Neil Best
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, then returned in 1985. His SportsWatch column debuted on Sept.
First the Mets took out the world capital of power, then the world capital of entertainment and finally the world capital of overly doughy pizza.
Or, to put it another way:
Their road to the World Series ran through three natural rivals in sports and other matters, starting with Washington's Nationals, then the nation's second- and third-most populous areas in Los Angeles and Chicago.
And they nearly got a shot at Canada's biggest city, too, until the Royals defeated the Blue Jays in the ALCS.