1. Wish someone who will immediately get it a happy new year today.

2. Wish someone who has no idea what you're talking about a happy new year today.

3. Develop amnesia — what 2007?

4. If you still remember 2007, take a shower. Or a pill. Or a good, long look at Johan Santana.

5. Expect No. 1 starter quality from Santana, but don't count on a win every time.

6. Don't ever use a 4-for-4 by Minnesota Twin Carlos Gomez as a reason to bash Omar Minaya.

7. Allow Willie Randolph April before attacking him for past sins and detecting troubling patterns of misjudgment; he may be right and you may be wrong.

8. Applaud Carlos Delgado without qualification for a month.

9. Give Scott Schoeneweis the benefit of the doubt until mid-May. He can't possibly be any worse this year than last.

10. Take a deep breath before reacting to the first big hit or walk allowed by any Met reliever.

11. Present Ryan Church with a clean slate.

12. Jose Reyes gets 10 stolen base attempts to refigure it all out before being subject to reminders that he ran from second and two out with David Wright up against the Phillies last September 15 (if you haven't developed amnesia about all that).

13. Resist the temptation to take cheap shots at perennially lousy N.L. opponents. One of them is your defending champion.

14. Respect the Phillies and Braves. Do not fear them, not even the Mets-killers among them.

15. Don't let the predictable journalistic abominations that will slobber over the demise of the current Yankee Stadium (opened 1976) while dismissing the end of the one and only Shea Stadium (opened 1964) get to you. Seek refuge in blogs like ours and Loge 13 which present a more appropriate worldview of the Metropolitan area's current ballpark transition period.

16. Keep reading Mets blogs.

17. Tell at least one Mets fan you know who doesn't read Mets blogs to read one — ours or any other you enjoy. That Mets fan doesn't know what he or she is missing.

18. Don't wait for a walkoff win to read Mets Walkoffs and Other Minutiae, up and running after a winter's hibernation.

19. If you like deep, deep Mets minutiae of the Mets Walkoff variety, check out the equally detail-oriented Metaforian.

20. If you don't mind being reminded of the most gaping hole in Mets history, go to NoNoHitters.com and revel in the fact that Mets fans come up with stuff like this.

21. If the mood strike you, do what CharlieH did and start your own Metsian blog. No gatekeepers here.

22. Be outraged — send them a pointed e-mail, even — that MLB shortsightedly short-circuited the legendary and beloved jphilips41's YouTube page, the one with otherwise unseen clips from the '73 World Series pregame shows and the '77 and '79 Mets Old Timers Day ceremonies. Neil Best in Newsday broke the bad news, and it's bad news not just for Metsopotamians and for John Philips but for baseball which is lucky it can crawl, so often does it shoot itself in the free-publicity foot.

23. Should you ever meet John Philips, his next beer is on you.

24. Seeking a substitute for the treasure trove that was jphilips 41's collection won't be wholly satisfying, but you could do worse than the warts & all Shea Stadium slide show presented by Ballparks, Arenas and Stadiums. Other great ballpark, arena and stadium slide shows included.

25. Ignore the Carvel lines at Shea and go for Dippin' Dots instead. That's the ice cream of the future anyway…literally.

26. Somebody go to one of those “watch parties” bars hold when a season starts and tell me what the appeal is. I don't want to watch the Mets with a bunch of drunken strangers, except at Shea.

27. Be amazed by the gall of the ESPN Zone to hold a “watch party” at its Times Square location this Tuesday night for the Mets and Braves when reliable sources inform me that the very same ESPN Zone initially refused to change one of their myriad televisions on a recent Sunday to a Mets exhibition game even though a table full of Mets fans made the request, even though just about everything else being shown on every screen was spectacularly irrelevant to a New York audience.

28. If a nosy child asks you, as one did me last week, if you like the Mets because you're wearing a Mets sweatshirt and then volunteers, “I like the Yankees,” don't be shy about responding, “Good for you,” loudly in a room full of bored adults, such as a doctor's waiting room. It will make you and everyone in the room feel better.

29. If you are fortunate enough to find a good, old-fashioned stationery store that actually sells baseball cards by the pack and the store owner, moving and talking slowly after decades in the same location, asks you to confirm that “kids still like these, right?” be quick to reassure him that kids definitely still like these.

30. Don't feel compelled to tell him the kid in your focus group is 45.

31. If you turn on your car radio and hear David Coverdale crow, “Here I go again” moments after fulfilling your annual obligation to buy several packs of baseball cards before a new season starts, read into it anything you like.

32. If the first 2008 baseball card you find upon opening that first pack is an American Leaguer with whose work you are only vaguely familiar, it is appropriate to channel Whitesnake once more and think, “Here I go again,” because the first baseball card of any year is almost never a Met.

33. Should you gaze upon the midtown sky on the evening of April 8, pay attention to the colors of the tallest building in the vicinity. You will be pleasantly surprised (if you don't click here and ruin the surprise).

34. After Keith Hernandez revealed during a Spring Training game that one of his minor league roommates was Mike Vail and that Neil Allen, for whom he was traded, had the best curveball he ever faced, wonder who or what he doesn't know.

35. Give Wayne Hagin a chance. I cringed during his first Metscast when he said 1986 is a year that will “live in infamy” for Mets fans, but he's got pipes to die for and he's not Tom McCarthy.

36. Stop campaigning for the demotion of whoever's batting .182 after three weeks and insisting Fernando Martinez be promoted at once. Same applies in pitching terms to Jonathon Niese, even if he was born on October 27, 1986, a date that will live in non-infamy for Mets fans.

37. Cheer like hell for Carlos Beltran. Cheer him like he's David Wright.

38. Continue to cheer David Wright as previously cheered.

39. Continue to melt like Dippin' Dots on a hot day at the sight of Pedro Martinez.

40. React to all politicians invading a ballpark with absolute silence. Don't cheer. Don't boo. By your silence, maybe someone will get a clue that we want them concentrating on their government jobs.

