13
2012
Mets Official: Tribute To Chipper Will be Extremely Low Key
An article by 
According to Andy Martino of the Daily News, a team official told him that while the Mets do plan to acknowledge Jones’ distinguished career in some small way, they will not hold an on-field ceremony, present Jones with a gift or stage anything elaborate. Any tribute to Jones, the official said, will be extremely low-key.
RJ
Original Post 4/12
Could the Mets really have a plan to “honor” longtime Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones?
WFAN producer Al Dukes talked to a Mets official this morning who told him the team intends to honor the retirement of Braves OF Chipper Jones, according to this report on WFAN.com.
Tasked with confirming the rumor, Dukes got a Mets official on the phone Thursday morning.
He summed up the chat on air: “It was a conversation that went like this … ‘Will we acknowledge Chipper Jones’ career? Yes we will.’ “
The team’s plans are unclear, Dukes said. For his final series in Queens, the Mets presented former Braves manager Bobby Cox with a bottle of wine from the California vineyard of legendary New York pitcher Tom Seaver.
You’re kidding me right?
What’s the message here?
Break our fans’ hearts, demolish our team’s hopes, bash our bloody heads in, and we’ll honor you for it at the end of your career?
That’s great… just great…
I respect Chipper and I think he’s a lock for the Hall, but this is too much. What are we going to do, put a big giant No. 10 next to the big Dodger Blue 42?
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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One word…
WTF?
F_ _k Larry!
Not into drawing comparisons, but Chipper & the Mets fans have had a special relationship over the years. Over the years of @ss-whooping he’s delivered on the Amazins, he’s always been respectful to our fans and our city. He’s honored the relationship by naming his son after our stadium. He’s participated in many epic battles, won most of them, lost some of them, but handled everything with class & dignity.
He’s been a special player for many special Met moments – the Fireworks game, the 9-11 game, the grandslam single game – and he’s never begrudged the Mets or uttered one snide remark to my knowledge. He’s been supportive of our players, even when they struggle (see – David Wright).
I have no special affection toward the Braves – I dislike Brian Jordan as much as any player I ever have. Feel the exact opposite about Chipper. He was at his best in the clutch when the Mets were a formidable opponent, when games between the Mets & Braves mattered. And when the Mets declined, he continued his dominance as if it was a disagreeable duty. He always wanted a challenge & New York seemed to bring out his very best.
Something about Chipper Jones relationship with Mets fans (Larrrry…Larrrry…) that carries a special quality separate & apart from any other quasi-adversarial relationship between a player and an opposing fan base. Has something to do with the nature of our nation’s love for Baseball, which transcends the game itself. He loves New York & New York loves him.
This is our opportunity to admit it & to express gratitude for all of the special moments we’ve shared, win or lose.
that word times 100
I don’t have a problem with it. The guy “gets it”. He knows the rivalry is just a rivalry.
Still…I’ll bet its no more than a scoreboard mention.
Its not the Mets job to honor him. He mocked our team his whole career, even naming his kid after our stadium. He can go die for all I care!
how does naming his kid after the old stadium mock us? Unless he beats his kid and embarrass him ever chance he gets (which from my knowledge he dosent)
Ah, if only he’d been a Met!
This is the same team that gave Rivera the rubber from their own mound because he got his 500th save there.
How about we honor our own guys first, hmmm?
We did? How did I miss that?
Seriously? You didn’t hear about that?
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4518141
With a love note signed by Jeffy and Minaya
WTF??? Honor Larry? For all the grief he has given Mets fans, we will HONOR him? Here is what I say to honor him, Him, Him, F*** Him!
Us Mets fans have to admit it–
This Mets staff just gets it they have the pulse of the fans…..The fans of every other MLB team excluding the Mets fans.
lol…unbelievable
LETS HONOR ‘KID” by retiring his number!!!
If the Mets do this right this could actually be funny. If anyone is happy to see him go it is the Mets. Play a nice short video of some highlights of his career and end it with something like “Now you know why we are happy to see you go” and give him a Mets shirt that says on the back “After 240(whatever the number is) games vs the Mets all I got was this lousy shirt.”
Actually the last two lines should be:
Congratulations on a Hall of Fame career…
PLEASE STAY RETIRED!!
