Sale: get my Mets related eBook for just $2.99

The blog is now a great book! A must read for any Met fan!!!!! Those who love baseball will love and enjoy this book, written with a love for the team only a Met fan could appreciate……

Even if he’s a little harsh on the Piazza-era Mets, it’s a good read. There’s the typical Mets fan timeline of how he became, and was cemented as, a Mets fan, his favorite players and all that, but it also chronicles his time working as a vendor at Shea Stadium (hence the title).

Some great behind the scenes stories there, and much like Dickey’s book last year, he intersperses ‘current’ impressions of the 2012 season as he’s writing. That part was probably unnecessary, particularly since most of the people buying it are already fans and probably got those observations first hand from @MetsPolice during the season, but it does break up the book in an interesting way.

-Ceetar, the Optimistic Mets Fan

I’m a Mets fan living smack dab in the middle of St. Louis… where Cardinal red is everywhere and they continue to hold on to (and rub in your face on a daily basis) the “pond scum” references of the ’80s, or the Carlos Beltran Non-Swing Incident of 2006. After living here for 7 years, I can “confirm” (@MetsPolice twitter inside joke) that Cardinals fans are FAR from the best fans in baseball. It’s easy to back a perennial winner. Mets fans bleed orange and blue no matter what. And you’d be hard-pressed to find a Mets fan that bleeds orange and blue more than Shannon Shark.

I’ve been following @metspolice on Twitter for a while, primarily as a way to stay connected to my hometown Mets. Even though he has nearly 5,000 followers, I’ve always appreciated how Shannon interacted with the individual people that post on his feed, and even use their stuff for blog or advocacy ideas. Shannon’s book, “Send the Beer Guy,” gave me a glimpse into WHY Shannon has kept this labor of love going for these years. He combines great personal stories – about the tribulations of hawking pretzels on a hot day, how hard it is to be recognized by the team as a serious writer, and Mets blogger bowling – with the hallmarks of the MetsPolice.com website, like obstructed views, the return of Banner Day, black drop-shadows, and retired numbers.

What makes his book different from other Mets books, however, is that there is not this err of “woe is me.” The book has a modicum of optimism. Shannon has always said that he’ll quit the blog when the Mets win the World Series while dressed nicely. Just like that no-hitter that no one thought would happen, that World Series win will come someday. And, if that indeed brings the end of MetsPolice.com, “Send the Beer Guy” is a great legacy that will help me to remember the journey to that title fondly.

A terrific collection of Mets stories and heartfelt memories of baseball, a father and youth. The writer mixes melancholy with humor and a good mix of storytelling to weave a book together that no met fan won’t appreciate.

In “Send the Beer Guy,” Shannon Shark takes you down a path so rich with memories, you have to keep from physically brushing them away from your face. Whether it’s recalling his days as a vendor at Shea Stadium, the on-field trials and tribulations of Mets baseball, or his own personal struggles with loss and strife, this is a tale that anyone who marveled at the magic of baseball, summer, and most importantly, their father, will understand in earnest.

I’m a big fan of MetsPolice and love to mix things up – as Mets fans do – with the author. But even with that built-in positive prejudice, I’d have to say this is a really enjoyable read for Mets fans. It captures the culture of the fan base and the old Shea experience quite well. I could almost feel the peanut shells under my feet, and the smell of stale beer on concrete. Very much a worthy download – you won’t regret it.

Great little book for any Mets fan.
Written from the point of view of a regular Mets fan.
Feels like this was a conversation I could have had with someone at a spring training game here in PSL.

I look forward to following Shark’s twitter feed and blog.

You’ll want to sit down and talk to Shark while you read it. It’s funny, informative, personal and even poignant at times. All Met fans should read this book and then get together at the world’s biggest bar and talk about it with Shark.

I bought the book because I love to read about the Mets. However, the book is more about a fellow frustrated Mets fan than it is about the Mets. It was was fun reading. It moves very quickly and if you are a good reader you will be done in one evening. It was well worth the $4, and a much better value than spending $200 to see a night game at Citi Field only to watch the Mets lose 🙂