41. Line every pocket with pocket schedules. What's the point of pockets otherwise?

42. Make an exception to your “watch party” skepticism when Jon Springer and Matt Silverman host one of their own on Sunday April 6 at Stout NYC, 33rd between Sixth and Seventh. It's to promote the brilliant Mets By The Numbers book that we've mentioned a few times already…and to watch the Mets beat the Braves, if possible.

43. If you haven't bought Mets By The Numbers, you can buy it at Stout.

44. Or buy it sooner. We really like this book around here.

45. We also recommend another selection in the bulging Matt Silverman oeuvre, 100 Things Mets Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.

46. We recommend it so heartily that we're borrowing generously the book's premise for this post.

47. As we can barely come up with half as many Knows & Dos as Matt did, we truly admire the way he covers his Mets bases.

48. So secure yourself a copy…

49. And enjoy Opening Day…

50. And happy new year!

Just over a month ago I speculated on composition of the Opening Day roster of the New York Mets. I was 80% right.

Do I know my team or what?

Apparently not so much. Even allowing in advance for the possibility of injury, I actually penciled in for March 31 the names Moises Alou, Ramon Castro and Orlando Hernandez, a trio that has spent a combined 472 years, give or take, on the Disabled List since 2007, including right now. They are replaced, respectively, by youthful Angel Pagan, ancient Raul Casanova and possumy Mike Pelfrey.

Matt Wise made the team after all, but Duaner Sanchez did not. He is another ultimately unsurprising disablee, replaced at least for now by Joe Smith, who has shown a penchant for confusing batters in springtime. May it be a long spring for Joe Smith.

And the kid from 2007, Ruben Gotay, is unfortunately Atlanta-bound, replaced by THB Class of 2002 member Brady Clark. Clark's presence among us is a moderate upset given the reported surge in support for Fernando Tatis in the past week. Gotay's loss is a little distressing, especially since he wound up claimed by the Braves (the only thing we'd like them to claim is last place), but I won't pretend I was his biggest supporter. I liked half his bat — the right half — if little of his glove. But the kid was fast and had moxie, as evidenced by his contribution to the memorable five-run ninth the Mets pinned on the Cubs last May 17, and this team could always use more moxie, to say nothing of speed. Then again, Brady Clark wore 93 in St. Lucie (since reduced to 44) and made the team, so that's pretty moxieish if you're scoring at home.

We've been down Pagan's path a bit and it's thrilling to watch an original Cyclone swirl into Opening Day as the Mets' starting left fielder, though a healthy Alou, if such a commodity exists, would be preferable in that role. Whatever Wise chips in will be a welcome upgrade from the way Guillermo Mota crumbled under the pressure of serving up snacks to opposing hitters (without a side of HGH). Pelfrey feels like he's been trying to live up to his prospects since the days of Hank Webb (who played with Tug McGraw, who played with Julio Franco, who played with Mike Pelfrey), but maybe there's some baseball version of lousy dress, great performance at work with him and his tantalizing right arm. The most intriguing thing to me about Raul Casanova is that he was actually the player to be named later in the deal that sent Wally Whitehurst to the Padres.

Yeah, a lot later.

Your crew of 2008 Mets is set for now, and I do mean now. It changes and changes and changes again in the course of a season, so unless you're one of those people who must absolutely have a baseball card for every Met who's ever played, don't get too hung up on who's not here and too attached to who clings to the fringes…unless you are so inclined. It's baseball season almost. It's as good a time as any to develop irrational attachments. Even rational ones.

We are only 24 hours from Johan. I can't wait.

52: Tuesday, June 10 vs Diamondbacks

It is the dream, ladies and gentlemen, of every kid who has ever tossed a ball or swung a bat to put on a big-league uniform. Tonight we honor two boys who grew up to do just that…even if they never got to toss a ball or swing a bat in a big-league game.

They were Mets, in a sense. They were called up to the club, put on the roster and issued a number. They indeed, as the saying goes, came to play. But for whatever reason they made it into a game, either as a Met or for any other Major League team. As a result, their record in the bigs is nonexistent.

It's too late to do anything about that circumstance, but we can, at the very least, announce them as they might have been announced at Shea Stadium had they been penciled into a lineup or at least sent in to pinch-hit.

Your attention please, catcher for the New York Mets, number 22, called up in 1972 from Tidewater, Billy Cotton.

Your attention please, first baseman for the New York Mets, number 21, called up in 1992 from Tidewater, Terrel Hansen.

Billy and Terrel were here for such a brief time, they probably carried away nothing but a scant memory of Shea Stadium. Tonight, we want them to have more than that. Longtime equipment manager Charlie Samuels, who will be escorting our pair of almost-Mets down the right field line to remove number 52 from the wall, will first present each man with a uniform with his own originally issued number to commemorate the dreams of every kid who ever wanted to grow up to wear a Mets uniform.

51: Wednesday, June 11 vs Diamondbacks

Ladies and gentlemen, you have likely heard Shea Stadium referred to as a multipurpose facility. For the most part, that has meant the ability to host the Mets, the Jets and a few other high-profile get-togethers. While those are the calling cards of Shea, there have been a lot of sports played here. Tonight, we pay homage to a few events that deserve to be remembered as well.

The squared circle had its moment in the Shea lights in 1967 when the middleweight championship of the world was settled here. The last man to earn a boxing title at Shea was Emile Griffith, who won his belt by virtue of a 15-round decision over Nino Benvenuti. Please welcome back the champ, Emile Griffith.

From time to time, soccer has been just as prevalent at Shea as it is in the neighborhoods of Queens, as the ballpark has hosted several international matches and a few in the professional ranks of the North American Soccer League and the American Soccer League. New York's most famous soccer team played and won a big NASL playoff match of its own here 32 summers ago. From those 1976 New York Cosmos, the winning goalkeeper from that night, one of the great goalies in United States soccer history, say hello to Shep Messing.

