Loud and Clear? Mets Suddenly Hear Fans on HOF, et al

[G-Fafif]

The Mets are getting with the program of diggin' on the Mets. If they announced this stuff a year ago, it would have been part and parcel of opening a new ballpark, one would have figured and it wouldn't seem newsworthy. Then again, the Mets issuing a press release on a Saturday in November...I guess they follow their own news muse.

Mets expand club presence at Citi Field 11/21/2009 1:41 PM ET New York Mets Press Release FLUSHING, N.Y. -- The New York Mets today announced plans to expand the presence of club history at Citi Field next season in a variety of ways including renaming areas of the ballpark after Casey Stengel, Gil Hodges, Tom Seaver and William A. Shea. The Mets also have re-formed the Mets Hall of Fame Committee, and will increase the number of visuals commemorating great players and moments both inside and outside the ballpark. The Mets previously announced a 2010 opening of the Mets Hall of Fame & Museum at Citi Field. RENAMING OF AREAS IN BALLPARK The Mets will rename and visually theme Citi Field's VIP entrances and outfield bridge after individuals who made an indelible mark on the club. First Base VIP will be named after Hodges to honor the manager who led the Mets to their first World Championship in 1969. Third Base VIP will honor Seaver, the Hall of Fame pitcher and Mets leader in wins, earned run average and strikeouts. Left Field VIP will be named after Stengel, the first manager in Mets history. The outfield bridge will be dedicated as Shea Bridge, honoring the legacy of the man who was the driving force to bring National League baseball back to New York after the departure of the Dodgers and Giants. METS HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM & HALL OF FAME COMMITTEE The centerpiece for Mets memorabilia will be the Mets Hall of Fame & Museum, located adjacent to the Jackie Robinson Rotunda and accessible from both inside and outside the ballpark. A re-formed Mets Hall of Fame Committee will evaluate potential inductees, and is comprised of a combination of media members with a long-standing connection to the club and Mets front office staff. Media members on the committee are: Marty Noble, the Mets.com beat writer who is entering his fifth decade covering the team; Gary Cohen, the New York native and voice of the Mets on SNY who has been a Mets broadcaster for 21 years; and Howie Rose, a Queens native and radio voice of the Mets on WFAN who has covered the team for 21 years on radio and television. The Mets committee members are: Dave Howard, executive vice president, business operations who has been with the organization for 18 years; Jay Horwitz, vice president, media relations who just completed his 30th season with the team; Tina Mannix, senior director, marketing who has been with the Mets for nine years; and former Mets pitcher Al Jackson, a pitching consultant who is entering his sixth decade with the Mets. Chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon serves as ex-officio. "The re-formation of the Mets Hall of Fame Committee is central to our concerted efforts to better connect our present and future to our past," said Wilpon. "It reinforces the organization's and our fans' shared desire to recognize our greatest players. With our 2010 opening of the Mets Hall of Fame & Museum at Citi Field, now was the time to bring this group together." Candidates will be evaluated on their impact on the field while in a Mets uniform, how they represented and affected the organization and their place in Mets history. The Mets Hall of Fame was established in 1981 with an inaugural class of Joan Payson, the first Mets owner, and Casey Stengel, the first Mets manager. The Mets Hall of Fame has 21 members including former players, managers, front-office executives and broadcasters. Tommie Agee was the last person inducted in 2002. The following is the list of Hall of Fame members in order of the year they were inducted: Joan Payson (1981); Casey Stengel (1981); Gil Hodges (1982); George M. Weiss (1982); William A. Shea (1983); Johnny Murphy (1983); Ralph Kiner (1984); Bob Murphy (1984); Lindsey Nelson (1984); Bud Harrelson (1986); Rusty Staub (1986); Tom Seaver (1988); Jerry Koosman (1989); Ed Kranepool (1990); Cleon Jones (1991); Jerry Grote (1992); Tug McGraw (1993); Mookie Wilson (1996); Keith Hernandez (1997); Gary Carter (2001); and Tommie Agee (2002). The Mets will announce further details about the Mets Hall of Fame & Museum in the coming weeks. IMAGERY & TEAM COLORS Next season, fans will be greeted by Mets colors as they approach Citi Field with full-color banners of Mets players on Mets Plaza in front of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. Mets logos will be added on entry points to the parking areas and on the light poles in the parking lots. The addition of team colors will continue inside the ballpark with staircases painted with blue and orange and more Mets logos throughout the ballpark. Flowers in the gardens at Mets Plaza in front of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda will also be blue and orange. "These additions amplify our commitment to better recognize our team's heritage and honor the players and memories our fans cherish," said Howard. "Ownership is acting upon our fans' desire to see more Mets around the ballpark. We hear our fans loud and clear and these additions continue the process that started last season."

[Guest themetfairy]

It's about time!

But better late than never.

It sounds like the HOF will be located in what was the store on the Jackie Robinson Level. It seems like a reasonably good use of space.

