Where’s Hispanic Night?
WARNING:
THIS NEXT BLOG CAN BE VERY SENSITIVE TO SOME FANS. USE YOUR OWN DISCRETION WHEN READING.
THIS, IN NO WAY, IS TO BE VIEWED AS BEING RACIST NOR IS TO BE VIEWED AS SAYING THE NEW YORK METS ORGANIZATION IS.
THANK YOU!
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One thing I have loved and come to respect about the New York Mets is their dedication to honor other cultures with “Theme Night” games.
I think that is great, especially since New York City is the melting pot of this country. Queens probably has the biggest diversity of cultures in the City, from Koreans to Hispanics to Grecians. So it is only fitting the Mets did this.
However, I am very disappointed this year with the organization. While it was very hard for me to go to Hispanic Heritage Night at Shea Stadium over the years, I loved the fact that they honored us with our own night.
Now, that is not the case. It appears Hispanic Heritage Night has been replaced by Oktoberfest.
My problem is not that they replaced the night to honor the heritage of one of their bigger fan bases, but the fact that they are not honoring Hispanics at all.
Where is the logic in taking out the two biggest nights for their biggest fan bases? While I never went to Merengue Night, where is it? Where is Hispanic Heritage Night?
You have at least 10 players on the team that are of Hispanic origin, whether it is Dominican, Puerto Rican, or Venezuelan. They know the Hispanics come out to support their team. When they signed Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran, Hispanics came out in droves to support their players.
If they think that the hispanics cannot afford the tickets, then they are not thinking clearly. I would say at least 85 percent of their fan base cannot afford the ticket prices for the games at Citi Field. Here’s a thought: lower the prices Genius!
Hispanic Heritage Night was not just a night to honor the Hispanics. It is the baseball equivalent of the Puerto Rican Day Parade. Fans of other cultures came as well for various reasons.
I’m not asking for two nights. Merengue Night can be done away with. It only honors one Hispanic race. At least have Hispanic Heritage Night. It covers all Hispanics. One night to honor your second biggest fan base.
The Mets do not want to burn bridges with their fans. I suggest they take this matter and give it great consideration.
CitiField of Dreams 
March 31, 2009 at 12:42 pm
I think nights like these were dumb in the first place, no matter what heritage it was.
You didn’t see Italians flocking to the stadium when Mike Piazza was in the uni, where were the hispanics when Rey Ordonez and Edgardo Alfonzo were anchoring the left side of the infield?
I honestly think they want to finally mix it up.
And not to be racist, cause I am not, I have a half black nephew who I love to death and my best friend is Dominican but at times when I went to Mets games over the last few years it was very uncomfortable. To me, it turned into an all out Hispanic fest. Every bit of music played was of hispanic origin, I even had to be “taught latin” by Reyes, Oliver Perez, Beltran, etc. on the big screen.
It’s cool that they do these things but every game? I stopped going to games cause I was getting tired of the environment and not to mention, Chris Rock with his whiney voice going LETS GO METS over and over again to get the crowd into it. lol
But I totally see and feel what you mean. The fan base for the Mets is mostly hispanic now since Omar Minaya took over. They should do it, but like I said, not every game. Honor human beings in a whole.
March 31, 2009 at 12:57 pm
I can tell any comments I get from this blog is going to be hard to moderate.
Reyes did not teach “Latin”. It was “Spanish”. There is a huge difference. Latin is used for science and was spoken years ago. You’ll find few Hispanics that can speak it.
Anyway, the Mets took it out last year. The fans wanted it back. So it is.
I’ll be the first one to say it can get a little uncomfortable being around Hispanics. I can say that because, and I better say this because I don’t want to be called racist, I AM HISPANIC. Puerto Rican to be exact. We can be very loud people. Some people are uncomfortable with that. But we aren’t horrible people.
I’m not exactly sure why you were uncomfortable. But Hispanics were there to support Ordoñez and Alfonzo. Yet, you forget, Mariano Rivera was also in the Bronx and they had their championships.
The only Spanish music that was played, was the ones the players chose when they walk to the plate. Otherwise, all other music was ’80’s music.