And though it's been a long time since anybody's kicked an American football off at Shea, this used to be an occasional stopping-off point for college teams, particularly the legendary program run by Eddie Robinson. We speak of Grambling University, which prevailed over Norfolk State here in 1975. The Tiger quarterback that Saturday would go on to become the first African-American quarterback to lead his team to a Super Bowl victory. He said “it was honor to play at Shea” because his idol growing up was another Grambling alum, Tommie Agee. That's as good a reason as any for us to give a warm greeting to Doug Williams and ask him to lead our multipurpose all-stars up the right field line to remove number 51.

50: Thursday, June 12 vs Diamondbacks

To Mets management, ladies and gentlemen, every fan who passes through the Shea Stadium turnstiles is entitled to star treatment. One star who is a regular at Shea, however, has been content to be known simply as a rabid fan of the team he loves.

In the pilot to what would become his groundbreaking sitcom, the very special fan we recognize today picked up a ringing telephone and told whomever was on the other end of the line not to tell him the score of that night's Mets game because he taped it and hadn't yet watched it. That's what he said instead of “hello,” and we guess you could say he had us at hello. His series would be a showcase for references to Mets past and present and would include, hands down, the most memorable appearance by any Met on any television show this side of Kiner's Korner.

Ladies and gentlemen, to remove number 50 from the right field wall, please welcome a close, personal friend of SNY broadcaster Keith Hernandez — and the most famous Mets fan in the world — Massapequa's favorite son, Jerry Seinfeld.

49: Friday, June 13 vs Rangers

Ladies and gentlemen, congratulations on having endured as long as you have on this date, which happens to be Friday the 13th. Since baseball is filled with nonsensical rituals and superstitions, this seems a good night to carefully pay tribute to the occasional bit of bad luck that has haunted the New York Mets over the years. Quite simply, we think it's a matter of good karma.

We have two guests who are great sports. The first of them has to know his name has been invoked repeatedly at Shea Stadium every time Mets fans have gnashed their teeth at the latest one to get away. We refer, sadly, to the elusive Mets no-hitter. Our first guest also has to know his name isn't brought up with fondness. Nonetheless, it is impossible to watch great, almost perfect pitching at Shea and not, at some point in the course of a nearly spotless performance, think of the ninth-inning single that derailed what would have been the first perfect game in Mets history on July 9, 1969. Since the Mets won that night and that year, we feel we are safe from any black magic he brings us. Please give a warm welcome to the former Cub whose lifetime average at Shea was .429, Jimmy Qualls.

Our second guest, who will join Jimmy in taking down number 49, is known for a streak, but not for one he wanted any part of. Yet the streak happened and he handled all 27 consecutive losses, a Major League record, with grace and good humor. The thing is he didn't pitch too badly during that stretch of 1992 and 1993 when he was saddled with one L after another and the Shea crowd always offered him its heartfelt support. When he finally earned a win in relief on July 28, 1993, you would have thought he himself had pitched a perfect game. Please welcome back home to Shea the man they call AY, Anthony Young.

48: Saturday, June 14 vs Rangers

Ladies and gentlemen, night games in June usually mean daylight extends for several innings. But soon moonlight should be in evidence over Shea Stadium and that's perfect for our theme as we remove number 48 from the right field wall.

You are probably familiar with the classic film Field of Dreams and the mystic chords it strikes where baseball and life are concerned. If you are, you'll recognize the name Moonlight Graham, a young player — a real one — who shows up in the movie just long enough to appear in a single Major League game as a defensive replacement…not even an at-bat.

In the spirit of Moonlight Graham, we have assembled our own corps of Moonmen, if you will. They are Mets with admittedly limited Shea Stadium résumés but surely they are Mets in full. No serious aficionado of the team's history could overlook their presence on the all-time roster

Please greet for one more cup of coffee these Moonlight Mets:

• His Shea, Met and big-league debut consisted of catching the final half-inning of the final game of the 2004 season, the final game, as it happened, in the history of the Montreal Expos and, to date, the final game of his big-league career. Deciding he wasn't going to make it back to the Majors as a catcher, he has remained in the Mets farm system, working hard to convert himself to pitching. You may have seen him this past spring working in exhibition games as a reliever. Say hello again to Joe Hietpas.

• The Miracle Mets were on the verge of certifying themselves division champs when this lefty reliever made his only appearance of 1969 and, eventually, his big-league career, throwing two innings against the Pirates in a doubleheader at Shea on September 19. Give a nice hand to Jessie Hudson.

• His single game in the Majors consisted of the sixth through ninth innings of the first game of a doubleheader versus the Expos right here on September 14, 1971. Within three months, this catching prospect would be sent to the Angels in a trade that involved five players. He wouldn't make it back to the bigs with California but would go onto a lengthy career in the Mexican League and managed Mexico in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. Welcome back to Shea Francisco Estrada.

• The Mets, as they were prone to be for the first four decades of their existence, found themselves short of third basemen on June 15, 1997 when, in the bottom of the seventh, they inserted into their home Interleague game with the Boston Red Sox a pinch-hitter who stayed in to play third through the ninth. He never played at Shea or anywhere else in the big leagues again, but he did stick around, in a manner of speaking, helping coordinate minor league operations for the Mets since his retirement. Say hi to the 106th third basemen in New York Mets history, Kevin Morgan.

• In the last week of the 1993 season, this pitcher tossed a scoreless inning against the Cardinals to mark his Shea, Met and Major League debut. That inning was the 17th. The Mets broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the frame, making this rookie a perfect 1-0 as a Met. Injuries would prevent his return in '94. and though he'd pitch in a few more games as a San Francisco Giant, he'd never earn another win, so it is that 17th inning at Shea that stands as the signature moment in the career of Kenny Greer, someone who did nothing wrong, only everything right in a Mets uniform. Give Kenny and all our Moonlighters a big round of applause.

