John Delcos died the other day. The Mets reporter for the Journal News in Westchester for many years, he had his own site, and recently had contributed to Forbes.com. We came together just after the downfall of the Mets preseason annual in 2011. I have always regretted that I didn’t get in touch with him during the publication’s four-year run. And that the extent of our collaborations was a few pieces on each other for our respective websites, the most interesting was an article he interviewed me in 2015 about Yogi Berra and the 1973 World Series that came out shortly after Berra’s death and shortly before Terry Collins made his own World Series misstep. But John was always good at staying in touch. When we last spoke almost a year ago, John was looking to do a book. We mostly talked on the phone and conversed through emails. I was always happy to hear from him.
The one time that I went to the Citi Field press box was at his insistence. It was during the fleeting Happy Harvey Day phenomenon of 2013, when New York columnists actually broke off writing about the Yankees for a minute to look at this kid throwing bullets and showing swagger—more swagger than bullets, as it turned out. Generally, I’d rather sit in the stands and not have to justify myself to the public relations staff as to my worthiness to occupy the chair left empty by the New York newspapers that no longer send reporters to Mets games. I am glad he got me out of my comfort zone so I could witness the Mets creating buzz and the media hive decimating it. The Mets won and so did I.
After John wound up in a wheelchair, we made plans to go to spring training together. In the end, he was just not up to the journey. It was not the same without him and I have not been back to spring training since. He had plenty of press box friends who were better connected than I, but he always made me feel that we were all on even par.
What really sticks with me was his Mets Report site. He included whatever inside information he had and his posts were always insightful. He did it because he cared and still felt the need to share that knowledge with a fan base that he fully understood. Once Adam Rubin—another good guy with great communication skills— exited the Mets beat, the John Delcos Mets Report was the best thing I read on a regular basis about the Mets. John’s last entry was this past Opening Day, but it was filled with analysis and observations such as: seven days into the season, Seth Lugo was already overused. “Callaway has been erratic in this young season as to how he’s used his bullpen.” Neither of us was a fan of Mickey.
I am sad I won’t get to talk to him about Carlos Beltran taking on one of the toughest jobs in sports: Pleasing the Wilpons and Mets fans. Who knows what it takes to please Mets ownership. Pleasing Mets fans? That’s what he did best, through good old fashioned reporting.