Belatedly Posting "The Newest Breed, Pt. 2"

Over a year ago, I released a documentary titled, "The Newest Breed: A History and Guide to the Mets Fan" in two parts.

I find the Mets fan to be a unique breed. I believe through Sharon Chapman, Kevin Chapman, Ross Chapman, and Greg Prince of Faith and Fear in Flushing, I was able to cinematically detail why and how the fan came to be and what drives them to have such a passion for this New York National League baseball team.

I posted the first part on the blog, but for some reason, I never posted the second part here. Why that is does not matter anymore, the only thing that matters is that I follow through with presenting it on here finally.

If you haven't seen the first part yet, please do so at the blog post link above, or directly here.

Thank you for watching, and

KEEP. ON. PUSHIN'.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Author/Blogger Greg Prince and The Chapman Family reminisce and opine on the Mets, the team's history and their personal fandom.

Produced, Edited and Directed by Sam Maxwell​
Original Score by Adam Spiegel​
Filmed on Location in New York City, San Francisco, Central New Jersey and at the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse​ at Broadway and 11th Street in Manhattan

The Newest Breed: A History & Guide to the Mets Fan, Pt. 1

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you....

Author/Blogger Greg Prince and The Chapman Family reminisce and opine on the Mets, the team's history and their personal fandom.

Produced, Edited and Directed by Sam Maxwell​
Original Score by Adam Spiegel​
Filmed on Location in New York City, San Francisco, Central New Jersey and at the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse​ at Broadway and 11th Street in Manhattan

Stay tuned for Part 2 on 3/30/18!

The Magic Metsian Loogie

Fun times as I am about to head down to the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse to meet Greg Prince of Faith and Fear in Flushing. I will be interviewing him for a documentary I am making about the Mets an their fans. No better place to start than the Mets Fan Incarnate. It is busy times for me these days, but I've had this Doc idea for a while now and I wanted to finally get started on it. More details to come as the project evolves...

But for now, with yesterday being the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination, the video below, which at the time was a parody of this scene in Oliver Stone's "JFK", should have been posted...not as the RANDOM Nothing of the Day, but yesterday's Nothing of the Day since it's not random having to do with both the Mets and JFK. So, without further adieu, I present to you Seinfeld's, "The Magic Loogie."

KEITH. HERNAN. DEZ.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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2-1 Padres is Perfectly Okay

It was bound to happen sometime.

And when you really think about it...wasn't it fine that The Mets didn't TAKE OFF only to drop down hard?

From where I was sitting on the 3rd base side of the field level, even my eyes were swinging at his changeup when it was 2/3 of the way to the plate. Eric Stults was nasty, and it wasn't until John Buck went yard in the 9th that any Met did anything of any magnitude against the Padres pitching.

This was still a game where the Mets and the fans settle into baseball...one where I could find a bunch of Mets Bloggers on the Shea Bridge and just stand around talking Mets baseball with a great center field view no matter how anemic the Mets offense was while the Gee-Funk pitched well enough to win.

Baseball's back, so though the Orange and Blue lose (because I wasn't wearing enough Orange and Blue), what a loss to celebrate, for the game is back in town, and eventually the wind won't be so fucking cold.

I'm off to the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse for a Swingin' '73 book event, written by Matt Silverman, one of the men who enjoyed the ol' ballgame with me today. If you're at 11th and Broadway at 7PM, stop on in.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Alright so here is where I would have cued up Let's Go Crazy by Prince, but Prince doesn't want anybody to hear it. So, best I can do right now, until THAT gets pulled off youtube, is this...

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Podcast, Enjoy the Ballgame & Julian's Cowgill of the Week

Hope you all are watching New York Mets Baseball right now. 
 
Here's the pregame podcast, for anyone who missed it. It was awesome, and included some fantastic insight into the sports agency world, which Jay Goldberg of the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse, who joined us, is no longer involved in. Bookmark it for after the last out of this ball game:

Listen to internet radio with Rising Apple Report 

on Blog Talk Radio

This week's Met from Julian is not a Met in the card, but surely is a Met right now.

COLLIN. COWGILL.
LET'S. GO. METS.

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Mets Legacy Photo of the Day - The Opening Day Parade

For a recap of today's 3-2 win over the Cardinals (including Matt Harvey's strong start and Travis d'Arnaud productively still in Major League Camp), head over to Rising Apple.

I am currently editing the video for this past Thursday's Book Event at the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse with Ira Berkow, Author of Summers at Shea. Having started the book this weekend, he is clearly a fantastic storyteller and I am happy to have these stories complemented with his live tellings of them. I look forward to sharing some of the evening with you soon.


With Opening Day on it's way, Today's Mets Legacy Photo take us to the 1910's at Ebbets Field in April.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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A Mets Legacy Photo of the Shabbos - The Left Arm of God

For a recap of today's 3-2 loss in Lakeland, check out Rising Apple.


I was in the neighborhood of the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse this afternoon, and there were two Hasidim talking to Jay. One of them mentioned they "used" to be a Mets fan, but then clarified that he used to follow them a lot heavier than he does now. One of them then asked me if I would like to wear the Tefillin. Having not prayed in a while, for one, and having not worn the tefillin in a while, I obliged.

