Dept. of Tradition & Fan Experience Suggestion Box

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

I saw some of the comments about the Hall of Fame.

Keep in mind that the vice president of tradition and fan experience has broad powers, he can't go back in time.

While I haven't seen the hall -- my visit to Citi was in its first year -- the photos look pretty neat. I don't know too many teams with better halls. The Reds have an entire building that is incredible. But many of the others -- Indians, Phillies -- have the basic plaque on the wall thing working, and no museum. I know the Braves have a wonderful museum, and the Rangers have something that is basically Cooperstown south.

I like the tailgating thing. The Brewers have a permanent concession and restroom building in the parking lot to assist with such things. Since the Mets lack a neighborhood for fans to hang out it, it would be nice to assist with the tailgating to make a party atmosphere.

[batmagadanleadoff]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: I saw some of the comments about the Hall of Fame. Keep in mind that the vice president of tradition and fan experience has broad powers, he can't go back in time. While I haven't seen the hall -- my visit to Citi was in its first year -- the photos look pretty neat. I don't know too many teams with better halls. The Reds have an entire building that is incredible. But many of the others -- Indians, Phillies -- have the basic plaque on the wall thing working, and no museum. I know the Braves have a wonderful museum, and the Rangers have something that is basically Cooperstown south. I like the tailgating thing. The Brewers have a permanent concession and restroom building in the parking lot to assist with such things. Since the Mets lack a neighborhood for fans to hang out it, it would be nice to assist with the tailgating to make a party atmosphere.

From what I've seen and read on the web, the Royals HOF is also among the best.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Require that any fan who sits in the seat behind home plate most visible on tv to wear a Mets boater hat and roll her arms throughout the game.

[Ceetar]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: I saw some of the comments about the Hall of Fame. Keep in mind that the vice president of tradition and fan experience has broad powers, he can't go back in time. While I haven't seen the hall -- my visit to Citi was in its first year -- the photos look pretty neat. I don't know too many teams with better halls. The Reds have an entire building that is incredible. But many of the others -- Indians, Phillies -- have the basic plaque on the wall thing working, and no museum. I know the Braves have a wonderful museum, and the Rangers have something that is basically Cooperstown south. I like the tailgating thing. The Brewers have a permanent concession and restroom building in the parking lot to assist with such things. Since the Mets lack a neighborhood for fans to hang out it, it would be nice to assist with the tailgating to make a party atmosphere.

Cardinals (At least in 2006) was a room inside the Bowling Museum. Was nice, but not much different than Citi Field's right now. I think Citi's is nice, although I do agree that the back end where you basically buy expensive stuff could use some work.

Tailgating is decent at Citi, but permanent structures would be cool I wonder if there are city rules restricting that? Obviously if they ever get the mall up or something similar, there will be plenty of party/bar type areas, but that's years away and in the meantime some official nod to tailgating would be cool.

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

I haven't seen the Royals Hall, but the Cardinals' version is indeed outstanding. We visited years ago, and at the end of the museum they had a player signing autographs -- Bernard Gilkey on the day we were there.

The Reds and White Sox have nice sections of interactive activities. The White Sox also do some things horribly wrong.

[G-Fafif]

The Orioles HOF, adjacent to OP@CY, is part of a larger Baltimore sports museum and blows minds.

[Guest themetfairy]

I will echo that the Cardinals HOF is magnificent.

[HahnSolo]

I'd be satisfied with the overall size of the Mets HOF if they rotated exhibits/displays frequently.

[HahnSolo]

Alumni outreach that includes players outside of the following:

- 86ers
- Rusty
- Seaver
- Piazza
- Franco

[Benjamin Grimm]

I agree. It's nice that they have that little corner there, but the way it is, there's really little reason to visit it more than once.

[Edgy MD]

Alumni outreach that includes players outside of the following: - 86ers - Rusty - Seaver - Piazza - Franco

I dunno. I think they do a good job (though not great) here. Problem is that when they ask someone like George Foster to show up on the first day of sales at the stadium, they get mocked. (Folks on the line --- as opposed to the snarky folks online --- tend to love it.)

