Carroll’s Column: A Must Read by Art Shamsky, “Mets Stories I Only Tell My Friends”

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Sports Carroll’s Column: A Must Read by Art Shamsky, “Mets Stories I Only Tell My Friends” by Lloyd Carroll March 10, 2025 Image Credit: Triumph Books NEW YORK, NY — There are some books that are enjoyable to skim through and others that make for a must read. Art Shamsky’s newest book, “Mets Stories I Only Tell My Friends” is the latter, a must read for all out there. Shamsky is a beloved member of the 1969 Miracle Mets. Although he was born in St. Louis and only played in Flushing for three seasons, the erudite Shamsky has long been a part of New York City life. I had the chance to speak with Art on the phone a few weeks ago about his new book, “Mets Stories I Only Tell My Friends” (Triumph Books), which was co-written with frequent Mets author Matthew Silverman. It hit bookstores this week. “With the possible exception of the 1927 New York Yankees, the 1969 Mets are the most famous baseball team in history,” Shamsky said. Given the Mets’ futile history in the first seven years of existence, in which they finished in the cellar five times, and next-to-last place in the other two, it is hard to disagree with him. Image Credit: MLB The 1969 Mets certainly transcended pop culture. “We recorded an album for Buddah Records a few hours after we won the National League East title, and we were on “The Ed Sullivan Show” the Sunday after we beat the Orioles to win the 1969 World Series. A few weeks after that we were booked for seventeen days at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. I got to meet Elvis!” Art and six other of his teammates sang such fitting tunes as “The Impossible Dream” and “You Gotta Have Heart,” as well as engaging in humorous banter. While there have been countless books on the ‘69 Mets, there has been little written about why the team could not repeat the magic in 1970. Shamsky candidly writes about the reality of staying on top being harder than getting to the summit, as well as his life since hanging up his spikes. His biggest regret was retiring from baseball at age 30 following the 1972 season. “I had a variety of injuries and had been released three times by different teams, so I called it a career. I felt a lot better in 1973 and I should have attempted a comeback. I could have had a far larger pension now,” he said wistfully. Image Credit: SABR.org Art has had numerous jobs in the “real world.” He partnered with former Yankees infielder Phil Linz to run a popular Upper East Side restaurant called Mr. Laff’s and would later partner with Ron Darling to operate 17 Murray Street. He also dabbled in broadcasting as he had a show on WFAN and spent nine years being a correspondent for Channel 5’s “Sports Extra” hosted by the legendary Bill Mazer. He seemed surprised when I told him watching “Sports Extra” at 10:30 PM on Sunday nights were appointment viewing for my dad and myself, “I appreciate your dad! Most baby boomers tell me they had to watch the show in their basements because their parents wanted to go to sleep! I told Art about an error I found in the book. He wrote that former Mets first baseman Mike Jorgensen, who had two separate tours of duty with the team, went to Bayside High School. Jorgensen grew up in Flushing, but he was a star player at Francis Lewis High School. “I should have hired a better fact checker!” he laughed. Image Credit: ArtShamsky.com If you are interested in getting a personalized copy of “Mets Stories I Only Tell My Friends” log onto his website, artshamsky.com Mets open up first Manhattan pop-up store The Mets have opened their first Manhattan pop-up store, Mets House NYC in Union Square. Mets alumni Dwight Gooden and Todd Zeile were on hand for the grand opening this past Friday. While the Mets are hoping the Union Square store will be a profit center thanks to sales of merchandise, that may not be its sole, or even most important, purpose. Two weeks ago, Mets owner Steve Cohen complained to the press about the team being eighteenth in attendance in the majors last year. What he did not say was that the Yankees ranked second in that area. It is unlikely the Mets will outdraw the Yankees. The Bronx Bombers are the world’s best-known sports franchise. Yankee Stadium is also located closer to the city’s business and tourism districts than Citi Field is. Mets alumni Dwight Gooden, Todd Zeile and hundreds of Mets fans attended the opening of the team’s pop-up shop in NYC – Image Credit: New York Mets Nevertheless, having a presence