There's a lot of history at the site of the old Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan. Today, it's home to the Polo Grounds Towers housing project. One reference to the old ballpark is a plaque marking the approximate location of home plate. Willie Mays and the Giants brought it glory, but the 1962 Mets brought it something else.
They set the modern mark for the worst record ever with 40 wins and 120 losses. But this year, the Chicago White Sox have been on pace to be even worse.
"I don't know how the White Sox players feel, but I think I think they're starting to try to win some games. And so we'll see," said Craig Anderson, a pitcher on the 1962 Mets. "I have mixed emotions, but I'm not gonna ever say I hope they get it."
Anderson is now 86 years old. He was a rookie pitcher who went 3-17 on the '62 Mets. That was an expansion team created after the Giants and Dodgers both moved from New York to California four years earlier.
"The biggest thing is the fans of New York loved us. Win or lose, they were so happy to get that baseball back in New York that we never had any negative stuff come from the fans," Anderson said.
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The 1962 Mets were managed by the legendary Casey Stengel, who had won seven World Series titles with the Yankees. Stengel had his own way with words, known as "Stengelese," which Anderson remembers learning right away in spring training.
"After he finished his talk, he said, 'I want you to line up alphabetically according to size. Whoa, wait a minute. The first Stengelese has just hit the locker room!'" Anderson recounted.
But even Stengel could not stop the losing. And while it's a record no player wants to be associated with, Anderson doesn't necessarily want to see it fall.
"I say right now, I'm leaning towards the idea that I would not wish that on any other team, any other player, any records," he said.
Being tied to the worst team ever was once a burden, but not anymore.
"I'm getting more autograph requests than I ever got in my life because, well, first of all, there aren't a whole lot of us left in that team," said Anderson. "But now they're talking about the original team, the original team. If it happens, that happens. But no, I mean that's you know, there's nine of us left to think about it. So..."
So many memories from the Polo Grounds have stood the test of time. But the only way that one will fall is if the White Sox keep losing. Not exactly a win for the '62 Mets, but it would remove their name from the record books.
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