Anniversary

Last night the Mets blew a 4-1 lead in losing to the Dodgers. What can I say? The team is not hitting in timely spots and is not pitching well outside of Johan Santana. I guess it was nice to see the bullpen keep it close to give the offense a chance to wake up? First time that's happened in a while.

Anyway 25 years ago yesterday, Darryl Strawberry made his debut for the Mets. Strawberry's was a career remembered more for his missteps off the field than his occasionally brilliant play on it. That being said, I choose to remember the greatest home run I ever recall seeing hit. On April 4, 1988 the Mets opened the season at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Facing Randy St Claire in the top of the 7th, Straw hit a majestic shot to right field. It kept going. And going. And going. It suddenly plummeted straight down well beyond the right field wall, having hit the lights lining the roof of Olympic Stadium in right field. A physicist with nearly as much time on his hands as I have estimated the ball would have traveled 525 had it not, you know, HIT THE ROOF! To read more about Strawberry's power, check out this NY Times article from 1988. Personally, I think the biggest regret of Strawberry's career is not just that he blew most of his talent through his nose, it's that he missed the steroids era. I feel like a 'roid-fueled Darryl might have been able to jack a home run over the scoreboard in right center field at Shea Stadium. That can't me much more than a 700 foot bomb...