Matthew Cerrone

News: Mets to Honor William A. Shea
By Matthew Cerrone - Apr 3, 2008 1:40 pm

The Mets will recognize William A. Shea in a pre-game, on-field ceremony prior to the final Opening Day at Shea Stadium, during which the Shea family will unveil the Shea name above the left-field wall.

According to a team press release, “The circular logo with the name “Shea” will be located alongside the only retired numbers in the 45 seasons of Shea Stadium,” while Bill Shea Jr. will throw out the ceremonial first pitch of the season.

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117 Comments »

Comment by gbaked
2008-04-03 13:42:05

one day, I hope to get my name on a building that is going to be torn down.

 
Comment by dave27
2008-04-03 13:43:23

Classy gesture, but only if they feature it similarly in CitiField.

Comment by adropofvenom
2008-04-03 13:46:58

I would assume that’s the plan…..putting his name up there is the equivilant of like retiring a number, except of course that Shea has no number.

Comment by Sylow59
2008-04-03 14:29:26

how about 1964?

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Comment by saltzy007
2008-04-03 13:48:07

No offense, but there are a few guys that kinda come before him in terms of ‘Mets Significance’ that seem to be getting el shafto at Citi Field…

I havent seen anything specifically for Seaver, Casey, Hodges, Murph or Piazza…nothing…not even naming the luxury boxes after them….

The good news is that it looks like the Dodgers Stadium, and has a rotunda named after a player that never played for us….although I kinda like the idea behind the rotunda….just sayin….Lets take care of Seaver before we hook up Bil Shea, who 99% of us could trip over and still not recognize…

Comment by saltzy007
2008-04-03 13:49:03

man…having bad day….looks like Ebbets Field, not Dodgers Stadium….I need a nap…

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Comment by batsinthepelfrey
2008-04-03 13:52:52

considering the man has been dead for almost 20 years I doubt there is much chance of you tripping over him or recognizing him

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Comment by saltzy007
2008-04-03 13:56:35

You’re being serious? Uhh yea….I know hes very dead…

Do you have any idea what he looks(ed) like? Be honest….no way….

 
Comment by batsinthepelfrey
2008-04-03 14:08:55

i thought he looked like one of those neon baseball characters on the outside of the stadium, no?

 
 
Comment by mackey_sassers_arm
2008-04-03 13:54:27

I thought I heard something about Murph having something named after him. I am not positive and may be making this up entirely, but I thought I heard something about the press box being named after him. Can anyone help me out here?

And Piazza will get his time… he just needs to retire first. Maybe he can even take over for Darling, once he goes national in a few years.

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Comment by krumbledkookie
2008-04-03 14:05:38

Don’t count on Darling going national… there are very few nationally broadcasted games, and I would think Darling would want to work more than that.

 
Comment by harrychiti
2008-04-03 14:14:16

Didn’t Darling already go national, doing the nlds on tbs (d’backs/cubs)?

I am glad he came over from the Nats, as I hope most fans are; Darling is almost always on point (funny and knowledgable).

you’re right that not too many games are nationally broadcast. when they are, it is morgan and miller, or buck and maccarver. i would love to see darling replace one (and all) of them. but even if he does one day, don’t you think it’d be like doc emerick or john davidson when hockey used to be nationally televised (on major networks, sorry versus); that is, they have a team that they cover for most of the season, and cover a few nationally televised games when called for.

but maybe ronny’s making enough bank with those sovereign ads that he won’t do national except in the postseason (and we can hope those’ll be mets games)

 
 
Comment by JefJarrett
2008-04-03 13:54:45

Seaver has his number retired…….and is in the Mets HOF.

Murph has a broadcasting box named after him….I believe.

Shea was instrumental in bringing the Mets to town….I don’t see the big deal.

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Comment by saltzy007
2008-04-03 13:58:56

What does that have to do with Citi Field specifically?

You guys maybe right about the Press Box…

Either way, I have no issues with them honoring him. I’m just sayin while theyre at it….

 
Comment by DjDeF
2008-04-03 14:03:47

You gotta learn the history my friend. Shea is the ONLY reason we have the Mets in NY. He was the one who got the MLB to consider NY.

 
Comment by saltzy007
2008-04-03 14:08:08

I know my history. Man, I cannot say boo without people tearing in. For the THIRD TIME…Go ahead and Honor him….sheesh….Im just sayin a statue of Seaver would be a nice touch too….

BTW….to all of you that are saying he was the ‘Saving Grace of all things Mets’…..do you really think we wouldnt have had a NL team in this city by now? Rrrrright…..Im certain they would have left this huge vaccuum open forever with our 3.8 Mil tix sold last year…

He may have been behind the ‘Mets’ specifiically….but one way or another there would be a NL team in this city playing in 2008 with or without Bill Shea….dont be ridiculous….

 
Comment by JefJarrett
2008-04-03 14:39:56

Look, I wasn’t jumping all over you - I was just trying to have some sort of discussion with you about what you had brought up. Although, perhaps your comment was meant for someone else.

