recall the times I've been to a game where I was as irritated by the foot traffic as I was on Saturday. I'm not referring to Murphy's flailing attempt to catch a fly ball near the fence. What irks me is how many times I have to either get up to let a patron out of my row, or how often I have to crane my neck to see a pitch.

The people in my row make too many trips to the bathroom and the concession stand, and they always pick the worst times to return. Yes, I'm a little cranky, but it's reached a level of ridiculousness, akin to that of Gate C running out of fleece blanket giveaways 35 minutes before the first pitch.

I know I've written this before, but I'd hope that at CitiField, something will be done to better the ballpark viewing experience. Perhaps a rule that states that once a fan walks-off from their seat, they can only return in-between half-innings would do the trick. And since Daniel Murphy is so popular these days, maybe he should be one to narrate the announcement.

"Don't stagger around like me playing left field at Shea. Sprint back to your seat, like me after hitting a home run."

True Metphys know...Daniel Murphy has reached base in each of his first 7 games with the Mets.

The team record for most consecutive games reaching base to start your Mets career is 13, set by Jerry Grote in 1966.

Comments

czaradio said…
I saw Darryl Strawberry hit one out of Shea and into the parking lot, circ 87 or 88. Unbelievable shot that the whole crowd at Shea just gasped when they say. When we were driving home, we heard Howie on Mets Extra say that the ball had planted itself in the hood of a pickup truck.

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