Mets Radio Announcer Howie Rose Absolutely Eviscerates MLB For Not Allowing The Mets to To Wear First Responder Hats on 9/11

Howie Rose is already the best baseball radio broadcaster in the business but now he’s gone ahead and crossed over into just regular old “cultural hero” with this one. This is something that’s an issue every year in New York. The Mets want to honor the FDNY and the NYPD and all the first responders on 9/11 by wearing their hats for ONE GAME, and MLB won’t allow it. People allude to reasons like “it’s a slippery slope” or “they don’t want to open up Pandora’s box” and other bullshit excuses but I really don’t think they’ve ever given a real answer. At least not one the fans know about. Every year we hear the Mets aren’t allowed to do it, and that’s it.

This year it was drummed up a little extra because Pete Alonso wanted to have custom hats created for the entire team to honor the people who sacrificed their lives for innocent victims of terror, but he too, once again, was told no. (He ended up having custom cleats designed for himself and all his teammates. They are FIRE.) So this year, this time around, people were even more keenly aware how stupid Major League Baseball was being, and Howie Rose let them fucking HAVE IT. And not just your regular “MLB is stupid! They dont have a good reason! This makes no sense!” yada yada rant. Which, dont get me wrong, is perfectly acceptable given how COMPLETELY asinine this ruling is. But, Howie went the extra mile and brought the receipts! Firstly bringing up the uniforms on Players Weekend. If MLB is willing to dress these guys up like the fucking dudes from Spaceballs in uniforms that were universally panned as a complete disaster from fans and players alike, then we know its not about trying to keep a classic look to the product on the field. We know they are willing to push boundaries with style if they attempted this horrific monochromatic, modern, black and white aesthetic. So we know its not that. Secondly, Howie mentioned the Astros being allowed to wear patches commemorating fucking Apollo 11. If we’re going to modify uniforms to celebrate an aeronautic accomplishment that may or may not have even happened, then I’d love to hear the logic behind not being able to honor the heroes of GODDAM SEPTEMBER 11th!!!! I can sort of understand the logic that if you honor one charity or foundation or group, then you open it up to everyone. You start to feel like an asshole because you’re deciding cause is “worthy” and which is not. Its hard to please everyone when you’re play judge and jury on other people’s disease/injury/story/charity. Rather than opening Pandora’s Box on these heartbreaking stories, you just avoid them altogether.

But…BUT! This is A) 9/11 we are talking about here, and B) You already opened Pandora’s Box with the fucking Apollo 11 patch so how in the FUCK can you refuse the New York franchise asking to pay homage to 3,000 people from their city who perished??? Even if you were worried about picking and choosing which causes can be honored (which we’ve established with Apollo 11 that MLB is not concerned with that) I think the people of this country are going to fucking understand. There is not a SINGLE person in this city, country, and maybe world, who would have a problem with this. Maybe you’d get some hate mail and complaints from Al Qaeda but thats about it! Otherwise, this would be universally celebrated. You’d make members of the FDNY and NYPD feel appreciated. You’d make family members of First Responders proud and happy. You’d make your players feel empowered. You’d connect your fans and players on a personal level that baseball is DESPERATELY lacking. You’d make a team, a city, and a country feel patriotic and unified. There is truly, genuinely, not one single drawback from doing this. Howie Rose stated it about as succinctly and eloquently as possible, and he raised the most important question of all – who is going to answer for this? Someone at MLB is going to eventually have to speak up about this issue. And when they do, I HIGHLY recommend them saying “Starting in 2020, the New York Mets and any MLB team that wants to honor First Responders or any of the people who perished in 9/11 will be allowed and encouraged to do so.”

PS – There is nothing better than hearing a really good baseball broadcaster work the game’s play by play into a serious monologue. Delivering a truly impactful soliloquy while working in the batter, the count, the score, etc etc is just so awesome. They sound so measured, so calm, so confident and eloquent, as they deliver their point while not missing a beat during the game. Truly one of the best in the biz, Howie!