July 1 is a shameful day for the Mets front office and the Mets fan base, as another seven-figure check goes down the drain and into former slugger Bobby Bonilla's pocket. And though I'm going to assume that every single person who reads this knows why this is the case, it's still my duty as a writer to briefly explain why the heck the Mets are paying a guy who retired in 2001 over $1 million per year for the foreseeable future.
The Mets released Bonilla following the 1999 season, one in which he batted a paltry .160 and was well past his prime at 36 years old. However, seeing as the team still owed him $5.9 million, they either had to pay him then or kick the can down the road. And because of investments that owner Fred Wilpon had made with Bernie Madoff — who is currently serving a 150-year prison sentence for a massive Ponzi scheme — the Mets thought they would be in a good position to finance such a deal. Obviously, their returns from the Madoff investments didn't exactly pan out.
But all that's in the past, as is the reign of Wilpon ownership in the Mets' front office, and instead of hiding the humiliating facts of the deal, new owner Steve Cohen wants to... celebrate them?
