R.A. Dickey, Blue Jay.

What is there to say about R.A. Dickey leaving the Mets? This is ostensibly a Mets blog but over the year I have been writing it, it has been more of an R.A. Dickey blog. Part of my love for Dickey was the fact for a while no one seemed to appreciate him. I wrote the Dickey Report because I felt that after two great seasons in 2010 and 2011 people still felt Dickey wasn't anything special and worse, they thought he was a fluke.

2012 was the year that all changed. Dickey went from great to unstoppable. He transcended what it meant to be a knuckleball pitcher with his unprecedented control of a famously uncontrollable pitch. Before R.A. it was unheard to have a knuckleball pitcher who led the league in K's and had so few walks. June 2012 will probably always be one of my favorite stretches of baseball I have ever watched. It started with the Johan no hitter and then was followed up with back to back Dickey one hitters and multiple other Dickey gems. When Nick Swisher hit that home run off R.A. to end his incredibly scoreless inning streak, I was heart broken.

More than this R.A. was amazing off the field. He wrote a best selling memoir, helped to comfort victims of sexual abuse and inspired many with his amazing story. He climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro for charity and read books to school children. R.A. was also a rare candid athlete, a guy who was actually worth interviewing because he would give honest, interesting answers. I will always remember the day when after a string of Mets losses and a string of player excuses R.A. told the press that maybe the reason we were losing is because the team wasn't very good. It was that kind of honesty and forthrightness that endeared us all to the Dickster.

A few weeks ago I might have been more upset about this but now I am happy for R.A. I am excited for him to go play for a good team and to possibly pitch in a post season. In 2013 my number one wish for baseball is a World Series win for the Dickster. For awhile this felt like an end, but as we know their are no ends, just new beginnings. I will continue to write about Dickey as often as I did before and will continue to cheer for and be awed by him wherever he goes.