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I am corresponding with an actual Met

roger_that Jun 17 2022 02:05 PM

...as of today. Not a current Met, and not a well-known Met, but someone who wore the orange and blue long, long ago for a brief, almost minuscule period of time. He played for a Met team I watched very closely, and which sticks in my memory very clearly, but the reason I contacted him this morning was that I did not recognize his name at all. Not even vaguely. Which was weird--this was a very famous Metly team, and I have a ridiculously capacious memory. So I reached out, to a friend who has some MLB connections, and he raised an old email address for me, which got me right to him. I wrote him about coincidences--our birthdays are one day apart, and he grew up in the same town my dad is from, and GET THIS! Turns out, both he and his dad worked for the same company that my grandfather founded. After his baseball career, he worked for this company for thirty years, and has only nice things to say about it. (My granddad had an excellent reputation for being a fair employer.) He got rehired every winter by the company during his baseball career, and they took him on full-time after he retired from baseball. He wrote me back with this info, and expressed some interest in hearing more from me. I sometimes visit family in that town, and I expect to meet him in person whenever this pandemic lets me travel again. Seems to be a real nice fellow, answered me almost instantly and eagerly. Just for fun, based on what I've given you-- played well over thirty years ago, played extremely briefly, comes from a smallish city or town, is still living--would you care to guess at his identity? I will answer yes-or-no questions, and entertain wild guesses, until you figure out who my correspondent is.

MFS62 Jun 17 2022 02:24 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Dave Schneck Later

kcmets Jun 17 2022 02:25 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Toby Myerson

Edgy MD Jun 17 2022 02:33 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Darren Reed.

Chad ochoseis Jun 17 2022 02:37 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

I will answer yes-or-no questions Was he an infielder?

Frayed Knot Jun 17 2022 02:40 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Clues: - If we're talking about a player who held down a job in the winter I'm thinking that we probably need to adjust our sites to someone who played in '70s and more likely the '60s - being a recent CPF'er, I don't think we know where Roger lives or is from, but the odds would say east coast so I'd suggest scrapping all them Californians and Texans Other than that I got nuthin'

Lefty Specialist Jun 17 2022 02:40 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Lute Barnes.

Chad ochoseis Jun 17 2022 02:44 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Which was weird--this was a very famous Metly team Ya gotta believe it's '73. Or perhaps '69.

roger_that Jun 17 2022 02:48 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

=MFS62 post_id=96347 time=1655497464 user_id=60] Dave Schneck Later

No

roger_that Jun 17 2022 02:48 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

=kcmets post_id=96348 time=1655497555 user_id=53]Toby Myerson

No

roger_that Jun 17 2022 02:49 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Edgy MD wrote: Darren Reed. No

roger_that Jun 17 2022 02:49 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Chad ochoseis wrote: I will answer yes-or-no questions Was he an infielder? Yes

roger_that Jun 17 2022 02:49 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Lefty Specialist wrote: Lute Barnes. No

kcmets Jun 17 2022 02:50 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Dick Sohard? We need more clues.

roger_that Jun 17 2022 02:50 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Chad ochoseis wrote: Which was weird--this was a very famous Metly team Ya gotta believe it's '73. Or perhaps '69. Yes.

roger_that Jun 17 2022 02:51 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

=kcmets post_id=96362 time=1655499015 user_id=53] Dick Sohard? We need more clues.

Got clues for ya right here [tugs at groin]

MFS62 Jun 17 2022 02:53 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jun 17 2022 02:55 PM

Bobby Pfeil Later

kcmets Jun 17 2022 02:54 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Duffy Dyer

roger_that Jun 17 2022 02:58 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

=MFS62 post_id=96366 time=1655499225 user_id=60] Bobby Pfeil Later

No

roger_that Jun 17 2022 02:59 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Duffy Dyer Not an infielder. Pay attention. For those scoring at home, we've added "infielder," "played for a post-season Mets squad" and "none of the obscure Mets mentioned so far." As an added bonus, I'll throw in that he came to the club when a famous Met went on the IL and left when he came back to the team.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 17 2022 03:05 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Bobby Heise?

batmagadanleadoff Jun 17 2022 03:06 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=96371 time=1655499922 user_id=68] Bobby Heise?

