new york mets

Mr. Met has been as an important part of the New York Mets, as players on the team, at times. The lovable mascot of New York's National League franchise has been entertaining fans at Shea Stadium and then Citi Field each game since 1964. Unfortunately, the man that was the original Mr. Met for the first four seasons has passed away at the age of 83.

On Thursday afternoon, former New York Mets and New York Yankees all-star Darryl Strawberry jumped on The Drive with Charlie & Dan. Strawberry just wrote a new book, "Turn Your Season Around: How God Transforms Your Life." Darryl is now an ordained minister and has written several best selling books about his struggles with fame and addiction. He has been open and honest about his struggles in the past and he was definitely that way on The Drive.

It has been a bad decade in New York sports. The New York Giants Super Bowl victory in 2011 is the last major championship in the Big Apple. I say that all changes in 2022! Let's look into our 104.5 The Team crystal ball and see what happens in the New Year!

New York sports in 2021 was fully of drama, progress, disappointment and another year of zero 'Big 4' championships. However, it's always a good year in Big Apple sports. That's because there is always something fun to talk about. There are enough major sports soap operas to interest a few cities, nonetheless one. This year was no different. I'm not going to spoil the ending but you know that somehow COVID 19 will find its way on to our list.

Sports teams are asking for items on their holiday list, just like us. Here is what every New York major pro sports team is hoping to see in their stocking.

I've done something bold. I've taken the ten professional "big four" sports teams in the state of New York, and I've ranked their jerseys from one to ten. Do you agree?

The Tweet came out on Saturday night, much like the white puff of smoke out of the Vatican when a new Pope is selected. This time it was from an estate in Greenwich, Connecticut and the home of billionaire Steve Cohen, the owner of the New York Mets. Cohen was alerting the New York Mets fanbase that Buck Showalter would be the new manager of the Amazin's. It was the name that the fans wanted to hear and much like their recent splurge into free-agency, they got everything that they wished for.

Matt Quatraro has been in professional baseball for 24 years. 16 of those seasons have been coaching. In his early coaching days, Quatraro would spend off-seasons volunteer coaching for the University at Albany Great Danes baseball team. Matt is a smart man. He is easy to be around. He is a team oriented and understands an organization's structure and each individual's role in its success. That is the baseball business today. That's the kind of person, if I had Steve Cohen's bank account, I would have representing my $2.5 billionaire dollar team on the field. Oh, and Matt's a competitor to the core and knows how to win at the Major League Level. Louis Rojas unfortunately didn't have that experience.

According to reports Sunday night by MLB network's Jon Heyman, the Mets have narrowed down their search to 3 and believe it or not, it looks like they picked the right 3. Buck Showalter, Joe Espada and Bethlehem Central High School grad Matt Quatraro are the 3 finalists. Eppler almost hired Showalter in Anaheim and has ties to Espada from their days in the Yankees organization. They were the first two names reported on Sunday by Heyman, maybe that was intentional, maybe not.

Much of the New York Mets fanbase along with the media, me not included, are rooting for the Mets to hire former Albany-Colonie Yankee skipper and long time major league manager, Buck Showalter. There are a few other candidates sprinkled in, including Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro, but Buck is getting the most attention. Showalter should get the most attention but shouldn't get the job.

I laugh when people say that 'the Capital Region is a bad sports town.' Really? When people say that I sometimes feel that they are trying to find something wrong with everything. If you feel like I do, it's time to look at the facts. This is actually a pretty good sports 'town.'

Noah Syndergaard is staying in New York a bit longer before he leaves for the West Coast, and is spending $16,500 a month to live in this incredible SoHo apartment.