The other day at a ceremony in which the USTA National Tennis Center was renamed in Billy Jean King’s honor, King made a statement that the new Mets stadium should be named after Jackie Robinson. Also George Vecsey in yesterday’s New York Times seconded her thoughts. Why?  Did Jackie Robinson play for the Mets?  Did the Dodgers change their name and become the Mets in 1962?  Is the Mets history so empty that in order to validate their franchise they must assume the history of the other National League teams that left New York flat in 1957?

If anyone should name a stadium after the legendary Robinson, should it not be the Dodgers?  Jackie was one of their own.  Why don’t the Dodgers rename Dodger Stadium Jackie Robinson Stadium?  The fans will get it out in southern Cal, after all the color barrier was a national issue. Why isn’t there an outcry for Steinbrenner to name his new stadium after the great Dodger?  After all, Robinson competed in several World Series against the Yankees. How come once again, the Mets become the baseball whipping boys in this town?

The New York Mets are playing their 45th Major League season this year.  That’s almost a half a century.  They have 45 years of their own history.  When will the Mets come out of the shadow of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants?  Most young fans of baseball never lived in a time when the Mets did not share the city with the Yankees.  To them, the Dodgers and the Giants are like some fable.  And although the history of the two departed teams is certainly worth studying, it no longer needs to superseed the history of the New York Mets.  Don’t get me wrong, I do not like the idea of a corporate name for the new ballpark but be realistic, if the team decided against a sponsor, then the stadium should be named to reflect the team that is going to play there.

There is no question had the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants not have moved to California, the New York Mets would have never existed.  But they did move and the Mets were ultimately born when attorney William Shea spearheaded the drive to return National League Baseball to New York.  After an attempt to lure the Cincinnati Reds then the Pittsburgh Pirates to New York failed, Shea and others including Branch Rickey threatened to create a new Continental League that would include a franchise in New York.  The new league would also include teams in Houston, Miami, Minnesota and Denver.  The owners feeling the pressure and scared that a new league could upset the apple cart of their controlled paradise gave in and awarded expansion to four cities.  In 1961 Los Angeles and Washington joined the American League, (the old Washington club moved to Minnesota) and the National League received the Mets and the Houston Colt 45s in 1962.

Since that time, the Mets have had a colorful history of their own.  They have won four division titles, four National League pennants, two World Championships, and two wild cards.  This year they are destined to once again make the playoffs. They have fielded all star players. Even during their losing periods and there were a lot of them, they had some very good ballplayers and often found themselves involved in memorable games.  Some of the best pitchers in the last 45 years have come through the Mets system.  The Mets are currently valued more than any other franchise except the Yankees according to Forbes.

As for Robinson, he was a great American hero who changed the way baseball and America viewed minorities, there is no denying that.  He suffered tremendous racism including death threats as the first black ballplayer in the Major Leagues.  Ultimately his courage paved the way for other talented black athletes to play professional baseball and other sports.  Robinson did this in New York, perhaps the culture capital of the world.  He should be memorialized, no question.  Robinson has already been memorialized in that his number has been retired from all of baseball.  No other athlete in any sport has every earned such an honor.  If the Wilpons decided to name the stadium after him, it would be okay with me.  I just think it is completely wrong to vilify the Mets if they don’t.

When the Mets came along there was a natural connection to the two teams that left New York.  But as the years have passed, the Mets no longer need to succumb to the history of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants.  No one in their early fifties or younger remembers the two absconded teams except through the history books.  It would be different if the Dodgers and Giants had been contracted.  I could see how the Mets would have carried on their legend.  But those two teams left against the will of the city.  The Mets since 1962 have been the National League representative in New York.  It is their history and their legacy that the new stadium should reflect.    

The Mets are not without fault here, they are guilty of not promoting their own history.  Why in the world do the Mets no longer have an old timer’s day?  It’s almost has if the Mets feel they can’t compete with the Yankees history so they don’t even try.  I have been a Mets fan my entire life and I do so knowing I will unlikely witness them win 26 World Championships.  Does that mean I should not continue to follow and root for them?  Does it invalidate their history?  On May the 20th, the Mets celebrated the 20th anniversary of the 86’ World Championship team.  On a dreary Saturday night, a packed Shea Stadium cheered mightily for the heroes of that series so long ago.  It gave me goose bumps seeing those players and the reaction by the fans.  There wasn’t a Brooklyn Dodger or New York Giant in sight. The Mets should be doing more to promote and cherish their history.  Old timer’s day at Shea should be a yearly event.  Bring back Ron Hunt, Ron Swoboda, Jon Matlack, Rusty Staub and so many others.  Show the young Mets fans that the team they follow has a rich and glorious history.  The Mets do not need to take a back seat to the Dodgers, Giants or even the Yankees.  In the future when all is said and done, the Mets will have been the New York National League team longer than the Giants and Dodgers.

I love the design of the new Mets stadium but in a way, I kind of wish the façade did not emulate Ebbets field.  I wish it had more to do with the Mets than the Dodgers. They should have brought back the orange and blue corrugated tiles that hung on the outside of Shea when it first opened. I jest and certainly that’s not going to happen.  For sure it will be named after a corporate sponsor not Jackie Robinson.  Why shouldn’t the Wilpons make as much money as they can off of the name? Are you not going to support the Mets or go to a game in the new park because you don’t like the name?  The money earned from the naming rights will help to improve the product.  That money turns into good players that produce wins and championships and that’s what we want most of all. What ever it is called, I have a feeling a nickname will prevail.  Personally I like “The Met”.  That would be cool or as a friend of mine suggested “The Metropolis”, now that’s a great name. 

Anyway let’s let the Dodgers worry about Jackie Robinson and the Giants can be concerned with Willie Mays.  The teams from Flatbush and Coogan’s Bluff are long gone.  The team in Flushing remains New York’s National League team. Their new ballpark should honor them.

Extra Innings:  He may have 14 wins but Steve Trachsel drives me nuts.  I mean this guy pitches from the stretch all night long.  The first six innings of the game seemed like it went on for six hours.  He has got to be the luckiest pitcher in the Major Leagues when you consider how the Mets protect him every time out with lots of runs. 

The Mets magic number is down to 17.  Any combination of Mets wins and Phillies losses totaling 17 gives the Mets the division championship.

You knew Kaz Matsui would play well against his former team didn’t you?  He said his problems with the Mets were entirely his fault but he was glad he was on the Rockies now.  So are we Kaz, so are we.