LMAO on both your suggestions, North and Metsi. That will show the ultimate respect with a good sense of humor.
I have no problem with this. The Yankees did the same thing with Ripken on his farewell tour. It’s a class move to acknowledge a great, Hall of Fame career and from all reports Chipper is a classy, hall of fame man, too. The game is bigger than any an individual team. The Mets and Chipper have a very long history and I’m glad there will be an ackowledgement. Would I have a ceremony, or something extravagant? No. But before the game, if they call him up to home plate and give him a bottle of wine or a plaque and ackowledge him and the whole thing takes a a minute or two, then I applaud the Mets for their homage to a great player.
Stop trying to appear sane.
Sorry, Russ. It’s a terrible habit I have.
Well, for starters, why can’t our own players get this kind of love?
Second, Ripken meant way more to the game than Larry and I don’t think Cal and the Yankees had the kind of history Larry and the Mets do.
And, finally, to me, Larry will always be the guy who threw his knees into Piazza’s ribs on a play at the plate.
Your 2nd and 3rd points are fair, but what Met hasn’t been honored in some way for his career? Are you talking abou retiring numbers specifically? Because I feel like there are three or four games every year the Mets are bringing someone or some team back to Citi for a ceremony. Last year was the 86 team, this year is the 50th anniversary, Gary had a nice ceremony the other day, the 69 team was honored in 2009, etc.
How about honoring an individual who is alive to enjoy it?
The only 2 I can think of are Seaver and Kiner and Kiner wasn’t even a Mets player (not that Ralph doesn’t deserve all of our love).
Maybe Rusty?
To honor Larry, especially in light of the way they’ve treated some of their own players (Beltran) is a bit infuriating.
I get all that, but what did Rusty do? He won a WS, was a solid complementary player………that’s about it. Also, there’s nothing that said they will “honor” Chipper. It says they will simply “acknowledge” his career. It was a stellar career. I see it like a heavyweight fight. For 12 rounds they beat the living bejeezus out of each other, but when it’s over, they embrace for a minute. That’s all.
Also, if Beltran retires with a no-doubt HOF career, I’m fairly certain he’ll get a bottle of wine, too.
Can I please just have my irrational hate of a guy wearing the wrong laundry?
Yes. Yes, you may.
YOU ARE DAMN RIGHT SIR !!!!
LoL……thanks for your enthusiastic support.
Looong time Met fan. No problem with it. As much as I hate the Braves, and as much of a Met killer as he was (is), I respect him as a player. He is a future Hall of Famer, always has nice things to say about Mets players, and New York City, is friends with guys on the team, named his kid after Shea, had fun with the LAARRRY chants which was cool, wasn’t an as%ho78 like a lot of these guys can be, and he reminds me of when the Mets were relevant, so why not acknowledge him? I don’t want a full celebration but a gift, brief ceremony and a huge LAAARRYYY chant would be cool. “honored enemy” status. Why not.
As long as it is tastefully done, I’m fine with it. They did it for Craig Biggio, didn’t they do something for Bobby Cox too?
I guess the Mets Brass forgot about the post game comments from Chipper after game 159 in 1999 when the Braves beat us and put us 2 games behind Cincy with 3 games to play, Chipper said now all the Met fans can go home and put on their Yankee stuff. Yeah lets honor him. How about we honor Keith Hernandez and hang his number on the wall.
I dont have a problem with this although I can certainly understand why others do. It’s only meant to honor the career of one of the all time greats of this era and one that we got to see so much of over the years (unfortunately for us).
If they do a video montage, I’m sure it won’t have any clips of his walk-off homeruns against the Mets and all those back-breaking hits. At least I hope not.
As long as it’s not Roger Clemons, classy thing to ackowlegde his career. Don’t go overboard.
Then chant LARRY ALL GAME LONG.
I think you way overreacting here this time. You have to see a player without his team and what he has reach in his career , in this game . Its not like they retiring his number on citi field dude, just a little honoring to a dude all pepole know for the last 20years . And he for sure was a reason that people went to a mets braves game in the past . He is a piece of this league and sport we all love , and he is a fuc….ing BIG piece too . Lets give him his few minutes …
This is absurd. Let Atlanta honor Chipper. Let the HOF honor him. But us? Are you kidding me?
