Talk about a misguided focus. There are a bunch of Met fans who have started a website and a subsequent petition/campaign to make sure that club management includes the ultra-cheesy Home Run Apple in their plans for the new ballpark. Direct yourself to SavetheApple.com if you are so inclined and interested in maintaining relics from super horrible years in Met history.
The Home Run Apple went up in 1980 as the then-owners, the DeRoulet family, did their darndest to make Shea Stadium a fun place to come and watch terrible baseball. Beyond this contraption that came out of the black top hat every time a Met hit a homerun, they all brought in one of the worst gimmicks ever. Who can forget their team mascot, Mettle the Mule? Assholes, literally and figuratively.
For some bizarre reason, some Met fans are not going to rest until this hunk of junk makes the trip across the alleyway to new Shitty Field. Here's what the open letter I found on the website:
To: Sterling Mets and Fred Wilpon To me, this is pretty laughable. And there are so many other things Met fans need to contemplate prior to the opening of their new domicile. For instance, how about a return to a more pleasant baseball experience? One that does not include a constant assault on the senses. One that does not make the broad-based assumption that everyone in attendance is Spanish? One that restores some easy-on-the-ears real life organ music to the endless noise pollution that envelops Shea these days. Moreover, Met fans should be writing letters to the Wilpons about a bit more than some hackneyed and tired amusement park retread. They should be starting to address the fact that regular Met fans will probably be aced out of the new park unless they commit to season ticket plans. The prices will be astronomical and the graffiti is already on the outfield wall. I pretty much know that my Saturday plan, which has been in my family's name for 40 years in 2008, will go the way of Bruce Boisclair and Dave Schneck. Yeah, let's waste our time worrying about the Home Run Apple. There's certainly a lot more at stake.
We, the Undersigned, as fans of the New York Mets and Shea Stadium implore Sterling Mets and Fred Wilpon to Save the Home Run Apple which currently resides in Shea Stadium from being auctioned or sold. We ask that the Home Run Apple be moved to Citi Field after the end of the 2008 Season so that on Opening Day 2009, the same Home Run Apple that has been with the Mets since 1980 remains with the Mets in their new home. We ask that only the normal amount of maintenance be given to the Apple and a fresh coat of paint would also be fine, but the Apple should remain as it has since it's installation. We have come to countless games at Shea Stadium, we all have different memories, but one things remains the same for all Mets fans, and that is the thrill of seeing the Home Run Apple rise out of its top hat slowly after a Mets home run. A new apple will not be the same. What makes the Apple special is that it reminds Mets fans of their youth, of their past and the Mets' past, of coming out to the ballpark and watching a game of baseball. We don't need any crazy gimmicks, shiny apples, bright lights, just a large red Apple coming out of a top hat. The same Apple that has come out of the same top hat for generations of Mets fans. We beg of you to Save the Apple and hope that you will take us seriously.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
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