One of the aspects of 2009 that has made it so difficult on Mets fans has been fate’s inability to leave the theme of suffering merely on the field of play. So while the injuries have gotten so much attention, we’ve had the opportunity to see ownership lose hundreds of billions of dollars in the Madoff scheme.

And worse, perhaps, because it influences not the uncertain present or future but taints the cherished past, are the stories of Jerry Koosman and Lenny Dykstra, vital figures on the only two championship teams Mets fans have.

Koosman is bad enough. The Game 5 1969 World Series’ winning pitcher is going to prison for six months because he didn’t pay his taxes. Worse still was the embarrassment of his defense, which was that someone told him he didn’t have to pay, so he didn’t. It was hard to know which was worse- thinking of the crafty pitcher so gullible, or imagining that he really believed this defense would somehow spare him.

And then there is Lenny Dykstra. Often things are much more obvious after the fact, but I am happy to report that at the time Lenny Dykstra was being hailed as a financial genius, I knew there would be no circumstances under which he would ever handle my money.

To be clear, I am not defending Dykstra. Instead, I am simply upset over losing a piece of my childhood. Guess it could be worse- if I’d invested with him, for instance

Still, I am absolutely sad to see the circumstances that have befallen him. This week, it was announced that a number of his memorabilia items would go on auction. One of these is the home run ball that won Game 3 of the 1986 National League Championship Series.

Probably the earliest baseball memory I have is watching that game on a weekend afternoon with my father, seeing the ball go out, jumping up and down with him (he may have done an impromptu dance, which is incredible for any who knows him). Then we went to a library book sale, and I picked up a huge pile on my new love, baseball.

It’s probably the most untainted memory I have. Now, it is tainted.

It’s as if the 2009 season is payback to Mets fans in every conceivable way. You’d think with this amount of bad karma, we’d have won some championships first. My only conclusion is this is advanced payment for what is to come.

Howard Megdal is the Editor-in-Chief of The Perpetual Post. He covers baseball, basketball and soccer for Capital New York, MLBTradeRumors.com, New York Baseball Digest and has written for ESPN.com as well as numerous other publications. He is the Poet Laureate for SBNation New York. His book about Jewish baseball players, “The Baseball Talmud,” is available for purchase on Amazon.com and wherever books are sold. His next book, "Taking The Field", is available for pre-order on Amazon.com and will publish in May 2011.

Howard Megdal

View all posts by Howard Megdal
Howards website

Tags: Jerry Koosman, Lenny Dykstra, New York Mets