(Hi – reminder I am doing that “sticky post” thing where I’m keeping main story of the day up top…scroll down for other new items throughout the day)
Mike Vaccaro has the must read of the day in the Post. I don’t want to over-excerpt…but there’s some great words here so be sure to read it.
Carter is sick now, news that has devastated the Mets’ family and fan base. And the Mets face a disquieting choice now. Even an operation as tone-deaf as this ought to know that it should finally step up and do the right thing, have a day sometime in the next few months, put Carter’s 8 up on the wall next to 37, 14, 41 and 42.
Would it look like they would be reacting to the horrific news of Carter’s brain cancer? Maybe. And you know what? That’s tough. The Mets could’ve done the right thing on their own years ago. Now they need to give their fans an opportunity to thank and salute Carter, whether he is physically up for the task or not. And because the Mets couldn’t identify the right thing to do if it was a neon sign, then shaming them into doing the right thing will have to do.
We’ve been having a good discussion on twitter (@metspolice) this morning.
Is it weird to do it now? Yes. Too bad.
Should other numbers be retired? I would say 17 should have gone first, but Keith can wait another year. Let Gary (HOFer, captain, fan fave, ring owner) have his day.
Will it be an emotional day? Oh hell yeah.
The number isn’t being used. So why not hang it on the wall? What’s the downside? So you can give it to Matt Galante? There will be 95 usable numbers left.
If you want your franchise to have pride and tradition then you have to decide your franchise has pride and a tradition.
Write your own history. Let the next generation of Mets fans ask who wore #8.
Look at the Bronx. They manufacture tradition. If you’re under 30 why don’t you take a look at the back of Mr. October’s baseball card. There will be 16 inconvenient seasons on it. Ask someone over 30 about Saint George the love-able old man who just wanted to win.
The story of the Mets has become bumbling ownership and their love of the Dodgers. Why would you want that?
Start embracing the tradition.
Create your own folklore. Start with 8. Then 17. Then 31. It’s what your customers want.
We can argue about 17, 31, 36, 16 and 18 a different day (that’s great off-season content by the way). This discussion is about Gary Carter, and I’ll ask the question. Why not?
Having Gary Carter Day — for kicks, let’s say July 19, 20 or 21, against the Mets’ old rivals from St. Louis — would be a fair starting point. Retiring 8 is the right thing to do.
As sad as it is to hear about carter’s illness, his numbers as a met’s player in the 600 games he played for them were just not that good. We all can think of much more deserving players to retire before carter…
Very, very well said.
e.
It’s time for the Mets to start owning their legacy.
There are a lot of people that would be happy if the Mets held Gary Carter Day and finally put #8 up on the outfield wall. There’s really nothing to lose by retiring a number that hasn’t been handed out for years and likely will never be worn again.
Next on the list should be Willie Mays’ #24 – the Mets have obviously decided to keep it out of circulation, so let’s make it formal before it’s too late to do it properly.
Discussions about #17, #31, #16 & #18 can be handled later – but not too much later.
well, except for rickey and kelvin torve
no way should the mets retire mays’ number
Forget retiring his number. Who cares about that. How about just giving him a day and bringing back his old Met teammates and old Expo teammates, since they don’t get recognized anywhere anyway. Do it like an Old Timer’s day and have a 2-3 inning old timers type game as well. Make it a huge event. Have both teams clad in their uniforms from the era. Put the game on a Saturday or Sunday in August or September when the Mets will be hopelessly out of it and the fans would need a reason to come back to the park. Give out #8 T-shirts with some sponsor’s name on the back. Just do something for this great ambassador for baseball before his time is up.
How cool would it be to have Daryl, Doc, Mex, Kid, Hojo, Bobby O, Mookie on one side and Hawk, Rock, Steve Rogers, Reardon on the other side. If kid is healthy he can choose to play 1 inning as an Expo and 1 as a Met.
I would go out tomorrow and buy a great seat for that one and take my kids and have us all cry our eyes out.
If a weekend date can’t be found they could do it as part of the 9/15 day game vs the Nats. Washington could go retro and wear Expos uni’s and even the scoreboard could say Mets vs Expos. Remember there is a lot of history between the Mets and Expos. Montreal played it’s first game ever (1969) vs the Mets on opening day @ Shea and their last game ever in 2004 on the final day of the season @ Shea. I actually went to both of them and a lot of them in between. Guess that means I’m old 🙂
The Mets are a unique franchise for many reasons. One reason that they are unique has to do with the fact that they have always tried to tie the Brooklyn Dodger / New York Giant lineage into the Met experience and history. Take a look at their early expansion years and you’d see a host of former NYG and BKN ballplayers on the roster. There was absolutely no reason to “bring back” Gil, Duke and Willie (in 72) other than the fact that the fan base felt them to be one of their own. Let’s be completely honest here. No sacred cows whatsoever. Do we really think Gil’s #14 would have been retired if he wasn’t a favorite son and beloved Boy of Summer ? Let’s look at his managerial record. I think Davey’s record was a ton better. Gil made it because of both his Dodger years and his success in 1969 + his tragic death. The combined lineage of his Brooklyn / Met years got him in. This is why Willie’s #24 being retired is not such a far fetched idea. His days with the Giants in NY were off the charts. He was also Mrs. Payson’s favorite player and a major reason why he was “brought back”. The outpouring of love from the Met fans to Willie when he came back was fantastic. He was not treated like an over the hill superstar coming from another team. He was being treated as a returning hero. He was being welcomed back home. I think Met fans have to understand that the franchise does not just represent 1962-2011, but all of what happened in NY national league baseball. This is why the franchise has value, because it’s not the Houston Astros, who just started up out of nowhere in 1962. It’s why the Mets drafted expansion players the way they did.
The HoF shouldn’t be grounds for automatic retirement of a number, but there is no arguing that Carter had a significant influence on the team, in fact a World Championship influence. He wasn’t some guy just finishing out his last season or two before admitting he was done. He totally deserves to see his number up there.
In that case we can make an argument for ed kranpool. he was loved by the fans and was an original met and played everygame of his career with them. let’s retire #7 also.
let’s at least wait until we trade reyes first
Krane is loved, mainly for longevity, and seems to be more loved in the 2010’s than say he was in 1985 or 1995….but I think he’s lower on the list than several others.