The quiz’s 25 questions have a total of 32 answers. Give yourself one point for each correct answer. When this quiz was conducted live at Two Boots on July 21st, the high score was 24.
So:
1) In 1997, the Mets made a very small change to their standard blue cap. What was it?
Answer: They changed the little button on top of the cap from blue to orange.
2) In 1999, the Mets made a very small change to their skyline logo. What was it?
Answer: They removed the interlocking “NY” from the logo.
3) In January of 1962, Casey Stengel posed with a drawing of what the Mets’ uniform would look like for their inaugural season. But when they arrived at spring training a month later, two design elements shown in the drawing did not appear in the uniform that they actually wore. Which one of the following details was NOT in the drawing and was NOT part of the team’s original uniform concept:
- a) Striped stirrups
b) An underlined chest logo
c) White cleats
Answer: c. And you can look it up.
4) Who is the only player ever to hit a game-winning home run in the All-Star Game while wearing a Mets batting helmet?
Answer: Johnny Callison of the Phillies, who won the 1964 ASG (which was played at Shea) by hitting a walk-off homer while wearing a Mets helmet.
5) Juan Pierre is the only current big leaguer to wear his cap under his batting helmet. Who was the last Met to do so?
Answer: Kurt Abbott, in 2000.
6) Which current Met routinely wears his pants down to his shoetops for night games but hikes up his pant cuffs to his knees for day games?
Answer: David Wright.
7) I’m going to list four pairs of players. Which pair did NOT wear the same uniform number for the Mets?
- a) Jerry Grote and George Foster
b) Willie Mays and Kelvin Chapman
c) Gary Carter and Carlos Baerga
d) Carlos Delgado and Cleon Jones
Answer: b. Sort of trick answer, because Willie DID wear the same number as Kelvin Torve. But not Kelvin Chapman.
8) Ron Darling wore three different uniform numbers as a Met. Which one of the following numbers did he NOT wear: 10, 12, 15, 44
Answer: 10
9) Which one of the following stories is NOT true:
- a) When Joe Torre stopped being a player-manager and simply became a full-time manager in the middle of the 1977 season, he changed his uniform number from 9 to 10, to signify his change of status.
b) When pitcher Roger Craig was mired in a 13-game losing streak in 1962, he changed his uniform number from 38 to 13.
c) When the Mets acquired Mike Piazza in 1998, John Franco gave up uniform number 31 so Piazza could wear it and chose number 45 instead.
Answer: a
10) On Opening Day in 2001, the Mets wore a memorial sleeve patch for two players. They only wore it for that one day. Who were the two players being memorialized on that patch? (You’ll get credit for each correct answer.)
Answer: Tommie Agee and Brian Coles.
11) Who decides which jersey the Mets will wear each game? Is it:
- a) The starting pitcher
b) The manager
c) The equipment manager
d) Radio broadcaster Howie Rose
Answer: c
12) Two players in Mets history have worn a “C” indicating that they were serving as team captain. Who were those two players? (Separate credit for each right answer.)
Answer: Keith Hernandez and John Franco. (Gary Carter was co-captain as the same time as Hernandez, but Carter didn’t wear the “C.” Hernandez did.)
13 I’m going to read off a series of names. All of these people wore a Mets uniform in some capacity — player, coach, manager, spring training instructor — and all but two of them finished their playing careers with the Mets. Which TWO of the following players never wore a Mets uniform AS A PLAYER?: Warren Spahn, Yogi Berra, Ralph Kiner, Gil Hodges, Duke Snider, Bob Gibson
Answer: Kiner (who wore a Mets uniform as a spring training instructor but never as a player) and Gibson (pitching coach, not a player).
14) One of the following unusual uniform numbers has never been worn by a Met. Is it 0, 00, 73, 98, or 99?
Answer: 98
15) Uniform number 42 was retired throughout Major League Baseball in 1997, but the 13 players who were already wearing #42 at that time were grandfathered and allowed to continue wearing the number. Of those 13 players, one was already on the Mets and continued wearing 42; another later became a Met and wore 42; and two others later became Mets but did NOT wear 42 for the Mets. Name as many of these four players as possible.
Answer: Butch Huskey was already on the Mets and kept wearing 42; Mo Vaughn later joined the Mets and wore 42 for them. The other two grandfathered 42ers who later joined the Mets but did not wear 42 for them were Dennis Cook and Jose Lima.
16) During the 1992 season, the Mets won a game when one of their hitters was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th of a tie game. What made it even more unusual is that the ball that hit the batter actually went in between the buttons of his jersey and ended up stuck inside his jersey. Who was the hitter?
Answer: Daryl Boston
17) If you’ve ever seen an authentic Mets jersey, you know that the fabric for the logo and the lettering has a sort of zig-zag pattern to it. This fabric is called:
- a) Zig-zag twill
b) Herringbone twill
c) Diagonal twill
d) Glacier twill
Answer: d
18) Almost exactly 10 years ago — the exact anniversary is next Monday — the Mets took part in Century 21’s “futuristic uniform” promotion by dressing up as the Mercury Mets. But because of the unusual design and configuration of the futuristic jersey, one Mets player’s last name wouldn’t fit on the back of his jersey, so they had to put his nickname on the jersey instead. Which player was it, and what nickname did he have on the back of his jersey? You’ll get separate credit for each answer.
Answer: Jason Isringhausen, whose NOB was shortened to “Izzy”
19) Who was the last Mets position player to bat without batting gloves?
Answer: Moises Alou
20) A tilde is that little squiggle that goes above the N in names like Peña. Which one of the following Mets did NOT have a tilde on his name as it was spelled on the back of his uniform: Roger Cedeño, Rey Ordoñez, Alejandro Peña, Willie Montañez, Fernando Viña, or Alex Treviño
Answer: Montañez
21) Depending on which uniform combination they’re wearing, the Mets can wear either a blue cap or a black cap, blue undersleeves or black undersleeves, a blue belt or a black belt, and blue socks or black socks. True or false: They can also wear either blue shoes or black.
Answer: False
22) The lyrics to the seldom-heard second verse of “Meet the Mets” includes a reference to the Mets’ uniforms. Which one of the following is it:
- a) “All the fans are true to the orange and blue”
b) “When they suit up to play, the other teams run away”
c) “Getting their caps straight and their pants just right, because they have to look good for the fans tonight”
d) “Never saw a team that looked so good, in those colors from our old baseball neighborhoods”
Answer: a
23) During Pedro Martinez’s recent tenure with the Mets, which of the following uniform quirks did he NOT engage in:
- a) He wore blue undersleeves on the road, even though the team’s official road undersleeve color is black.
b) He had an extra panel of fabric sewn into his jersey sleeves to make them baggier.
c) He was fined $5000 by Major League Baseball for pulling his pant legs down under the heels of his spikes.
d) He repeatedly pitched with his top jersey button buttoned but his SECOND button unbuttoned.
Answer: a
24) Most of the numbers and letters for the Mets’ uniforms are sewn onto the jerseys at a small shop in Queens. The guy who runs the shop is named Russ Gompers. What is the name of his shop — is it:
- a) Russ’s Pro Shop
b) Stitches
c) Triboro Sports Outfitters
d) Diamond Tailors
Answer: b
25) When the Mets hosted the Yankees for three interleague games in 1998, the Mets made a change to their jerseys. It was only for those three games. What was that change?
Answer: They went NNOB, for an “old-school look” to match the Yankees. As an aside, the Wilpons liked this so much that they had the team go NNOB at home for the following season, 1999. But then they restored the NOBs in 2000.