March 31, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Perhaps the Mets will still squeeze in a Hispanic Night. I was looking at the theme dates and on the top of the page, it says those dates were as of March 4. Also, in the past they’ve done Heritage Weeks where they take a few consecutive dates during a homestand and honor a particular nationality. I noticed that on August 18, they have Polish-American Night, August 22 is Irish Night and August 23 is Jewish Heritage Day. There’s nothing scheduled for August 19-21. Maybe they’ll schedule a Hispanic Night on one of those nights.
As far as the original post about Hispanics not flocking to the stadium when Ordoñez and Fonzie were playing and Italians not coming out in abundance for Piazza, how would you know? Did you follow Cowbell Man around to every level of the stadium to see which nationalities were represented in the ballpark? I might have been sitting next to Hispanic fans and Italian fans and I wouldn’t know unless if they were speaking Spanish or Italian. I was born to Puerto Rican parents and unless if I told someone I was Puerto Rican, no one sitting next to me at the stadium would be able to tell.
The only complaint I have about the music is that Carlos Beltran has apparently used the same song for all four years of his Mets career. The other players mix it up (Hispanic players and non-Hispanic players) and he’s stuck with the same song. Either he’s very superstitious or the replay button is always stuck when he comes up to bat.
March 31, 2009 at 1:47 pm
They should bring it back this year. I’ve gone to Hispanic nights in the past and i really enjoyed them. The only problem i ever had with is how some of the women dressed on this night..i’m sure most dudes will disagree with me on that one being they sure liked the ‘Eye Candy’. But we do have kids at the ballpark and last i checked Shea was not the Copa. However as a Puerto Rican i’d be very happy if they add it this year. If not i will bet every buck i have that the Mets will see the mistake they made and bring it back next year.
March 31, 2009 at 2:12 pm
I think it’s drastically jumping the gun to assume that there will be no Latino-related evenings at the ballpark. They always add some in the course of the year. Unless you called them and talked to them and they said “No, we are not doing this this year,” this is really jumping the gun.
And to say that women only dressed objectionably on Merengue night is racist in the extreme. White women from Bayside or Long Island have plenty of bad taste too, ya know. Whenever we see a woman walking up the stairs with something low cut, the sisters who sat next to me and I would joke that we didn’t get the memo that it was Indecent Exposure Night. But that was ALL WOMEN OF ALL COLORS.
March 31, 2009 at 3:17 pm
I enjoyed those nights, I went to several Hispanic Nights and other ethnic games. One thing I remember, the stadiums were packed and very loud. I can see why the met ownership loved it. Every seat was filled and even if the game was a poor one, noise was coming out of the staduim. The fans, even if they were “rooting for the mets” or “rooting for baseball” were making noise and pumping people up. It is tough, for crowd control purposes. But, as an organization the mets have a couple of things they need to do. Fill the seats, be competitive on the field, and remain fan friendly.
PS> going to the game Sunday, April 19. Stop by to meet me and the kids!
March 31, 2009 at 5:38 pm
I hope they add something during the year, makes no sense not to have a Hispanic Night……. In the past, this night has always been mentioned on the schedules.
March 31, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Nilvio, I will definitely try to see you and the kids that day. I’ll check to see how much the tickets are for that day.
Caryn, I’m sure NYR didn’t mean it the way you are taking it. You are right when you say it is women of all colors. But it is true what NYR said. It’s much more noticeable during Merengue and Hispanic Heritage Night. You are right, they could be adding it later in the year. But I am talking about as of right now it is not happening because it is not on the schedule.
March 31, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Caryn you are taking what i’m saying the wrong way. You’re right it’s not just Hispanic women that’ll dress up with almost nothing. But from what i’ve seen over the years on Merengue or Hispanic night..some of the women took mini skirts too another level. I just feel that the ballpark is not a place for such a way for ‘Any’ woman too dress that way. It’s all about Hispanic pride plain and simple, not let my look my hottest in my tiny outfit for men to look at. But as i said before i really hope that both nights are added later this year. sorry for the misunderstanding.
