RobKirkpatrick.com

Here’s something new about 1969…turns out the first piece of art was placed on the moon by way of a tiny disc secretly affixed to one of the legs of the lunar module for Apollo 12:

http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/tiny-art-museum-hidden-aboard-apollo-12-for-its-moon-landing/19516542?icid=main|main|dl1|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolnews.com%2Fweird-news%2Farticle%2Ftiny-art-museum-hidden-aboard-apollo-12-for-its-moon-landing%2F19516542

One might ask if these were the best examples of art that man could have sent to the moon, but there you go…

Forty-one years ago today, the New York Mets acquired first baseman Donn Clendenon from the Montreal Expos in exchange for Kevin Collins, Steve Renko, Bill Carden, and Dave Colon.  Clendenon would hit .252 with 12 home runs and 37 RBI in 72 games for the Mets in the 1969 regular season, injecting some much-needed right-handed power into the lineup. He starred in the World Series that October, going 5 for 14 with 3 home runs and 4 RBI against the vaunted Baltimore Orioles staff to earn MVP honors in the fall classic for the Miracle Mets. Clendenon’s best full season with New York was in 1970, when he hit .288 with 22 home runs and 97 RBI.

On this same date in 1983, the then-woeful Mets again acquired a first baseman who would prove to be a key figure in a World Championship. The St. Louis Cardinals sent Keith Hernandez to the Mets in exchange for Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey. Hernandez hit .306 for the remainder of 1983 and hit .311 in 1984, when he finished second in the National League MVP voting and showed invaluable on-the-field leadership as the Mets became pennant contenders for the first time in a decade. Consistent Keith hit .309 in 1985 and .310 in 1986, when he helped led the team to its second World Championship. In 1987, he was named the franchise’s first team captain and hit .290. Injuries dogged him throughout 1988 as his average fell dramatically, though he still helped New York win the Eastern Division and knocked in 5 runs in a seven-game postseason series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. That season, he also claimed his eleventh consecutive Gold Glove.

“And at seven minutes to midnight, the goose-egg sweep is complete.”

So said Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen on Thursday night, perhaps as a nod to Lindsey Nelson and the ‘69 Mets, as New York finished off a sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies with the third of three consecutive shutouts.  The Mets topped the Phillies 8-0 on Tuesday, 5-0 on Wednesday, and 3-0 in the series finale at CitiField to pull from last place in the National League East to within 2 games of first place.  It was the first time in 41 years that the Mets staff shut out an opponent over a three-game series.

The Phillies were also the victims in 1969, getting blanked in three contests at Connie Mack Stadium by Jerry Koosman, Tom Seaver, and a combined effort from Gary Gentry, Nolan Ryan, and Ron Taylor.  Two days before the series in Philly, Gentry had gone the distance against Steve Carlton and the St. Louis Cardinals at Shea Stadium in a 6-0 victory that clinched the division for the suddenly Amazin’ Mets, part of a 42-inning scoreless streak.  As Al Weis turned a 6-4-3 double play to end the game, broadcaster Nelson famously marked the moment for posterity: “At 9:07 on September 24th, the Mets have won the championship of the Eastern Division of the National League!”

A comparison of the two “goose-egg” streaks illustrates how much the game has changed since 1969. Gentry pitched the full nine against the Cards, as did Koosman and Seaver in their gems against the Phils. Gentry went just five innings in the series finale in Philadelphia – giving way to Ryan (who tossed three scoreless in relief) and Taylor, who recorded a one-inning save – but he was going on just three days’ rest, which is interesting considering the game was meaningless at that point with the Mets having already clinched the division for manager Gil Hodges.

In today’s era of pitch counts and “protecting” pitchers, it’s become increasingly rare for pitchers to go the distance, even when they’re still working on shutouts.  (And can you imagine a manager today letting his #1 or #2 hurlers go nine innings in mere postseason tuneups?)  The 2010 Mets who entered the three-game set in last place in the East, returned to relevance in the division on the strength of three groups efforts.  Mets pitchers recorded the following stats in 27 innings against Philadelphia:

Tuesday, May 25

R. A. Dickey (W, 1-0) 6 IP, 0 R, 7 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K

R. Valdes (SV, 1) 3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K

Wednesday, May 26

H. Takahashi (W, 4-1) 6 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 0 BB, 6 K

J. Mejia 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K

Igarashi 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K

Nieve 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K

Thursday, May 27

Pelfrey (W, 7-1)  7 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 5 BB, 5 K

Feliciano 1 IP, 0 R,  0 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Rodriguez 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K

