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Willie's "supposed" Met-Loving Big Shot-dom

SteveJRogers Oct 28 2006 12:03 PM

Seems like I hear alot about Willie Randolph being a Met fan growing up and taking his future wife to a Met game on their first date, but on this board its usually with quotes around it suggesting that it really is alledged that he grew up a Met fan Is there something I'm not being told? Do people have photos of Randolph in Yankee gear as a youngster?

soupcan Oct 28 2006 04:36 PM

There's a lot that you are not being told. Why would you think we'd tell you now?

metirish Oct 28 2006 05:16 PM

] but on this board its usually with quotes around it suggesting that it really is alledged that he grew up a Met fan I don't remember anyone saying that Willie growing up a Mets fan was just BS...

SteveJRogers Oct 28 2006 06:28 PM

metirish wrote: ] but on this board its usually with quotes around it suggesting that it really is alledged that he grew up a Met fan I don't remember anyone saying that Willie growing up a Mets fan was just BS... Edgy tends to say "supposedly" often when refering to Randolph being a Met fan growing up. Probably something to do with the date of the Randolphs' first date being screwy where a date was given but the Mets were actually on the road or something like that.

cooby Oct 28 2006 06:50 PM

Maybe he took her to an away game

SteveJRogers Oct 28 2006 06:53 PM

cooby wrote: Maybe he took her to an away game Or just got the date of the game wrong, who remembers the EXACT day of something like that years later. Maybe the season and general month, and maybe something triggers why you remeber the exact day (well it HAD to be a Monday because we always did such and such on Mondays)

KC Oct 28 2006 06:53 PM

We could start a large thread if we wanted to on what regulars here tend to do. But we generally like each other, so let's not.

cooby Oct 28 2006 06:54 PM

My first date with my husband was August 25, 1978

SteveJRogers Oct 28 2006 07:04 PM Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Oct 28 2006 07:11 PM

KC wrote: We could start a large thread if we wanted to on what regulars here tend to do. But we generally like each other, so let's not. Fair enough, I was just curious if there was something to it rather than just one person's opinion. I.e. Randolph's growing up a Met fan only being first discussed when he was being bandied about as the Met skipper in the winter of 2004. Granted a person's fandom is none of anyone's business but I can see how someone would take it as being a bit odd that despite nearly 30 years of being associated with New York City baseball (including a year as a Met player) that it'd be the first time peeps would have heard about it. Eh, everyones entitled...

SteveJRogers Oct 28 2006 07:05 PM

cooby wrote: My first date with my husband was August 25, 1978 Neat, I was a year and a half then! =;)

Johnny Dickshot Oct 28 2006 07:35 PM

I soitenly believe Willie was a Met fan. Willie was No. 30 for many years as a MFY, but when he came to the Mets in '92 that number belonged to Mel Stottlemyer, and when he came in 05, Cliff Floyd was wearing it. Both times he took No. 12, and remarked on its appropriateness thusly: ]"I'm gonna wear No. 12. Why? You remember Ken Boswell? Second baseman on the '69 team? He was my favorite player growing up. No. 12. It's a nice number." Ken Boswell. Not much love for this guy but he came up pretty big in both postseasons he played for the Mets.

SteveJRogers Oct 28 2006 09:14 PM

cooby wrote: Maybe he took her to an away game True, but the story has been told that they went to Shea for a Met game on their first date

