The Lockup

T WAS A sunny afternoon in Flushing, Queens, in May 2001. I was at Shea Stadium—that was where the Mets played baseball before Citi Field, kids—in my capacity as staff writer for , to cover Taz throwing out the ceremonial first pitch as the Mets took on the L.A. Dodgers. After the pitch, I got to spend the game in a “luxury” box at Shea with Taz and his family. It was a telling experience being around the man who had at that time spent almost a year and a half struggling to find his place