Mr. Met is the official

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

for

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

. Mr. Met first appeared in 1963 as a cartoon drawing in programs. When the team moved to

Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium ( ), typically shortened to Shea Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City.baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

for a head. He can be seen at

Citi Field Citi Field is a baseball park, baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, in the Boroughs of New York, borough of Queens, New York City, United States. Opened in 2009, Citi Field is the home of Major League Baseball's New York M ...

during Mets home games, has appeared in several commercials as part of ESPN's This is ''SportsCenter'' campaign, and has been elected into the

Mascot Hall of Fame The Mascot Hall of Fame was an interactive children's museum for sports mascots between 2018 and 2024. It was founded by David Raymond, who was the original Phillie Phanatic from 1978 to 1993. Each year (beginning in 2005), mascots are elected ...

. In 2012, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' Magazine listed Mr. Met as the number one mascot in all of sports.

History

Mr. Met was first introduced on the cover of game programs, yearbooks, and on scorecards in 1963, when the Mets were still playing at the

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 to 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built for the ...

in northern Manhattan. Comic book artist Al Avison was at least one of the artists who contributed to the character's design. When the Mets moved to

Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium ( ), typically shortened to Shea Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City. He was also the first person on the Mets to be represented by a bobblehead doll. Mr-met-mrs-met

In the 1960s, Mr. Met occasionally appeared in print with a female companion, Mrs. Met (originally called "Lady Met"), and less frequently with a group of three "little Mets" children; the smallest was a baby in Lady Met's arms. Mrs. Met was debuted in a short lived live costumed form in 1975 before being reintroduced in 2013. In the mid-1970s, the Mets franchise began to abandon the Mr. Met mascot. In 1976, he appeared on the cover of the New York Mets Official Yearbook. In 1977 and 1978, Mr. Met and Lady Met appeared on the cover of the Mets Shea Stadium Official Schedule. After that time, he was not utilized in their advertising and he remained absent for almost 20 years. He was phased out prior to the upsurge in mascot popularity caused by The Famous Chicken and the

Phillie Phanatic The Phillie Phanatic is the official mascot for the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball team. He is a large, furry, green bird with an extendable tongue. He performs various routines to entertain fans during baseball games at Citizens Ban ...

in the late '70s. In 1979, after the Mets discontinued use of Mr. Met, the team briefly experimented with a new mascot named "Mettle the mule" that was a living animal that would parade along the foul lines prior to a game. In 1992, long time Mets fan, Lois Kaufmann of Queens, New York, wrote a compelling appeal for his reinstatement and asking the Mets to resurrect the mascot. The team did not act quickly or grant Lois her request to ''be'' Mr. Met. However, in 1994, they did follow her advice and revived Mr. Met as part of a promotion with

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

. After a long absence, Mr. Met was quickly re-embraced by New York Mets fans and has since remained a constant part of the franchise. On April 14, 2002, the Mets held a birthday party for Mr. Met at

Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium ( ), typically shortened to Shea Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City.Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

and by Sandy the Seagull, mascot of the Brooklyn Cyclones, a Mets farm team. In the 2003 season, first baseman Tony Clark was the first Mets player ever to wear #00, Mr. Met's number. In June of that season, he switched to #52 when Queens schoolchildren asked him what had happened to Mr. Met. On September 14, 2007, Mr. Met was elected into the

. Beginning on August 14, 2009, throughout their series against the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

, the Mets wore throwback jerseys featuring a Mr. Met patch on the right sleeve. Currently, Mr. Met can be seen at

during and after games. He is usually found near Mr. Met's Kiddie Field where fans can meet and pose for pictures with him. He can be hired for special events and private parties. Mr. Met is also featured on ''Mets Money'', which are $1, $5 and $10 denomination gift certificates accepted at concession stands and souvenir shops at Citi Field. The design is somewhat reminiscent of standard U.S. currency, but instead features images of Mr. Met attired and posed similarly to the historical official (Washington, Lincoln or Hamilton) featured on the respective bill. The second version of the Mr. Met head is now on display at the

New York Mets Hall of Fame The New York Mets Hall of Fame was created in order to recognize the careers of former New York Mets players, managers, broadcasters and executives. There are presently 30 members. Originally located in the Diamond Club at Shea Stadium, the ind ...

and Museum at Citi Field. In 2013, the Mets introduced batting practice caps featuring Mr. Met on the front. In 2014, a Mr. Met sleeve patch was featured on the Mets' blue alternate home and road jerseys. In 2015, a far more detailed Mr. Met backstory was written by a longtime fan in cooperation with the team and published by

Mascot Books Mascot Books is a full-service, multi-genre, independent book publisher and distributor. It is a hybrid publishing company headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, USA. The company publishes a variety of genres, including fiction, nonfiction, childre ...

