August 2003

On July 1, the Mets traded future Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar to the Chicago White Sox. In exchange, they received three prospects -- pitchers Royce Ring and Edwin Almonte, plus infielder Andrew Salvo. Considering that Alomar struggled during his year-and-a-half with the Mets, and that he never seemed particularly comfortable in New York, it was unlikely that he was going to stick around once he became a free agent at the end of the season. Thus, the fact that the Mets received three top prospects in exchange for an unhappy and underproductive player in his walk year should be a source of rejoicing for most Mets fans.

Except for one thing -- telling a six-year-old that one of his favorite players has been traded.

The six-year-old in question is my youngest child, Ross. Although I have tried to share my love of baseball with all three of my children, the little guy is the only die hard Mets fan of the bunch. This is a kid who loudly chanted, "Let's Go Mets," while sitting in Yankee Stadium watching his team being swept by the hated crosstown rivals. And while he sat through all nine innings of that game, he was wearing his Alomar #12 T-shirt.

Roberto Alomar was traded to the Mets on December 11, 2001. This was four days after fan favorite Robin Ventura had been traded to the Yankees, and Ross, who was unable to root for anyone in Yankee pinstripes, dealt with his hurt by transferring his allegiance to the newly acquired superstar.

So what does a mother do? Encourage her child's fandom for the new Mets star, of course. We started off on eBay, finding the 1999 Salvino's Baby Bammers set with Roberto Alomar and Sandy Alomar, Jr. "Little Robbie" accompanied Ross around the house, and was often tucked into bed alongside my little guy at night.

As Opening Day 2002 approached, so did the T-Ball season. My son happily chose uniform number 12, and declared that he was "Rossy Alomar." Although he decided at age six that he no longer wanted to be called Rossy, he still chose number 12 when he played Rookie Ball this spring. On his Little League baseball card, he listed Roberto Alomar as his favorite pro. He even spent $9.95 of his own saved up allowance money to buy an Alomar bat and ball set at Sports Authority.

Alomar's disappointing 2002 season might have been attributed to adjusting to the National League, but as the 2003 season progressed it was apparent that he was simply unproductive as a Met. With the team slipping further and further into the cellar and the former All-Star less and less likely to want to return to the Mets as a free agent, it was evident that the only rational course of action was for management to trade Alomar in exchange for talent that could help the team rebuild in the coming seasons.

Seeing the writing on the wall, I did what I could to try to prepare Ross for the inevitable. So one day in June, while driving him to school, I mentioned how the trade deadline was approaching, and that it was likely that the Mets would be making some deals. After considering this for a moment, a small, thoughtful voice from the back seat opined, "Maybe the Mets will get Sandy Alomar, Jr., so Robbie can play with his brother again."

Oh dear, oh dear....

Which brought us to July 1. Packing day -- the family was getting ready for this year's summer baseball trip, which was a car trip to Cincinnati to see the Mets play on the Fourth of July at The Great American Ball Park (see next month's Fan's Voice for the recap of our road trip experience). We packed a lot of Mets gear, including Ross' Alomar shirt and jersey.

Then the news started breaking. In dribs and drabs. First ESPN's Peter Gammons reported that Alomar would be traded to the Chicago White Sox. OK, Gammons isn't always right. Then, the New York Daily News reported that the trade would be announced that day. That sounded much more ominous. After the Associated Press confirmed the transaction, then it was only a short time before the team made its official announcement -- Roberto Alomar was no longer a member of the New York Mets.

Which brought us to the toughest part of the day -- breaking the news to my rabid Mets fan.

"Ross," I said, "I have some sad news, but some good news. The sad news is that the Mets traded Robbie Alomar."

Stony silence.

"But the good news," I continued," is that the Mets traded Robbie to Chicago. The White Sox. So Robbie will be able to play with Sandy again."

Still stony silence. A successful effort to hold back tears took place on the couch. And a sad little boy absorbed the news.

Ross is a tough kid. And we've been through this drill several times over the last couple of years. This child, whose nickname is Little Tank, dealt with the loss of Todd Pratt. He dealt with the fact that not only did the Mets trade Robin Ventura, but that they traded him to the enemy side! He dealt with with the fact that Bobby Valentine, whom we met on more than one occasion at his Queens restaurant, was fired. And he bounced back from all of these losses.

But the loss of Alomar is a little different. This is a player whom my son embraced with a complete totality that only a youngster is capable of experiencing. As a parent, there isn't all that much you can do to ease the pain that comes with that kind of a loss. There is no point in intellectually explaining why this was a good move from a baseball perspective. There is no way to tell a child not to be sad that one of his favorite players will no longer be playing for his favorite team. And, having lived through enough trade deadline deals in my life, I know that there's no way to assure him that this kind of thing won't happen again in the future. All you can do is hug your child, turn on the game, and watch the new look Mets together.

Then you go upstairs, open the suitcase, and replace the Alomar gear with that Piazza shirt and jersey that are still hanging in the closet. Because the faces on the field may change, but cheering on your favorite team is eternal.