Could this be deja vu all over again ???
Don't look now but the 2 teams that face each other for a 3-game series at Fenway Park starting tonight are on a course to repeat their world series match of 20 years ago. This is a clash of the 2 hottest teams in baseball. The 1st place Red Sox, winners of 9 straight games host the New York Mets, the team with the best record in the National League. A comparison between the two teams today and 20 years ago is frighteningly close:
June 27, 2006: Today's Mets are 47-28 and lead the second-place Phillies by 12 games...June 27, 1986: The Mets were 47-21 and led the second-place Expos by 9 games...
June 27, 2006: Today's Red Sox are 45-28 and lead the second-place Yankees by 2 1/2 games...June 27, 1986: The Red Sox were 45-25 and led the second-place Yankees by 5 games...
| Both teams have the same numbers of wins today as they did in 1986. The difference in number of losses for both teams (Mets -7, the Red Sox -3) is due to the earlier start of the baseball season today... The Mets and Red Sox meeting each other is as rare as, oh, let's say a Billy Buckner sighting in Boston. These 2 teams have only met 15 times and that's since the start of the dopey interleague games in 1997. Add to that the only time these 2 teams faced each other in a 7-game world series (1986), they've met a total of 22 times - not exactly a rivalry that mirrors Red Sox-Yankees. Far from it but with '86 in mind the Red Sox will salute players from that team led by Wade Boggs, Jim Rice, Oil Can Boyd, Bruce Hurst, Dwight Evans, Spike Owen, Calvin Schiraldi and others. All will be there tonight at Fenway. And there's another attraction tonight: Pedro Martinez of the Mets, who will return to Boston for the first time since 2004. He'll pitch against his former team tomorrow night. Boston resident guru, Theo Epstein thinks he'll be received warmly by the crowd, "I'm sure he'll get the reception he deserves" said the Sox GM... Is this 1986 all over again ? Wade Boggs thinks it might be. "It's amazing, and it's kind of eerie that it could happen again, couldn't it ? The Red Sox and Mets have great teams. It's funny, 20 years later and to do that all over again. I hope it has a different ending". I'm sure you do Wade... What do you do if you like both teams ? You try to rationalize it like I do in my commentary... June 27 Memories... 1847] New York and Boston were linked by telegraph wires (spooky !)... 1893] The New York stock market crashes. By the end of the year 600 banks and 74 railroads will go out of business... 1929] Scientists at Bell Laboratories in New York reveal a system for transmitting television pictures... 1949] "Captain Video and His Video Rangers" debuts on the Dumont TV Network. It will run daily until April 1, 1955. This was the 1st of a trio of "space operas". The other two were "Space Patrol" and "Tom Corbett - Space Cadet" (FYI: The 1st Captain Video was Richard Coogan, '49-'50. Al Hodge took command of the video rangers for the rest of the show's run... 1950] President Truman orders the Air Force and Navy into the Korean War at the urging of the U.N. to help South Korea repel an invasion from the North... 1955] Red Sox 1st baseman Harry Agganis ("The Golden Greek") dies from complications of pneumonia at the age of 26... 1955] The 1st automobile seat belt legislation is enacted in Illinois... 1964] For the 1st time a McCartney-Lennon song tops the charts for an act not named The Beatles. Peter and Gordon are #1 with "A World Without Love"... 1964] Now here's a match: Ernest Borgnine and Ethel Merman say "I do". To no one's surprise the marriage only lasts 38 days (I mean, can you imagine Ethel letting Ernie know that his underwear is on the floor ?)... 1964] Jan and Dean release one of the big hits of the summer: "Little Old Lady From Pasadena"... 1965] "Where the Action Is" premieres... 1966] Frank Sinatra is #1 with ("doo-be-doo-be-doo") "Strangers in the Night"... 1968] Elvis Presley begins taping his 1st television special, "Elvis" at NBC studios in Burbank (CA)... 