Howie Karpin

Despite coming off a disastrous 1996 season where they finished 71-91 and were 25 games out of first place and 19 games out of a wild card spot, the Mets became one of the surprise teams and challenged for a playoff spot in 1997.

When you are lucky enough to be an accredited Major League Baseball Official Scorer, you get to know the people who are involved with the sport, and they get to know you. Whether it’s players, managers, coaches, PR people or even the broadcasters, the relationships can be special. Fortunately, I have had the honor and privilege of calling David Wright a friend. On Saturday, the Mets will retire my friend David’s #5 as he takes his rightful place among the franchise’s all-time greats.

Mets 7 Orioles 6 (10 innings) (Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD.) Mets record: 53-39 Mets streak: Won 1 Last 10: 5-5 WP -Edwin Diaz 4-0 LP -Yennier Cano 1-5 SV -Huascar Brazoban (2) Seat on the Korner: We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.