Could Mets celebrate actual 'Bobby Bonilla Day' soon?
New York Mets owner Steve Cohen has teased that what's become known as "Bobby Bonilla Day" could soon be celebrated at Citi Field.
"I’m still thinking about 'Bobby Bonilla Day,'" Cohen admitted during the latest edition of the "Mets’d Up" podcast, as shared by Ryan Gilbert of Audacy. "We’d have to design it but I’m telling you it’d be fun. We’d love to have Bobby do it."
Dan Mullen wrote for ESPN this past July that Bonilla receives a check for $1,193,248.20 from the Mets every July 1 through 2035 per the terms of a contract buyout that included annual payments and interest which he agreed to in 2000. Cohen, who assumed ownership of the Mets in the fall of 2020, referenced the unofficial club holiday via Twitter last year:
Cohen said during the podcast he'll "be on" Bonilla for a "Bobby Bonilla Day" celebration next year if the former slugger can't make it to Queens this summer. The Mets host the San Francisco Giants on July 1 later this year.
"I got to find a big piece of cardboard for that big check. It’s got to be big, though," Cohen continued during the episode. "And then let him figure out how to carry it home."
Interestingly, Cohen said he's discussed ideas with Bonilla and thinks the 59-year-old "is thinking about it and considering it."
This past November, Cohen signed Edwin Diaz to a five-year, $102 million contract that reportedly includes $26.5 million in deferred payments the closer won't receive in full until 2042. As much as modern medicine and science can help athletes prolong their careers in ways that weren't possible decades ago, logic suggests Diaz probably won't be closing games out for the Mets 19 years down the road.
Any future "Edwin Diaz Day" had better feature a rendition of his "Narco" walkout song regardless of who owns the Mets at that time or else fans will be left disappointed.
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