Daniel Sheffer, 42, wasn’t born when the New York Mets and their mascot, Mr. Met, broke into Major League Baseball in 1962, but he always understood how much the man with the baseball head meant to his favorite club.
Sheffer’s father would tell him stories about the formative years of the Mets’ Hall-of-Fame mascot. The night before Sheffer attended Mr. Met’s Birthday Bash—the mascot’s first Citi Field birthday party, which was held prior to the Mets’ Saturday afternoon game against the St. Louis Cardinals—he read up on Mr. Met’s history, from his mid-1970s disappearance to his 1990s renaissance.
Mr. Met’s origin story is difficult to pin down. According to the club’s website, he first appeared in club publications in the 1963 season, then made his in-person debut one year later when the Mets moved to Shea Stadium. However, relics from the Mets’ inaugural 1962 season depict Mr. Met as a clear part of their branding. Either way, he’s Major League Baseball’s oldest mascot. His legacy continues to be written as a mainstay of Mets games at Citi Field.
“He’s an integral part of the game,” Sheffer said as he finished chewing on a pretzel at Mr. Met’s birthday party, the mid-April sun beaming down on Citi Field’s bullpen plaza behind center field. “You love to see him, makes me feel like a kid again. And I’m sure if you’re a kid, you love Mr. Met.”
Sheffer, too, loves Mr. Met. He wore one of the Mets’ orange and blue spring training hats, which featured Mr. Met in sunglasses — “he’s ready for Florida,” he quipped. In his right hand was one of the commemorative baseballs available to fans at the event, complete with a Mr. Met caricature and an autograph from the mascot.
“He doesn’t have many fingers,” said Sheffer. “But this looks great to me, so I’m going to cherish this baseball.”
Sheffer was one of the Mets fans in attendance for Mr. Met’s birthday party — a crowd that included both families and adults, as well as many of Mr. Met’s mascot friends from New York-area teams. Nyisles, the infamous fisherman mascot of the New York Islanders, was there alongside Syracuse University’s Otto the Orange and the Brooklyn Cyclones’ Sandy the Seagull and mascot-emcee Guy Zoda — better known as King Henry.
Mr. Met’s birthday celebration coincided with a bobblehead giveaway, which placed a posing Mr. Met next to the Empire State Building. Days before, Mr. Met and his female counterpart, Mrs. Met, had visited the Empire State Building to promote the bobbleheads.
“It’s just our love for New York and Mr. Met’s love for New York and celebrating what New York City is and what we represent,” said Lynette Camacho, the Mets’ director of private events, who added that “everyone loves Mr. and Mrs. Met.”
Zoda, the Cyclones’ King Henry, spends most of the warmer months with the Mets’ Single-A prospects on Coney Island. Like any mascot, he runs around Maimonides Park to entertain fans and uphold the ballpark’s reputation as Minor League Baseball’s most fun atmosphere.
A couple of times a year, Zoda said, he tries to get out to Queens, especially when the Cyclones’ season ticket members are around. In his iconic red suit under the sun, he clarified that he wasn’t feeling the heat — “it’s much hotter at the castle.”
Zoda has a unique perspective on mascots — he’s one of the few who isn’t anonymous and engages verbally with fans. He believes that having mascots is an important part of the game day experience, and events that celebrate the mascots, like Mr. Met’s Birthday Bash, are “a wonderful thing.”
“When you think about it, who brings cheers and smiles to all the families at the ballpark?” asked Zoda. “It’s the mascots, that’s right. We need to appreciate them. And you know what? I feel that they do get appreciated, with high-fives, hugs, pictures.”
For Mr. Met, no sign of appreciation was bigger, literally, than the large poster of his jersey, hung for fans to write their birthday wishes to him.
“It’s all about building the community,” said Kaela Brundage, a lifelong Mets fan who was waiting with her friend, Gina Desio, to sign Mr. Met’s jersey poster. “It makes up a special place for all the younger fans to come in and celebrate along with their parents.”
Mr. Met’s Birthday Bash concluded, as most birthday parties do, with the singing of “Happy Birthday” for Mr. Met. Behind the crowd gathered around the mascots and the trays of cupcakes, Chris Maz held his son, Caden, who was celebrating his first birthday.
Family-friendly events like these were becoming commonplace for Maz, who also has a three-year-old. This season, for the first time, they signed up for the Mets’ Kids Club, a membership that includes special events and souvenirs for younger fans.
But at Mr. Met’s birthday party, Maz may have found the best deal out of anything at the ballpark that afternoon.
“We’re gonna make money on this event by eating hot dogs and food, compared to what we’d pay in there,” said Maz, pointing toward the field. “It’s a really nice deal.”
