
In 1962 the
New York Mets were born as a new National League
expansion franchise. The team was assembled from players other teams left
unprotected in the league’s expansion draft, so the first Mets were a
combination of no name rookies, washed up bums and broken down former New York stars
from the Yankees, Dodgers and Giants.
Casey Stengel was the team’s first manager. He was a
legendary character and baseball man who won 10 pennants in 12 years, including
five straight world championships as manager of the Yankees. Known as the Old
Perfessor for his comical, home spun humor, he famously asked after watching the
team stumble through their first spring training, “Can’t anybody here play this
game?”