Listen Now! 1969 Mets legend Art Shamsky talks spring training, Pete Rose, bulldog namesake

As a 47-year-old who grew up watching baseball, when I think of the New York Mets, I think of the 1986 version, with comic book-like characters in Doc Gooden, Lenny Dykstra, Keith Hernandez and Darryl Strawberry, among others.

For the generation before me, when they hear “New York Mets,” they think of the Miracle Mets of 1969.

The scrappy team that had never had a winning season in its short history came out of nowhere to beat the Baltimore Orioles and their roster chock full of future Hall of Famers in '69.

One of the more memorable members of that 1969 team was outfielder Art Shamsky.

Shamsky was second on the team in home runs (14) and batting average (.300).

He was later immortalized in the hit TV series, “Everybody Loves Raymond,” which was set on Long Island, because Ray’s brother Robert, wonderfully portrayed by Brad Garrett, had a lovable bulldog named Shamsky.

And when that bulldog died, he got Shamsky II.

Shamsky was certainly a bulldog on the field. He played through excruciating pain in 1969, fighting through a slipped disk in his back that was pressing against his sciatic nerve, one doctor telling him he might never play again.

Shamsky joins me this week on “The State of Florida Sports Podcast,“ powered by the USA Today Network.

Shamsky, now 82 years old, lives part of the year in New York, and part in Boca Raton.

We talk about spring training, which is just getting under way.

We’ll get his outlook on the 2024 Mets, a team that last year had a monster payroll, but was also a big disappointment.

"Yeah, they had a tough year last year. I think expectations might be a little bit lower this year, so it might be a good thing in the long run," Shamsky says during the podcast. "But, you know, spring training is always a time for optimism and even the worst teams can look at a new season and you never know what's going to happen."

We’ll find out how much he’ll be seen in Port St. Lucie, where the Mets hold spring training.

"I do have a couple things that they've asked me to do," he said. "I'm still involved in the game and I do a lot of personal appearances up in the New York City area, and of course down here (in Florida)."

We’ll, of course, discuss the 1969 Miracle Mets.

"It's so special. It's 55 years later and people are still talking about it," he said.

And we’ll hear about his roommate during his early years in the minor leagues in 1960, Pete Rose.

"This is the truth and he would admit it if you saw him, he would say there's no way that he's going to make it to the next level. But you see what he did," Shamsky said. "I don't know if we'll ever see him in the Hall of Fame, at least not in our lifetime."

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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Mets legend Art Shamsky talks 1969 team, current Mets, bulldog on podcast