3 of the ways the Mets nailed the return of Old-Timer’s Day

August 27, 2022, marked the return of Old-Timer’s Day for the New York Mets franchise. As part of Steve Cohen’s apparent mission to reward the fans for years of misery and a lot more respect for the Brooklyn Dodgers than the actual Mets, the team set off to give the fans an event to look forward to this year and probably many more times in the future.

Old-Timer’s Day is something every franchise should do. It’s the coming together of the past with the present and can include players from all generations.

In its return, the Mets were able to get former players from throughout the history of the club to attend. They absolutely nailed it and these three moments prove it.

Mets Old-Timer’s Day was highlighted by the retiring of number 24

In a surprise move, the Mets retired number 24. It wasn’t to honor Robinson Cano although Brodie Van Wagenen may put that on his resume. It was a wish of Joan Payson for the Mets organization to retire the number in honor of Willie Mays.

It was a complete shock to see and an added bonus to the exhibition game on the field.

Mets Old-Timer’s Day was about having fun and getting creative

Fun was the name of the game even if it ended early in an 8-1 blowout. However, we did get to see some fun moments including some Gold Glove work from Mookie Wilson and trickery by Pedro Martinez and Todd Zeile at the expense of Howard Johnson.

The game wasn’t taken seriously. What else could we ask for in a matchup like this?

How about Mike Piazza spending more time on each team than he ever did with the Florida Marlins.

Mets Old-Timer’s Day reminded us this is just the early stage of the Steve Cohen era

Why is it that more teams don’t have an Old-Timer’s Day? Buck Showalter explained it. The thing is expensive.

We can’t credit Cohen for being the brain behind Old-Timer’s Day. When can tip our caps to him for being the mastermind in bring it back to Flushing. The Wilpon Era left such a bad taste in everyone’s mouths that days like this are a nice reminder that there’s a new sheriff in town calling the shots and willing to spend not only on the team but to bring an experience to the ballpark everyone can appreciate.