Mets catcher’s health battles led him to an uplifting connection

George Toma is such a legendary groundskeeper of American sports facilities, specifically the Royals’ and Chiefs’ homes in Kansas City, that he has his own Wikipedia page. His legacy runs deep, and not just when it comes to well-maintained and -manicured grass.

Ed Hearn got to know Toma after the Mets traded him to the Royals in 1987 for a young right-hander named David Cone. To this day, Hearn, who backed up catcher Gary Carter for the champion 1986 Mets, cherishes the wisdom that Toma shared with him.

“I asked him, ‘George, how do you get these young kids you hire to perform so magically for you?’” Hearn recalled in a telephone interview Wednesday. “George said to me, ‘Ed, I tell them from the beginning, you do your job.’ And then three little words: ‘And then some.’”

And then some. The 59-year-old Hearn has adopted that mantra as an anthem in his post-playing life. He applied it just recently when he virtually met John Thompson, the ambassador for the independent New York Boulders, and provided a boost for the 27-year-old. You can see their highly entertaining first get-together on Thompson’s YouTube channel. They intend to stay in touch, and Hearn, who lives in Kansas, has invited Thompson to travel to Kansas City on him and see a Royals game once the coronavirus shutdown ends.

“My first impressions of Mr. Hearn, in one word, is probably ‘Legendary,’” Thompson said. “It takes a lot to do what he did with the Mets. But then anybody else would’ve turned around and felt sorry for themselves…(He’s) a man that people look to for inspiration, a man of faith, of great integrity.”

Hearn played in a total of just 13 games for the Royals in 1987 and 1988, a right shoulder injury halting his promise, and as Thompson referenced, his life since retirement has involved physical adversity far more daunting than your standard injured-list fodder. He has battled cancer, has received three kidney transplants and takes up to 50 pills a day. No wonder he has become a greatly desired speaker to corporations and charities while running his own foundation. No wonder, too, that Brian Condon saw a match in Hearn and Thompson, an aspiring baseball broadcaster, who uses a wheelchair due to his cerebral palsy and also deals with anxiety.

Condon, an attorney who lives in Rockland County, has known Thompson for about a decade thanks to their mutual interest in the Boulders. In January 2019, Condon, a devout Mets fan, attended Mets fantasy camp in Port St. Lucie for his 50th birthday. There, he befriended Hearn as well as former Mets Barry Lyons and Jeff Innis.

“I know that Ed has gone through a lot of crap in his life,” Condon said. “I called John and asked him if he wanted to speak to Ed. John said, ‘Well, I don’t know if I’m available.’” Condon laughed as he recalled this last part. The two men found a mutually convenient time, and they found a bond.

“What came out of this interview with me and Mr. Hearn was a lot of hope, because I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t battle anxiety every day,” said Thompson, who also received messages of encouragement from Innis and Lyons. “Sometimes, the anxiety is more debilitating than the physical limitations because you never know when the anxiety is going to hit.”

Hearn has scaled his own psychological hills, no surprise for someone who has dealt with so much pain. Yet he utilizes other words of wisdom passed on from his late Royals teammate Dan Quisenberry: “We all need each other.” He revels in helping his fellow Earthlings, even a die-hard Yankees fan like Thompson. It’s how he rolls.

“My going to the fantasy camp wasn’t for my 50th birthday,” Condon said. “It was to get these guys together.”

In these tough times especially, adding the “and then some” to every experience can really make a difference.

— This week’s Pop Quiz Question came from Jerry Maffia of Manhattan: In a May 2004 episode of “JAG,” a retiring admiral says he will tour all of the major-league ballparks. At which stadium does he plan to end his tour in October?

— If you want to listen to relaxed conversations about baseball during these tense times, I strongly recommend the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse podcast, which features many of these.

— Your Pop Quiz Answer is Fenway Park, where the 2004 Red Sox ended “The Curse of the Bambino” with their first championship since 1918.

If you have a tidbit that connects baseball with popular culture, please send it to me at [email protected].

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