University of Virginia Library

The Amazing Ones

It's too bad that the moon landing had to
come this summer, for when historians look
back on 1969 they will probably ignore the
feats of Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins to
comment on what transpired this summer in
the Eastern Division of the National League.
Men will probably make moon landings a
commonplace event within a few years, but it
is doubtful that anything will ever again
transpire to match the meteoric rise of the
New York Mets.

You remember the Mets, that funny group
of guys who tried to play baseball in New
York. They were the darlings of that city's
legion of losers, for they were a constant
reminder that no matter how bad things got,
they could always be worse. Now they have
swept past the Chicago Cubs into first place.
They have united a city that seemed to be
falling apart from its ethnic antagonism. It
gives a person reason to hope for the future.

Now they are four games in front, with
only 14 to play, and unless they wake up
some morning and realize the enormity and
audacity of what they are trying to
accomplish, they ought to go all the way.

It may seem childish, but it will make life a
little brighter if they do.