in the trendy Union Square area should help the Mets improve their attendance. Annual New York International Toy Fair at the Javits Center The annual New York International Toy Fair took place at Javits Center last week. The popularity of pickleball was evident. San Francisco-based Tangle Creations promoted its Nightball pickleball set in which both the paddles and ball glow in the dark so games can take place after dark even if the lighting is poor. Franklin Sports displayed more traditional pickleball gear. It is best known for being the industry leader in batting gloves. A company spokesman told me Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor has been an endorser for Franklin since signing his first professional baseball contract with the-then Cleveland Indians at age 16. Lindor is now actively involved in the glove design process for Franklin Sports. Duncan Toys, the world’s most famous yo-yo manufacturer, is gearing up for its centennial in four years. It has introduced online tutorials to teach aficionados how to do such tricks as “walking the dog” and “rocking the cradle.” Boxing Check In Reports of boxing’s death continue to be premature. While cable television networks like HBO and Showtime have stepped away from the ring sport, streaming services such as Prime Video and Netflix have filled the void. Image Credit: Premier Boxing Champions The March 1 lightweight championship bout between Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Lamont Roach drew over 19,000 spectators at the Barclays Center, and garnered great business for Prime Video’s pay-per-view business. The fight lived up to the hype as it went the distance with Davis and Roach ultimately coming down to a draw. The two best female boxers in the world, Amanda Serrano and Kate Taylor will meet for their third bout on July 11 at Madison Square Garden. The undercard will be historic as it will feature only female pugilists, a first for the world’ most famous arena. It will be shown on Netflix. Image Credit: Netflix Devils and Knicks hit with Injuries The New Jersey Devils have proven to be the best National Hockey League team in our area, but their Stanley Cup chances took a big hit when their star player, Jack Hughes, needed shoulder surgery last week and will miss the rest of the season. The Knicks are hoping Jalen Brunson’s balky ankle will be pain-free by the time the NBA playoffs get underway. An MRI thankfully showed no ligament damage. Jimmy Johnson announces his retirement as a panelist Last week marked the end of an era in the world of sports media for many reasons. Jimmy Johnson announced he would be retiring as a panelist on Fox Sports free flowing “NFL Sunday” pre and post game shows. ESPN announced it would be ending its daily 5PM sportswriter banter show, “Around the Horn,” after 23 years on May 23. On the local front, Marc Ernay, the velvet-voiced and witty sports anchor of WINS going back to the days when the all-news radio station had the noise of teletype machines in the background, announced he was leaving the station. Audacy, which runs WINS along with many radio stations across the country, is facing steep financial issues. “Running Point” on Netflix If you were a fan of HBO’s comedy drama about the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, “Winning Time,” which got canceled last year after two seasons, then you should enjoy Netflix’s latest comedy series, “Running Point.” Image Credit: Netflix The show stars Kate Hudson as the fictional boss of a men’s professional basketball team, the Los Angeles Waves. If it sounds like Hudson is playing Lakers CEO Jeanie Buss, then you would be correct. Buss serves as an executive producer of the series. The show humorously captures the egos of players who are more preoccupied with either being rappers or creating lifestyle brands than they are in winning basketball games. The team executives also have numerous psychological issues. The first two episodes featured believable characters and witty dialogue. You can read more of Lloyd Carroll’s columns posted weekly on The Queens Chronicle. Related Topics 1969 Mets Amanda Serrano Annual New York International Toy Fair Art Shamsky boxing Devils FOX Sports Gervonta Davis Javits Center Jimmy Johnson Katie Taylor Knicks Lamont Roach Madison Square Garden Major League Baseball Mets Mets Stories I Only Tell My Friends MLB NBA Netflix New Jersey Devils New York Knicks New York Mets NFL NHL Running Point Shea Stadium Click to comment Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. 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