|
If you would like to bid on George Foster’s 
1986 Mets World Championship Ring, go to Leylands.com, which has a current bid of $8,052.
…thanks to Rich D for the link…
…once, while in line outside of Shea Stadium, to buy Opening Day tickets for the 2000 season, Bobby Ojeda let me wear his World Championship Ring…for a kid of the 80s, it was very surreal…the ring was too big for my thumb…
Follow me on
MetsBlog.com is owned and operated by Matthew Cerrone.
MetsBlog.com publishes both rumor and opinion, as well as accurately reported information from other sources. Information on MetsBlog.com may contain errors or inaccuracies - links to content and the quotation of material from other news sources are not the responsibility of
MetsBlog.com.
MetsBlog.com and Matthew Cerrone are not responsible for what is written by non-MetsBlog.com writers within the site's comment's section.
I don’t understand why anyone would want t sell something this valuable.
He may broke! Secondly, he played half the season with the team before being traded or let go. My memory eludes me.
He was released on August 1st and they signed Maz to replace him so the ring probably does not mean much to him. He also has several from the Big Red Machine, which he was a lot bigger part of, obviously
Okay. That makes sense, I guess. I’m a relatively new baseball fan, so I don’t know the history of alot of past players.
The only reason could be that he never felt like he truly earned it and desperately needs the money….otherwise I agree
He was released in August of 86 and contributed little….and he lobbed a lot of nonsense at the Mets after they released him.
Plus he has rings for the 75 and 76 Reds which he was a big part of.
I would guess the 1986 Mets are not his fondest memory.
Thank you for refreshing my memory. He was released. And if I recall in the book, “How The Bad Guys Won”, he blamed the team of holding back minorities.
Also, didn’t he attend the Shea Stadium Closing Ceremonies a month or so ago? If so, what did he do to get the nod?
“he blamed the team of holding back minorities. ”
Ahaha. This is a hilarious quote considering the current Mets roster.
You also have to remember the 1986 team…the team had Doc, Daryl and a young rookie named, Kevin Mitchell. He blamed the team for holding back minorities, or to that extent. And yet, his total gripe was his inconsistencies. Pick up that book…it’s a great read.
Sure, but the book also points out how Mitchell was shipped off for no better reason that than that he was a black guy, and therefore blamed for Doc and Daryl getting into trouble — though he didn’t hang out with them at all.
It was a very different time, and Foster was a scary black man — by which I mean, he was a Black Power sort of black guy, so who’s to say how we would read that whole situation today. I think he’s probably justified in having no love for the team.
Tina, you have some serious alternative history going.
Mitchell was a violent guy on and off the field by all accounts, and Foster was completely apolitical when he was with the Mets. Foster was let go because he couldn’t hit anymore, and was in the last few months of what was maybe the worst free agent contract (pre-Slappy) the Mets ever gave anyone.
They certainly didn’t trade Mitchell because he was black, anymore than they released Foster due to politics.
It’s a beautiful ring. If only I had 10 g’s to blow…
George is still bitter over the whole Get Metsmerized album going down in flames after he got traded in 86. He was heavily banking on that album selling thousands of copies. I got one at a garage sale for a dime a few years ago.
Maybe I’ll hock my wife’s engagement ring. I’ll tell her it’s an upgrade.
I think Mets history is a bit unkind to George Foster. No, he did not stick around ofr all of 86, but his contributions in 84 and 85 certainly helped that team continue its rise to their ulltimate destiny. Many players on those teams, like Wilson and Strawberry, cited Foster as a quiet leader (and Strawberry adopted Foster’s signature move of calling time at the last second on pitchers throughout his career).
I am surprised he got a ring and that the players voted for him to get one, but I think it goes toward the respect alot of them had for him despite his unfortunate comments on the way out.
And you do have to remember, his acquisition marked a real turning point for the franchise under Wilpon and Doubleday after a decade of never bringing in outside talent. That deal said the Mets were going to be players again…I liken it to the Baerga trade in 1996 – neither Foster nor Baerga put up the HOF numbers they did before coming over, but they bith signaled a change in organizational philosophy that would pave the way for the respective acquisitiongs of Hernandez and Piazza a few years after each.
With all that said, sad Foster would hock his ring, but in the end he was not a member of the team when it won and I doubt he savors it much, having not been there to see it through.
Mets GM at the time, Cashen needed to show that the Mets were serious about winning, so a few yrs before the ‘86 season he signed Foster. Reading the book “The Bad Guys Won”, paints a very negative picture of the guy, and for good reason. During a brawl where players were fighting like they were in a bar, Foster was the only guy who didnt come out. According to the book, he just sat there. From that point on, Foster was black listed and his time was running out, so due to that and several other reasons, I dont think George Foster is crying over the ring.
FYI – Per the book, George Foster didnt come out for the brawl because he felt it would set a wrong example for the young guys. Back move in my opinion. I dont know about you guys, but getting into a fight with your boys by your side definately bonds the relationship. Foster unconsciously showed he really didnt want to be there.
*Bad move
Good points, which show how ridiculous the above post is, which says they traded Mitchell because he was black, and that Foster was a “scary black man.” The only thing scary about Foster as a Met was how much money we gave him.
Gotta point out, “The Bad Guys Won” is a GREAT read and any true Met fan should read it.
I have read it, and it is an absolutely AMAZING read.
Just got his new book about the 1990s Cowboys—-not a Cowboys fan, but if the book is half as good as The Bad Guys Won, it should be awesome.
I went to a game once about 10 years ago now, and one of the guys from the Jets SB III team was sitting right next to me and my dad (I don’t remember his name, I think he was a D-lineman or linebacker…my dad recognized him immediately), and he let us look at his ring. It wasn’t nearly as gaudy as the rings today, but it was still damn impressive. He ended up being a really awesome guy (I should mention that we were sitting in the upper deck way in the last section down the line that looks over the Mets bullpen), and he was there with a group of like 10 disabled kids. Such a cool experience, he shared a few stories about Namath that cracked me up.
Sorry, this was only tangentially related to the post, but it’s a cool story that I haven’t shared in a really long time.
Funny…I used to live in Seattle and work at Pike Place Market, and one of the Jets from that SB III team came through (also cannot remember who), and it was the same thing—he had his ring on, was very gracious about letting us check it out, and seemed thrilled that people in Seattle cared.
Can you imagine the value of this ring if it didn’t have Foster’s name and number on it? If they were just generic rings?
Gotta love Bobby O.
He must need money. He really didn’t deserve a ring anyway. He didn’t even finish the year with them lol At least Nomar produced for the Red Sox.