Folks seem to rip the Mets for the narrative of failure that they themselves indulge in, and then they rip the Mets for fleeing the narrative of failure.

I salute all Felix Millan Days now and into perpetuity.

[Vic Sage]

For a franchise with such an inferiority complex, we should have a HOF exhibition highlighting all our "almosts"... 2nd place finishes in the voting for ROY (Hunt, S.Henderson,Koosman), CY (Seaver x2, Koos, Gooden), and MVP (Seaver, Keith, Straw), as well as those 2nd place finishes to the Cards in the 80s and the Phils in the 00s, or how we almost won the championships in `73 and `00. Maybe include the various "almost" no-hitters and perfect games. And how about a plaque commemorating how they almost had a HOF exhibit ready for the opening of CitiField... but then didn't. And a tribute to Shea, our 2nd home field, and to Doubleday & Co, our 2nd owners.

[Edgy MD]

Two uniform related notions:

[*:8wow4l8i]Don't re-assign the numbers of guys still in the system. If a guy goes up, plays for a time and goes down, and he's still grinding at it, what clearer message could there be that he's wasted his time, that the team has lost all faith in him? But moreover, it just undermines the sense of continuity and historical categorization that numbers can represent. In fact, I tend to go radically further and advocate for a player's number to be reserved as long as he's still active and in the league. Yeah, that means a lot of higher-end numbers get cycled through, but it reinforces the notion that when a guy plays for the Mets, he remains a Met spiritually even if we don't need him at the time, and we may yet need him again. When he retires (or utterly disgraces himself to the point of familial disowning, a la Ambiorix Burgos), then the number goes dramatically back into circulation.

(Some guy at MbtN accused me of having a "plantation mindset" when I suggested this.)
[/*:m:8wow4l8i]
[*:8wow4l8i]Play with insignia-free hats during spring training. Maybe after a week, an insignia appears on David Wright's hat, then one by one, as it becomes cclear that you've made the team, you get the NY. But you don't wear the NY until you've made the team that represents NY.[/*:m:8wow4l8i][/list:o:8wow4l8i]

Non-uni-related item.

[*:8wow4l8i]I saw another team with a lesser broadcast booth pull of this nice move. During the sixth inning or so, you link up the English-language and Spanish-language broadcast booths. Switch to the Spanish at the top of the inning for a five or ten seconds of Spanish at the top of the inning, and then have Howie introduce the Spanish broadcasters. "How are you doing tonight, fellas? What are you talking about? What do you think of the way Mejia is throwing?"

In general, get the Spanish- and English-language outreach out of their silos. Don't let the audiences be strangers to one another.[/*:m:8wow4l8i][/list:o:8wow4l8i]

[Edgy MD]

I've been playing with this idea in recent months, of having a stairway entrance to the clubhouse 20 rows behind the dugout, so the players would enter and exit the field through the audience (or at least a small, high-rent sampling of the audience, absorbing whatever glory or shame comes with the walk.

The stairs would have to be covered in rubber, and the dugout would almost certainly have to retain a tunnel to the clubhouse to enter and exit between innings, but the entrance and entering at the beginning and end would be compulsory for all dugout personnel.

[Lefty Specialist]

As an every-game routine, I think this can only end badly. They'll be searching fans for eggs and overripe fruit at the entrances. When it's a surprise, it's cool. When it's expected there's a real potential for mayhem.

[Edgy MD]

So they better play well!

I figure a walk though 20 rows of the Thurston Howell set is a managed risk. You throw an egg, you risk losing rilly expensive field level box seats.

[Ceetar]

Lefty Specialist wrote: As an every-game routine, I think this can only end badly. They'll be searching fans for eggs and overripe fruit at the entrances. When it's a surprise, it's cool. When it's expected there's a real potential for mayhem.

bah, NHL does it all the time. (visitors get the John Rocker tent treatment though) Get to high five the players or fist bump or whatever as they head in. They also do the "Three stars of the game" thing after each win, and the players skate a quick circle, toss a puck into the crowd, and retreat again. Not suggesting we mimic that, but Kevin already interviews guys on the field after huge moments, why not every win, ask him a layup question or two, have him wave and toss a baseball, and boom.

