Old Men in Sweats! TM
By: Tommy T. & Barry D.
Volume 19
A Mookie in the Series Again? | The Two Mookies!
Thirty two years later and a Mookie is back in the World Series. The Boston Red Sox best all-around player and one of the best in all of baseball is Mookie Betts, 26 year-old outfielder and batting champion. Mookie Betts is a 5’ 10” jumping, running dynamo who can play multiple positions in the outfield and infield while smashing 32 homers and winning the American League batting crown. He is already in the same class as Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, and Aaron Judge. One of MLB’s elite. He’s led the 108 win Red Sox into the World Series and got them off to a 2-0 lead with a single and stolen base to open game 1.
The irony of baseball never ceases to amaze me. Being an Old Men in Sweats I remember the original Mookie, the OM, like it was yesterday. The OM was also a 5' 10 speedy, hustling outfielder with the New York Mets. He was a member of the New York Mets’ World Series winning team in 1986. And of course the original Mookie hit the most infamous ground ball in Major League history, when his two-hop dribbler down the first base line in game 6 rolled through Bill Buckner’s legs. The miraculous play capped the Mets' amazing comeback in game 6 and shocked Red Sox Nation.
How does that happen? How does a man named Mookie end up in the World Series 32 years apart, both centered around the Boston Red Sox? New Mookie wasn’t even born in 1986. Hell, there’s a good chance his momma liked the nickname Mookie and thought, “why not?” Of course the Original Mookie has a real name, it's William Wilson. And New Mookie’s name is Markus Betts. I like the nickname Mookie. I liked Old Mookie in the 80s and I love New Mookie’s game today. He’s amazing to watch. The nickname Mookie just brings a smile to my face. It's baseball.
Original Mookie only hit .269 in the ’86 World Series. He had 7 hits and one double in addition to the ground ball error in game 6. But he never bought another drink in the greater NY area in the last 32 years and whenever you mention the Original Mookie to a Mets’ fan they get a long lost love look on their face. Who doesn’t love Mookie Wilson in NY?
The New Mookie is in a whole different class from the Original Mookie. He hit 346, 32 home runs, 30 stolen bases, 129 runs scored with an incredible 1.078 OPS. Back in 1986 they didn’t keep the OPS stat, which is the total of a player’s on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Baseball has come a long way in 32 years. They use something called sabermetrics to set their lineups. Even in this World Series, the Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts is using all kinds of weird stats to set his lineups. In games 1 & 2 Roberts sat his 3 best home run hitters Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy, and Joc Pederson due to sabermetrics. And of course the Dodgers tanked both games with their big guns only getting a handful of at-bats in Fenway Park. The Dodgers will probably lose the series because their manager is using a new fangled “book of numbers” to set his lineup. And Boston is just playing plan ol’ Mookie every game at the top of their lineup. You don’t use sabermetrics on a Mookie. When you have a Mookie on your team you just play him. Come on, it’s a Mookie. And he’s back in the World Series.
It’s a great time to be Old Men in Sweats!
-OMIS
OMIS: “PREACHING SPORTS KNOWLEDGE FOR A LIFETIME!”