47: Sunday, June 15 vs Rangers

Ladies and gentlemen, we want to wish all the dads joining us today a Happy Father's Day and even a happy birthday to all the fathers out there. It's impossible to think of Shea Stadium on Father's Day without thinking of the very first one in Shea's history, June 21, 1964. For one pitcher, it was a perfect day.

Twenty-seven Mets came to bat and twenty-seven Mets went back to the bench. The end result was the first perfect game in the National League in the 20th century. It is a feat that boggles the mind.

To remember that sun-splashed doubleheader opener, we have invited back the three principals from that game's final moment.

• The catcher from the Philadelphia Phillies, Gus Triandos.

• The batter, pinch-hitting for the New York Mets, Johnny Stephenson.

• And of course, the pitcher, who struck out John and nine other Mets that Sunday in 1964. He would eventually be elected to both the Baseball Hall of Fame and the United States Senate where he serves still. Please give a big Shea Stadium welcome to Jim Bunning.

Since the topic is hitless games and since the Mets have welcomed in the Texas Rangers for the first time in Interleague play, we thought it would be nice if Gus, Johnny and the senator had some company en route to removing number 47 from the right field wall. Thus, we asked the president of the Rangers, the author of seven no-hitters of his own and a valuable member of the 1969 world champion New York Mets to join them. Please welcome back to Shea Stadium, the hardest thrower this ballpark has ever known as its own, Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan.

Numbers 59-53 were revealed here.

59: Monday, May 26 vs Marlins

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to our Shea Stadium Final Season countdown. If, by chance, this is your first game at Shea this season, a quick reminder: At every home game this year, we are pausing in the fifth inning for a brief ceremony in which we introduce one or more individuals with a deep and abiding connection to Shea, tell you a bit about that person or those persons and have him, her or they take a number down from the right field wall to signify how many games remain in the life of this wonderful ballpark.

To continue the countdown tonight, we have someone who spent a great deal of time on Shea Stadium's pitcher's mound during a single game. It was October 2, 1965. The season was about to end but it wouldn't end all that soon thanks to what you would have to call the yeoman efforts of Rob Gardner. Rob took to the hill that Saturday evening in the nightcap of a twinight doubleheader and pitched…and pitched…and pitched some more. By the time manager Wes Westrum took him out, Rob had pitched 15 scoreless innings. His opponent that night, the Phillies' starter, the late Chris Short, matched him frame for frame, zero for zero…and struck out 18 Mets while doing so.

It was a pitching performance for the ages even if eventually it was put in the books as a tie. The Mets and Phils played 18 innings that night, neither team scoring a run. They had to play a doubleheader the next day, the last day of the season.

Tonight, we want to give Rob the opportunity to get some kind of number next to his name for authoring perhaps the greatest forgotten Met pitching performance in the history of Shea Stadium. We can't give you any runs, Rob, but we can offer you the honor of peeling number 59. And to join you, we've asked the two relievers who backed you up to take the walk with you. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome home to Shea Stadium, from your 1965 New York Mets, Darrell Sutherland, Dennis Ribant and Rob Gardner.

58: Tuesday, May 27 vs Marlins

Ladies and gentlemen, throughout the years at Shea Stadium, management has strived to offer you, within reason, a fine selection of food and beverages to make your baseball-watching experience relatively pleasant. Rest assured, when Citi Field opens in 2009, the culinary effort will be kicked up a notch.

Until then, we ask you to remember as fondly as possibly some of what you've eaten and drunk here and if you do and if you are old enough, one particular Shea Stadium sponsor's product will stand out in memory above all others.

From the opening of Shea Stadium in 1964 through the thrilling pennant run of 1973, Rheingold was the beer of choice here in Flushing and a big part of New Yorkers' lives. Brewed in Brooklyn beginning in 1883, Rheingold gave us the Miss Rheingold contest, the Ten-Minute Head and of course a jingle that echoes down the corridors of time. It has been relaunched under different ownerships since and has even returned to Shea on occasion. True, other beers have taken its tap space, to say nothing of its spot on the scoreboard, but at heart, Shea Stadium will always belong on the Rheingold beat.

To commemorate Rheingold's place in Shea Stadium history, we have asked Terry Liebman, one of those who worked to bring Rheingold back to New York in the late 1990s and a member of Rheingold's founding Liebmann family to join us, take down number 58 and toast the memory of a great Mets sponsor. Feel free to join in with a chorus of “My beer is Rheingold the dry beer…”

57: Wednesday, May 28 vs Marlins

Have you ever wondered why, ladies and gentlemen, the Mets are here? That's not an existential question but rather a query pertaining to the Mets having set down their roots in Flushing Meadow. The answer can be traced back to one man.

For the balance of the 20th century, that individual held sway over New York City in ways that are unimaginable today. His name was Robert Moses. He held various job descriptions across more than four decades of government service, but he is probably best known by the title of the masterful biography that explained him to succeeding generations: The Power Broker.

Moses believed the future of the New York metropolitan area lay ever eastward. Demographic trends validated his vision as more people left the five boroughs and began to call Long Island, right next door to Queens, home. He saw a future driven by the automobile and set out to build a network of highways second to none to accommodate it. And he recognized the potential of parkland in the geographic center of New York City, Flushing Meadow. He worked tirelessly to develop it and included within his blueprints for growth a modern baseball stadium the likes of which New Yorkers had never seen. The result was Shea Stadium, a structure Moses consciously modeled on the Roman Colosseum.

Robert Moses lived from 1888 to 1981, a time when the world changed and changed again. His legacy remains up for debate in matters large and small, but it is clear that he helped shaped New York as we know it, particularly Flushing Meadow. If you're wondering why the Mets are right here, you can be certain Mr. Moses had something to do with it.

To recall the impact of Robert Moses, we asked his Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, by no means an unalloyed admirer of the man, to join us and remove number 57 from the right field wall tonight. One of America's greatest writers and kind enough to take time out from his rigorous research on the life of Lyndon Johnson — president of the United States, incidentally, when Shea Stadium opened — please welcome the author of The Power Broker, native New Yorker Robert Caro.