[Frayed Knot]

Media members on the committee are: Marty Noble, the Mets.com beat writer who is entering his fifth decade covering the team; Gary Cohen, the New York native and voice of the Mets on SNY who has been a Mets broadcaster for 21 years; and Howie Rose, a Queens native and radio voice of the Mets on WFAN who has covered the team for 21 years on radio and television. The Mets committee members are: Dave Howard, executive vice president, business operations who has been with the organization for 18 years; Jay Horwitz, vice president, media relations who just completed his 30th season with the team; Tina Mannix, senior director, marketing who has been with the Mets for nine years; and former Mets pitcher Al Jackson ...

Even taking into account the fact that I never until this very moment heard of Tina Mannix (any relation to Joe?) I think this committee is perfect.

[Guest Kong76]

Shea Way or something would sound better than Shea Bridge.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'd like, um, Greg on that committee. Otherwise, good call.

Seriously, somebody should represent the fans and/or independent research, right? And probably somebody representing the figures currently in the Hall of Fame.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

I'd like, um, Greg on that committee. Otherwise, good call.[/quote:16x2hkn9]

Seconded. Always found it funny that there's never an actual, non-organization-employed fan on these sorts of things.

In honor of the Mets' prompt response to fan requests, I plan to be officially grateful for this in August 2015.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Bravo, Mets.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'd kinda like to think that they're naming the bridge after the defunct ballpark, instead of Bill Shea.

[Guest themetfairy]

I'd kinda like to think that they're naming the bridge after the defunct ballpark, instead of Bill Shea.[/quote:1e9pq69c]

It can be for both.

[metirish]

Bravo, Mets.[/quote:2obsxwga]


This


Looking forward to the changes/additions

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I'd like, um, Greg on that committee. Otherwise, good call.[/quote:2qedojnj]

Seconded.[/quote:2qedojnj]

F Greg. Nominate me instead!

[metirish]

I'd like, um, Greg on that committee. Otherwise, good call.[/quote:wtaic0cg]

Seconded.[/quote:wtaic0cg]

F Greg. Nominate me instead![/quote:wtaic0cg]


Done

Seriously, it would be cool to have two or three of you guys there.

[G-Fafif]

I'd like, um, Greg on that committee. Otherwise, good call.

[Guest Kong76]

So she's the brain surgeon behind the Mets marketing many of us
have questioned and made fun of for the better part of a decade?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

[G-Fafif]

For all we know, Tina Mannix was the driving force behind resuscitating the Hall of Fame, the one arguing behind the scenes that we're letting our fans down by letting such a valuable equity evaporate.

Or somebody on the Mets said at Friday at 5:25, "We should probably get one more person on the committee. Go see if anybody's still at their desk."

[stevejrogers]

If Strawberry and/or Gooden are not the next two inductees, I'd be very annoyed.

From what Gary said in Greg's book, those two pretty much WERE the reasons the HOF dried up after Agee's induction in 2002.

Guys who were still active for the most part at the time (Piazza, Alfonzo, Franco) aside, there weren't too many other "options" though that they could have put in during the meantime.

[G-Fafif]

One anticipates this element of the discussion being broken off into its own thread (similar to those that have sprouted during the long Hall of Fame drought), but if the HoF is going to follow the form it established in its early years, Davey Johnson and Frank Cashen are every bit as worthy of recognition as Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry. I'd recommend taking care of Cashen as soon as possible, if you get my drift.

[G-Fafif]

[Guest Edgy DC]

If Strawberry and/or Gooden are not the next two inductees, I'd be very annoyed.[/quote:2xwki77i]

I'd save my annoyance regarding order and just hope the next inductee is deserving. Considering the backlog, he (or she) would almost have to be.

[ashie62]

Strawberry Fields for Daryl

[Frayed Knot]

I'm not even going to get all that picky about who does/doesn't get in or in what order things happen. Just the fact that this acknowledges that they've been ignoring their past (lack of 'Metness' in the new crib) plus have a group in place that will at least keep an eye on the future (and has the right people to steer it) is a good sign all by itself.

Yeah it's a shame that they didn't realize these things on their own and had to be shouted/shamed into it but, hey, baby steps first. Hopefully they're now on the path to realizing something that was discussed in another thread: the concept that marketing [u:2fl8orsm]the team[/u:2fl8orsm], and not just a select few who happen to be currently wearing the uniform, is a worthwhile goal.

[Valadius]

Shall we put odds on who's going to be the next person inducted? Gotta be Piazza, no?

[dgwphotography]

Shall we put odds on who's going to be the next person inducted? Gotta be Piazza, no?[/quote:3nqhl9wi]

After rereading JCL's interview with Marty Noble, I really think Keith should go in first.

[seawolf17]

Keith got in in 1997, according to the list. It'll likely be Darryl and/or Doc next, I'd think.

[dgwphotography]

Thanks - that's embarrassingly forgetful on my part...

[Guest Edgy DC]

An old thread on the subject.

http://cranepoolforum.qwknetllc.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=799&start=0&sid=2dc12b4fbfd902979a2162305ea90679

If I'm on the committee, my first vote would now be for Cashen.

[ashie62]

Cashen fits nicely..makes for a transition to the 80's

[Fman99]

If you're not going to put Doc and Daryl in there you shouldn't bother having it in the first place.

[Benjamin Grimm]

If I'm on the committee, my first vote would now be for Cashen.[/quote:1vzrnxr1]

I think it's Rube Walker's turn, but yes, since Cashen is clinging to life, I'd let him go first.