Jeff Wilpon, Chris Young, and a loyalty oath are featured in some of the nominees for most regrettable Mets moment of 2014.
Yesterday, Keith Hernandez's infamous line "I wasn't talking about the hot dog" was voted the Funniest Mets Moment of 2014. A fine choice; that was my vote. Today, we'll vote on the Most Regrettable Mets Moment of 2014. I take "regrettable" to mean "wish it didn't happen," but feel free to interpret it any way you like.
Here are the nominees, in chronological order:
Outrage over Daniel Murphy's paternity leave
When Daniel Murphy's wife gave birth to the couple's first child in late March, Murph did what most fathers would do -- he took some time off from work to be with his family. It just so happened that the birth of Noah Murphy coincided with Mets Opening Day. Murphy taking paternity leave and missing a game didn't sit well with some nonsensical talk radio hosts, who criticized Murph. Luckily, just about every reasonable person took Murphy's side in the kerfuffle and defended his decision. He returned for game three of the season and made the All-Star team. Not a bad season for Murphy, both personally and professionally.
The "True New Yorker" loyalty oath
Just because many fans and members of the media often blow things out of proportion when it comes to LOLMets doesn't mean the Mets don't do stupid things. Such was the case with the ill-advised "True New Yorker" loyalty oath letter the Mets sent out to fans. Past greats like Jerry Koosman, Dwight Gooden, Keith Hernandez, and Ron Darling lent their names to the letter, part of which read:
So today we're issuing a call to all Mets fans: Show your New York Mets pride -- stand up and say you're a true New Yorker.
Your support matters; we wouldn't have won without you. So we're calling on you to give today's club the same chance we had.
If you agree that the fans have a role to play in making amazing things happen, add your name to this letter.
I understand trying to increase interest in the team -- it was sent out after a strong homestand -- but this was just weird. Not the worst thing in the world, but not good. Darling later disavowed his participation in the project. He'll probably give more consideration before signing on to future Mets promotions.
Chris Young drops fly ball, costs Mets game
In the bottom of the 14th inning of a 5-5 game between the Mets and Phillies that started on May 30, Chris Young dropped a lazy fly ball off the bat of Marlon Byrd to start the frame. Byrd ended up on second base and scored the game-winning run on a Reid Brignac single a few batters later. Young was struggling mightily at the plate at the time, so the error only intensified Mets fans' grumbling about his performance. It was a microcosm of Young's overall poor season with the Mets, and he would be released a couple of months later.
Jeff Wilpon allegedly harasses Mets employee
The lawsuit filed against the Mets by a former employee piled on an already ugly year for professional sports team owners. Leigh Castergine was fired from her job as head of Mets marketing and ticket sales in August. She later sued the organization for allegedly terminating her for being pregnant and unmarried. Jeff Wilpon was singled out in the lawsuit as being particularly hostile to Castergine. From the text of the suit:
"[Jeff Wilpon] frequently humiliated Castergine in front of others by, among other things, pretending to see if she had an engagement ring on her finger and openly stating in a meeting of the Team's all-male senior executives that he is ‘morally opposed' to Castergine ‘having this baby without being married."
That's... pretty ugly. Nothing further has been reported about the lawsuit since the story first broke, but I'm sure any developments will be followed closely by both the media and disgruntled Mets fans.
(Note: Much of the text above came from my earlier posts this year, The Mets' forgotten first half and The Mets' forgotten second half. I think those posts covered some of the regrettable topics well.)
There are the nominees, folks. Vote in the poll below.