By Jay Horwitz
One of the highlights for me this summer will be the unveiling of the statue for Tom Seaver.
Tom was the person who transformed our franchise from lovable losers into winners. But if not for an event that happened 55 years ago today, there might not have been a 1969 World Series and certainly there would have been no statue.
On this day in 1966, the New York Mets won a special lottery with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Cleveland Indians to get the rights to Seaver. Tom signed with the Mets and the rest is history. A world title, 311 wins, three Cy Young Awards and the almost unanimous Hall of Fame induction.
share-square-1045109
NEW YORK The Mets took another step toward filling out their coaching staff on Wednesday, hiring New York native Tony Tarasco to become their first-base coach. Tarasco replaces Tony DeFrancesco, whom the Mets reassigned to another position in the organization.
Tarasco, 50, has spent the past five seasons as an outfield and baserunning instructor in the Padres organization. He’ll be the point person in those areas for the Mets as well, in addition to his duties as first-base coach.
A big league outfielder from 1993-02, Tarasco is perhaps best known for playing right field for the Orioles during the 1996 American League Championship Series, when a 12-year-old fan named Jeffrey Maier reached over the Yankee Stadium wall to turn a would-be flyout into a controversial home run for Derek Jeter. Tarasco played for six teams in total over his career, including a partial season with the Mets in 2002. He was born and raised in Manhattan.
December 30th, 2020
share-square-1046703
FLUSHING, N.Y., December 30, 2020 – The New York Mets today announced that they have named Tony Tarasco the club’s major league first base coach for 2021. Tarasco will also oversee New York’s outfielders and baserunning.
Tarasco, 50, spent the last five years as the San Diego Padres’ Minor League High Performance and Outfield/Baserunning Coordinator. In addition to that role, in 2019, he managed the Class-A Lake Elsinore Storm, leading them to the California League finals. He also managed the Charros de Jalisco in the Mexican Pacific League in 2017.
Prior to joining the Padres, Tarasco worked 10 years in the Washington Nationals organization, including the final three seasons (2013-2015) as the major league first base coach. He was Washington’s minor league outfielder/baserunning coordinator from 2011-2012 and also served stints as the hitting coach for the Class-A South Atlantic League Hagerstown Suns (2008-2010) and the short-s