Angry Mets fan tells Alex Rodriguez how he used to revel in his strikeouts

By Zack Pierce
Published

Frank Fleming got his moment in the Internet spotlight on Monday when he was interviewed at New York's Penn Station on his way to the Mets' home opener, struggling to get on a train after a derailment caused massive delays and irate at New Jersey Transit.

https://twitter.com/SInow/status/849056789861683202

Fleming did eventually make it to Citi Field, albeit a little late, but the electric piece of video still resonated. He managed to score free tickets out of the deal.

On Wednesday, he joined the MLB Whiparound crew from his native New Jersey to discuss the odyssey and spread his frustration to plenty of other topics.

The highlights of his many targets:

The Mets' training staff — "The ceremonies are the point of Opening Day. ... You want to cheer the players you like, boo the players you don't like. Or in this case, with the Mets, you want to boo the training staff because they can't keep anyone healthy."

The Yankees — "It is a Mets town. Because you see, the Mets are the true passion of New York. I mean, the Yankees, everyone likes the Yankees, but they're like IBM. They're corporations. They're the big-wigs. ... If the Mets win the World Series, let me tell you, this city is gonna go crazy."

The 1993 Mets — "That season was the season from hell. It's not (just) that they went 59-103. But then you got Vince Coleman throwing firecrackers. You got Rambo Bret Saberhagen with the Super Soaker. You got Jeff Torborg with no pulse. You got Bobby Bonilla ... They're still paying Bobby Bonilla! I don't believe they're still paying Bobby Bonilla. I mean, come on, I've done more for the Mets than Bobby Bonilla's done in the last 16 years."

And Alex Rodriguez — "Oh, I always booed A-Rod. The best thing I ever saw out of A-Rod is when Pedro (Martinez) struck him out or got him to pop up with the bases loaded and all the Yankees fans (cried)."

So, Mr. Fleming is not a Yankees fan. Would he take season tickets for free to convert to rooting for the pinstripes? "No," he told Rodriguez.

Fleming also dropped a Mr. Baseball reference on Frank Thomas to close the interview.

All in all, a solid effort. Watch it all in the video at the top.