I agree with you 100000000% on honoring one of our OWN players before we go off and have a Jackie Robinson rotunda…….I don’t mind having the rotunda, as it is a part of NY history……..but call it something else. Anything from the Polo Grounds where we actually played? And you’re right……The statue of Jackie Robinson is way overboard…IMO

But to say that nothing has been done for the other guys when there has been, and mentioning that all of those guys should have additional things before Shea is honored……is where I disagree with you.

 
Comment by gomets6091
2008-04-03 14:40:13

well, technically Walter O’Malley and Horace Stoneham are the only reason we have the Mets in NY :)

 
Comment by yeeaa
2008-04-03 14:50:29

I don’t understand why the United States puts so much energy into honoring our Founding Fathers, wasn’t it inevitable that we would earn our independence at some point anyway?

 
Comment by saltzy007
2008-04-03 14:58:46

I kiiiiinda see your point. But its not the same. Im saying there is an enormous appitite for baseball in this city, and with or without him there would be an NL team here, if not the ‘Mets’ specifically…

Cant compare that with the establishment of a government….

 
Comment by gipper913
2008-04-03 15:39:41

Look, they should honor Bill Shea - he was the catalyst for even having teh Mets in the first place.

ALSO, at Citi, they should do more to recognize Mets history and less to recognize NY 9baseball) Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers history. I have no issue with teh Jackie rotunda - he transcends team uniforms and is particularly appropriate for the home of the NYC NL club.

But, why not name things at Citi after Mets names and history? Why all the “Ebbets Club” and “The Orchard” an “Coogan’s Landing” stuff? Why noit name stuff after Seaver, Agee, Koos, Tug, Keith, Mookie, Bill freakin Shea, and so forth.

To somebody’s question: yes, the radio booth is called the Bob Murphy Radio Broadcast Booth. As it ought to be called

 
Comment by m29w_12789
2008-04-03 16:28:40

The TV Booth is named for Ralph Kiner. Yes Shea had the stadium named for him, because of his efforts to bring national league baseball back to NYC.
I think the Mets should have the ring of honor that many teams in different sports have around the stadium- example Pittsburgh Pirates, Dallas Cowboys. They could do that at Citi-Field- have Shea’s name their with retired player like Seaver etc. I think Jerry Koosman should have his number retired as well.

 
 
Comment by adropofvenom
2008-04-03 13:55:40

Sorry, but that’s an extremely ignorant comment.

There wouldn’t be a Mets Franchise if not for William A. Shea. Thus, it’s impossible for anybody to be more significant to this franchise’s history, as there wouldn’t be a franchise without him.

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Comment by wilson1
2008-04-03 14:42:10

Exactly. The new stadium should also be called Shea. Instead it will be named after a bank. Completely soulless.

 
Comment by dave27
2008-04-03 15:03:44

Still, that extra $20MM a year can buy some very effective middle relief.

 
Comment by saltzy007
2008-04-03 15:07:42

Or a #1 lock down Left Handed SP for the next 5 years…

Name the thing C*ck Licker Stadium for all I care. Thats for the Mets to decide. Not us. Just win. Who CARES what the name of the stadium is so long as they keep getting quality players and having good teams year in year out…

 
Comment by mackey_sassers_arm
2008-04-03 15:25:10

I have been to a ton of baseball games in 12-15 different big league stadiums. I can not remember one time where the name of the stadium I was sitting in effected my enjoyment in any way, shape, or form. If the name of the stadium can help put $20 into the payroll, why on earth would anyone care?

 
 
Comment by Roach2
2008-04-03 13:56:11

Umm, Seaver, Casey and Gil have their numbers retired…

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Comment by Charlie
2008-04-03 14:29:21

Yeah, and I named my second born son Casey, so he’s double covered.

 
 
Comment by Ferraro41
2008-04-03 14:04:23

Considering there may not even *be* a Mets without Bill Shea, I’d say he’s pretty darn significant in the grand scheme of things.

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Comment by jamie
2008-04-03 14:19:53

Bill Shea is basically responsible for the Mets existence…not really anyone who should come before him in terms of Mets signifigance.

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Comment by Tidewater
2008-04-03 15:06:23

I agree. It’s weird how much of an homage this new stadium is to another team’s history.

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Comment by gipper913
2008-04-03 15:41:35

Very weird - they even snuick some Ny 9baseball) Giants names in there for some of Citi field’s features/amenities. What the heck? The mets have nearly a half century of history now - and the franchise should honor it!

 
 
Comment by cpai76
2008-04-03 16:07:19

Seaver, Hodges, and Stengel all ahd their #s retired, they were taken Care of, and who care if anyone knows what Bill Shea Looked like, he is one of the Big Reason the Mets became a team he was put in charge of Bringing a National League Team Back to NY after the Dodgers and Giants left for Sunny California. The recognition is well deserved and should carry over to Citi Field.

If your going to make a statement know what you are talking about.

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Comment by hsimms
2008-04-03 18:54:39

No Bill Shea - No Mets. Simple.

If you don’t believe Bill Shea was the single most important mover in getting us the Mets, except maybe Joan Payson who put up the dinero, spill it.

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Comment by Charlie
2008-04-03 14:26:05

they have to…don’t forget, if they were going to only honor him at shea, they could just have left things along. it is called WILLIAM A. SHEA Stadium, afterall.

 
 
Comment by telljimmyrollins