SAN FRANCISCO — I have long been fascinated by the 1962 Mets, always considering them baseball’s ultimate lovable losers.
I blame Roger Angell. And my dad, the late Dusty Saunders.
In the sports library in my home office, I have an autographed copy of Angell’s classic book, “The Summer Game.” My dad gave me the book when I was in my teens and was first interested in becoming a sportswriter.
So “The Summer Game” was my inspiration, and my curse, because I have never come close to being the writer Angell was. Nor my dad, for that matter.
I’ve visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown multiple times, but Angell is enshrined there. In 2014, he became the first recipient of the BWAA Career Excellence Award who never covered a beat or wrote columns full-time for a daily newspaper. He was, quite simply, an incredible writer who loved baseball.
And he loved the ’62 Mets, the anti-Yankees who bumbled their way to 120 losses. He wrote passionately and affectionately about “The Amazin’s.”
Some of my all-time favorite passages from Angell were written about the infamous Mets catcher Choo Choo Coleman.
“The Mets catching is embarrassing,” Angell wrote in “The Summer Game.” “Choo Choo Coleman and Norm Sherry, the two receivers, are batting .215 and .219, respectively. Neither can throw, and Colelman, who is eager and combative, handles outside curveballs like a man fighting bees. He is quick on the basepaths, but that is an attribute that is about as essential for catchers as neat handwriting.”
Of course, “Marvelous” Marv Throneberry did not escape Angell’s prose. The legendary, terrible first baseman became celebrated for his ineptitude. In a game against the Cubs, Throneberry made a bonehead play in the field but almost made up for it in his next at-bat.
“In the bottom half, Marv attempted to make amends,” Angell wrote. “With two mates aboard, he hit a drive to the right-field bullpen and chuffed happily into third, only to be called out because he had failed to touch first base. Ordinarily, there is hot protest over this kind of play, but the Mets bench did not exactly erupt, since it was perfectly plain that Throneberry had also failed to touch second. The Mets lost the game by one run.”
Describing an epic Mets loss to the Dodgers at the Polo Grounds, Angell told the story of keeping score during the debacle, with the Dodgers scoring 12 runs between the second and sixth innings.
“… the Dodgers half of my scorecard looked as if a cloud of gnats had settled on it. I was pained for the Mets and embarrassed as a fan.
” ‘Baseball isn’t usually like this,’ I explained to my daughter.
” ‘Sometimes it is,’ she said. ‘This is like the fifth grade against the sixth grade at school.’ ”
Which brings me to the not-so-lovable 2025 Rockies, who were 43-117 as I wrote this on Saturday afternoon.
Back in 1993, when the Rockies were an expansion team and wore name tags during spring training, they were Colorado’s lovable losers. Expectations were low, and Major League Baseball’s arrival in Denver was cause for mass celebration. More than 4 million fans watched the Rockies at the old Mile High Stadium that first season
But that was 32 years ago. Rocktober happened 18 years ago. The Rockies’ last playoff appearance was seven years ago. Over the last three seasons, they have lost 321 games. As a beat writer who’s witnessed too much bad baseball, it’s impossible to write about the ’25 Rox with the affection, humor and romanticism that Angell used to capture the ’62 Mets.
The Rockies are simply a bad team in need of a serious makeover. Changes to the front office are coming soon, I believe. However, there will be some tough seasons ahead as the Rockies try to figure out who they are. But, at least the Rockies will chart a new course.
Angell’s ’62 Mets were lovable for losing. The Rox won’t be lovable until they start winning. I sure hope ownership understands that.