56: Thursday, May 29 vs Dodgers

This evening, ladies and gentlemen, it gives the Mets great pleasure to welcome back an old friend to Shea Stadium. He played his first game here as a member of the Milwaukee Braves on May 12, 1964, catching a complete game shutout. He would visit often over the course of eleven seasons until 1975 when he became a Met. Midway through his third season as a player for the home team, he became the Mets' manager, a post he'd hold for five years.

We speak, of course, of Brooklyn's own Joe Torre. While Joe hasn't exactly been a stranger around these parts, we are happy to have him back as a National Leaguer again. Joe will be removing number 56 from the right field wall tonight and joining him are two of the most popular players from the Joe Torre era at Shea.

He was an All-Star four times, three under Joe's tutelage. He was also one of the hardest-charging Mets of any period in team history, someone who gave no ground on the basepaths, at the plate or anywhere the field of play extended. Please give a warm welcome to the Dude, John Stearns.

Another Brooklynite, he spent his rookie season at the elbow of manager Joe Torre, learning the game and mastering his trade. By 1979, he was a Mets All-Star and a stellar one at that, homering and later walking with the bases loaded to ensure a win for the National League. He enjoyed two tenures in New York, the second of them commencing just in time for the 1986 World Series when he played a key role in securing victories in Games Six and Seven. Ladies and gentlemen, Lee Mazzilli.

55: Friday, May 30 vs Dodgers

Ladies and gentlemen, the next time a Met homers — provided all functions as it should — an apple will rise from a top hat and all will be right with the world. As has been the case since 1981, the Home Run Apple remains Shea Stadium's most recognizable and beloved landmark.

How did this apple come to take rise at Shea? We can thank one of advertising's most legendary minds for the inspiration. In 1980, when the team's new ownership was looking to garner attention, it hired Jerry Della Femina to produce an ad campaign. He came up with one of the most memorable lines in baseball advertising history: The Magic Is Back. A year later, the hat you see today was installed, sporting the phrase Mets Magic. It would take a little while for the club itself to pull out of the proverbial hat enough wins to contend, but by 1986, a world championship was conjured right here in the Big Apple.

Jerry joins us tonight to remove number 55 from the right field wall and, accompanying him, are two of the original Magic Mets of 1980, a pair of players who stirred the sleeping giant that was the New York National League fan base and gave it reason to hope that lasting success would someday soon be more than an illusion.

Craig Swan pitched for the Mets for over a decade, earning the N.L. ERA title in 1978 and always throwing his heart out from the Shea Stadium mound. His right arm bridged the gap from Seaver to Gooden like the Triborough connects Queens to points north, including Swannie's home in Connecticut.

Doug Flynn joined the Mets in 1977 and manned second base as no other Met had previously. Little got past Doug and his defensive brilliance was recognized in 1980 with the Gold Glove award. Bob Murphy liked to say Doug would look ground balls into his glove and we're happy to get another look at Dougie tonight.

Please give a big hand to Jerry Della Femina, Craig Swan and Doug Flynn.

54: Saturday, May 31 vs Dodgers

Ladies and gentlemen, we hope you're enjoying your Saturday in the park. Saturday has been a great day for Mets baseball over the years, particularly when the sun starts going down. Though it will probably still be light out when we're done today, we wanted to pay homage this late afternoon to some of the most memorable Saturday night fireworks in Shea Stadium history.

Our first sparkplug joins us from the active roster of the New York Mets. On June 11, 2005, he did one of the most difficult things there is to do in baseball. He came off the bench as a pinch-hitter and delivered a big blow off an ace reliever. What made this feat all the more amazin' was that not only was it a game-tying blast in the ninth off the superb Francisco Rodriguez of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim but it was an inside-the-park job. He was already one of the best pinch-hitters the Mets had ever seen but this hit — and his mad dash around the bases while blowing his bubble gum — made him an instant legend with the Shea fans. We're thrilled he's a Met again, please greet Marlon Anderson.

As evening began to fall over Flushing on September 13, 1997, it appeared the Mets were going down to a rather dreary defeat at the hands of the Montreal Expos. The score was 6-0 for the visitors and the end was at hand…until an unbelievable rally unfolded that scored two runs, loaded the bases and brought up this man to face Ugueth Urbina. There were two outs and two strikes, but this valuable fourth outfielder had a game-tying, grand slam home run left in his bat. He sent the Shea crowd into ninth-inning euphoria and, as would be the case in the Marlon Anderson game, the Mets would go on to win in extra innings. Please welcome back the slugger Carl Everett.

What Marlon did and what Carl did no doubt spurred memories all over Shea Stadium of what one more Met did on a Saturday night when things looked desperate. On June 14, 1980, Joe Torre's Mets fell behind the San Francisco Giants 6-0. But typical of how they operated that spring and summer, the Mets battled back and closed the gap on the Giants to 6-4 in the ninth. Then, with two on and two out, our next guest, who will peel off number 54, swung and belted an Allen Ripley pitch into the Mets' bullpen. Just like that, the Mets had won, 7-6. So thrilled was the Shea crowd that it demanded a curtain call — a response almost unheard of here or anywhere in those days. Those who saw it will never forget it nor the man who came back on the field to wave to the fans. Ladies and gentlemen, Steve Henderson.

53: Sunday, June 1 vs Dodgers

As you know, ladies and gentlemen, Shea Stadium has been the home of the Mets since 1964. Sometimes, however, the Mets share their digs with others. Never were they as generous with their real estate as they were in 1975. During that calendar year, thanks to various construction and renovation products taking place around the metropolitan area, Shea Stadium played host to not one, not two, but four big league professional teams. In 1975, if you were at Shea Stadium, you were at the home of the Mets…and the Jets…and the Yankees…and the football Giants. Together, they kept the ushers and the grounds crew very busy.

