My Steve Cohen Wishlist
It has been such a breath of fresh air having Steve Cohen as my new owner. He has been killing it in the PR game and has the Mets in the headlines nearly everyday. The Wilpons would never. He has even taken to Twitter to ask the fans what they think the Mets should do this offseasons and other things they would like to see. I am pretty sure Fred Wilpon doesn’t even know what Twitter is.
I have written extensively about what Cohen and his $14 billion can bring to the Mets. We have discussed expanding the analytics department, signing top tier free agents, and developing the area around Citi Field. Here are three more ideas for what the fans want to see.
Old Timers Day
Steve Cohen has hinted at the idea of an old timers day at Citi Field. Imagine seeing Ron Darling throwing to Mike Piazza behind the plate with Keith Hernandez hitting. Now, add Gary Cohen on the call and you have yourself a legendary combination. It would be a great way to honor the great teams from the late 80s and late 60s while connecting them to the present fan base. Old timers day would also provide an excellent opportunity to honor some of the Mets greats that are no longer with us. Franchise cornerstones Gary Carter and Tom Seaver have both passed away relatively recently and old timers day is the perfect opportunity to honor them.
Bobby Bonilla Day
For the last 10 years, Bobby Bonilla day has been a staple of the Mets franchise. With one of the most embarrassing contracts in MLB history, the Mets owe Bobby Bonilla $1.15 million every July 1 until 2035. The Mets slander usually increases every July 1, but with Cohen, he has tossed around the idea of making a spectacle around it. Imagine Bobby Bonilla walking out of the dugout in his Mets jersey to meet Steve Cohen, Sandy Alderson, and Jared Harper on the pitcher’s mound with a huge check for $1.15 million. He then gets into a convertible with Mr. Met driving and he takes a lap around the field with the crowd going nuts. The Mets are no longer the laughing stock of the MLB every July because they turned Bobby Bonilla day into a party.
Black Jerseys
Listen, I absolutely love the Mets blue jerseys with the orange lettering. I own a Matt Harvey one myself. However, I would love it if the Mets brought their old black jerseys left. The black jerseys symbolize the most recent successful era from the late 90s and 2006. Marcus Stroman and Pete Alonso have been running the campaign for their return and Steve Cohen has teased the idea himself. I would love to see them return on a specialty basis. For example, they could wear them on Friday night home games or Sunday afternoon games.
The black jerseys are controversial on Mets Twitter. Fans tend to either love them or hate them. There are very few fans who are lukewarm about them. I think they would look amazing on some of their players. Imagine Jacob Degrom or Nah Syndergaard standing 60′ 6″ away wearing those intimidating jerseys.
Final Thoughts
Cohen has already brought more to the Mets in a couple months than the Wilpons did in a couple decades. The Mets are now the talk of the league. They are connected to every top free agent, handling PR very well, and have excited their fans like no other team. These are just few ideas that I have seen tossed around on Twitter and would love to see happen. Mets fans everywhere are so excited about what is coming for their rejuvenated franchise and Steve Cohen is doing everything to bring a World Series back to Queens.
-Pete Chatterton (@Pchat12)