So, as a tribute to my fellow Jewish brethren, here is all of our favorite Southpaw.

For all of you staying in this evening, or for those going out to where there will be sports on, make sure you tune in for our favorite Knuckler, R.A. Dickey (a man who doesn't celebrate the Sabbath till Sunday) taking the mound for USA v Mexico at 9PM EST on MLB Network.

(Italia MERCY-RULED the Canadians?!)

Good Shabbos, everyone.

SUPER. SHABBOS.
LET'S. GO. METS.

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And the Braves Return the Favor.

Can't waste too much time on this one. Gotta get going to the Night with Ike Davis (hope to see many of you there.)

Shout-out to Bergino Baseball Clubhouse who didn't believe for one second the whole year that Bobby Parnell had turned the corner ("He's a stiff!!")

At least we got trade bait.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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Discussing the Vintage as the Modern Becomes Vintage as Well

It was just after Ruben Tejada pop flied to 1st in the top frame that the TV went off, and that was the last the clubhouse's collective conscious experienced of the Mets Reds game until the 6th. We were happy to be distracted, as we sat listening to a Q & A with the author of a Biography of the Greatest Manager the Mets have ever had: Gil Hodges. While we listened to Jay Goldberg and Danny Peary discuss The Hodges Affect on two generations of NY National League teams, his legacy got somethin' goin' against the Reds, with their fresh star pitcher on the mound shutting down the New Big Red. Oh yeah, and Art Shamsky was there, unannounced.

Baller.

I keep saying it and it bears repeating: If you haven't been to the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse run by Jay Goldberg, you are missing out on some sweet baseball fandom. On top of the awesome collection of specialty baseballs, baseball art and great little trinkets Jay has, every one of the events that I have traveled to has been mind blowing, including a fantastic book discussion of Campy and a baseball art exhibit for Left Field Cards. Do yourself a favor and go to their website up there, and get on these mailing lists for some awesome baseball discussions. I have not read tonight's book about Gil yet, but based on everything said about Mr. Hodges, I'm sure there will be some lessons for me to take that will make me better at what I do. For someone whose softball number is 14, I don't know nearly enough about the guy. I look forward to the read and I look forward to meeting you all back here after.

The discussion wrapped up in the top of the 6th inning, after listening to the writer interview Art (he's got a baseball clinic in September you guys should take a look at.) The TV was back on while we all stood around talking baseball, and a welcoming 4-0 lead greeted us. And then it grew bigger. And then it was the bottom of the 6th and I could see, based on the hit total and the pitch count, that our boy had been pitching fantastically. As the crowd dwindled down, a couple of us stayed till the end of The Show, where we shook our heads and laughed in disgust at the circus act that is the Mets Bullpen. They wrapped it up and I have the game recorded. I'm gonna go watch it till the 6th inning. I'd like to see what it is that I missed.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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"Is This Heaven?" "No. It's 11th and Broadway."

On Thursday, May 3, I traveled downtown to what is quite possibly the closest you can get to a baseball haven outside of Cooperstown and the ballpark. I speak of the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse, and if you have not visited that spot off of Broadway on 11th Street, I cannot imagine why. I gather the reason would be because you have not heard of it. Well...now you all have, which means none of you have an excuse for not checking it out if you find yourself on the Island of Manhattan. Jay Goldberg, a former sports agent (but always a Mets fan), started making handmade, custom baseballs in 2001, and opened the clubhouse in the summer of 2010. It is a gallery as well as a shop for his specialty baseballs, baseball memorabilia and baseball clothing. On this particular evening, we were there for the release of Left Field Cards' "Marvelous Mustaches", the third in a series of Letterpress Baseball Cards by French Artist Amelie Mancini.

Amelie moved to New York in 2006, and fell in love with this baseball game of ours after a trip to Shea in 2007 (apparently, it was one of those times the Mets lost to the Phillies that year.) She has since made it a focus of some of her work, and it was greatly represented that evening on the walls of the clubhouse (including paintings of some of our own.)

The profits from the portrait above go to the National Brain Tumor Society.

The process of how she makes each and every one of these baseball cards is pretty fantastic. Along with a pack of the mustache ones, I also purchased a pack she created of bizarre baseball injuries, which most certainly added to the random-baseball-knowledge section of my brain.

Do yourself a favor and head to leftfieldcards.com for some of the coolest baseball cards you will ever get your hands on.

Amelie has this awesome tattoo: A combination of the logo of her favorite French Football Club, Olympique Lyonnais, and the logo of our favorite baseball club. Definitely one of her finest pieces.

As for the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse, Jay has done a fantastic job setting a wonderful baseball atmosphere that every fan of the game will enjoy. He has events throughout the summer such as the one I attended that Thursday evening, as well as baseball book Q&A's with the authors. Head to bergino.com for a complete event calendar, a selection of his specialty baseballs and to sign up for his mailing list. And obviously, get down to 67 East 11th Street and bask in baseball glory.

Follow the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse on Twitter @berginobaseball, and Left Field Cards @LeftFieldCards.

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