There's actually already an entrance to the tunnels from behind home plate that passes fans (albeit the rich ones), it's the long way around but I think that was the point you had in mind anyway.

[Lefty Specialist]

Ceetar wrote: bah, NHL does it all the time.

Sure, just make sure the Mets are wearing pads, gloves, helmets with visors, and are carrying long sticks when they walk out. Then they'll be fine.

[MFS62]

1. I saw another team with a lesser broadcast booth pull of this nice move. During the sixth inning or so, you link up the English-language and Spanish-language broadcast booths. Switch to the Spanish at the top of the inning for a five or ten seconds of Spanish at the top of the inning, and then have Howie introduce the Spanish broadcasters. "How are you doing tonight, fellas? What are you talking about? What do you think of the way Mejia is throwing?"
   
   In general, get the Spanish- and English-language outreach out of their silos. Don't let the audiences be strangers to one another.

Edgy MD wrote: Non-uni-related item.

IIRC, the radio guys would occasionally being Buck Canel into the booth and do that:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Canel

Later

[Edgy MD]

Shortly after each game, raise a flag in centerfield --- blue for victory, gray for a loss. This pole would fly ten flags at a time, representing each of the team's most recent ten games, newest on top, and therefore provide a visual narrative of the recent state of the team.

If you want to be un-necessarily dramatic about it, shortly (10 minutes or so) after the end of each home game, the manager could appear in centerfield withe a coach and a player (designated by rotation, rather than the hero/goat-of-the-day status), and raise the new flag and lower the oldest one. Once a decade, the team will get to fly 10 blue flags and that would be cool.

And when they raise a championship flag, well, BAM!

As for being afraid of fools attacking players, bah. That's exactly what we need to combat. The fans grow more hostile, the players grow more distant, and the fans feel justified in their hostility. We've got to restore good faith between the parties, and the nightly crowd walk (if only at the beginning of games) is just the gesture to get it started.

I read yesterday that folks go a hold of the Dolphin's GM's phone number and filled his voicemail with hostile BS. Make it stop.

[Ceetar]

Edgy MD wrote: As for being afraid of fools attacking players, bah. That's exactly what we need to combat. The fans grow more hostile, the players grow more distant, and the fans feel justified in their hostility. We've got to restore good faith between the parties, and the nightly crowd walk (if only at the beginning of games) is just the gesture to get it started. I read yesterday that folks go a hold of the Dolphin's GM's phone number and filled his voicemail with hostile BS. Make it stop.

yes indeed. And the best way to do this is to humanize the players. If they're actually _right there_ it's harder to think of them as the robot representations of our fanaticism. It's part of why Spring Training is such a great experience. Sticking around for post-game "woah, you had a good game!" moments with the walk-off guy is part of that, as silly as the pies are. I think instead of an hour of talking heads yelling at each other before the game, they should just televise batting practice. no host. just stick a couple of cameras there. or stream it to mets.com. We get so much of the business of baseball these days and so much less of the behind the scenes work these guys put in. Watching them mill around on the field, taking grounds, chatting, etc..it's good.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Ceetar wrote: And the best way to do this is to humanize the players.

The best way to humanize baseball players would be to cap their salaries at $100K a year. When Derek Jeter's selling insurance in December, freezing his balls off while waiting for a train in 10 degree weather, then you might be able to relate to him.

[Ceetar]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Ceetar wrote: And the best way to do this is to humanize the players. The best way to humanize baseball players would be to cap their salaries at $100K a year. When Derek Jeter's selling insurance in December, freezing his balls off while waiting for a train in 10 degree weather, then you might be able to relate to him.

well, that's anti-capitalism.

I don't want to relate to the guy, just humanize him. (well not Jeter, he's a PED-fed robot)

[Edgy MD]

Paint those field level seats orange. They never fail to depress me when I see them empty.

When they were empty in the old days, they were not so sad.

[nymr83]

Edgy MD wrote: Paint those field level seats orange. They never fail to depress me when I see them empty. When they were empty in the old days, they were not so sad.

i liked the Shea seats so much better. can we alternate rows of orange and blue?