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The Mets are planning an old-school gathering this summer that may not include a fan favorite.
As the team prepares to host Old-Timers’ Day on Aug. 27 — the first time the Mets will hold the event since 1994 — former outfielder Lenny Dykstra’s possible inclusion remains murky at best.
Dykstra may not receive an invitation because of “various issues,” according to a club source, who declined to provide specifics.
Dykstra, a key component of the Mets’ last World Series-winning team in 1986, has encountered post-career troubles with finances and the law — in addition to being accused of making derogatory comments toward blacks, women and homosexuals. In recent years Dykstra has feuded publicly with former teammate Ron Darling, who remains a popular fixture in the SNY booth. Dysktra’s presence could make for an uncomfortable environment, as Darling is expected to participate in the event.
The list of invitees includes Yoenis Cespedes, who abruptly left the team in 2020 in a dispute over playing time. Cespedes hasn’t played a major league game since then.
More than 40 former Mets are expected to attend — and many of the team’s past stars were not included on the initial press release, as the Mets plan to announce further participants in the future to build up interest in the event. But Mike Piazza announced on Twitter his intention to attend, joking that “the training room is going to be crowded.”
The team released a preliminary list of attendees Tuesday that included 92-year-old Frank Thomas, Ron Swoboda, Jon Matlack, Felix Millan, Mookie Wilson, Howard Johnson, Bob Ojeda, Robin Ventura, Turk Wendell, Endy Chavez, Cliff Floyd and Daniel Murphy.
Introductions will begin at 5 p.m., two-plus hours before the first pitch between the Mets and Rockies. The Old Timers will play a short game after they are introduced.
The return of Old-Timers’ Day is the Mets’ latest foray into honoring the franchise’s history. Already this year the Mets had unveiled plans to retire Keith Hernandez’s No. 17 on July 9.
Ventura, Floyd and Murphy all appeared on a Zoom call to promote Old-Timers’ Day. For Murphy, the Mets’ hero during the team’s 2015 run to the World Series, it will be a first trip back to Citi Field since announcing his retirement before last season. Murphy, who turns 37 in April, might be the youngest of the Old Timers.
“I am very excited to come back,” Murphy said. “I see myself as a Met just because of the years that we spent there, coming up through the system and the relationships that I built in the minor league system. Jeurys Familia and Juan Lagares and I came up with these guys and when I think of David [Wright], I observed David as much as I could. He taught me so much about baseball and what it was like to be a professional and he would always talk about Cliff [Floyd], so yeah, Queens has a special place in my heart.”
Ventura, an assistant coach at his alma mater Oklahoma State, was a consideration for the Mets’ managerial opening following the 2017 season, but withdrew his name before interviewing. But Ventura, who is best known with the Mets for his “grand slam single” in Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS against the Braves — his walk-off homer was ruled a single after he was tackled by teammates rounding first base — indicated he wouldn’t be surprised if he eventually returns to the major leagues in some capacity.
“I was just into doing something else,” said Ventura, who had previously managed the White Sox. “At that time it was just a good time to step away. I had some family stuff I needed to take care of and that was really the biggest issue for me. That kind of took precedence over taking interviews or doing anything like that. It’s nothing against the Mets.”
“Eventually, you kind of get drawn back in to major league baseball one way or another, if you have played it long enough,” Ventura said. “I love what I’m doing right now, but there is nothing saying that down the road, it doesn’t have to be a manager or anything else, that is kind of what you know and we can do different hobbies of different things, but this is what we know.”
Floyd, a key contributor to the Mets’ 2006 team that reached the NLCS, said he had been receiving text messages about possibly going deep in the Old-Timers’ game. He recalled his Mets tenure as a time in which he showed he could handle the biggest of stages.
“New York, the fans, there is something about how … they know what you’re about, whether you are real or fake, they can pull that fake out pretty easily,” Floyd said. “You come to New York and play, you need to step your mind up, step your game up.”
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