Opening Day 2002 was another start to a season where Mets fans had high hopes. Steve Phillips had made some bold transactions in the offseason. We “stole” Roberto Alomar from the Indians in a trade that was wildly heralded as one-sided, even though we had given up can’t miss prospect Alex Escobar (remember him?). Another once blue chip prospect Alex Ochoa was sent away in a three team trade that netted Jeromy Burnitz, also jettisoning Benny Agbayani, Todd Zeile, Glendon Rusch and Mike Piazza’s best buddy Lenny Harris. And of course the big move, trading Kevin Appier for slugger Mo Vaughn, a player who had missed all of 2001 and was still owed $50MM. We even brought back Roger Cedeno! In all, Steve Phillips brought in 13 new players and the team boasted a $95 million payroll.
53,734 fans were in attendance (then the largest opening day crowd in Shea Stadium history) to see the new team on a windy afternoon game that started at 3:12. It was a new post 9/11 world for us in attendance. We were met by huge lines, slowed by new security procedures, to get into the stadium. The Mets uniforms bore two special patches – one commemorating the team’s 40th anniversary, and one in memory of 9/11. New mayor Mike Bloomberg threw out the first pitch and during the seventh-inning stretch, Art Garfunkel sang ”God Bless America.”
Al Leiter started the game for the Mets, and pitched very well, allowing 1 unearned run over six innings to get the win, as newcomer David Weathers threw two no-hit innings and Armando Benitez closed out the ninth. Newcomer Mo Vaughn went 0-5 with two strikeouts (but it was the bat manufacturers fault?), but Roberto Alomar drove in two runs, as did Jay Payton, who hit a homerun.
Bobby Valentine’s Mets would go on to a 75-86 record, finishing last in the NL East.
I took the 7 train to the game, and so you’ll see Shea Stadium show up between the treetops. Getting off the old platform, we get a look at the under-construction Citi Field and a sense of the atmosphere around Shea. We take a look inside the dark corridors of Shea (no Shake Shake there), and then a vision any of us can recall: emerging from the dark corridors to see the bright green landscaped grass of Shea Stadium. I recorded the Opening Introductions (including a loud ovation for new Met Johan Santana), and finally a little bit of some game action. Remember what “Lets Go Mets” sounded like at Shea?
I have a friend with whom I’d been going to Mets Opening Day for I don’t even know how many years. This year he called it quits on the streak. I didn’t really try to twist his arm – I hoped he would go, but he just said he doesn’t feel connected to this Mets team, he doesn’t like ownership, and he still misses Shea. Watching this video does make me nostalgic, but really it makes me nostalgic for my younger days. By the time 2008 rolled around, Shea Stadium was past its days. There really is no denying it; I just wish the architects of Citi Field had remembered they were building a baseball stadium, and not a food court with a ballfield attached.
The Mets have announce that Dave Howard is leaving his post as executive vice president for business operations, to accept a position with Madison Square Garden as President of MSG Sports. I guess he must love having crazy owners of sports franchises as bosses.
Shannon has met Dave, and says he is fond of him, and worries about the loss of a rational-thinking buffer between Jeff Wilpon and the rest of the organization.
I’ve never met Dave, or Jeff, or any of the Mets brass, and I am not even 100% sure what Dave’s roles and responsibilities were as executive vice president for business operations. All I know about Dave Howard are his quotes in the press, and in particular one maddening interview with Mike Francessa after CitiField first opened. Those statements to the press don’t inspire a whole lot of fondness for the guy, at least for me, and so forgive me if I don’t think Dave Howard is leaving a gaping hole in the Mets hierarchy.
Time will tell the truth of his legacy, of course, but one day after the end of The Dave Howard Era, here are Five Things I learned from Dave Howard:
There is blue in green
When CitiField opened, Mets fans were annoyed at the lack of Mets-ness in the Mets’ new home. Compared to Shea Stadium, there was barely any blue and orange in the decor. Mike Francessa kind of screwed this question up when he asked about seat colors, because that was the least of it, but Howard’s answer was ridiculous: “there is blue in green,” he said, and also explained that Mets blue was too light and thus would fade, while a darker blue would be too much like the Yankees.
There are no obstructed view seats in CitiField
I would love it if someone could dig up the promotional videos the Mets had previewing CitiField, because I know it’s not my imagination that they implied every seat at CitiField would be better than those at Shea Stadium. When we showed up in 2009, fans were ticked off about the sightlines. Whether we couldn’t see the entire field, or our view of home plate was obscured by panes of plexiglass, or both, clearly there were some poor architectural choices made by the designers. But rather than admit it, Dave Howard went on air to explain to fans what the definition of an obstructed view was. He also said that fans who complained must not have been to other modern ballparks because if they had, they would know that blind spots is the price one pays for having such a great view of the action. This answer was downright insulting. Personally I’ve been to over a dozen Major League parks and CitiField is the only one I’ve seen where there are these kinds of issues in so many seats at the higher levels. If Dave Howard had bothered to visit Camden Yards instead of just taking HOK’s word for it, he’d know it to be true. The Nationals and the Phillies have beautiful new ballparks with beautiful sightlines as well. And for all the issues Shea Stadium had, the view behind home plate from the upper deck at Shea was much better than from any seat I’ve sat in the Promenade Reserved.
