Some record straightening is in order
So many of the comments that follow my stories and those sent to me for "inbox" dialogue identify me as a Yankees fan. Wrongly identify. I was a Yankees fan when I was six and 11 and 14. I have fond memories of hundreds of games I saw at Yankee Stadium, the Polo Grounds, Ebbets Field, Shea Stadium and other parks I visited before and after my family moved from the Bronx and before I began working in the newspaper business.
I no longer am a kid or a teenager. And I no longer root for any team any more than I play roller hockey in the streets or watch "Andy's Gang." I enjoy baseball without allegiance to any team, and I appreciate it most when it's played and managed well. I have developed relationships with people in the game and on the perimeter of it that I treasure, a few based on what I experienced as a fan 50 years ago. Those relationships seldom come into play now when I'm reporting and writing these days.
Just because I consider some former players my friends now doesn't mean I rooted for them or their teams when they played. Objectivity is essential in this business. Sugar-coating, venting, favoring or disfavoring players or teams is unaceptable. Writing based on relationships, good or bad, is unprofessional. And yes, writing a less-than-complimentary piece about a player I respect can be a challenge at times.I didn't enjoy it in 1974 when I wrote about George Medich's poor defense, in 1994 when I wrote about Dwight Gooden's problems or last year when Willie Randolph was dismissed.
But I do it because my job is to report what I know to be accurate and what I think readers will find interesting.
Understand that when I'm covering a game or anything else, I root for just a few things --
good information, a good angle, good quotes and readership that understands that I have no allegiance in the game. I did revel in the Yankees' success in the Fifties and Sixties. I enjoyed the 1969 World Series, watching in on a leather couch in my dorm. But I used to watch hockey and root for the Rangers. I haven't done that in 50 years either.
-- Marty Noble
I'm sorry Marty, but that piece you wrote "A Letter From Shea" to Citi came across as a Yankees fan that was rubbing it in our faces! Maybe misunderstood, but non-the-less it came across that way. I am a die hard Mets fan that just happens to like the Yankees as well. Yes, I've heard it all before... I can't be a die hard Mets fan if I like the Yankees! I just appreciate NY Baseball best and have to live in Philthydelphia where all the fans are just bandwagoners. Also, it is not unprofessional to have a favorite team and if it's the Yanks than great, you should have a favorite team. It makes it more fun to watch, but even the best writers have their favs and still keep the commentary to the neutral side of things. You have a Mets Blog, so here should be where you enter your thoughts about what you want to see from the Mets and be a fan. The articles you write should be from a neutral position when they are being published for MLB. I can read into you being a Yankees fan just as anyone can if they read a few of your stories, but that is not a problem. The articles should be neutral and in some cases they are not with you. I am sorry that people see that side of you and that you are offended by it, but fact reamains we all have our favorites if we are true baseball fans. I love watching good baseball, so when the Mets don't play I watch the Yankees or whoever else might be on. I have the MLB.com TV premium package so I can watch about 3 games a day. I enjoy it and to a point I am rooting for one team or the other and you can't dismiss that when you are a fan. Lately, I've been watching alot of the Pirates games and find myself rooting for them to win because I think those moves they made were great to get the team young again and cut payroll at the same time. I see a team in them that will emerge from the small market to be a big market team once again in a few years with all the great young talent they aquired. I still and always will be a Mets fan though and will be through thick and thin. No matter what happens!! Don't deny yourself the pleasure of having a favorite team, just don't let it interfere with your writing as the Mets Beat Reporter.
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I really don't care what team you root for. I am only concerned with honest, unbiased, good shoe leather reporting. If the Mets are not doing their job or the Wilpons are deceiving their fan base, I want our professionals to report on it. We who do not have behind the scenes access or don't follow the team, or any other subject, on a daily basis are just giving off the top of our head opinions. This only tells us what Choochoo41 or Citireporter666 believe based on innuendo, rumor, the day and the phase of the moon. We readers should go into this with the understanding that you do have your own preferences for teams, players and organizations. But, that would make you or any of the other journalists covering baseball teams human beings. And, it also gives us a basis to know why you love the game as much as we do. What we shouldn't expect are personal vendettas against officials or players who have crossed you or columns and reports continuously and unjustly praising your friends or good sources. We don't have to agree with you on everything or disagree on you about everything. We expect you to do your job. There is an inherent trust between the reporter and reader/viewer and the best we can ask for is that you don't violate it.
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Wow, Marty finally posts to his own blog. To bad its to write about Marty. Good thing Anthony is occasionally allowed to step away from the Yanks and report on the Mets every now and then otherwise "Noble Thoughts" would be just about Marty Noble.
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