Wait. Are you saying he was on a Mets post-season roster? Or on a Mets team that made the post-season? Or both?

Chad ochoseis Jun 17 2022 03:07 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Rich Puig

kcmets Jun 17 2022 03:08 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Jim Beauchamp is my final dart

batmagadanleadoff Jun 17 2022 03:08 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Chad ochoseis wrote: Rich Puig You'll win a prize if you know how to pronounce his name correctly.

roger_that Jun 17 2022 03:11 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=96371 time=1655499922 user_id=68] Bobby Heise?

No

roger_that Jun 17 2022 03:12 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=96372 time=1655499992 user_id=68] =batmagadanleadoff post_id=96371 time=1655499922 user_id=68] Bobby Heise?

Wait. Are you saying he was on a Mets post-season roster? Or on a Mets team that made the post-season? Or both?


Okay. No. Yes. No.

Johnny Lunchbucket Jun 17 2022 03:12 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Pweeg

Johnny Lunchbucket Jun 17 2022 03:12 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Joe gzrenda

Edgy MD Jun 17 2022 03:14 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Ross Jones, come on down!

roger_that Jun 17 2022 03:15 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Chad ochoseis wrote: Rich Puig No. Although strangely, when my oldest child was born the other expectant father in the maternity ward with me was named "Rich Puig" and he looked at me like I'd completely lost my mind when (naturally) i asked him if he used to play for the Mets. Apparently, he'd never heard of the famous ball-playing Rich Puig.

roger_that Jun 17 2022 03:15 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

=kcmets post_id=96374 time=1655500105 user_id=53] Jim Beauchamp is my final dart

Still not an infielder.

roger_that Jun 17 2022 03:16 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Pweeg Yes. The pronunciation, not the player.

roger_that Jun 17 2022 03:17 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Joe gzrenda Also not an infielder (I think--a pitcher, right?) But no anyway.

roger_that Jun 17 2022 03:18 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Edgy MD wrote: Ross Jones, come on down! Is an infielder, but no. Ross Jones, stay wherever the hell you've been staying. Honestly, I'd be very impressed if any of yuz have heard of this guy.

G-Fafif Jun 17 2022 03:19 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Brian Ostrosser?

batmagadanleadoff Jun 17 2022 03:20 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Rich Puig is commonly, and mistakenly, pronounced so as to rhyme with Bitch (Captain) Queeg. But Rich Puig is correctly pronounced to rhyme with Dick Twig. It's pronounced Rick Pwig. And nobody has ever answered this question correctly. So now the secret's out.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 17 2022 03:21 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Edgy MD wrote: Ross Jones, come on down! Is an infielder, but no. Ross Jones, stay wherever the hell you've been staying. Honestly, I'd be very impressed if any of yuz have heard of this guy. We've heard of every single Met. Impress yourself.

roger_that Jun 17 2022 03:21 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Yes! At last. Brian Ostrosser. Excellent job--did you know his name?

G-Fafif Jun 17 2022 03:23 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Ostrosser subbed for Harrelson in '73, so I figured he was your guy.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 17 2022 03:23 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

=roger_that post_id=96392 time=1655500902 user_id=128] Yes! At last. Brian Ostrosser. Excellent job--did you know his name?

Did who know his name?

roger_that Jun 17 2022 03:26 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

He was called up when Bud Harrelson busted a bone in his sternum and went on the 15-day IL (!!!!), was sent back to Tidewater when Buddy healed.

Chad ochoseis Jun 17 2022 03:27 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Chad ochoseis wrote: Rich Puig No. Although strangely, when my oldest child was born the other expectant father in the maternity ward with me was named "Rich Puig" and he looked at me like I'd completely lost my mind when (naturally) i asked him if he used to play for the Mets. Apparently, he'd never heard of the famous ball-playing Rich Puig. Went down a Rich Puig rabbit hole after this guess and apparently The Other Rich Puig posted a comment on UMDB. Someone also confirmed that "Puig" rhymes with "Twig". And his brief stay with the big club was in '74, not '73 as I'd thought.

roger_that Jun 17 2022 03:28 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=96394 time=1655501027 user_id=68] =roger_that post_id=96392 time=1655500902 user_id=128] Yes! At last. Brian Ostrosser. Excellent job--did you know his name?

