MLB History

The New York Mets have long been without a presence of leadership and consistent confidence. You have to look back into Mets lore to find several players who exuded those attributes.

One of them is Edgardo Alfonzo. While with the Mets , he became a leader and an example. He was what is called "clutch."

On September 30, 2007, the New York Mets took the field needing a win and a Phillies loss to win the National League East and stave off one of the worst collapses in baseball history.

The Mets had been up on the Phils by seven games on September 12th, with 17 games to play.  Going into the final game, they’d improbably blown 11 of 16 games and went into the final game in a dead tie.

They may have beaten Toronto to win their latest three-game series, but many of the same problems that have plagued the L.A. Angels through their first two months of the season were still evident Wednesday.

In an effort to understand the future of the Rex Sox, it is important to take a look at the past. What better way to do this than examining the all-time greats: those with retired numbers.

So, we'll start this journey down memory lane with an obvious choice, Bobby Doerr, or more specifically, No. 1.

Doerr received so many awards and honors during his career, that it isn't even practical to post them all here. Just to give you a taste of his all-around talent...

Ubaldo Jimenez appears to be set on a record-breaking course this season. Through 10 games he is 9-1 with a 0.88 ERA and has allowed only 42 hits in 71.1 innings pitched.

Let’s not get too excited.

Baseball stadiums come and go with regularity as of late. In small and big markets alike, teams are scrambling to build more suites and have the most up-to-date technology.

A perfect example of this is last year's New York Yankees and this year's Minnesota Twins.

There are times when a Major League Baseball team can’t seem to catch a break, and the reasons are not so obvious.  Good news, Philadelphia Phillies fans: this is not one of those situations.

In losing Wednesday night to the New York Mets, the Phillies struggled with the same two problems that have killed them during the current eight game streak in which they are 2-6 against four inferior baseball teams.

Admit it: you don't know if J.A. Happ's name is "Jay" or "J.A." Despite the fact that his name is clearly listed in every scorecard, box score, and recap as "J.A.', announcers uniformly refer to him as "Jay Happ."

Happ is hardly the first baseball player in major league history to have a name that befuddles fans and sportscasters alike.

A five game skid will do wonders for local bars and corner stores. Just today, before the Giants got healthy on the Nationals 4-2, I wandered into the convenience store and they were clear out of alcohol, not a single drop… not even an O’Douls or Vanilla or Nyquil!

The bandaged and bruised grocer explained, “Giants fans have raided. It’s crazy, I haven’t seen this much chaos since prohibition!” Yes, he’s old enough to remember the 1920s.

There are moments in time where sports takes a backburner—and life takes center-stage.

Unfortunately, Major League Baseball has had their share of losses in terms of players dying way too young.

Especially in the past decade.

Today, we’re going to quickly take a look at a trio of former Houston Astros stars—as well as leaders, teammates, and fan-favorites—whose legends will live on forever.

Regardless of their final bows here on Earth...

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