Author Commentary:
Our good friends at Skyhorse Publishing put a lot of effort into
Mets by the Numbers: A Complete Team History of the Amazin’ Mets by the Uniform
Number. So did Jon and I. We read it and re-read it from cover to cover at least
a half dozen times and there are still things I wish we’d gotten a chance to
add. If you love
metsbythenumbers.com (also
mbtn.net), one of the longest-running Mets
sites in existence, or just are into the Mets uniform and numbers tradition,
you’ll find even more on both topics, plus 50 detailed sidebars not available on
the site. There’s everything from a tribute to Channel 9 to a history of Mets
catcher’s gear to a list and description of every sleeve patch to the story of
the black unis to who wore what and what it meant for the first game back in
September 2001. This team history focusing on uniform numbers and the
similarities and differences of the Mets who shared numbers is the first such
book of its kind for any team in any sport. The bios of the 800-plus men who
have worn the uniform are written with tones of irreverence and awe, where
warranted; humor throughout. This book started when I stumbled across Jon’s site
late one night in January 2004 and we worked on this book off and on from then
until we made the final manuscript changes in December 2008. Howie Rose wrote
the foreword. That man knows his numbers.