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September 6, 2008 Mets 2008 Games Joe Janish

Doug Flynn’s Inspirational Email

Doug Flynn Topps 1978 baseball cardIn response to Mike Schmidt’s email to the Phillies, former Met Doug Flynn sent a note of his own to the home team clubhouse at Shea.

It read:

Right here, right now, there is no other place you want to be, watching the world wake up from history. Bat on the ball, take two and hit one to right, hit ’em where they ain’t. Choke up with two strikes. Spit in your glove to keep it from drying out. Pick up pebbles in the infield that could cause bad hops.

And if you wake up in the morning with your head on fire and your eyes too bloody to see, go on and cry in your coffee but don’t pitch to Utley. You guys have to be big shots, you have to prove it to the crowd.

The Phillies think you might be better than you think you are. They know last year was such a fluke it can’t happen again. And I played for Joe Torre, the same guy who won all those games for the Yankees, so I know what I’m talking about.

Good luck and may the Lord be with you. #23

(er, #23 as in NOT Dave Schneck, Leroy Stanton, Tim Bogar, Bernard Gilkey, McKay Christenson, Jason Phillips, Julio Franco, nor any of those other guys, but me, Dougie Flynn)

Doug Flynn, like Mike Schmidt, was a Gold Glove-winning infielder from the late 1970s/1980s and also like Schmidt, was the best infielder on his team (1979 Mets). Also in common with THIRD-baseman Schmidt: Flynn is best known for hitting the THIRD inside-the-park homerun in Shea Stadium history, being the THIRD Met to win a Gold Glove, and was the THIRD-best player in the package sent by the Reds to the Mets in return for Tom Seaver. Flynn, who is now a banker in his hometown of Lexington, Kentucky, also shares with Schmidt the status of irrelevancy to the Mets and their fans.

Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. isuzudude September 6, 2008 at 7:49 am
    Someone needs to read the line, “They [the Mets] know they’re not better than you [the Phillies]” in the Mets’ clubhouse. If that doesn’t light a fire under them nothing will.

    Not to mention, if the Mets had won 10 of 15 games during the season against that team, wouldn’t that kind of PROVE that the Mets are better than the Phillies, at least on a head-to-head basis?

    Mike Schmidt: Hall of Famer or Hall of Shamer? You be the judge.

  2. Jackie April 29, 2009 at 1:25 am
    Dougie Flynn: the best! I fell in love with the game because of that Met team: Doug Flynn, Pat Zachary, Torre… If we could put that same team together today, with the experience Torre has, no one could stop them. Though things didn’t work out back then, I hope that Doug, Pat and the rest of the gang realize that they did make a major difference in the lives of a lot of people. For that, I thank you all!!