1969] Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young release the controversial "Ohio"... 1971] Bill Graham's Fillmore East shuts its doors after performances by J. Geils Band, the Beach Boys, Allman Brothers and Mountain... 1972] Neil Diamond Is #1 with "Song Sung Blue"... 1973] Former White House counsel John W. Dean tells the Senate Watergate Committee about President Nixon's "enemies list"... 1974] "The Flip Wilson Show" ends after 4 seasons of Wilson as "Geraldine Jones" talking about her boyfriend "Killer", the Rev. Le Roy of the Church of What's Happening Now and one of the greatest catch phrases of all time, "the devil made me do it"... 1980] President Jimmy Carter signs legislation reviving draft registration (Jeez, thanks Jimmuh)... 1981] Kim Carnes returns to #1 with "Bette Davis Eyes"... 1985] Route 66 which originally stretched from Chicago to Santa Monica, passes into history as the road is decertified... 1988] Mike Tyson who said his only purpose in the ring was to inflict pain, does that and more to Michael Spinks in the first 1 minute and 31 seconds of the fight (the 4th quickest KO in heavyweight championship history)... 1988] "There's a time for joy, a time for tears..." Proving that it's never too late, Cyndi Lauper and Debbie Gibson get their high school diplomas (different schools - Debbie from Calhoun High School in Merrick (LI), Cyndi from Richmond (NY) High)... 1988] MCA Records buys Motown for $61 million (life's been berry, berry good for Mr. Gordy)... 1981] Slugger Mo Vaughn makes his debut with the Red Sox where he will be a superstar. When he comes to the Mets, nothing... 1993] New York Met pitcher Anthony Young loses to the Cardinals 6-3 making him 0-10 for the year and loser of 24 straight games (this is not easy to do but it would never happen today because no team would be stupid enough to let any pitcher lose this many games - he would have been gone long before this)... 1995] Actor Hugh Grant is arrested in L.A. for engaging in "lewd behavior" with a prostitute in a rented BMW (does the name Divine Brown ring a bell ?)... 2001] Legendary actor Jack Lemmon dies of cancer at 76... 2002] John Entwistle of The Who dies of a heart attack induced by cocaine at the age of 57... 2003] More than 735,000 phone numbers were registered on the 1st day of a national "do-not-call" list aimed at blocking calls from telemarketers. Is there anyone else besides me that signed that list but still gets calls from telemarketers ??? 2003] Johnny Damon hits a single, double and triple...in the 1st inning of a 25-8 Red Sox win. The Sox scored 10 runs before the 1st out was recorded in the 1st inning... [To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]... Commentary... Admittedly it's the rare fan who would like both the Mets and Red Sox (I can see Gene Bolan and Brian Kelly nodding in agreement) but if you're a refugee from George Steinbrenner's domain like I am, class of '96 (yeah, I know I missed the 4 championships, etc.), then you don't want good things to happen to the Yankees. Switching my allegiance to the Mets as I did, they are my team, so I'm rooting for the Mets against the Red Sox, but (and this is one big "but") I rooted for the Red Sox in the "Impossible Dream" team year of 1967 and even saw 3 of the 4 world series games at Fenway that year. I also met some of those great players like Yaz, Tony C. etc. and spending 6 years in Boston like I did, having a son born in Needham (MA), the great success of WRKO and lifelong friends that I made there, well, how can I not like the Red Sox ? So here's the deal. If the Mets win, great. If the Red Sox win, not so bad because they gain on the Yankees. I can't lose... "Happy Birthday, happy birthday"... 1930] Ross Perot... 1942] The Beach Boys' Bruce Johnston... 1943] Former Red Sox star Rico Petrocelli... 1950] Julia ("Stephanie" on "Newhart") Duffy... 1975] Tobey Maguire... [Today is the 178th day of 2006 with 187 days left in the year and 7 days until July 4th] ... |
