There’s one thing a reporter notices going from covering games at Citi Field to working a season at PNC Park.
The Bobby Bonilla references among the in-game entertainment are a bit more frequent in Pittsburgh.
Gee, wonder why?
Happy Bobby Bonilla’s Day Eve! Figured I would get out in front of it this year, rather than having to be reactive.
— Steve Phillips (@StevePhillipsGM) June 30, 2021
That’s former Mets general manager Steve Phillips’ preemptive strike against a slew of Twitter barbs that are sure to be aimed at the author of the most infamous contract in sports.
This Thursday marks not only the return of full capacity at PNC Park, but also the annual $1,193,248.20 payment the Mets have made to Bonilla every year since 2011, which will continue through 2035.
Of course, Bonilla’s playing days were much more successful in Pittsburgh than in New York, where he last played in 1999.
Bonilla was a .284 hitter with 500 RBIs over six years in a Pirates uniform from 1986-1991. But his legacy, at least recently, was one built on the wild deferments to which he and the Mets agreed long after his best days on the field were behind him.
According to Spotrac, all but eight of the players on the Pirates’ payroll are making less in 2021 than the annual check the Mets strike to Bonilla every July 1. There’s a lot that’s been made of the Bonilla agreement, but it’s mostly been a torture device for a plenty-tortured fan base in New York.
I mean, would a non-tortured fan make this thread.
Obviously the concept of deferred money isn’t exclusive to this deal. The Pirates sued their way out of a deferred money deal with Dave Parker in 1988. And some may argue that the Bonilla deal eventually worked out for the Mets in the long run.
But until 2035, when Bonilla will be 72 years old, every first of July will continue to be a punchline and unofficial start to Independence Day weekend.
Or maybe not.
New ownership can do a lot for a franchise. And when the Wilpons, who oversaw the Bonilla deal, sold the team to billionaire minority owner Steve Cohen, the effusive, Tweet-happy Cohen joked about a new way to handle “Bobby Bonilla Day.”
Let’s take a vote .How about we have a Bobby Bonilla day every year .Hand him an oversized check and drive a lap around the stadium.Could be fun
— Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) November 20, 2020
But Cohen also has the money, and now the power, to make this all go away. So, when the Mets’ official Twitter account teased this ...
You know what tomorrow is. We have a BIG announcement. 😉 pic.twitter.com/LZ1HZc31Vm
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 30, 2021
Those that are fans of the holiday may soon be disappointed. But until then, Happy July. And happy banking, Mr. Bonilla.
YOUR TURN: If this is the last “Bobby Bonilla Day,” have Pirates fans appreciated the schadenfreude of seeing another team’s dysfunction? Will you miss the July 1 jokes if they go away? Will they ever go away?