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By Arnie Leshin
Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax knows Fred Wilpon very well. The two go way back to their younger days in the New York borough of Brooklyn, playing baseball in Flat bush’s Parade Grounds and attending Lafayette High School in the 1950s.
At the Parade Grounds, Wilpon introduced Koufax to his team, the Tomahawks, in the Ice Cream Baseball League, a counterpart of the Little League and Babe Ruth Leagues. A right-hander, Wilpon pitched. A left-hander, Koufax caught, kind of unusual but it was the only position available until he was able to switch to first base. Next came the move to Lafayette High in the Bensonhurst section, where Wilpon was already a sophomore as Koufax became a schoolmate.
But not yet a teammate. At the time, high school sports was not played in the city because of a salary dispute among the teachers, who were unwilling to supervise extravehicular activities without monetary compensation. So until this was settled, the two continued to play in the crowded Parade Grounds. When Wilpon was a senior and Koufax a junior, there was an agreement with the teachers. Wilpon stayed with baseball and Koufax decided to switch to basketball.
But after Wilpon graduated, Koufax still didn’t pitch, remained at first base, and when he went on to Cincinnati University, home of basketball superstar Oscar Robinson, he again went out for basketball after his junior season, and returned in the summer to the Ice Cream League where he filled the needed position of pitcher. Something new, but he attracted scouts, baseball scouts, and they saw things they liked, a 6-foot-2 southpaw with a neat inside and outside curve ball that included pitches way off the plate, and a cutting fastball that also lacked control.
Despite this, scouts figured he had potential and wrote him up, passed some of the information along to the big league clubs, and the then Brooklyn Dodgers who played at Ebbets Field, took notice of the local prospect. He returned to Cincy for his senior year and finally took the mound as a the number two starter and also as a reliever. After graduation, the Dodgers signed him, sent him to their minor league club in Montreal, and called him up two years later. He still had control problems, but his curve and fastball confused batters, and once they were perfected, he was dominating.
In the Majors, three times a Cy Young winner, four no-hitters, six All-Star teams, National League Most Valuable Player, and 15 strikeouts in one game. After 10 seasons, at age 30 his career came to an end in 1966 when he had arthritis in his left arm. At age 36, he became the youngest player ever named to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
As for Wilpon, he and Koufax remained close friends, still are, and now as the CEO of the New York Mets, Wilpon and his father, Jeff, bought an minority share of the club in 1980. Six years later, he became an equal partner in the club with Nelson Doubleday, Jr. The Wilpon family bought out Doubleday in 2002 to become the sole owners of the franchise.
Now, with the team taking bids in an attempt to sell it, Koufax fits into this picture only because he remains a consultant for the Wilpons. He has been asked to keep abreast of the bids and make a recommendation as the four top bidders head into the second round, with the Wilpons hoping to sell the club by October.
If Baseball Hall of Fame’s Alex Rodriguez is on Koufax’ popularity list, Jeff Wilpon would like that, for it’s A-Rod and his fiance, Jennifer Lopez, who he prefers to sell the team to if their offer is close to the best bid at the end of the auction, and several sources confirm this.
Others have joined the Rodriguez team, football Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher, running back DeMarco Murray of the Tennessee Titans, offensive tackle Joe Thomas of the Cleveland Browns, Travis Keice of the NFL, Bradley Beal of the NBA’s Washington Wizards, and Mason Plumlee of the Denver Nuggets. Billionaire hedge fund founder Steve Cohen had been the front runner, but his previous bid was not accepted because of his request to take over the entire operation.
Now he offers $2 billion and is right on top of the list. The former New York Yankee star Rodriguez’ bidding group offered around $1.7 billion, which is also in the range of the bid that came in from the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris, and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils owner David Blitzer. There is also a fourth bidder in the running, that of billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, and it’s also reported that the offer made by Rodriguez was in the ballpark with Cohen’s proposal. A-Rod has already put up $300 million of his own, as has Lopez.
Meanwhile, the Mets have gathered at Citi Field since July 1, with the shortened 60-game regular season scheduled to begin on July 23. The good news is that Yoenis Cespedes has confirmed he is ready for opening day as the team’s official designated hitter, and there has not been anybody testing positive for the coronavirus. Second baseman Robinson Cano finally reported Tuesday, but Cy Young pitcher Jacob deGrom has back tightness he is being tested for.
The team has depth at every position. This includes the starting pitching, the bullpen, the infield and outfield, and behind the plate. The expected starting lineup is expected to be Pete Alonso at first, Cano at second, Amed Rosario at short, Jeff McNeil at third, J.D. Davis in left, Brandon Nimmo in center, Michael Conforto in right, Wilson Ramos at catcher, and depending on his back tightness, deGrom on the mound.
Good pickups have been left-handed slugging first baseman-corner outfielder Matt Adams, who hit 20 home runs last year for the World Series champion Washington Nationals in only 310 at-bats, and infielder Eduardo Nunez, who previously played for the Yankees and Boston Red Sox, as well as left-handed pitcher David Peterson, the 2017 first-round pick. Right-handed starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard had Tommy John surgery in March and will not play this season.
And SNY (Sports of New York TV) is not for sale to the disappointment of Steve Cohen.