Did who know his name?


Well, anybody, really, but I was trying to address G-Fafif.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 17 2022 03:29 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jun 26 2022 10:50 AM

Ostrosser is card #7 in Typewriter Chewing Gum's Tobacco card style 1974 set, sponsored by Dairylea. The cards were available only by mail by sending in coupons clipped from Dairylea products. The cards came in uncut strips of five cards. Ostrosser was the second card of the second panel. [FIMG=344]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52153940608_f077dfc1d.jpg[/FIMG]

batmagadanleadoff Jun 17 2022 03:29 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

=roger_that post_id=96398 time=1655501300 user_id=128] =batmagadanleadoff post_id=96394 time=1655501027 user_id=68] =roger_that post_id=96392 time=1655500902 user_id=128] Yes! At last. Brian Ostrosser. Excellent job--did you know his name?

Did who know his name?


Well, anybody, really, but I was trying to address G-Fafif.


How would he not know Ostrosser's name if he guessed right?

G-Fafif Jun 17 2022 03:30 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

I knew his name, then and now. One of those players considered so obscure that he's (relatively) well-known for it.

MFS62 Jun 17 2022 03:32 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

=G-Fafif post_id=96389 time=1655500772 user_id=55]Brian Ostrosser?

I got thrown off by the east coast vs west coast comment.

Silly me.

IIRC, Ostrosser is Canadian.



Later

roger_that Jun 17 2022 03:33 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=96400 time=1655501399 user_id=68] =roger_that post_id=96398 time=1655501300 user_id=128] =batmagadanleadoff post_id=96394 time=1655501027 user_id=68] Did who know his name?

Well, anybody, really, but I was trying to address G-Fafif.


How would he not know Ostrosser's name if he guessed right?


He might have reviewed the rosters of the 1969 and 1973 club and picked an infielder he'd never heard of before.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 17 2022 03:39 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

=roger_that post_id=96403 time=1655501592 user_id=128] =batmagadanleadoff post_id=96400 time=1655501399 user_id=68] =roger_that post_id=96398 time=1655501300 user_id=128] Well, anybody, really, but I was trying to address G-Fafif.

How would he not know Ostrosser's name if he guessed right?


He might have reviewed the rosters of the 1969 and 1973 club and picked an infielder he'd never heard of before.




You're new here, aren't you? He probably knows more about Ostrosser than Ostrosser does.

roger_that Jun 17 2022 03:48 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

=MFS62 post_id=96402 time=1655501529 user_id=60]Ostrosser is Canadian.

As am I.

roger_that Jun 17 2022 03:50 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=96404 time=1655501967 user_id=68] =roger_that post_id=96403 time=1655501592 user_id=128] =batmagadanleadoff post_id=96400 time=1655501399 user_id=68] How would he not know Ostrosser's name if he guessed right?

He might have reviewed the rosters of the 1969 and 1973 club and picked an infielder he'd never heard of before.




You're new here, aren't you? He probably knows more about Ostrosser than Ostrosser does.


I'll bet he doesn't know my granddad's name, and that Ostrosser does.



Is that Dairylee card for real? I'd like to send him a copy if Dairylee really issued those in 1974.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 17 2022 03:51 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jun 26 2022 10:49 AM

Chad ochoseis wrote: Chad ochoseis wrote: Rich Puig No. Although strangely, when my oldest child was born the other expectant father in the maternity ward with me was named "Rich Puig" and he looked at me like I'd completely lost my mind when (naturally) i asked him if he used to play for the Mets. Apparently, he'd never heard of the famous ball-playing Rich Puig. Went down a Rich Puig rabbit hole after this guess and apparently The Other Rich Puig posted a comment on UMDB. Someone also confirmed that "Puig" rhymes with "Twig". And his brief stay with the big club was in '74, not '73 as I'd thought. Rich Puig, Dairylea '74, Typewriter Chewing Gum

Johnny Lunchbucket Jun 17 2022 04:21 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

I don't have any memory of Ostrosser as a player but could tell you he wore no. 19. Thanks for turning a cool humblebrag into a douchy one, though. That part was great.