TOTALS VS. PHILLIES

27 IP, 0 R, 18 H, 10 BB, 27 K

Here’s Matt Bai’s column from today’s New York Times, with references to Hair (though I disagree with his off-handed review) and Altamont:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/us/politics/26bai.html?hp

Ecology Flag designed by underground artist Ron Cobb in 1969

Tomorrow is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, and as the following link reminds us, the day was inspired in part by the infamous Cuyahoga River fire on June 23, 1969:

http://whoknew.news.yahoo.com/?vid=18555867

I discuss the Cuyahoga fire in my “Green Mind” chapter in 1969: The Year Everything Changed, along with the Santa Barbara Oil slick from ‘69, the People’s Park riots, and the beginnings of Earth Day–or, I should say, Earth Days, as the phrase was applied to two different dates and celebrations.  The first one took place on March 21, 1970, organized by faith-based activist and pacifist John McConnell as a regional event in San Francisco to be held on the spring solstice, and to draw attention to the need for peace and environmental balance.  Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson prompted a nationwide “teach-in” day on the environment for April 22. Nelson said later, “John McConnell may have used the phrase Earth Day before we did, [but] ours was a political exercise. His was a peace exercise.” 

John McConnell's Earth Flag from the early 1970s, featuring the "Big Blue Marble" photo taken during Apollo 17.

McConnell, who also designed the Earth Flag (left) said decades later, “The most damaging lie about the environment is that statement that ‘Earth Day is April 22.’” But the April date is the one that has grown into an international celebration.

You can read more about the international Earth Day by clicking on the following links:

http://www.earthday.net/node/77

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day

Don’t waste your time sending me comments.  It’s easy to tell which “comments” are from spammers because they come from suspicious email addresses and rarely have anything to do with my postings.  I delete them all.  If I continue to receive such messages, I will only make life hard for the senders.  Thank you.

Given the inaugural 2009 season of CitiField, when the ballpark served more as a testament to the Wilpon family’s Brooklyn Dodgers fetish than to the Mets’s own history, I was pleasantly surprised on Saturday when I got to see the new Mets Hall of Fame.  In addition to the requisite plaques for all team inductees, the HOF houses both World Series trophies, jerseys worn by Mets greats and near-greats, Tom Seaver’s Cy Young and Sportsman of the Year awards, one of Keith Hernandez’s 11 Gold Gloves, and – perhaps most impressive of all – the glove worn by Tommie Agee when he made both of his highlight catches in Game 3 of the ‘69 series (a Spalding Johnny Callison Autograph model) and the infamous “shoe polish ball” from the Game 5 clincher.

In an interview just posted on Spinner, former Rolling Stones tour manager Sam Cutler talks for the first time about the infamous Altamont Free Concert from December 1969.

http://www.spinner.com/2010/03/29/sam-cutler-rolling-stones-altamont/?ncid=webmaildl2

Cutler blames the fiasco that occurred that day on the fact that the stage was only three feet high, which is one factor I cited in my Huffington Post piece commemorating the 40th anniversary of Altamont:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-kirkpatrick/the-day-the-music-died-th_b_381731.html

For more on this and other incidents, both good and bad, from that memorable year, check out 1969: The Year Everything Changed (Skyhorse Publishing, 1969).

As we approach the 2010 World Cup–to be held this year in South Africa for the first time ever–you’ll want to check out this amazing story of how soccer (or football) was used as a tool of resistance on Robben Island under apartheid.

Just listen to what others have already said about this remarkable book:

“It’s well worth reading, even by those who don’t know a thing about soccer.”–Booklist

“This story of the victims of political oppression, and how they found dignity and hope through sport, stands as a remarkable testament to the human spirit.”–Bob Costas

“In my more than forty years of covering sports at the New York Times and for CBS and PBS, I have never seen a story that has so vividly brought together the nature of games, politics, and the human spirit.”–Robert Lipsyte

“This story adds a compelling dimension to our understanding of the struggle against apartheid.”–Desmond M. Tutu

“A fascinating account of the immense importance of the sport.”–The Guardian (UK)

More Than Just a Game publishes on April 27, but you can pre-order it here: http://us.macmillan.com/morethanjustagame

I’ll be talking to Pat Williams on WDBO AM 580 in Orlando today at 4:oo pm about 1969: The Year Everything Changed. [CORRECTION: Today's interview was taped and will air Saturday, April 10. Radio host Pat Williams also happens to be the president of the Orlando Magic; tune in to hear his assessment of my jump shot and defensive prowess...]

And check out this rave for Nicholas Schou’s new book, Orange Sunshine: The Brotherhood of Eternal Love and Its Quest to Spread Peace, Love, and Acid to the World, which comes with an endorsement from yours truly:

http://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-et-book24-2010mar24,0,2597283.story