The Mets are on a roll. Not only did the franchise do the right thing and come to terms on a contract with Yoenis Cespedes, but they finally decided to retire Mike Piazza's 31.
Piazza who was elected to the Hall of Fame earlier this month will become only the second Mets player to have his number retired by the franchise, the other being Tom Seaver. The Mets will officially do the honors on the night of July 30 before a game between the Mets and Colorado Rockies; some four weeks after his official enshrinement.
Having Piazza's number retired is long overdue. While the Mets inducted Piazza into their own Hall of Fame three years ago, at the end of the 2013 season, they never retired his number at the same time. It was a matter of time before the Mets finally pulled the trigger and electing to do so on the heals of Piazza's HOF induction makes perfect sense.
Keep in mind the Mets have taken a lot of public backlashing when it comes to honoring its past. Too many times it has come across that the team ignores too much of its own history. The Mets have one three retired numbers, Casey Stengel, Gil Hodges and Seaver. Stengel and Hodges, were only managers of the Mets, and are more nods to their New York baseball history than Mets history. The Mets still haven't retired Keith Hernandez's 17, Gary Carter's 8 or Jerry Koosman's 36. Fans have clamored that the team should retire more numbers -- but the team has refused unless for a special reason.
Hopefully Piazza's number retirement ushers in a period of the Mets retiring a handful of numbers important to their history. I'm not asking for the Mets to be like the Yankees who have retired WAY TOO MANY jersey numbers, but, a little nod to the Mets past success would be a nice gesture, if not to the fans, then to the men who played in those respective eras.
Piazza who was elected to the Hall of Fame earlier this month will become only the second Mets player to have his number retired by the franchise, the other being Tom Seaver. The Mets will officially do the honors on the night of July 30 before a game between the Mets and Colorado Rockies; some four weeks after his official enshrinement.
Having Piazza's number retired is long overdue. While the Mets inducted Piazza into their own Hall of Fame three years ago, at the end of the 2013 season, they never retired his number at the same time. It was a matter of time before the Mets finally pulled the trigger and electing to do so on the heals of Piazza's HOF induction makes perfect sense.
Keep in mind the Mets have taken a lot of public backlashing when it comes to honoring its past. Too many times it has come across that the team ignores too much of its own history. The Mets have one three retired numbers, Casey Stengel, Gil Hodges and Seaver. Stengel and Hodges, were only managers of the Mets, and are more nods to their New York baseball history than Mets history. The Mets still haven't retired Keith Hernandez's 17, Gary Carter's 8 or Jerry Koosman's 36. Fans have clamored that the team should retire more numbers -- but the team has refused unless for a special reason.
Hopefully Piazza's number retirement ushers in a period of the Mets retiring a handful of numbers important to their history. I'm not asking for the Mets to be like the Yankees who have retired WAY TOO MANY jersey numbers, but, a little nod to the Mets past success would be a nice gesture, if not to the fans, then to the men who played in those respective eras.
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