MLB

The Mets’ 9/11 Cap Controversy Might Have Been About Money In More Ways Than One

By now, you’ve no doubt heard about the controversy surrounding the New York Mets not wearing NYPD, FDNY, and PAPD caps for their game on September 11. There was much outrage, most of it hurled in the direction of Major League Baseball. The reason for this, it seemed, was pretty clear: money. MLB had nothing to gain financially from the Mets wearing those hats in tribute, since they weren’t selling them. Hence, the Mets weren’t allowed to wear them. And what is there not to be disgusted about in that scenario?

Unsurprisingly, MLB has a slightly different view of things. Commissioner Bud Selig, according to the New York Post, was “irate” the Mets went public with the cap dispute, leading to so much bad publicity for the league. Meanwhile, Joe Torre, MLB’s executive vice president of baseball operations, disputed the notion that the Mets were ever threatened with a fine, or even made to do anything in a “heavy-handed” manner:

“Nothing was ordered. I think they were sent a memo, but in no way was it heavy-handed. I don’t think money was ever an issue or they were ever threatened with a heavy-fisted fine. If that’s the case, I have no knowledge of it.”

This ultimately doesn’t matter so much, though, since Torre said the Mets were sent a memo. Presumably, that memo said something along the lines of, “Don’t wear those NYPD/FDNY/PAPD caps,” which is the real reason everyone is outraged. The Post goes on to cite “a person familiar with Selig’s thinking” who said that perhaps the Mets waited too long to inform their players of MLB’s edict, but someone else disputed that claim…and that’s where the issue of money comes into play again, this time having nothing to do with merchandise sales:

another source said 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.

Somehow, it always comes back to money and/or the Mets being a poorly managed franchise. But in this case, it shouldn’t have. Whether or not MLB ordered the Mets not to wear the caps as strongly as it was initially believed is irrelevant – the Mets weren’t allowed to wear the caps, and they should have been. Yes, it would have been nice to see the Mets defy the order and wear the caps anyway, and there was probably a better route to take to make that happen, but clearly MLB held the most power in this controversy. And nothing that’s come out since it broke suggests anything other than that MLB came out on the wrong side.

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