WSJ: The King of the Accidental Phone Call

Sounds like Horvitz is the only Met higher-up on good terms with $!

During their disappointing 2012 season, the Jets became known for the butt fumble, caused by quarterback Mark Sanchez’s unfortunate collision with teammate Brandon Moore’s rear end. Across town, the Mets are countering with a derrière distinction of their own: the butt dialer.

That would be Jay Horwitz, the team’s longtime director of media relations…

Like most butt dials, the ones from Horwitz’s phone are caused when it shifts in the pocket of his pants. It usually happens when he’s walking or sitting. For whatever reason, he refuses to lock his BlackBerry ...

Even when they’re on the field, players aren’t safe from the butt dialer. First baseman Ike Davis said he’s received more than 100 butt dials from Horwitz, but none confused him more than the one he received during a game.

“When I got back to my locker, I checked my phone and the missed call was from 8:10 p.m.,” Davis said. “I’m like, why would he call me at that time? I’m at first base. He sees me at first base.” ...

Players have even tried escaping to other countries, but the butt dialer has no regard for international borders. Nelson Figueroa was in the Dominican Republic pitching in a winter league recently when the butt dialer struck. It had been three years since Figueroa pitched for the Mets and nearly two years since he last appeared in the majors.

He wondered: Were the Mets interested in bringing him back, at long last? Alas, the only interested party was Horwitz’s backside. “His butt’s got a mind of its own,” Figueroa said.

It isn’t as if Horwitz isn’t adept at using new technology. He recently joined Twitter. Through his account (@Jay_HorwitzPR), he dispenses vital communiqués about the Mets directly to fans.

For example, just before the start of spring training, he tweeted a photo of himself shirtless in a swimming pool, buoyed by a tube and a pair of floaties, with goggles over his eyes and a snorkel lodged in his mouth. Other tweets have included such updates as “Hy” and “Congrats to $.” On March 2, he simply tweeted the letter O.

Still, for all his social media savvy, mastering the BlackBerry has proved difficult for him…

For someone who must remain in constant contact with Mets players and executives, the butt dialing has complicated things a bit. Many players now refuse to answer Horwitz’s calls unless he sends a text message saying it is really him.

What the Baseball Hall of Fame decision could mean for the Singularity

Case in point: the ongoing scandal over alleged performance-enhancing drug use by some of baseball’s greatest players that has torn apart followers of the national pastime. This year marked the first time since 1996 that not a single player was selected for the Baseball Hall of Fame, despite having some of the biggest names in the history of baseball up for nomination. Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa — all first-ballot candidates, all suspected steroid users, all de-nied. Baseball fans expected a tough time of it for the likes of Bonds and Clemens, but a complete shutout of people suspected of cheating but never confirmed - such as Mike Piazza - was completely unexpected. It was society’s way of saying that we want to pay to see incredible athletic performance on the playing field, but it still has to conform to specific notions of “fair.”