Folks, this really bothers me. I understand Robinson is a legend, a pioneer, and all of that. But he died 9 years before I was born and more than that, he was never a Met! He was retired before Shea Stadium was on the drawing boards.
The stadium already looks like a replica of Ebbets Field from the outside as the preview picture shows. The Mets have a minor league team in Brooklyn as well. That's enough for me. Why do we have to keep reverting to old traditions? Why can't the Mets embrace their own history and establish a new legacy? When I go to the stadium in 3 or 4 years, I want to see statues of Tom Seaver, Keith Hernandez, and Mike Piazza. Not Roy Campanella, Sandy Koufax, and Pee Wee Reese.
As one writer wrote, "Rusty Staub should be serving ribs in the center field walkway named "Mookie's Way." Instead, we'll get Duke Snider cooking bratwursts in some alley named after Andy Pafko." And if you're going to acknowledge the Dodgers, then you have to acknowledge the NY Giants as well. How about Willie Mays Stadium? At least he played for the Mets!
Another thing. On WFAN, Chris Russo had Vecsey on. They talked about the issue about what to name the new Shea Stadium (in between compelling analysis of Marcos Baghdatis' backhand). I agree with Russo who doesn't agree with Vescey, who thinks that the Mets should name their new stadium after Robinson.
I can see both sides of this argument. I don't want the Mets park to be AT&T park or something like that. Look at he SF park which has gone through 3 name changes in 5 years. But as I've said, Met Life Insurance would be the greatest name in the world! Met Life Stadium is it! But anyway, I disagree with Vescey after his radio appearance with Russo on the strength of Vescey's following response to Russo's assertion that Mets fans would rather see the stadium named after a Met than after Robinson:
"Why does it have to be a Mets player?"
Are you freakin' kidding me George? Are you suffering from dementia? It's because we're Mets fans and the Mets will play in this park! Not the Dodgers.
Here's what I would do. I think they can set aside space for a NY baseball museum honoring the past. But this is the Mets. The Dodgers and Giants have been gone for 50 years now! They're in California, they're out of here. We all know that Mets owner Fred Wilpon has a thing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He grew up with Sandy Koufax. We get that. And I don't have a problem with giving the stadium a touch of the past with a photo wall commemorating the Dodgers' time here. But as I've said, if you do it for the Dodgers, do it for the Giants as well.
And to King, Vescey, and the groups that want the park named after Robinson, here's my advice. Start fundraising now, collect your 10 million dollars for the naming rights, and pay the Mets to name their stadium after the great Dodger. Otherwise they are leading the Mets down the path of a meaningless guilt trip. They could wind up embarrassing the Met organization which is totally uncalled for.
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