Free Shirt Fridays have become a staple in the Mets’ annual promotional schedule. It’s been one of their longer-tenured promotions that has been a hit both in the stands and on TV, as SNY often puts its focus on the shirts given out.
But let’s be real: Nobody wears these shirts to make a fashion statement. These are the kind of shirts you wear to the gym, or the kind that you throw to your girlfriend who has zero interest in baseball when you drag her out to Citi Field. Or, they’re the kind of shirts you cut the sleeves off of. Now that’s a fashion statement.
The shirts are always way oversized, and some of them don’t even look all that nice. But this year’s lineup looks pretty promising and some of them actually do look pretty cool. So here’s your definitive power rankings of 2017 Free Shirt Fridays:
No. 13 – Sept. 22: NY Mets: New York’s Favorite Team
Not only is this shirt overtly bland, but you have to be delusional to think that the Mets are New York’s favorite team. Even the most die-hard of the Mets’ faithful would acknowledge this. Realistically, they’re New York’s fourth or fifth favorite team, depending on how you count the Rangers. It’s a good thing most Free Shirt Friday shirts don’t look like this, otherwise this promotion would probably not be going anywhere.
No. 12 – .July 14: New York
The Mets are trying way too hard to be “hip with the youngsters and the rap music” with this one. No Supreme-wearing Drake fan is going to wear this shirt. And it’s way too generic.
No. 11 – June 16: Tie-Dye NY Logo
Tie-dye is never a good look for anyone. Except maybe Bill Walton.
No. 10 – Sept. 8: Let’s Go Mets
As far as the generic-looking Free Shirt Friday shirts go, this one is actually not the worst. It utilizes the team’s original color scheme pretty well, and “Let’s Go Mets” is a perfect shirt to be wearing to a Mets game.
No. 9 – August 18: NY Logo Mania
Three whole Mets logos. That design is actually kind of cool.
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No. 8 – August 4: Blue Jersey
This is the kind of shirt that looks really good in theory, but may not work as well in practice. Considering that most of these shirts tend to be cheaply made and oversized, the shirt probably won’t look like a jersey on most fans– as it does in this picture. Either way, it’s a pretty cool concept for one of the better Mets’ alternate jerseys.
No. 7 – June 2: Ultimate DeGrom
If I knew nothing about baseball or Jacob deGrom, I’d think this was a really weird shirt. Why is a guy holding a baseball next to some loose locks of hair, all pitted against an orange and blue background? But if you do know about baseball, this is actually a pretty cool design.
No. 6 – July 21: Back In Black
The Mets have essentially abandoned their black jersey over the last five years, and that’s a shame. That look defined the late-90s-early-00s look that many young Mets fans look back on fondly, and they should at least wear it as an alternate. That’s why it’s cool to see the Mets at least kind of bring back the black shirt– even if it is only in a Free Shirt Friday capacity.
The neon look also bears a loose resemblance to the neon players that were showcased outside of Shea Stadium– a quintessential part of the Mets’ old home.
No. 5 – April 21: Run, Reyes, Run!
The Mets’ all-time stolen base leader gets his own free shirt for the first time to commemorate his speed.
No. 4 – April 7: There’s no Place Like Home
This is fitting, especially since it will be the Mets’ first free shirt of the season, and since it’ll probably be pretty cold out when the game is played in April.
No. 3 – May 19: Up The Middle
Imagine someone wearing an Edgardo Alfonzo and Rey Ordonez “Up the Middle” t-shirt now. That’s so vintage. That’s also how people will look at someone wearing this shirt in 20 years.
No. 2 – June 30: Cespedes Necklace
This is a really out-of-the-box concept. If only they could have made this with a neon green sleeve to match too…
No. 1 – May 5: The Totally not “Thor” Noah Syndergaard T-Shirt
This shirt has no direct references to the Marvel superhero, as to not get into any copyright troubles. But it has just enough indirect ones so that fans know what they mean.
Syndergaard’s Norse god features are captured very well in this shirt. The 17 pounds of added muscle. The flowing locks. The lightning bolt. If only this shirt had a way to capture his Twitter game, then it could go down as one of the greatest in Free Shirt Friday history.