To remember that unusual year, we have invited back a representative of each of those teams, starting with one of the best punters in NFL history. Dave Jennings gave the Giants great field position for 11 autumns, one of them right here in Queens. He finished his career kicking for the Jets and has been an excellent broadcaster of New York football ever since. Please welcome Dave to Shea again.

On Sundays when the Giants weren't playing at Shea, a more familiar football team set up shop. In 1975, the Jets depended on a talented Kansan to rush the ball for them and did he ever. He racked up 1,005 yards, the first Jet to run for four figures in one season. He would later rush to even greater glory in Washington but it was at Shea where he established himself as one of the great ground game threats in the NFL. Loosen up and say hi to John Riggins.

During the 1975 baseball season, for the second year in a row, when the Mets were on the road, they laid out the welcome mat for the New York Yankees. Someone already at home here after a stint with the Mets in 1967 was a stalwart for the temporarily Flushing Flashers at second base. He played 151 games for the '75 Yankees and the next year would take under his wing an up & comer named Willie Randolph. From the third base coaching box right here at Shea, give a warm hand to Sandy Alomar, Sr..

And leading our troop of 1975 Sheamen down the right field line to remove number 53 is someone who was most familiar with the terrain here. He came up in 1972 and earned Rookie of the Year honors for the Mets and would go on to contribute mightily to the National League championship run of a year later. In 1975, he pitched well enough for a second trip to the All-Star Game, emerging as its winning pitcher and co-MVP. One of the best southpaws to ever pitch in a Mets uniform, give a great big hand to Jon Matlack.

Numbers 66-60 were revealed here.

66: Friday, May 9 vs Reds

Ladies and gentlemen, to remove number 66 from the right field wall, we call on a player intimately associated with tonight's opponent, someone who ordinarily would not be setting foot inside Shea Stadium without buying a ticket, but someone so intertwined with the history of this ballpark that it would be impossible to say goodbye to Shea without saying hello to him one more time.

For a quarter-century, as a player, a player-manager and a manager, he was a regular visitor to Queens. Nobody in baseball was more recognizable, more controversial and, as it pertained to the Mets, more notorious than our special guest tonight.

He played his first game here on May 6, 1964 and in his second Shea Stadium at-bat doubled. Fourteen years and many individual and team accomplishments later, he tied and broke the modern National League hitting streak record right here to the cheers of the home crowd. As a Philadelphia Phillie, he would be the first batter Tom Seaver would face in his Flushing homecoming in 1983 and back with the Reds in 1986, he'd collect the last of his 189 regular-season Shea Stadium base hits off Dwight Gooden.

But it would be a postseason appearance that would inextricably tie Pete Rose to Shea Stadium, specifically a hard — some would say too hard — slide into Buddy Harrelson at shortstop in the third game of the 1973 National League Championship Series that brought Pete the kind of lasting infamy only true passion and a level of regard elicits.

Tonight, however, with only 66 games left in the life of this stadium, we believe it is time to greet Pete Rose if not forgive him or forget his role in the most memorable brawl Shea Stadium ever saw. That is why we secured permission from Commissioner Bud Selig for Pete's return to Shea, his first time in a New York ballpark since being banned from baseball for gambling in 1989. That is also why we asked the Glass Distillery Packaging Association to sponsor Salute to Pete Rose Night.

GDPA was gracious enough to provide the commemorative Pete Rose bottles of whiskey from which every fan has been enjoying since entering the park and the Mets remind you that when you're finished with your liquor, there are better ways than recycling to make use of your empty bottles.

65: Saturday, May 10 vs Reds

That sound, ladies and gentlemen, can mean only one thing. The sound is that of a cow bell and it belongs to a Mets fan everybody will recognize instantly, Eddie Boison. You might know him better by the name on the back of his jersey, Cow-Bell Man.

Eddie has been coming to Shea since it opened in 1964 but has truly become a fixture in the 21st century, strolling every section, making a joyful noise and stirring up his fellow fans from the field level to the upper deck.

We had planned to ask Eddie to reveal number 65 in partnership with another true Shea Stadium original, a fan who, like Eddie, became synonymous with enthusiastic and unique support of the Mets. Alas, Karl Ehrhardt left us this past winter, but in light of the tributes he received upon his passing, we are confident the placards held aloft by Shea Stadium's own Sign Man will live in the mind's eye as long as there are Mets fans. To represent Karl, we have asked his children, Richard Ehrhardt and Bonnie Troester, to join Eddie in making the walk to right field. Please give them a warm welcome.

64: Sunday, May 11 vs Reds

As you know, ladies and gentlemen, at every game throughout the 2008 season, we are taking a moment and pausing our game long enough so that individuals connected to the long and rich history of Shea Stadium can enjoy a moment in the sun. On this Sunday, however, we turn our attention to the Mets' only other home to date, the Polo Grounds.

It is true that the modern and attractive ballpark under construction right before our very eyes pays homage primarily to Brooklyn's Ebbets Field, but it is just as true that the Mets never played in Ebbets Field — it was gone two years before the Mets were born. It was left to the Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan to serve as launching pad for this franchise we all hold so dear. When Citi Field opens in 2009, no matter what the exterior would indicate, proper tribute will be paid to the Polo Grounds' role in the development of the New York Mets and New York baseball.

Until then, there is today, which Mayor Michael Bloomberg has officially proclaimed Polo Grounds Appreciation Day in the city of New York. In Manhattan, the portion of the Harlem River Drive that runs past the site of the Polo Grounds has been renamed the Ottway in recognition of legendary New York Giants slugger and all-time New York City home run king Mel Ott. And here at Shea, to commemorate this admittedly overdue occasion, in addition to presenting every fan who entered Shea this afternoon with a handsome, glossy 96-page program filled with pictures and essays devoted to the Polo Grounds, we have invited a quartet of Mets whose presence speaks to roots of the club.

