The black jerseys of the late 90s and early 2000s are returning.
In a recorded Q&A on YouTube, Steve Cohen said the beloved uniforms (or loathes if you have bad opinions about jerseys) will be returning for a few games in 2021. The team announced that they will be available for purchase in the future. to.
We have partnered with MLB and NIKE and thank them for their help in returning black jerseys for a limited number of games over the course of this summer. Replica jerseys are available in retail stores in time for the holidays. We will have more information in the coming weeks.
– New York Mets (@Mets) March 29, 2021
Cohen said the black jerseys are a reminder of a positive time in team history for fans and he made sure the jerseys could give fans a nostalgic boost by bringing them back.
He also said that he would like the current players to help design the upcoming black jersey, citing the excitement of players like Pete Alonso and Marcus Stroman (who expressed his love for them in one MMO interview).
The return of the jerseys was one of the high points of the Q&A with Wayne Randazzo. So let’s get to the rest.
Low season, luxury tax & contract extensions
Steve Cohen said he thought the off-season “went pretty well,” and highlighted how much depth the team has gained. Despite being “disappointed”, Team Bauer was unable to sign despite “a damn good offer”, but he was happy with the steps the front office took.
Uncle Steve, who he said is fine when people call him, said he would have felt comfortable exceeding the luxury tax for a player like him Trevor Bauer. He noted, however, that if the team gets past the control line, they don’t want to do “just a few million dollars”.
It seems like Cohen realized that the first-time penalties for exceeding the luxury tax are pretty insignificant and more than worth it if you become a high profile gamer. It really is a new era of property for Mets fans.
Cohen also said the team (since last week when the interview was taped) was focused on enhancements for Francisco Lindor and Michael Comfort at the moment but they’d also like to talk about an extension for Noah Syndergaard.
Corporate culture
The off-season was filled with questions about the Mets organizational culture after former general manager Jared Porter was fired Admit harassment and following reports about Mickey Callaway’s indecent behavior when he was on the team.
When asked what he’s doing to change the team’s culture, Cohen praised Jeanne Melino, a new member of the board of directors of the Mets Foundation and Kathryn McElheny, who was recently announced as team doctor, according to Cohen, have been hired as diversity workers.
Hiring two people is certainly not enough to solve an organization’s diversity problems. However, it was announced today that the Mets are hiring an independent law firm to evaluate “workplace culture”.
Sandy Alderson also recently said they changed their interview review process to make sure there were more women in it. They are small steps, but they are steps nonetheless.
Fan experience
A fan asked Cohen about the development of the area around the Citi field so that out-of-towers could come into the Citi and spend a weekend in and around the park. Cohen said he would like to develop the area, but it would have to be a public-private partnership because the city and state own the land around Citi, not the Mets.
Speaking of the stadium, Cohen said he’d love to see more Mets history at Citi Field, but he emphasized that Jackie Robinson Rotunda and the Ebbets Field tribute are important in paying respect to “one of the most important baseball players of all time.”
Cohen also announced that frontline health workers would take first place in various games this year to give a small gift for their work last year during the pandemic.
Celebrate the past
Cohen said he wanted to make sure teams and players of the past are celebrated by the owners as they move forward.
A Classic Car Day is in the works for 2022 and he wants the organization to celebrate the 1986 World Series team in the near future.
