September 14th, 2016
Introducing a major MLB award – for YOU
This is a very interesting award that I’ve been contemplating about since I found out about it. The only person I actually know is Vernon Gibson, a Mets fan that hangs out in the Shea Bridge, and takes the first express train to Manhattan after the games. On the other hand, everyone I’ve talked too wants me to vote for MJ Lupton, so I’m kind of torn. Who are you voting for?
Major League Baseball has just introduced a major new award, and this one’s for you. In fact, there’s even at least one father-son duo from this MLB.com/blogs family among the 120 nominees.
See my story just posted at MLB.com introducing MLB Fans of the Year presented by Esurance.
You can start voting right now at MLB.com/awards. Take a good look at the 120 nominees — four per club. Each team will have a winner. You probably will recognize many of them, and I know many bloggers here will be familiar with Baker Boys & Baseball, one of the Angels nominees.
MLB and the 30 clubs worked tirelessly to identify the sport’s top supporters, and four nominees per club have been presented for your vote.
Winners whose clubs reach the League Championship Series or Fall Classic will receive tickets to root for their home team on a late-October night. For…
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Wally Backman resigns from Triple-A Las Vegas
I’ve actively rooted hard for five people in the Mets organization since I became a fan in 2006: R.A Dickey, for being a great family guy trying to figure out a lifelong mission. Daniel Murphy, for being one of my favorite players that I wanted to see play day in and day out. David Wright, for being the last renaming guy from my younger childhood (until Reyes came along), Jacob deGrom, for being a guy that has similar hair to me, and for being a nice down to earth guy. And finally, Wally Backman, for being a guy I’ve wanted to see manage the team since I saw him carry the Brooklyn Cyclones to the NYPL Finals back in 2010.
However, any chances of seeing Wally Backman actually manage the Amazin’s has officially dropped to 0% overnight, as Backman, “resigned” from the organization, after a dispute with Sandy Alderson.
While there are no “teams”, and we know little to nothing about what actually happened, I stand behind Wally. I interviewed Wally back in 2015, after a huge win over Sacramento, and I could see his dedication to his craft, and I saw in person the relationships he had with players, and how much he helped the Mets farm system over the years.
If you asked me what happened, I think Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog.com summed it up perfectly:
This is just another mistake the Mets front office has made over the years. While I don’t think letting Backman go will be as big of a mistake as not re-signing Murphy was, it might come awfully close, we shall see.
Niko Goutakolis
