Mets mistakenly list 2 living members of famous '69 team as being dead
Nothing is going right for the New York Mets these days.
After a rough week filled with losses and off-field controversies, the Mets returned home to Queens this weekend to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1969 "Miracle Mets" squad that improbably won the World Series. The team unveiled plans for a statue of beloved former ace Tom Seaver, and many members of the '69 team were honored at Citi Field on Saturday.
Unfortunately, the Mets didn't get one rather critical detail of Saturday's ceremony right.
Two members of that championship team, Jim Gosger and Jesse Hudson, were included in a montage remembering now-deceased members of the '69 Mets, even though both men are still very much alive.
The Mets paid tribute to Jim Gosger and Jesse Hudson in their 1969 video. But both are alive. pic.twitter.com/egJNu2lzNG
— Mike Mazzeo (@MazzYahoo) June 30, 2019
Neither Gosger, now 76, nor Hudson, 70, were in attendance on Saturday. Gosger was watching from home and immediately made it clear on his Facebook account that he's still breathing - while also taking a few shots at his former team.
Well the #Mets announced Jim Gosger as one of the 1969 team's deceased members. He's alive and well. #fail https://t.co/1RUqhXFjbV pic.twitter.com/YzKfnXJhoy
— Nick Diunte (@ExamineBaseball) June 30, 2019
It also seems that Jim may have some Mets takes of his own. pic.twitter.com/sWwSUfqeKi
— Hannah Keyser (@HannahRKeyser) June 30, 2019
The team has since reached out to Gosger to apologize, and the Mets are trying to do the same with Hudson, according to Zach Braziller of the New York Post.
Both Gosger and Hudson were minor players on that 1969 team, and neither appeared in the playoffs. Gosger, an outfielder and first baseman who spent 10 years in the majors, appeared in 10 games for the Mets after being acquired from the Seattle Pilots in July 1969. Hudson pitched two innings during a loss that September, his lone big-league appearance.
The 1969 Mets remain one of baseball's most iconic and shocking champions, as the team produced the first winning record in the franchise's then eight-year history before beating the 109-win Orioles in five games to win the World Series.