Mets rookies dress up as bride and bridal party

It was Rookie Dress Up Day for many MLB teams Sunday and, with LaTroy Hawkins in charge as the designated best man, the Mets rookies had to dress up as a bridal party in purple dresses for the trip to Cincinnati. Zack Wheeler earned the honor of being the bride.

Bridezillas beware.

The bride for #Mets 2013 Rookie dress up. @Wheelerpro45 pic.twitter.com/s5VohN8KOZ
— LaTroy Hawkins (@LaTroyHawkins32) September 22, 2013

Matt Harvey almost brawled with former-teammate Jon Rauch

New York Mets ace Matt Harvey declined through a team spokesman to discuss a report that he challenged then-teammate Jon Rauch to a fight last season, but Mets sources told The New York Daily News that the incident did in fact occur — and it was not the only time that Rauch irritated Harvey.

Yahoo! Sports reported on Wednesday that Harvey threatened to beat up Rauch last year after the journeyman reliever threw water on Harvey during a nap. According to a source, Rauch was “all over” Harvey after the phenom’s July callup from Triple-A, regularly yelling at him and riding him, as veterans often do to rookies.

Rauch, according to people who saw the incident, barged into the room with bucket of ice water, which he proceeded to dump on Harvey. It waterlogged Harvey’s phone, which was resting on his chest as an alarm, and incited an even more electrical reaction inside Harvey.

He bounded up and challenged Rauch to a fight. Right there. Right then. He gave up 7 inches, about 75 pounds and a gallon or so of bad ink. It didn’t matter that he was a rookie. Harvey would not be a joke. He would not be a punch line in Rauch’s re-telling. He would not let some mediocre clown play him.

Rauch, the big righty, recently released by Marlins, basically sealed his fate at Citi Field with the prank and was not re-signed this year.

Harvey is a pretty big guy. Listed at 6’4″, 225 pounds, he’s the type of sturdily built young man that most guys wouldn't think of irking or messing with. 

But Harvey’s former teammate is an even bigger bruiser. At 6’11″ and 290 pounds, Rauch's got the size to make your average NBA player look like a grade school crossing guard. 

Nevertheless, both pitchers are big, but one is big by pitching potential standards and the other is big by being just plain huge — and the largest man to ever play Major League Baseball.

Harvey endured the taunts for a time, then decided he’d had enough, challenging Rauch in front of teammates; the 6-foot-11 reliever quickly backed down, witnesses said.

“He just packed up his s--- and walked away,” said one player.

Inside the clubhouse, where Rauch was generally regarded as an unpopular whiner, Harvey’s behavior was generally regarded in a positive light. Although baseball’s medieval codes of conduct call for rookies to obey veterans, some teammates considered Rauch’s behavior excessive, according to clubhouse sources.

A free agent after the season, Rauch tried to re-sign with the Mets and was rebuffed, according to one source. He landed with Miami, was later released and signed a minor league deal with Baltimore.

Yankees Rookies Bring '80's Music Stars and Bad Outfits Back to Life

It was a decade of one hit wonders and The Go Go's around Yankee Stadium.  No I'm not talking about Jack Clark or Billy Ball, but the '80's-- a decade the Yankees would rather mostly forget.

Yesterday,  seven rookie players dressed up as some of the end-of-that decade's most famous pop stars during the Yankees annual rookie hazing, and brought back memories of the only ten year-run the team didn't win a World Series.

Some of these players were too young-- or not even born-- to remember when skinny ties with a tee-shirt and big hair were the rage.  A man could actually wear pajama pants to a bar and be the toughest guy in the room. It was a time when MTV actually played music videos and Don Mattingly won an MVP.

Music had G & R's "The Spaghetti Incident" while the Yankees had the pine tar one.

There was Flock of Seagulls and Rickey Henderson, George Michael (before the public bathroom arrests) in Wham with that other guy while the Bronx had "Mr. May," Dave Winfield.

Sadly, people actually dressed like that.  Any John Hughes movie will attest to that.

Hope this photo brings back good memories, except for the duds. The players look like they're having fun parodying the new wave look.  If they only knew that this was considered cool back then until Kurt Cobain and Nirvana went grunge.

Taking their show to Danceteria are (from left) Andrew Brackman, Dellin Betances (Milli Vanilli), George Kontos (George Michael), Hector Noesi (Prince), Joe Girardi, Austin Romine (Madonna), Jesus Montero (MC Hammer), Brandon Laird (Slash).