G-Fafif Jun 17 2022 04:58 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

I received this personal invitation from the Mets a little while ago... Have Lunch with Todd Zeile Tomorrow! ...though I'm guessing it's not all that personal, since it involves buying a ticket. Definitely not as 1-to-1 as pen-palling with Brian Ostrosser.

Johnny Lunchbucket Jun 17 2022 05:16 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

I received this personal invitation from the Mets a little while ago... Have Lunch with Todd Zeile Tomorrow! ...though I'm guessing it's not all that personal, since it involves buying a ticket. Definitely not as 1-to-1 as pen-palling with Brian Ostrosser. Reminds me I've been meaning to post about my phone conversation the other day with Max, my "personal point of contact with the Mets." Long story tho

roger_that Jun 17 2022 05:48 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: I don't have any memory of Ostrosser as a player but could tell you he wore no. 19. Thanks for turning a cool humblebrag into a douchy one, though. That part was great. Sorry. I shoot for funny, sometimes I hit douchy by mistake.

Johnny Lunchbucket Jun 17 2022 06:30 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

I do it too, just nutcrackin

whippoorwill Jun 17 2022 06:36 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

That's very cool!

whippoorwill Jun 17 2022 06:37 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

I got a Christmas email from Coach Mackey Sasser a few years ago

bmfc1 Jun 17 2022 07:02 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Greg solved the riddle... on Brian Ostrosser's birthday. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/brian-ostrosser/

batmagadanleadoff Jun 21 2022 01:10 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: I don't have any memory of Ostrosser as a player but could tell you he wore no. 19. Thanks for turning a cool humblebrag into a douchy one, though. That part was great. Sorry. I shoot for funny, sometimes I hit douchy by mistake. Hey Lunchy! You at least, get an apology. No doubling down here.

stevejrogers Jun 21 2022 10:00 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jun 22 2022 06:15 AM

RMPL!

seawolf17 Jun 22 2022 04:25 AM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

STEVE PAY ATTENTION lolol

Fman99 Jun 22 2022 05:42 AM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

I didn't get a chance to start making up Mets players that weren't even people. Plus, I just knew you were exchanging letters with Raul Argente. I mean, who else could it have been?

stevejrogers Jun 22 2022 06:18 AM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

=seawolf17 post_id=96976 time=1655893541 user_id=91] STEVE PAY ATTENTION lolol

Oddly someone recently jumped down my throat over me explaining a RMPL policy when it comes to posts about well worn, and controversial topics in forum communities. 😑🤷🏻‍♂️

seawolf17 Jun 22 2022 06:41 AM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

=Fman99 post_id=96980 time=1655898133 user_id=86] I didn't get a chance to start making up Mets players that weren't even people. Plus, I just knew you were exchanging letters with Raul Argente. I mean, who else could it have been?

I'm still mad from when they DFA'ed Argente just because he made four errors in one inning.

Edgy MD Jun 22 2022 07:15 AM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

Adriadne Argente really made the Wifey Watch thread shine for a few weeks there.

roger_that Jun 30 2022 01:15 PM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

I just heard from Mr. Ostrosser, who really appreciated the copy I emailed him of his Dairylea baseball card from 1974, which he had never seen. He was tickled to get it. Naturally, I took all the credit for digging it up, and told him that I stumped an entire Met-fan forum in a quiz about his identity. No, of course, I didn't. I told him that the card had been shown to me by one of the posters here, and that his name was recognized by at least one other poster on this site, which pleased him even further. Further research revealed that he (and his dad) worked for a company that did business, or became a subsidiary of, or had some other Byzantine connection to my granddad's company, but Mr. Ostrosser said he'd do a little research into the company's history to try and nail down his exact connection to me and my family.

MFS62 Jul 01 2022 10:45 AM Re: I am corresponding with an actual Met

=roger_that post_id=96406 time=1655502512 user_id=128] =MFS62 post_id=96402 time=1655501529 user_id=60]Ostrosser is Canadian.

As am I.


Happy Canada Day!



Later