I had the pleasure of getting an advanced copy of Richard Grossinger's new book, The New York Mets: Ethnography, Myth, and Subtext. Grossinger's book is really unlike any baseball book I've read.If Larry King, George Costanza and Peter Gammons were hardcore Mets fans and teamed up to write a book, this would be their end product. The New York Mets is filled with passion for both the Mets as a team and baseball in its purest form while being totally frank and sarcastic about the struggles and sacrifices that are made by lifelong Mets fans (a.k.a. Mets Lifers). The book opens with a fantastic foreword by Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post and an opening chapter that explains what attracts us a Mets Lifers to the Mets when there are so many that cheer for the empire that is the New York Yankees.
The book starts with Endy Chavez's miracle catch in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS and then reflects back at the ebb and flow of excitement and disappointment that has shaped Mets history. Although I don't always agree with Grossinger's outlook on aspects of baseball and Mets history, I love his passion for the Mets, his enormous hatred for Steve Phillips, and the fact that he, like me, was heart broken when the Mets traded Melvin Mora.
From an insider's look at Terry Leach (who was one of my favorite pitchers to imitate in Little League) to detailing every single boneheaded move the Mets have made, Grossinger has written a book that a Mets Lifer would enjoy.
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