I couldn’t think of a proper title for this post so I went with the email title which is strangely catchy. Â If I ever start a Mets cover-band I may call it Greetings Ron Hodges Etcetera.
This email came in:
Shannon,
Was checking out some Mets fan sites and came across the following…
https://metspolice.com/2010/04/04/pictures-of-mets-hall-of-fame-and-museum-uniform-display/
And right smack dab in the center of the story was the Ron Hodges jersey that I currently own and have on loan to the Mets museum… and I laughed hard!
My name’s Nick and I’m a life-long Mets fan and collector. Over the years, I have built a collection of game used Mets jerseys, but it’s not exactly a collection centered on the stars… My collection focuses more on the odder and rarer styles the Mets wore on field, including a few different blue alternates worn from 82-84… and through networking with other collectors, I’ve built a small reputation within the hobby as the ‘oddball jersey guy.’
Earlier this year I was contacted by the Mets to showcase one of my jerseys in their museum. Their plan to provide the fans a chronological uniform history was missing 1 key piece — the blue alternate, and that is just what they contacted me for… So after giving them a choice of jerseys, they zeroed in on Ron Hodges.
Fast forward a month and that jersey is in the feature photo of your blog… Surrounded by big ticket items in a display including jerseys worn by the likes of Seaver, Stengel, McGraw, Hernandez, Wright, etc., it was comical to see that Hodges got the spotlight photo. Well, after all, it’s a quirky style jersey, but it’s Ron Hodges! Who else could be lucky enough to win a World Series ring in his first year with the team but unlucky enough to not graduate from the ranks of back-up catcher for the next 12 years? After all, isn’t he that perennial underdog that us Mets purists root for day in and day out???
I think we’re going to have to spend more time in Nick’s closet, don’t ya think?