MLB Commissioner Bud Selig called the Mets on Sunday night "irate that the organization had thrown his office ‘under the bus’ in divulging MLB was responsible for the decision that banned players from wearing caps honoring emergency services workers during the 9/11 game," according to Mike Puma of the N.Y. POST. A Mets official said Selig "got embarrassed by it. The game got moved into prime time because of 9/11 and (MLB) ended up getting embarrassed.” MLB Exec VP/ Baseball Operations Joe Torre "denied that the Mets were threatened with a fine if they didn’t comply with the uniform code." Torre: “Nothing was ordered. I think they were sent a memo, but in no way was it heavy-handed.” A source said that Selig "never threatened the Mets with a fine." The source hinted that the Mets’ “hierarchy perhaps used threat of a fine as a scare tactic in getting players to comply.” Another source said that Mets COO Jeff Wilpon “was ‘back and forth’ with the commissioner’s office on the matter until the proverbial 11th hour, when it was decided the Mets, on the hook for a $25 million loan from MLB, shouldn’t risk the wrath of Selig” (N.Y. POST, 9/13). Mets C and player rep Josh Thole yesterday said that the Mets “backed down from wearing caps honoring first responders during Sunday night’s 9/11 game because Major League Baseball had threatened to fine the organization and the individual players ‘crazy amounts.’" Thole: “It was coming down from the top that the fine to the ballclub was going to be significant. That was something that nobody wanted -- to overstep the bounds there.” MLB Senior VP/PR Pat Courtney said that “fines were not threatened, neither to the organization nor the players” (NEWSDAY, 9/12).
IN A TOUGH POSITION: In N.Y., Belson & Sandomir report “in the last two years or so, Major League Baseball has received a significant increase in requests from players and teams to wear commemorative hats.” To maintain “a sense of consistency, it has rejected many of them.” However, Torre said Sept. 11 is “a date we need to remember for sure.” He added, “But I’d like to do something in the future in a uniform way” (N.Y. TIMES, 9/13). SportsNet N.Y.'s Meredith Marakovits said it was a "business decision" not to allow the Mets to wear the caps, and it was "nothing personal." Marakovits: "There had been a precedence set already this year when down in Washington -- the Washington Nationals wanted to honor those Navy Seals that were killed. They also were not able to wear hats. So they couldn’t say to the Nationals, ‘You’re not allowed to honor these servicemen, but you can do that on 9/11.' So I think it was just a situation where he had to make that decision.” SportsNet N.Y.'s Marc Malusis said, "It shouldn't have been put into the players’ hands. Baseball should have allowed it. But with that being said, the Mets players should have done what they wanted to do” ("The Wheel House,” SportsNet New York, 9/12).
BAD CALL: FOX SPORTS’ Ken Rosenthal writes there was “no logical reason -- none -- for baseball forbidding the Mets to wear caps honoring the New York City uniformed service departments” Sunday. The NFL “relaxed its uniform rules to allow players to wear special red, white and blue shoes and gloves produced by Reebok on 9/11,” and Rosenthal asks, “Baseball couldn’t follow suit?” Meanwhile, MLB is “selling the special-edition caps the players wore, the ones featuring a U.S. flag on the left side, for 36.99 each” and a “portion of the proceeds will go to a worthy cause, the Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum.” Rosenthal: “I’m guessing the good people from the Memorial would not have had a problem with the Mets’ gesture. And guessing the caps still would have sold quite well” (FOXSPORTS.com, 9/13). In Richmond, Paul Woody writes, “The tone deafness of Major League Baseball never ceases to amaze.” He added, “The NFL takes cap-wearing seriously. And if the NFL could adapt to Sunday’s situation, surely baseball could have done the same” (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 9/13). ESPN's Michael Wilbon said MLB officials were "gutless," and the move is "something you'd expect really from the NFL" ("PTI," ESPN, 9/12). N.Y. Daily News columnist Bob Raissman sid, "It shows a disconnection between baseball and their fans and their teams and it goes to the point of how screwed up their business is.” SportsNet N.Y.'s Jonas Schwartz: "They dropped the ball on this one" ("Daily News Live," SportsNet N.Y., 9/12).
