“Books on Deck” is using the time during a delayed start to the baseball season to showcase many of the great baseball books that are being released in the spring and summer of 2020.
Next up is the legend himself, Jay Horwitz, as the longtime director of media relations for the Mets celebrates his 40 years in the organization by writing an autobiography perfectly titled, "Mr. Met: How a Sports-Mad Kid from Jersey Became Like Family to Generations of Big Leaguers."
Some of the stories Mets fans my be familiar with, like the time Jay spilled orange juice immediately upon arriving at his job interview with Frank Cashen or the time he got lost on his way to Shea Stadium for his first day on the job. Others may be brand new to readers like how Jay was born with glaucoma and eventually lost his right eye or how Jay was given two technical fouls messing up the official scoring at his first game working with Fairleigh Dickinson University in the 1970s.
Either way, “Mr. Met” is the perfect companion to get to know Jay like those around him have over the years. If you do know Jay personally, then “Mr. Met” will allow you to get know him even better and laugh again and again at the stories of his life and career. If you don’t know Jay, you will feel like you do by the end, and it won’t be hard to see how special of a person Jay Horwitz really is.
“I wanted to remember people who were kind to me along the way. I didn’t want to leave anybody out.” Horwitz said on the show. “I want to let people know that I remember everything they did for me. I didn’t want any of my jokes to hurt anybody. I wanted to be the butt of all the jokes.”
The person that has probably been the most special to Jay over the years is the late Shannon Forde, who passed away from cancer in 2016, and worked alongside Jay in the Mets media relations department for over 20 years. Jay writes the entire final chapter in Shannon’s honor.
“When people pass, they tend to be forgotten over time,” Jay said. “I didn’t want that to happen to Shannon. She was so beloved by everybody.”
Among the other subjects touched on this week’s episode are Jay’s first meeting with Keith Hernandez, how he wishes he could have done more for Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden, his relationship with Terry Collins and how the April Fool’s prank of Sidd Finch in Sports Illustrated was born.