Before you read any further I’d like you to watch this video first. Please stay with it through at least the two minute mark (after the commercial pre-roll)
Now let’s take a look at how Deadspin presented the discussion in an article they titled “Things Get Testy At Mets’ All-Time Team Presentation As Tom Seaver Asks Darryl Strawberry If He’s Wearing Handcuffs”
Any bold below is mine and did not appear in the Deadspin article.
Sunday night’s Mets All-Time Team gala turned awkward when Tom Seaver made reference to Darryl Strawberry’s criminal past by asking, “You don’t have any handcuffs on your wrists, do you?”
Deadspin also chose to print
Seaver, whose behavior one attendee described as “drunk and surly,” drew uncomfortable laughs from the crowd as Strawberry mostly ignored the blast.
If you just watched the video let me ask you – testy? drunk?
Now Deadspin is very very good at what they do. They didn’t say Tom was drunk, they said one attendee described Tom as drunk. Deadspin isn’t suggesting anything about Tom. Deadspin is just telling you what one person said. If your mind connects some dots between testy and drunk and you want to accuse Tom of something that’s your own problem, not Deadspin’s.
Now I’m just a dumb blogger so I googled “testy” and found that one definition of testy is “marked by impatience or ill humor.” I suppose some might find the humor not so good.
I was there. I found nothing confrontational about it.
I personally have found Tom to be emotional in his public appearances these last few years. One of the first things he said Sunday night was that Nancy told him not to cry, and he warned the crowd he would likely get emotional. We saw Tom get emotional on the Costas special last year. We saw Tom get emotional in 1977.
Deadspin could have asked me about the exchange and I would have described Tom as “funny” and the exchange as “funny” but I guess the headline “Things Get Funny At Mets’ All-Time Team Presentation As Darryl Strawberry talks about the idea of hitting off Tom Seaver” ironically doesn’t work with their LOLMETS section.
One person described Deadspin’s article as “a cheap shot” at a Hall of Famer and Marine.
First off, anyone watching Tom over the years knows he has a dry sense of humor…and he loves to needle ex-teammates and opponents and talk trash a bit. I met him five years ago at a special signing…he spent about 3 minutes with me…he displayed his quick sense of humor. I said that I was at the game in 1975 when he struck out his 200th batter …and before I finished the sentence, he said “in one game?”
I don’t think Tom was insulting Darryl in the way it may sound. Darryl started needling Tom first…saying he wanted a piece of him at the plate…it was a bit forward of Darryl. But maybe that is their relationship…they were briefly teammates…they have probably been at many events together over the years…they talk trash. In response to Darryl’s boast, Tom’s “handcuff” remark is likely inside baseball talk…from Wikipedia:
“handcuff”:
A pitch thrown high and inside may handcuff a batter because he can’t get his hands far enough away from his body to swing the bat.
How ever Tom meant it, from what I saw, Darryl did not seem taken aback. Unless someone can prove otherwise, if Darryl is not offended, I believe Seaver was not insulting him.
After watching the special, I am even more convinced Gil Hodges is the all time manager. He helped Seaver become a Hall of Famer…possibly Nolan Ryan as well…and those guys taught others. What is Davey’s legacy? Doc and Darryl? He had two players with more raw talent than most Hall of Famers and look what happened.
Your last comment was spot on. Deadspin is probably the one attendee quoted. I find Deadspin to be particularly unreadable most times, because of spin like this.
I disagree with you on this one Shannon. They are talking baseball and Seaver brings up Strawberry’s rough times off the field. That may have been funny behind the scenes between them privately but that wasn’t the right time for the “joke”. They were supposed to be honored as ballplayers not taking low blows on each other having to do with a criminal life.
The recent emotional moments coming from Seaver remind me of how George Steinbrenner was getting in the late 90s – early 00s. I’m upset to think that perhaps The Franchise might be heading down that same unfortunate road….
I was waiting for Seaver’s comment to hit the media. As we know, I was
also there that night, and was one of the people saying “ouch” when
Seaver made the handcuff comment. My impression was that Darryl did
quickly ignore/redirect the convo. Personally, I interpreted the
comment to reference Darryl’s past… but I could very well be wrong. I hope I am, anyway.
I’ve worshipped Seaver since I was a kid and had really been looking
forward to the event because he’d be there, and I’d finally be in the
same room with him. But I was given some info by two gents sitting next
to me that was disheartening. They’re pals of John Franco and have
been going to a lot of Mets events for many years, and had been
backstage prior to this event starting, and were showing me the photos
on their digital camera of the players posing with their kids
(simultaneously ruining the surprise unveiling of the All Time Team for
me, but whatever). They didn’t have anything nice to say about Seaver,
going back for many years of encountering him at events. They claim he
has an incredibly large ego, and is condescending and rude.
I’m not posting this to bash Seaver, just joining in on the
conversation. Like I said, to me the man is Tom Terrific & The
Franchise. But I was really disappointed to finally be in the same room
with him, and have that image blown apart a bit.