Before 2009 turned into a nightmare year for the Mets, their fans we were excited. Aaron Heilman was gone, the Mets signed K-Rod and added J.J. Putz to the bullpen and they were opening up a new ballpark. For the final 2 seasons Shea Stadium saw the Mets playoff dreams evaporate on the last day of the season, we were hoping that the demons of Shea were gone with our brand new ball park.
Citi Field opened and it was beautiful, much nicer to the eyes than Shea Stadium was. It was an old fashion design, a bit of a throwback to the old days of baseball stadiums with modern technology and a lot of good restaurants to eat from. There was something that was missing however: the lack of Mets history. The ballpark was designed like Ebbets Field and the rotunda was named after Jackie Robinson, a player who deserves the respect of every baseball fan because he changed the game forever, but had nothing to do with the history of the New York Mets.
Walking around this new ballpark, the lack of history was evident. The criticism came in fast and early and only grew as the Mets season got worse. This past weekend the Mets issued a press release informing their fans and the media that there will be more Mets history present in 2010 at Citi Field. First I had to laugh because a team that actually has to issue a press release that promises they will celebrate their own history at their home ballpark is pretty funny. The fact is that they are only adding this history to appease the media and the fans, not because the Mets feel that this is the right thing to do by us and the history of the team. To check out all the changes click here.
The one thing I would like to see changed is the color of the outfield walls to blue. For some reason the Mets in their mockup of Citi Field had blue walls in the outfield. In fact for those that don’t know, in “MLB ’09 The Show” Citi Field even has the blue walls. I know some would like to see the seats painted Orange and Blue but I don’t mind the seat colors, I think they are friendlier on the eyes the way they are right now.
I have to say though making these additions after 2009 is smart. The Wilpons needed to find a way to attract more fans, especially if they have a weak 2010 free agent season. The Mets museum is something I cannot wait to see and it’s long overdue. I hope that in addition to all the changes the Mets make they will also retire more numbers such as Keith Hernandez’, Daryl Strawberry’s and Doc Gooden’s. I know a lot fans want Piazza’s number retired, but that won’t happen until he goes into the Baseball Hall Of Fame. I wouldn’t mind a statue of Tom Seaver as well as Bill Shea considering he brought the Mets to New York City.