SteveJRogers Oct 28 2006 09:29 PM

Johnny Dickshot wrote: I soitenly believe Willie was a Met fan. Willie was No. 30 for many years as a MFY, but when he came to the Mets in '92 that number belonged to Mel Stottlemyer, and when he came in 05, Cliff Floyd was wearing it. Both times he took No. 12, and remarked on its appropriateness thusly: ]"I'm gonna wear No. 12. Why? You remember Ken Boswell? Second baseman on the '69 team? He was my favorite player growing up. No. 12. It's a nice number." Ken Boswell. Not much love for this guy but he came up pretty big in both postseasons he played for the Mets. BTW the former probably was more of a sign of how much Willie changed through the years as a person. Usually players get the coaches uniform, no questions asked (Mookie Wilson and everyone who has worn 1 during his tenure) Well as the story goes, Mel had been released by the Yankees prior to the 1975 season. No plans for a retirement were of course made (and nor should they have been, even by today's standards Mel doesn't hold up (see Guidry, Ron), but the Yankees put 30 out of circulation in 1975. Willie comes aboard in 1976 and having wore 30 as a Pirate the year before, asks for 30 without thinking. The Yanks clubhouse guys put on the spin about Mel and 30 is "out of circulation" Randolph insists out of the basis that the Yanks weren't planning on retiring Mel's 30, and thats how Willie Randolph came to wear 30 as a Yankee player and coach all those years. Actually, as bold as it was, I kind of agree with that original line of thinking. It's one thing to hold a number for a legend, but for a nice player with a nice career? Bit much, especially one that was a reminder of a time the MFY and their fans probably would rather be moving on from!

cooby Oct 28 2006 09:39 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Oct 28 2006 09:59 PM

SteveJRogers wrote: ="cooby"]Maybe he took her to an away game Or just got the date of the game wrong, who remembers the EXACT day of something like that years later. Maybe the season and general month, and maybe something triggers why you remeber the exact day (well it HAD to be a Monday because we always did such and such on Mondays) Steve all I'm saying is please stop trying to be an expert on every subject under the sun. It's tiresome. Some people remember the date of their first date with their spouse. I'm one of them. Maybe Willie is too.

seawolf17 Oct 28 2006 09:50 PM

cooby wrote: Some people remember the date of their first date with their spouse. I'm one of them. Maybe Willie is too. December 9, 1995. Like it was yesterday. Got your back, Coob.

metirish Oct 28 2006 09:54 PM

No one puts Cooby in a corner....

Willets Point Oct 28 2006 10:12 PM

="metirish"]No one puts Cooby in a corner....

Edgy DC Oct 29 2006 12:06 AM

Cooby can dance. The thread Steve is remembering had Willie's memory a little problematic, because the pitcher he seemed to remember starting and winning against the Mets only faced them on the road that year. Or some such thing. I don't think any of us made too big a deal out of it. I took him at face value, and tried to find what I thought was the game. I posted a link to the only one that matched the facts he gave, and somebody pointed out that it was a road game. So what? He mis-remembered.

soupcan Oct 29 2006 10:02 AM

April 3rd, 1992. The night we met. First date was about 6 weeks later.

Frayed Knot Oct 29 2006 10:51 AM

The other thing that got a few questioning Willie's story about his & future wifey's first date was that, after being confronted by a few press-types w/the small inaccuracies in the story, he insisted that his memory was correct and it must be their "facts" which were off ... 'That's my story and I'm a-stickin' to it'! One suspects that Willie is probably none too hip to the magic of 'Retrosheet' and the like.

Edgy DC Oct 29 2006 12:12 PM

I don't remember that. I suppose I supposedly say supposedly more than I supposedly supposed I do, but I don't recall projecting such a universal cynicism about Willies fandom, perhaps more likely a lame pedantic empiricism. Here's the thread:

metsmarathon Oct 29 2006 12:23 PM

first saturday after thanksgiving, 1999

old original jb Oct 29 2006 02:42 PM

cooby wrote: Some people remember the date of their first date with their spouse. I'm one of them. Maybe Willie is too. We recall our first date anniversary, but celebrate our fourth date anniversary. Remembering the date of your first date with your spouse is on the list of "best practices".

ScarletKnight41 Oct 29 2006 03:35 PM

We still dispute when we actually had our first date. I don't count a situation when we were meeting up with a bunch of people at freshman orientation as a date.

Rockin' Doc Oct 29 2006 04:09 PM

I sent the Mrs. a bouquet of a dozen yellow roses for Valentine's Day. The enclosed card asked her out. That Friday, February 16th, 1979 we went to see National Lampoon's Animal House for our first date. I'm proud to be a foot soldier in the cooby army.

cooby Oct 29 2006 04:31 PM

That was our first date too, Animal House :)

SteveJRogers Oct 29 2006 04:50 PM

My parents first date was a Johnny Cash concert at MSG circa 1972. My dad had convinced my mom that they were going to a Muhammad Ali boxing match! My mom thought that right up untill the point The Man In Black strolled on stage.