Mets fans wait for their turn to get an autograph from Travis d'Arnaud before the team's final game on Sept. 28, 2014. (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)
Posted in Autographs, Uncategorized

Mets should think about expanding Fan Appreciation Weekend event

Posted on by Paul

During Fan Appreciation Weekend, the New York Mets sent select players out to meet fans and sign autographs as they entered Citi Field.

Mets fans wait for their turn to get an autograph from Travis d'Arnaud before the team's final game on Sept. 28, 2014. (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)
Mets fans wait for their turn to get an autograph from Travis d’Arnaud before the team’s final game on Sept. 28, 2014. (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)

On Sunday, Sept. 28th, Travis d’Arnaud had the honors, and there was a large crowd waiting to see him. My friends and I were up near the front of the line, so we got through quickly but it seemed as though team officials kept the process running smoothly throughout. Fans were limited to one autograph and no posed photos. (That latter provision disappointed some, but is needed if the idea is to allow as many fans as possible to meet the selected Mets player.)

Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud signs my friend's scorecard book before the game on Sept. 28, 2014 (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)
Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud signs my friend’s scorecard book before the game on Sept. 28, 2014 (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)

My question for the Mets: why don’t you do this every weekend? The team rarely takes batting practice before day games, and even when they do the Mets are coming off of the field as the gates are opening. You make fans by letting them feel a connection to the team, and having players available to sign an autograph every now and then is an easy way to do this.

My autographed Travis d'Arnaud 2014 Topps baseball card
My autographed Travis d’Arnaud 2014 Topps baseball card

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One thought on “Mets should think about expanding Fan Appreciation Weekend event”

  1. The situation was even worse by the field. At the final game two years ago, they were only doing posed photos in the rotunda. For autographs, you had to go to field level by first base, where Josh Edgin and Collin McHugh came out to sign. It wasn’t much, but just McHugh alone was worth it. With so many players shut down for the season this time around, there should have been no shortage of warm bodies to send out to the crowd.

    Instead, they sent Josh Edgin. Jenrry Mejia signed some autographs in the outfield after he warmed up, but he skipped the big crowd and went straight to the dugout afterward. Several other players signed in the outfield but never came anywhere near the large gathering between the dugout and the right field VIP section. Even popular beat reporters were signing for fans in the outfield.

    More than an hour passed after Edgin went through with no more players stopping by or even word about whether anyone else would be signing. A security guard passed out some dugout bubble gum. That was the only contact any of us had with anyone on the field.

    Finally, 30 minutes before game time, an usher came up behind us and told us that it was time to go. The team knew we were there. The players knew we were there. And on Fan Appreciation Weekend, they left us standing out in the hot sun crammed up against each other in the aisles and front rows for nothing.

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