On a day when Mets followers, gamers and coaches young and old gathered to have a good time Old Timers’ Day, the staff made a shock announcement.
Before the Old Timers’ Day recreation, staff broadcaster Howie Rose introduced in a pregame speech that Willie Mays’ No. 24 shall be retired. No Met will ever put on the quantity once more, which was all the time a dream of Joan Payson, the staff’s unique proprietor who was instrumental in bringing Mays again to New York in a commerce with the San Francisco Giants.
“I’m always surprised when a secret remains a secret in connection with the Mets,” staff president Sandy Alderson mentioned.
Rose learn an announcement ready by Mays, who couldn’t be in attendance however was represented by his son, Michael.
“The Mets retiring my number? Number 24? Man, that’s the best,” a part of the assertion learn.
“You might lose a lot of details after so many years, but what I can never forget is the way it felt to be back in New York City playing for the fans. Mets fans are loyal. Mets fans are passionate. Mets fans are loud.”
“We’re thrilled, this was a long time coming,” mentioned Michael, who additionally threw out the primary pitch earlier than the Mets’ recreation on Saturday in opposition to the Rockies. “I know in his heart, this is a big deal to him, so I’m really grateful.”
The announcement elicited an enormous spherical of applause from the packed stadium. Mays’ quantity will grasp subsequent to these of Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Casey Stengel, Mike Piazza and Keith Hernandez. Though Mays solely performed two seasons for the Mets, he was an All-Star in 1973 and helped the staff attain the World Series.
Cleon Jones, who performed with Mays within the Mets’ outfield, gave his perspective on the Hall of Famer with 24 All-Star appearances and 660 profession residence runs.
“You’re talking about the greatest player to live, as far as I’m concerned,” Jones mentioned. “Nobody could do all the things that he could do. What he brought to the clubhouse each and every day just sent a swell of confidence around the clubhouse. Willie Mays, in the room. [He’s a] guy, to me, that, as a Giant, was a giant.”
When the Giants left New York for San Francisco previous to the 1958 season, they took National League Baseball and one of many recreation’s greatest gamers from town. Now, as a blue and orange 24 will hover over Citi Field for so long as it stands, town will all the time have a bit of Mays with them.
“I want to thank Steve and Alex Cohen for making this day possible and embracing Mets history,” Mays mentioned by way of a staff press launch. “New York was a magical place to play baseball.”
“There couldn’t have been a better setting for this,” Alderson mentioned. “I think one of the most rewarding aspects of today was the number of fans who were in the ballpark. This was a great way to reintroduce Willie Mays to an entirely new set of Mets fans.”
While the members of Generation Z in attendance on Saturday will not be absolutely conscious of the aura that he carried, those that noticed Mays up shut knew he was one in all one.
“I was so struck by Willie that I watched him run on and off the field,” Jones shared. “It was exciting to me to see that there was somebody so talented.”
Jones additionally informed a humorous story about watching Mays get flooded with a lot fan mail that it usually went ignored. This led Jones to take it upon himself to open the letters, resulting in a serious discovery.
“I’d find a check for $25,000,” he mentioned. “I’d go through the mail and find another check, $10,000. When I finished adding up the checks, because they’d been in his locker for so long, they’d add up to $60,000 or $70,000. I said, ‘Man, what the hell are you doing with $60,000 in your locker, when I need $5,000 right now?’”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com