March 31, 2009 at 7:29 pm
I agree with NYR. These nights are meant for each nationality to show their national pride. Also, people who are not of that nationality can learn about the country or countries through the entertainment and events surrounding that night. If a child goes to a heritage night and sees women dressing provocatively, showing off much more than just their pride, that child might go bed that night thinking that’s representative of that particular community. Let’s see if these nights are added again and if not, let’s see if the Mets ever give a statement as to why it’s not being included this year.
March 31, 2009 at 7:39 pm
I grew up in Queens, I have no problem being around Hispanics or Blacks.
And, it’s not true. There was other Latin music being played when it wasn’t “At Bat” music being played at the time. I know this because I used to dance to it in my seat lol. Felt like I was at a party rather than a ball game lol.
And I worked at the ballpark in the days of Ordonez and Alfonzo, the Latin influence was NO WHERE NEAR as strong as it is now at Shealess Citi.
But there was rarely any when Rico Brogna and Carlos Baerga was around. 😉
People that are pink or purple can show up and support their teams. I am all for it. Same with hockey, bring in some more fans. I am all for it.
March 31, 2009 at 7:42 pm
By the way Tanya, I give you so much props for bringing this up. For some reason, people tend to look past all of this instead of talking about it.
Big ups! =) lol
March 31, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Thanks. It wasn’t easy. lol
April 1, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Last year, when I wrote about the brutal extra security during Merengue Night, and why they didn’t have it any other nights, I was told by an anonymous commenter that it was because of the Latin Kings.
After I got done laughing, I told them to go away.
Plenty of people address these subjects. This just isn’t a subject yet. A little too sensational in my opinion, but then again, it’s not my blog.
I just know that I wouldn’t write a long post about why the Mets weren’t having Jewish Heritage Day unless I’d called them first to make sure, because it wouldn’t make any sense. Just like they add promotional nights, they’re probably waiting for a good sponsor.
If the Mets categorically said “no we are not doing this” then that would be a different story altogether.
April 1, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Awesome, Tanya! Rose wants to meet you. I will be in section 504.
April 1, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Caryn, I’m sorry you do not agree with me writing about this. In my opinion, it is not “too sensational” as you put it, to address it. While you seem upset I have, others are glad that I did. I made an observation about something that I noticed. I’m not the first, nor will I be the last to do it.
If there is one thing most have noticed about me, I don’t shy away from things. On this site I address things some people think I’m crazy for. That is what separates me from other writers. There are other writers that write worse things than this. This is my personality. I’m very outspoken.
I’m sorry it upset you.
April 1, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Wow! Nilvio, you can tell her I feel honored.
April 2, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Tanya, Rose doesn’t believe that my friend can actaully yell from the upper deck and be heard by anyone on the field. lol. I witness this, lol. I am just joking. You are an awesome person and I am thankful for your baseball knowledge, God encouragment, and wonderful website!
Ps. Nothing should be too sensitive anymore.
God bless!
April 2, 2009 at 7:32 pm
LOL! Yeah. I do have a big mouth for a little person. That’s usually everybody’s first shocker about me. But you still had fun Nilvio.
Thanks! You’re a sweetheart!
July 14, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Every night is hispanic night for the mets! just look behind home plate “Losmets.com” All met fans appreciate the fact that 70% of the team is hispanic. Just look at the merengue and salsa music played whenever a met comes to the plate. There is nothing wrong with being proud of your heritage, but don’t let it divide us. We are all met fans.
July 21, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Omar Minaya and the mets’s organization they should have either merengue night or hispanic night,. is not fare for us hispanics to see others celebrates and we that spend our money going to all this expensive games won’t have nothing to celebrate. Please i don’t want to mention or make other race feel bad, but we need one night as everyone else. thanks
July 21, 2009 at 11:08 pm
The Mets are having what they are calling Fiesta Latina Night. It is only one night and it is sponsored by Budweiser. The date is July 31st against the Arizona D’backs at 7:10. They’ll be playing spanish music all night and celebrating the hispanic culture. Should be fun.
September 15, 2009 at 11:29 am
[…] of you probably remember earlier this year I made a big stink over the fact the Mets did away with Hispanic Heritage Night. I was criticized for my opinion and for my displeasure with the organization over it. Would you […]