Now that, fellow fans, was some good baseball
Manhattan: Re “Saving the best for last!” (Oct. 1): For the first time in baseball history, fans witnessed the specter of two major league teams celebrating their elevation to the postseason on the same day and same field! The Mets’ extraordinary 8-7 comeback win over the Braves was the greatest regular season game in their history, which began in 1962. The Braves won the second half of the doubleheader and also made it into the postseason.
My loyalties were divided throughout this riveting exhibition of baseball talent and true grit! I am a New Yorker who roots for the Mets but was an infielder in the Braves organization in the early 1960s. The fundamentally sound baseball played by the Braves in this historic game should not be a surprise to knowledgeable fans. For many decades, the Braves organization has been noted for their emphasis on scouting and player development. These vitally important fundamentals allowed the Braves to reach the postseason despite numerous injuries to their key players throughout the season. Such fundamentals were embedded in my memory bank in the three spring camps I participated in in Waycross, Ga., way back in 1961-1963.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza and Braves manager Brian Snitker were calling their own shots without interference from outside influences. They are throwback managers who know the game thoroughly and how to handle their players with great skill and respect on and off the field!
These last two games of the 2024 regular season showed the world how the game of baseball should be played. Good luck to both clubs! Gerard Rosenthal
Better method
Lackawaxen, Pa.: The Braves’ early Monday evening celebration of qualifying as a National League wild card team was appropriately subdued. They got in because the Mets, having clinched their spot, rolled over in the second game of the doubleheader. Atlanta, New York and Arizona finished with identical records for the year, but were competing for two wild card slots. Baseball requires a long season to sort out the relative abilities of its participants. Even then, injuries — in this instance, weather — may affect the outcome. Head-to-head record is a ridiculous method of differentiation. Money rules, and scheduling changes are discouraged. So, if MLB feels it can’t do the right thing, it could at least employ a statistic like run differential, which gives equal weight to offense and defense over the entire season, as the distinguishing factor. John A. MacKinnon
Other sports
Bronx: Why are the Daily News editorial people concerned with the Mets’ and White Sox’s losing records (“Never easy for the Mets,” editorial, Sept. 30) when there is a lack of reporting on hockey, horse racing, high school sports etc. in the paper? Denis Buckley
Cut off
Stratford, Conn.: Does anyone listen over there? Does anyone even care? I have sent multiple emails. For whatever reason, my copy of The News deletes the last one to two lines of all its columns/articles. Mike Lupica had a great Sunday column recently, and I noticed that for five out of six columns in that article, the most important facts were in those last two lines — totally wiped out! How frustrating. And I pay $3 for this? Pete Sulzicki
Coming up short
Great Neck, L.I.: Even with the Federal Transit Administration issuing a positive finding in completion of the National Environmental Policy Act Environmental Impact Statement, the $10 billion package to pay for the new Port Authority Midtown Manhattan Bus Terminal is still short $6.5 billion. The approved Port Authority 2017-2026 10-year, $32 billion Capital Plan provided only $3.5 billion toward construction. The project has yet to obtain permission for admission into the FTA Capital Investment Grant (CIG) New Starts Core Capacity Full Funding Grant Agreement national competitive discretionary grant program. It was not included in the FTA March 2024 report to Congress for funding in 2025. It is wishful thinking that the Port Authority can count on future federal funding to make up most of the $6.5 billion shortfall. Ditto for Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTs) from developers for the proposed project’s high-rise office towers. Larry Penner
Worst responder
Woodland Park, N.J.: Donald Trump slammed the Biden-Harris response to Hurricane Helene and said that the Georgia governor could not get through to President Biden. Gov. Brian Kemp said that he did speak to Biden, and Biden responded to Trump’s comment by calling Trump a liar. Did Trump expect Biden to go to the disaster zone and throw paper towels at the victims of the hurricane? John Dent
Stay sober
Ridgewood: So, Trump never drank — never even had a beer in his life. Smart move. He’s whacked enough already. L. Tuthill
Unaffected?
Bronx: To Voicer Stephen De Falco: I am assuming you are one of the five having a better life now than you were four years ago. I am also assuming you don’t go to the supermarket. Maybe you should stop drinking the Kool-Aid. Mary Caggiano
Get serious
Bronx: The presidential candidates should stop with the name-calling and blah-blah-blah. There are important issues that need to be addressed. There are people living paycheck to paycheck. Even with Social Security, many seniors are struggling with their bills. We need a president who cares, but more importantly, who delivers. Marsha Kolin
Life preserver
Pelham, N.Y.: Democrats can continue to pick and pull apart Donald Trump for their various reasons, but one point remains: He is a better choice for president than Kamala Harris. That fact is that countless human lives will be saved by his more humane pro-life stance. With their radical pro-abortion agenda, including no time limits on taking pre-born babies’ lives, the Dems show that their humanity is equivalent to that far-right political party in Germany that led to World War II. Sadly, far more innocent human lives have been taken via abortion than were excised by the Nazis. Wendy Packus
Make babies
North Brunswick, N.J.: Hey, how about copulating for love’s purpose sans lust’s pleasure!? Just might mitigate Big Pharma’s bottom line, et. al, and assuage the political aftermath! Nothing is absolute, but just saying, ya dig? Ea A. Mingo
Judgmental advocate
Kew Gardens Hills: It would be a huge disaster for New York City if Mayor Adams steps down and cop-hating Public Advocate Jumaane Williams becomes acting mayor. Williams is a hypocrite with a capital “H.” Commenting about the mayor’s current legal troubles, Williams said, “Justice presumes innocence until proven guilty.” Oh really, Jumaane? Throughout your career, you have always presumed cops guilty until proven innocent. Barry Koppel
Dealing with it
Whitestone: So very sorry, there must have been a death in the “Pearls Before Swine” family, because Pig has been asking for some loving explanations and Wise Ass is doing the best he can. We too, Pig, are asking the same questions, and no, nothing we can add except, yes, they are in your heart always! Love you, Pig! Marlene Torino
Picks me up
Bronx: Re “Red and Rover”: Dear sir, so glad you are back. I loved the one you came back with! I didn’t like other ones you published. When Red and Rover hug, you make my day. Red and Rover make people happy, like me! I’m 82! Thank you. Maryanne Schulhoff
Worth 1,000 words
Forked River, N.J.: The “Photos From Around the World” in every Sunday’s Daily News always evoke a spectrum of emotions for many of us. Some photos bring a feeling of wonderment while others can be inspiring, happy or very sad. The photo of the caged songbirds in Thailand this past Sunday was heartbreaking. It showed more than 2,500 songbirds in cages suspended on very tall poles for as far as the eye can see. A colorful creature that was meant to fly, find a mate and raise the next generation instead finds itself a prisoner behind bars; thousands of them feeling the wind on their feathers and the warmth of a sunny blue sky from their prisons in the sky. All of this for the amusement of humans, many of whom kill thousands of these birds by smuggling them into other countries. Jim Hughes