Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Put A Lid On It

 
You might have missed the foofaraw from Sunday night's Mets-Cubs game.
 
If you recall, in the wake of the September 11 attacks, when baseball restarted the Mets took to wearing caps from the FDNY, NYPD, Port Authority and NY's EMTs. They were initially banned by the league on the grounds they were not uniform caps, but ultimately Major League Baseball relented, and the Mets were allowed to honor the heroes of that day for the rest of the season.
 
Each year since, the Mets have simply put those caps on for any game played on September 11.
 
This year...well, let's review the circumstances first. The Mets were playing the Chicago Cubs on national television, ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball, on the tenth anniversary of the attacks. They requested from the league a dispensation to honor the first responders yet again.
 
That request was denied. Whether it was a harsh rebuke or merely a reminder, the team went public with its disagreement.
 
Little noticed in the kerfuffle was the fact that both teams had special caps manufactured for the occsasion, which included an American flag patch. Indeed, all teams were issued these caps for games that day.
 
Coincidence? Think the manufacturer got a little peeved that his caps would not be featured during the single nationally televised game that day?
 
What do you think? Why else would Bud Selig get so upset?