Author: Shannon Shark @metspolice

I don’t know if you saw this over the weekend.   The Daily News wrote about the excessive fees on Mets (and Yankees) tickets:

A family of Mets fans buying four seats for $84 in Citi Field can pay up to $31.50 in fees above the ticket price, according to the report prepared by Rep. Anthony Weiner‘s office (D-Queens).

Read more in the News.

This is nothing new, and nothing I haven’t brought up around these parts before (I love the convenience fees personally) but it’s nice to see the old style media mentioning it.

From yesterday, Muchnick relates a troubling story.

Remember how lots of Mets fans went down to the games in Baltimore?

As the story goes, fans gathered by the dugout and the Mets players didn’t acknowledge the fans.

Hopefully there’s a misunderstanding.

I’m back at Mets Police HQ, where my laptop wasn’t where I had left it, but I’m on the deck and have Howie on the radio so all is well.

Let’s all take off our blue caps and wave them at Media Goon for minding the store while I was gone. Nice job by Goon, and thanks to everyone who sent stuff in and made things easy.

As I get back in the flow, let’s see what was popular:

The most searched item seems to be: “keep the black mets” I assume the next word is jersey (Google just says that term was searched) and I bet people will be disappointed when they get here.

Why in the name of humidity are the Mets wearing black again?   Did Pelfrey and Santana really think that black in a daygame is a good idea?   Why make your teammates bake in the heat?  Just doesn’t seem smart.

The War Against Black Jerseys was the #2 article of the week.  Good for y’all!  Seriously, Mets Inc…look at these pictures.  CLEARLY the Pelfrey picture is better than the Dickey pic.

#1…From earlier today…Tom Seaver struck me out. Speaking of Seaver, I hate Greg Prince from Faith and Fear because his article about how dopey it was that the Mets let Seaver go again after 1983.

Mets Police was mentioned in this ESPN article about the greatest Mets pitching performances.

The Mets themselves mentioned Mets Police in a survey.  I hope you let the Mets know which blogs you read.

Apparently I was incorrect when I described this Ike Davis tee as a jersey.

Check out the box in which the Mets dump the hybrids. How about this Yankee hybrid? Or these really bizarre caps?

Happy Father’s Day.  Hopefully I am on an undelayed plane on my way home so I will leave you with this true story.

Last year I got to meet Tom Seaver.  I hate being “that guy” so I’m not going to walk up to him and say “I really liked you on the Mets” which I’m sure he has heard before.

I ask Tom, “Crazy question.  I remember that when I was like 4 you gave me a ’46 Cardinals baseball out of your locker st Shea.  Does that make any sense?  A groundskeeper named Richie hooked it up…”

That last part genuinely perked Tom’s ears.   Cool, Tom Seaver was actually interested in my story!

Tom asked me to back up and tell him it again.

“Oh, Richie, sure!”   He remembered Richie, my father’s cousin.

So here’s the story as 4 or 5 year old me remembers it.

We head out to Shea Stadium in the afternoon.   I’m young enough to think it’s cool but not old enough to totally appreciate the awesomeness that is about to unfold.

We meet  Tom Seaver on the field.   Someone grabs a wiffle bat and some sort of ball and suddenly Tom Seaver is “pitching” to me and – no kidding, why would I make this up – Jerry Grote is catching.

So so awesome.

My young brain can’t remember much about the day and of course NOBODY TOOK ANY PICTURES but I always have had this autographed ’46 Cardinals baseball.

So I ask Tom, who believes the pitching happened, why the heck he would have a ’46 Cardinals ball in his locker to give to me.

(More mysteries for my late father – how about you know a Tom Seaver ball?  or a PICTURE?)

Tom told me it was entirely possible because when he started out he would collect autographs from his heroes and how he was always in awe to be on the field with those guys.

The Franchise starts telling me about the first time he went to “Sandy’s house” (I didn’t ask Sandy’s last name but I’ll take one guess) and how amazing it was to him.

And right there I realize that Tom is relating my story to being in the presence of greatness with his own story of being in the presence of greatness.

For three minutes Tom and I connected.  Very very cool.

I guess it’s stuff like this that explains why I write about the Mets five times a day.

Dad and Richie are long gone…thanks for hooking this one up fellas…and I’m glad I got to tell Tom about it.

Happy Father’s Day folks.