• Frank Thomas hit 34 home runs in 1962, 18 of them at the Polo Grounds, establishing a team record that would stand another thirteen seasons. He was the Opening Day leftfielder the day Shea Stadium opened and would remain a Met into the 1964 season.

• Roger Craig was the ace of the Mets in 1962 and 1963, pitching in hard luck but always giving it his best. His appearances at Shea would come in other uniforms, yet he would always be remembered warmly here for his work at the Polo Grounds.

• Choo Choo Coleman gained a measure of immortality as a catcher on the 1962 and 1963 Mets. He may have been quiet, but the stories shared by those who played with him and interviewed him spoke volumes. Choo Choo returned to the Mets in 1966 for a brief stint before retiring as an active player.

• And leading these three original Mets out to right field to remove number 64 is a teammate of theirs whose story becomes complete today. Ted Schreiber played one season in the big leagues, 1963, when the Mets still called the Polo Grounds home. In fact, Ted turned out the lights, in a manner of speaking, on the historic bathtub-shaped ballpark at Eighth Avenue and 155th Street. He came to bat as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the ninth on September 18, 1963 and grounded into a double play, one involving two future Met coaches, Cookie Rojas and Bobby Wine, as the Mets lost to the Phillies, 5-1.

It was the last play in the baseball history of the Polo Grounds. Ted left the Mets after 1963 and never made it to Shea. It only seems right to invite him here now and give him the honor of taking down the next number in the park that he just missed playing in. Ted's presence also reminds us that no matter where we are at a given moment, whether it's this year or next, there is usually something that came before that deserves to be remembered.

63: Monday, May 12 vs Nationals

Ladies and gentlemen, if you can't hear me or I have to stop speaking for a moment so you can hear me, it is not a technical difficulty on the part of Shea Stadium's often erratic public address system. It is almost certainly for the same reason conversations have been interrupted, batters have been stepping out of the box and pitchers have been leaving the rubber for 45 seasons.

It is the airplanes.

We have a very famous neighbor just slightly to our north, LaGuardia Airport. While it is in many respects a fine airport, one once voted the greatest in the world by those who made their living in aviation, its presence may not make for ideal company during a ballgame. While passengers on the planes overhead no doubt thrill to a glimpse of Shea Stadium, the players on the field and the fans in the stands have mostly tolerated and learned to live with some pretty powerful jet noise.

But the airplanes are a part of the Shea Stadium scene, just as we sense they will be around when Citi Field opens, so we may as well acknowledge the unusual role they have played at Shea. To do so, we have asked Anthony Coscia, chairman of the Port Authority, the government agency that runs LaGuardia, to remove number 63 from the right field wall. Anthony's being such a good sport about representing noise and distraction, we have asked to join him the one Met more likely than any other to disrupt air traffic from below.

He hit 73 Shea home runs in two tours as a New York Met, and seemingly each and every one of them was a cause for concern among pilots flying into and out of LaGuardia. It's no wonder that he once did television commercials for United, one of the airlines that flies regularly from the airport next door. Please welcome back to Shea the slugger more likely than any other on any given day to reach the clouds and part the jets, Dave Kingman.

62: Tuesday, May 13 vs Nationals

Ladies and gentlemen, there are many factors that have made Shea Stadium one of the most distinct ballparks in America, none of them as juicy and tasty, however, as what we can rightly call its native crop.

How many stadiums do you know where tomatoes were grown as a matter of course? We refer, naturally, to the agriculture in the home team bullpen, the tomato plants that for decades were an integral part of the Shea scene.

One man was more responsible for those tomatoes than any other. He was the planter, the farmer and the inspiration, to say nothing of a pretty fair tutor of relief pitchers across 14 seasons. Please give a warm hand to coach Joe Pignatano as he trots out to right field to remove number 62 and then, presumably, continues into the Mets bullpen to check on the soil.

61: Wednesday, May 14 vs Nationals

As Mets fans, ladies and gentlemen, it is your inclination to root, root, root for the home team. It has never been common to cheer an opponent at Shea Stadium. It is almost unheard of today unless it is for a certifiable superstar.

The man whom we have asked to take down number 61 would be the first to tell you he was no superstar, just a guy doing his best. Sometimes, because he is human, his best wasn't good enough. Unfortunately for our special guest, the fates were not with him on the biggest stage baseball has to offer, the World Series. In one game, Game Two, he made three errors and his team lost in extra innings. The club owner for whom he worked was not pleased and attempted to circumvent the rules regarding postseason rosters and attempted to have him replaced by another player. A firestorm of protest erupted and this player's place was preserved.

The World Series in question was 1973, which means the action began in Oakland and shifted to Shea Stadium, which is why we honor A's infielder Mike Andrews here tonight. Mets fans recognized the raw deal Mike was receiving from Charlie Finley, so when he came to bat as a pinch-hitter in the fourth game of that Fall Classic, Mets fans rose as one and supported him with a long and loud ovation. They gave him a second round of applause as he made his way back to the Oakland dugout after he grounded out.

Mike never forgot the reception he got at Shea, normally a tough place for visitors to play, that much more intense with a world championship on the line. Mike would say of Mets fans, “The ovations gave me chills, it surprised me. I don't think I've ever had a standing ovation in my life. To me that meant everything.”

Mike retired after that World Series, the only career appearance at Shea Stadium for this lifelong American Leaguer. We thought it would be appropriate to have him back here once more. Ladies and gentlemen, please remind Mike Andrews what good fans Mets fans are.

60: Thursday, May 15 vs Nationals

Ladies and gentlemen, if you own a 2008 media guide, available at Shea concessions, or have visited rich and informative Web sites like Ultimate Mets Database or Mets By The Numbers — now available in book form — you know where to find a list of every player who has ever played as a Met. Yet one of the most lovable Mets of his era won't show up in any of these reputable reference sources.

