I have said all I need to say in defense of Citi Field in previous posts. I'm not going to write it over again except to say that Citi Field is a beautiful ballpark, one of the best in the country. In time we will embrace her because that's where the Mets will play for many years to come.
I do not quite understand the attitude of Mets fans. Now I admit to being an older fan (53) and I probably don't relate to the younger set these days. But I find the attitude toward the Mets by many fans to be quite disturbing. There are many Mets fans that have voiced or written logical and reasonable remarks in regards to the Mets and their new ballpark but some of the things I have read I have trouble understanding.
There seems to be this underlying hatred toward the Wilpons. I'm not quite sure where this comes from. The perception out there is that the Wilpons are cheap and love the Dodgers more than the Mets. Another perception is that the Wilpons do not cherish Mets history.
Yesterday I wrote, somewhat tongue and cheek, that Mets fans have an inferiority complex, especially when it comes to the Yankees. Perhaps I'm closer to the problem than I think. It seems to me that many Mets fans want the Mets to be just like the Yankees. What I don't get is if these fans are so enamored with the Yankees, why don't they just root for them? Why not get rid of all the Mets gear and buy a Yankee cap and jacket and be done with it.
I know people that have done that. I remember friends of mine wearing Mets garb in the eighties who traded it all for Yankee gear 10 years later. I have no problem with that, after all it's only a game.
But getting back to my perceptions. I do not understand how any Mets fans can think the Wilpons are cheap. Once again this season, the Mets have the highest payroll in the National League, and that's after the Bernie Madoff scandal. Only the Yankees and Red Sox (the Mets payroll maybe higher than the Sox this year, I'm not sure) have a higher payroll. There's those darn Yankees again.
Fred Wilpon grew up rooting for the Dodgers of Brooklyn. He pitched batting practice when he was sixteen to his heroes at Ebbets Field. He has fond memories of going to Dodger games with his father. In Citi Field, he wanted to recapture many of his memories for the rest of us to enjoy. How is that somehow disingenuous? I know Fred and Jeff want to make money and last I checked, capitalism was still legal in this country. But the idea that Fred Wilpon is some awful person who wants to denigrate the Mets and somehow bring the Brooklyn Bums back to life (and somehow still make a profit) is simply unfair and ridiculous.
From everything I have read, Fred Wilpon is one of the most decent people on the New York scene. I have never heard or read anything bad about Fred. What baseball owner in New York threatened to take his team to New Jersey, Yonkers, or mid town Manhattan if he didn't get his way? Was it Wilpon or was it someone named Steinbrenner? From the moment the New York Post first broke the story in 1997 that the Mets wanted to build a new ballpark, Fred maintained it would be in Queens next to Shea Stadium. Wilpon, the Brooklyn kid who loved the Dodgers, was always committed to keeping the Mets in Queens.
What was the cleaner ballpark deal, 800,000 million for Citi Field or an unprecedented 1.5 billion for Yankees Stadium? And what happened to the park land the Yankees were supposed to have returned by now?
The Mets are cheap, really? Since 2005, they signed Carlos Beltran, Pedro Martinez, Billy Wagner, Johan Santana, Frankie Rodriguez, and others to multi million, multi year deals. They have maintained a payroll of roughly 140 million dollars for three years now. As I said above, only the Yankees and perhaps the Red Sox have spent more. Don't forget the Mets would have had the rights to sign Dice-K had the Red Sox not have made such a ridiculous bid for him. The Mets were second in line with their own ridiculous bid beating out the Yankees. Cheap? I think not. Mets fans are simply being lazy and not doing their homework if they think this is what is wrong with the Mets.
I agree that the one area where Mets fans have a legitimate gripe is how the Mets treat their history. I was not bothered that Citi Field is not draped in Mets lore. To say it has nothing about the Mets is another lazy talking point. Outside Citi Field, there are drape like banners hanging of many different Mets players of the past. There are large canvasses hung over the left field ramps of many great Mets moments. Inside the stadium are signs for direction with Mr. Met on them. It says "Let's Go Mets" on top of the scoreboard and there are championship banners hanging in right. On the left field wall are the retired numbers. Could there be more? Yes and I am sure there will be. Personally the thought never crossed my mind when I went to Citi Field a couple of weeks ago. I go to a ballgame to see the game. I don't need to be reminded constantly of past glory. But that's just me. Again, I think this feeling comes from jealousy of the Yankees history. I say just let it go.
The lightning rod for all this history stuff is the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. Mets fans are not separating the man from history vs. the man from the Dodgers. If Jackie Robinson had debuted for the New York Giants, there still would be a Jackie Robinson Rotunda. The honor is in what he did for civil rights and all minorities, not that he played for the Dodgers. Had the Yankees built the JRR, Mets fans would be screaming that the Mets dropped the ball again.
This country owes Robinson for his tremendous courage. Baseball should thank the Mets for this incredible monument for what Robinson accomplished 62 years ago. As a Met fan I am proud they did this. They put an historically significant event that happened on the National League stage in New York ahead of their self interest.
And in regards to Mets history, yesterday, Fred Wilpon said there will be some sort of museum or Mets Hall of Fame in center field in the near future. This was always planned by the way. I recall reading about this in 2006 when plans were first laid for a new ballpark. And you know, had the Mets put up a Hall of Fame, fans would criticize it because it would be dwarfed in comparison to the Yankees. I think some times the Mets cannot win. I do think, and have written about this before, the Mets should re-institute an old timers day. There are plenty of Mets players and opponents Mets fans would love to see in a pre-game ceremony.
To some all this up, because frankly I'm tired of writing about it, in time Mets fans will grow to love Citi Field. I really feel what has fostered all the hatred this week is the fact that the Mets have disappointed so greatly the last couple of years. From the moment the Mets lost game seven of the 2006 NLCS to last night's loss to the Padres, Mets fans are frustrated. I share that frustration. I want the Mets to win as much as any Mets fan. But I refuse to pick apart everything the Mets brass has done as a way to channel my anger.
The Mets have spent the money on players, made trades to get key players (some bad of course) and funded their own beautiful new ballpark. The fact is it's the players who are not performing. You can argue that the Mets should have signed Manny, a popular complaint this spring. However, I think the Mets have a team that can win. For some reason, these players have gotten off to a slow start, something is not clicking, they lack the killer instinct. That's what has me alarmed and upset, not that there is not enough blue and orange paint in Citi Field.