How many ceremonies have we had for Piazza since he retired? What a joke.
Just another reason I hate Fred and Jeff. At the end of the day they just don’t get it. They have no understanding of the Mets fan.
We seem to honor more players who didn’t play for the Mets than players that have played for the Mets. It’s crazy but it’s true.
Maybe the Knicks should honor Reggie Miller and Micheal Jordan. The Jets can honor Dan Marino and Tom Brady and the Giants can honor Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith. The Yankees can honor Manny Ramirez and big Papi.
I’m not going to get all hot and bothered until something actually happens. For all we know they will let him tip his cap to the crowd and call it a day. Why worry about something that will happen in 5 months with no details?
By the way Donal, in 86 didn’t the Mets honor Staub when he put him in their HOF?
They did. July 13, 1986
Rusty Staub Day at Shea Stadium Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2Ih0zZVa34
Rusty Staub Day at Shea Stadium Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xXWeIca0MU
So there ya go. Rusty was honored.
They have “honored” their own players. It just depends at what level you want them honored
Dude!!! I couldnt stop cracking up in that first video when that restaurant guy with the three foot chef hat came to the mic to speak.
I remember this!
All the fans with the orange wig and the Mets players as well.
Rusty Staub was a hard nosed player who played the game right and a true gentleman.
Bob Murphy….brings back so many memories.
Thanks for the clips.
What, exactly, do they mean by honor?
If they mean something like putting his career stats and accomplishments up on the scoreboard, while the announcer says: ‘let’s give a round of applause for future HOF Chipper Jones’, and then all Met fans get up and chant all together ‘LARRY’, I have no problem with it.
The man named his son Shea. I say honor his son and have Chipper as an honored guest. I say give him a replica of The Big Apple in centerfield. After all he made it pop up a lot!
This is ridiculous! If they want to “honor” him have a day where they give out signs to all the fans with pictures of Larry from the Three Stooges and chant “LARRY!” At him all game. To honor someone who has mocked the Mets his whole career is a disgrace!
One more nail in the coffin of met fans.Maybe we can rename the rotunda and play videos of this a-hole beating us with home runs.Morons.
I like the idea.
Chipper has been a great adversary, a thorn in our side, and no doubt we all got a kick having somebody we could boo (let’s admit it) out of respect. Why not end it with a special goodbye for no matter what, his relationship as a visiting player was indeed unique and he took it with good humor.
I can think of no better way to show how classy us Met fans can be.
They can honor him as long as it’s not like “This is your life”. Give him a short mention and let that be that. Every team needs it’s villain. It’s one of the few times the Mets show some class. They honored Mariano so they might as well continue the tributes but don’t give them bases and pitching rubbers. Something short and simple.
The Braves rivalry dies with Chipper. Now it’s just another team coming into CitiField until someone becomes the villain.
And there we have it.
this is absurd.screw chipper. and when he retires, good riddance.
Yeah I’m a long time Mets fan and I would have a problem it the Mets didn’t do something for Chipper. He has been a huge torn in the side of the Mets from day one, but in a way you have to respect that. Every time Chipper steps to the plate against the Mets I cringe, but that’s what this game is about. When he makes an out it’s a lot bigger deal then someone else making an out. I see people asking why the Mets don’t honor our own players like this and I ask, who would deserve it? Carter got a patch, not bad for 5 years on the team. Straw, Doc, well to me both left on bad terms back in the day, but have since been back many times and I would say they’ve been honored enough. Piazza? His number should be retired for sure.
I would love to be at Chippers final game at Citi, I would stand and clap for his final at bat, but also cheer when we finally strike him out
Mets fans are a weird bunch.
Knock him on his butt on every pitch in last at bat.That is something I would remember for a while.Btw, David Ortiz of the redsox has been a huge Yankee killer.Does anybody think he will be honored in his last at bat at Yankee Stadium?I guess the guy who decided Murphy could play second base made the decision to honor Chipper
Omar Minaya?
This team has become nothing more than a bad sitcom. What an absolute joke.
Yes, Chipper is a great player and a cant miss Hall of Famer…but wtf is wrong with this team that we honor stars of other teams.
Cant wait to see what WE do for Jeter when he retires.
the t shirt should read good riddance. Adios M.F.