Performers

Mr. Met has been portrayed by many people over the years. Dan Reilly was the first person to wear the Mr. Met costume, starting in 1964. In 2007, Reilly wrote a book about his experiences with the team, called ''The Original Mr. Met Remembers''. Mr. Met was portrayed from 1994 through 1997 by AJ Mass, currently a fantasy sports writer for

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

. Mass has written several books and articles on his experiences portraying Mr. Met. Matt Golden portrayed Mr. Met from 1999 to 2011. On May 31, 2017, Mr. Met was heading back to the clubhouse after a Mets loss when he engaged in a heated exchange with an opposing fan. The argument ended with Mr. Met giving

the finger "The finger", or the middle finger (as in giving someone the (middle) finger, flipping the bird or flipping someone off) is an obscene hand gesture. The gesture communicates moderate to extreme contempt, and is roughly equivalent in meaning t ...

towards the fan, which was caught on video. The Mets then changed performers for Mr. Met.

Inside Baseball

In a 2003 This is SportsCenter ad, when the show ends, everyone rushes out of the studio, creating a massive traffic jam. It then shows Mr. Met and Lady Met driving home on the freeway (with the Met children in the back), with Lady Met subtitled as saying they were glad to get out early. The New York Mets theme song, " Meet the Mets", is on their car radio. (A shorter version with just the Mets family has Mrs. Met accusing Mr. Met of making eyes at one of the female ESPN sportscasters.) In 2009, Mr. Met appeared in another This is SportsCenter ad, which Mr. Met is talking with

Stuart Scott Stuart Orlando Scott (July 19, 1965 – January 4, 2015) was an American Sports commentator, sportscaster and anchor on ESPN, including on ''SportsCenter''. Known for his hip-hop style and use of catchphrases, Scott was also a regular for the ...

at a microwave. When

Josh Hamilton Joshua Holt Hamilton (born May 21, 1981) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 2007 to 2015, most prominently as a member of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers teams ...

shows up to use the microwave, Mr. Met angrily gestures at him and walks away. Hamilton is confused until Scott reveals that some of the balls Hamilton hit in the 2008 Home Run Derby were actually relatives of the mascot. In 2007, Mr. Met became a spokesman for MTA

New York City Transit The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, the TA, or simply Transit, and branded as MTA New York City Transit) is a public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City. Pa ...

, appearing on several advertisements and safety messages within the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

s and buses. He was also featured in commercials for '' MLB 06: The Show'', a video game for

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

, where a camera crew followed him around as he performed his daily duties, such as buying coffee and picking up his laundry. In 2010, he began appearing in commercials for Citi Bank that aired during Mets broadcasts, inducing Mets fans to join him in a "Let's Go Mets" cheer during mundane activities such as business meetings. He has his own

Build-A-Bear Workshop Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. is an American retailer headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri that sells teddy bears, stuffed animals, and characters. During store visits, customers go through an interactive process where the stuffed animal of their ...

store, but instead of at Citi Field, it's located at the Mets' flagship store on

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

's Fifth Avenue. Mr. Met was featured on the remake of '' The Odd Couple''. In it Oscar Madison was to throw out the first pitch. His estranged father (

Garry Marshall Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American screenwriter, director, producer and actor. Marshall began his career in the 1960s as a writer for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' until he developed the T ...

) is with him and the senior Madison gets Oscar so mad that he hits Mr. Met in the head. The Mets get Oscar to, as a publicity stunt, apologize to Mr. Met. In 2019, Mr. Met appeared in an episode of '' Madam Secretary''. Newly elected President Elizabeth McCord, anxious about throwing a ceremonial pitch at a Mets game, dreams she knocks out Mr. Met instead. Mr. Met and the

did a MasterCard commercial in 2013 to raise money for ending cancer. According to his 2019 Topps Opening Day Baseball Card, the "hustling humanoid

till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

loves getting selfies taken with fans and raising money for charitable causes."

References

External links

* {{New York Mets Anthropomorphic objects Object mascots Mascots introduced in 1963 Met Fictional objects New York Mets

History

Performers

Inside Baseball

See also

References

External links