From The Green Fields Of The Mind…

this picture was taken at tradition field during a saturday afternoon game in March. we took this picture not because it was a Met we knew but because the guy was gracious enough to scoop up dirt off the field because some kid asked him to. another kid repeated the request. then another. all in all this player’s hands got dirty that day not from throwing a baseball, but from putting some dirt into ziploc baggies for a bunch of fans.

he had a warm-up jacket on the whole time so we could not see the name on the back of his jersey but as soon as we had internet access, a quick google told us the Dirt Scooper with the bushy eyebrows and great smile was Nelson Figueroa, a journey man of sorts with a story that made it impossible not to root for him.

the last time I cried over the mets, it was september and anger and even an irrational sense of betrayal, was the source of those tears. Friday night I cried for a different reason.

way to go figgy - even though you are one bad start away from the minors again, for one friday night you made a lot of fans remember why they keep coming back.

There is not one player I will root harder for this year than Nelson Figueroa.