$63 Opening Day Seats Were Well Received
Despite another disappointing 2012 season, the Mets decided to start ticket prices for Opening Day 2013 at $63. If you ask me, the real crime is what they are charging for seats that aren’t horrible, but when Dave Howard was asked about what kind of nerve the Mets had for charging such exorbitant prices for Opening Day, he made it seem like the Mets were doing us a favor and that fans were gobbling them up. Sales “actually went very well. It was well-received… We made a before-the-holidays sale. We made a limited number available that are not in packs.”
Garbage Is Good
In 2010, windy nights at the ballpark caused an inordinate amount of litter to blow around the outfield grass. When asked if the Mets would be hiring extra personnel to clean up the garbage, Howard said they would not. “It’s sort of good now that there is debris to be blown out there,” Howard said. “It shows people are spending some money and buying food and drink and enjoying themselves.”
Being a Mets fan Builds Character
Mets fans should be happy that we’re disappointed so often. Mr. Howard told fans that “being a Mets fan builds character,” so I guess we should be grateful for all the embarrassing moments we’ve shared together.
So, maybe it is true that Dave Howard was stopping the Wilpons from being even crazier, and none of these insane thoughts were his, and he was just towing the company line. If so, he’s well experienced to handle the wacky Dolans. But luckily for Knicks and Rangers fans, the renovations at the Garden will be complete before Mr. Howard comes on board.
Today’s Flashback – 2009 (First Opening Day at Citi Field)
Monday, April 13, 2009 vs San Diego Padres (Game 7 of regular season)
Loss, by score of 6-5, to go 3-4 on the season
41,007 fans were on hand to see the Mets open up their brand new ballpark on Opening Night. Tom Seaver threw out the first pitch to Mike Piazza, the most enormous American flag I’ve ever seen was displayed in the outfield grass, and Padres outfielder Jody Gerut led off the game with a homerun off Mike Pelfrey, becoming the first player to lead off a game with a homer in the first game at a new stadium. David Wright did hit a 3-run bomb to centerfield, but Ryan Church misplayed a flyball and Jose Reyes goofed on the basepaths on the way to a sloppy 6-5 loss.
Six years later CitiField does feel like home, and (along with time) I believe R.A. Dickey and Johan Santana deserve most of the credit for that. R.A. and Johan gave Mets fans indelible memories to associate with Citi Field, so even though David Wright is the captain, and these two pitchers won’t be with the team to start the 2013 campaign, in my opinion CitiField is the house that they built.
Today’s flashback… Monday, March 31st, 3003 vs. Chicago Cubs
Loss, by score of 15-2, to go 0-1 on the season.
2003 was supposed to be a new beginning for the Mets. New ace pitcher Tom Glavine had been lured away from the Braves; new manager Art Howe lit up the room in his interview with the Wilpons; Cliff Floyd had been signed; David Cone was back; Tsuyoshi Shinjo was here with all his flair, and 53,586 showed up at Shea to turn the page on 2002.
The Kahn’s Magnetic schedule given out on Opening Day featured the very generic slogan, “Experience it!,” and told us about the promotions planned for the year. On Saturday June 7th the Mets would hand out Russian Tea Dolls presented by Toyota, and on Sunday September 21st they’d give us an Etch-A-Sketch, courtesy of Tropicana. On Saturday July 12th they would hand out Wiffle balls and bats to the kids, courtesy of Fox Sports Net, while their counterpart MSG would sponsor Mets cap day on April 26th. Those paying attention will also notice the calendar dates featuring home games had different colors for the first time. While in 2002, all the home games were orange, as an example, in 2003 they were orange, yellow (sorry, ‘gold’), silver or bronze. That’s because in 2002 the Mets decided that not all games were created equal and they should change higher amounts for more attractive dates. On Opening Day, a “gold” date, it cost $16 to sit in the Mezzanine, Section 3 (right behind home plate).
Tom Glavine was on the hill on an absolutely freezing March afternoon to make his Mets debut and came up flat. Glavine walked Mark Grudzielanekto leadoff the game and promptly gave up four runs in the first inning. He would give up five runs in total, lasting just 3 2/3 innings before handing it off to the bullpen. Mike Bacsik imploded, giving up 9 earned runs in two innings of work. The 15 runs scored would be the most runs scored against them during an Opening Day, and the Mets managed just two runs in the 15-2 loss.
The 2003 Mets would finish in last place, losing 95 games, and Tom Glavine pitched to a record of 9-14.
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