If you are a daily reader of my column you will notice that I always include a joke that is at the expense of former Mets first baseman, Mo Vaughn. During the early part of Mo’s career, he was known as one of the elite power-hitting first basemen in the American League. That pretty much came to an end when he tore a muscle in his shoulder which sidelined him for an entire season while he was a member of the California Angels. The story of how the Mets signed Mo after a 15 minute batting practice session now resides in the bowels of Mets INFAMY !
But here are some more Mo Vaughn facts you may not have been aware of.
He once won a rib eating contest without using his hands !
He has been mistaken for Reginald Vel Johnson ( Carl Winslow from “Family Matters) on many an occasion !
He is our only hope against a meteor strike against the Earth !
He was the inspiration for Anakin Skywalker !
IHOP refuses to serve him from the all you can eat menu!
He was originally casted as the lead in the “Blade” movies !
His favorite movie is “Fast Food Nation” !
His favorite band is a toss up between the Vanilla Fudge and A Taste of Honey !
Mo once aspired to be a professional sumo wrestler but was told he was too big !
Mo once threatened to eat former Mets General Manager, Steve Phillips liver with some fava beans and a can of Mad Dog 20/20 !
He only eats the green jellybeans !!
And finally Mo Vaughn is the most interesting Met you will never want to know about !!!
And with that said…. HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!
Mets alumni celebrating a birthday today includes:
Today would have marked the 75th birthday of original Mets infielder, Elio Chacon (1936).
Middle reliever from the ’02-’03 seasons, Jaime Cerda is 33 (1978) .
Sadly on this date the Mets lost two members of their extended family. General Manager from ’70-’74,Bob Scheffing, passed away on this date in 1985, and starting pitcher from the ’67 team, Bill Graham in 2006.
The New York Mets traded emergency starter/middle reliever, Dwight Bernard to the Milwaukee Brewers for pitcher, Mark Bomback on October 26, 1979.
The New York Mets traded starting pitcher, Wally Whitehurst, outfielder, D. J. Dozier and minor league catcher, Raul Casanova to the San Diego Padres for shortstop, Tony Fernandez on October 26, 1992. This at the time looked to be a steal of a trade for the Mets. Fernandez was considered one of the better shortstops in the American League. But it was apparent that Tony didn’t like playing in Flushing, and he was quickly dispatched to the Toronto Blue Jays for washed up outfielder, Darrin Jackson 48 games into the ’93 season.
The New York Mets granted second baseman, Carlos Baerga free agency on October 26, 1998. When Baerga first was acquired by the Mets in ’95 in was painfully obvious that he was on the downside of his career, but by ’98 he had worn out his welcome with a combination of poor hitting and fielding.
Mo Vaughn’s name translates to Breadbasketus Maximus in Latin !
6 comments
Darknova306
10/26/2011-10:40am at 10:40 am (UTC -4)
That picture just made my day after a very long shift. Oh, Mo.
MetsFan4Decades
10/26/2011-12:07pm at 12:07 pm (UTC -4)
Mo Vaughn…..the Mets certainly have their fair share of acquiring and paying for high priced over-the-hill type players over the years. It just wasn’t Omar that was guilty of that. Here’s hoping Sandy & Co. do a better job with that.
MetsFan4Decades
10/26/2011-12:45pm at 12:45 pm (UTC -4)
Just posted a comment but it disappeared. Strange. Trying again….
Omar wasn’t the only one in Mets history to have overpaid for an aging player – paying for past performance instead of projected future performance. Here’s hoping Sandy & Co. do a better job with that.
MetsFan4Decades
10/26/2011-12:45pm at 12:45 pm (UTC -4)
hahah – now they both appear…..
Anonymous
10/26/2011-10:38pm at 10:38 pm (UTC -4)
While I myself have had many a laugh at the Hit Dog’s expense lest we forget he’s been doing many good things in revitalizing depressed real estate and providing affordable housing for many who need it. Hopefully, this doesn’t turn into a bad story down the road for Mo as we’ve seen with other atheletes and their investments. Well done Mo’, even though you sucked in orange & blue.
http://www.onyllc.com/
Anonymous
10/27/2011-12:12am at 12:12 am (UTC -4)
Gotta go to Mo!