Nevertheless, Mets fans will always remember the contributions infielder Chico Escuela stitched into the fabric of the 1969 and 1973 Mets even if the boxscores from those seasons don't reflect his presence. He is probably better recalled for his comeback attempt, tracked ably by Weekend Update anchor Bill Murray, during the spring of 1979 when he had to overcome the doubts and grudges that arose from his classic tell-all volume, Bad Stuff 'Bout The Mets. Anyone who remembers 1979 would have to admit there was plenty of Bad Stuff to write 'Bout The Mets in those days, but Chico's presence in blue and orange surely was one of the better things the franchise had going then. You might even say he was “berry, berry good” for the Mets. He certainly brought laughter to a fan base mired in an understandably dark mood.

Chico Escuela lit up Shea on Old Timers Day in '79, appearing alongside “other” members of the '69 Mets at their first on-field reunion, and baseball was better off for it. Unfortunately, Chico had a speaking engagement this afternoon and couldn't make it when we called and asked him to take down number 60 from the right field all as homage to his many fine years as a Met. But Chico being Chico, he was thoughtful enough to send in his place a great performer in his own right, a cast member on Saturday Night Live at the exact same time Chico was making his Met comeback. Please give a berry, berry big welcome to Garrett Morris.

Numbers 72-67 were revealed here.

Art Howe was a fine man with the misfortune to be rather seriously miscast as manager of the New York Mets. But his finest act might have come on Oct. 3, 2004, in his final inning at the helm. (Which also happened to be the final inning in the history of the Montreal Expos, and the endpoint for various other histories. I'll get to all that.)

Joe Hietpas had been called up from Binghamton in mid-September as an emergency catcher, though 2004 was so horrible that most any position could have been considered manned on an emergency basis. He was 25, and known as a defensive whiz, but an indifferent hitter if you were in a kind mood. (Seriously. Look at his minor-league stats and see if you can call the offensive glass one-eighth full.) Here he was nonetheless, waiting for the backup catcher to get injured, waiting for his shot in the Show. Waiting. And waiting some more.

I got used to seeing Hietpas on TV and from the stands as the season sputtered to an end — he'd be right there in front, leading on the dugout railing, staring at the field. It went from vaguely comic to decidedly tragic: Couldn't Art find a place for Young Joe, the Forgotten Catcher? Some absurd blowout, some extra-inning tilt, some something? Nope. The second half of September went crawling by, and still that dugout rail separated Joe Hietpas from where he wanted to be.

On the last day of the season, I was there in field-level seats with Greg and Laurie, saying farewell to a hideous Mets season, farewell to never-again Mets Todd Zeile and John Franco, farewell to a well-intentioned but unfortunate choice as Met manager, and farewell to a franchise treated like a stepchild by the sport that should have done right by it. But what I really wanted was to say hello to Joe Hietpas.

Hietpas had warmed up pitchers between innings before — a routine duty for backup catchers, but one made particularly cruel by his situation. But this time, in the top of the ninth, he was staying. At the last possible moment, Joe Hietpas was getting his shot. He'd catch Bartholome Fortunato, raising his own curtain as the Mets lowered the curtain on the season. It was 8-1. Fortunato got in a bit of trouble, and I briefly entertained ridiculous imaginings: The Expos would spit in Bud Selig's eye by scoring seven runs, staving off their own extinction, Greg and Laurie and I wouldn't have to say farewell to baseball quite yet. And sometime in extra innings Hietpas would bat — and crack one over the fence to send us all home.

Why the heck not?

Nah. With two men on Fortunato gathered himself, struck out someone named Josh Labandeira and struck out Maicer Izturis and then got future friend Endy Chavez to ground out, Keppinger to Piazza. John Franco's Met career and Todd Zeile's career and Art Howe's Met tenure and the Expos were history. As, in all likelihood, was Joe Hietpas.

Hietpas got a baseball card the next spring, a rather optimistic declaration from Upper Deck SPX that he was an SPXciting Rookie, and went back to the bus leagues. Where he offered a mathematician's degree of proof that he couldn't hit: .216, ,194, .130 and .185 in tours of duty over two years with Binghamton and Norfolk. With Paul Lo Duca and Ramon Castro hitting up a storm for the big club, it was obvious his fate was to be the Mets' Moonlight Graham.

So Hietpas tried what more than a few guys who get called into the office and told the grim facts try: He said something along the lines of “Hey skip, I can pitch.”

Only he actually kind of could: It didn't go so well for one inning with the Tides in '06, but down at St. Lucie last year, Hietpas put up a 2.47 ERA in 43.2 innings. He didn't strike many guys out, and he gave up a lot of hits, but hey, he didn't walk a lot of guys, either. And then there he was today, cleaning up after a parade of Met minor-league pitchers. In a Met uniform again. Pitching.

At this point, it's time to ignore some inconvenient facts. Like the fact that he was wearing 92. Or is in A ball with his 29th birthday soon to arrive. Or that his stuff was consistently up in the strike zone, and hit all over the place by Braves borrowed from minor-league camp, with only the unlikely glovework of Fernando Tatis and boneheaded Atlanta baserunning saving him from ugly results.

Never mind all that. It's March, whatever the Red Sox and A's are doing on the other side of the world in the nighttime. March is the time for ignoring inconvenient facts, and letting yourself imagine: Late summer '09, Hietpas trots in from the Citi Field bullpen as the latest middle reliever to get a shot as the Mets try to defend the title they won in saying goodbye to Shea. (I know, we're imagining a lot. Stick with me.) He throws an OK inning, and as he's sitting on the bench Reyes and Wright and Beltran and Teixeira and teammates start hitting rockets everywhere. A close one has turned into a rout, and Willie's decided not to burn up the bullpen for this farce. Hietpas goes to the bat rack. Borrows somebody's lumber. Finds a helmet. Steps into the on-deck circle. Then walks up to the plate.

“You know Keith,” Gary says with the first hint of arch in his voice, “he was drafted as a catcher.”