The blog for Mets fans
who like to read

ABOUT US

Greg Prince and Jason Fry
Faith and Fear in Flushing made its debut on Feb. 16, 2005, the brainchild of two longtime friends and lifelong Met fans.

Greg Prince discovered the Mets when he was 6, during the magical summer of 1969. He is a Long Island-based writer, editor and communications consultant. Contact him here.

Jason Fry is a Brooklyn writer whose first memories include his mom leaping up and down cheering for Rusty Staub. Check out his other writing here.

Got something to say? Leave a comment, or email us at faithandfear@gmail.com. (Sorry, but we have no interest in ads, sponsored content or guest posts.)

Need our RSS feed? It's here.

Visit our Facebook page, or drop by the personal pages for Greg and Jason.

Or follow us on Twitter: Here's Greg, and here's Jason.

Fixing a Hole

Keith Hernandez filled the hole between the two and four spots in the batting order for seven Met seasons. He filled holes between himself and either the first base line or the second baseman on balls that seemed destined for the outfield. He filled the hole in the knowledge base of one promising young pitcher […]

Jerry’s Jubilee

They weren’t kidding when they said Jerry Koosman was clutch. Beat the mighty Orioles twice to tie and win the World Series? Yeah, that was swell, but look at what he’s accomplished lately.

• Jerry Koosman shows up at Citi Field to have his number retired, and the 2021 Mets shake out of their characteristic doldrums […]

Can’t Lose with Kooz

On the fiftieth anniversary of the clinching of the 1969 National League East, we learn the New York Mets are retiring No. 36 in honor of Jerry Koosman. My, it feels good to write that.

Jerry Koosman breaks through.

I had been clued in recently that something might be stirring in this area, yet Kooz […]

What's in a Number?

Our co-newest Met is wearing a familiar number.

Flamethrower Edwin Diaz, whom I already appreciated for being really good before discovering his nickname is “Sugar,” will wear 39. That’s no particularly big thing in the annals of Met lore: the first 39 that pops into my head is Gary Gentry, the blueprint for all too many […]

Some Things Around Here Do Improve

The Mets returned home from Colorado to face the unfathomable juggernaut that is the 2017 Dodgers, and looked listless as they slogged through a deeply boring game in which they were little more than anonymous cannon fodder to be dispatched. Jacob deGrom was the closest thing the team had to an offensive highlight, collecting one […]

The End and Everything After

Everything reaches an end, even the 2017 All-Star break, which, according to my ballological clock, is the longest in recorded history. True, it’s been the same length as last year’s All-Star break and the year before’s and all the years since they made it four looooooooong days instead of the previously interminable three days, but […]

Embroidered Into Our Fabric

You can identify my black Mike Piazza t-shirt by sight if you see me wearing it; it says Mets 31 on the front, PIAZZA 31 on the back. I can identify it by feel. It was always longer than all the player-number shirts I acquired in the late 1990s, thicker without being confining. I’m a […]

The 31 And Only

On October 2, 2005, Mike Piazza entered the home clubhouse at Shea Stadium, removed No. 31 from his person and left the building. No. 31 didn’t go anywhere.

But now it will.

No. 31 heads for the esplanade above the left field wall at Citi Field, right where it’s belonged (give or take some architectural adjustments) since […]

37 14 41 42 -- And More?

The Braves have announced that they’ll retire No. 10, recently worn by the player forever known in these parts as Larry Jones. The Mets might or might not have a ceremony of their own soon — they’ve been coy about the chances of putting Mike Piazza’s No. 31 on the wall when he’s inducted to […]

Digit Double Check

With a handful of numerical matters in the news and the 13th birthday today of Jon Springer’s pioneering Mets By The Numbers site (whose generally uncredited research provides the data for articles like these), I decided this morning to do one of my periodic number spot checks. It works like this: I count up from 1 […]