Tom Seaver, Ed Kranepool and Ron Darling all played for the New York Mets. Seaver and Kranepool were teammates for 11 years, from 1967 through 1977. Seaver and Darling were teammates for the final month of the 1983 season.

All three players, of course, are now retired, but in recent weeks they have been brought together in a way that is less than ideal.

About two months ago Seaver’s family revealed that the Hall of Fame pitcher was suffering from dementia and would withdraw from public participation. Several weeks ago Darling stepped away from his role as an analyst on Mets’ telecasts, disclosing that doctors had discovered a mass on his chest. Subsequent surgery revealed that he has thyroid cancer.

Kranepool, who at the age of 17 had two at-bats for the Mets in 1962, their first season, has emerged from the Mets’ medical malaise in the most positive condition of the three former players. Last week he received a …

Keep reading...

They are not Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, nor Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra or Reggie Jackson and Thurman Munson. They are not in the class of Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada. But they have caught my attention nonetheless, and the infusion of new players on the New York Yankees roster has prompted what some might see as a strange thought.

The Yankees and their fans owe former commissioner Fay Vincent a debt of gratitude. They castigated Vincent when he threw George Steinbrenner out of baseball in 1990, but 30 years later it has turned out to be the best thing that happened to the organization.

With Steinbrenner removed from the daily operation of the Yankees, General Manager Gene Michael was …

Keep reading...

“Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”

It’s an old saying, but it says a lot. After reading a piece about Alex Rodriguez in The New York Times Sunday magazine earlier this month, I decided I didn’t want to be fooled a second time.

Indeed, Rodriguez fooled me once. He fooled me big time. It was in spring training in 1997, and it was the first time I met or interviewed him. The previous year, his first full season in the majors, Rodriguez made a huge splash with a tidal wave of a season. Playing for the Seattle Mariners, the 21-year-old shortstop drove in 123 runs, hit 36 homers and batted .358 with a .414 on-base percentage and .631 slugging percentage. The Sporting News named him Major League Player of the Year.

“At the age of 21,” I wrote in the Times…

Keep reading...