NewsGooden's autograph to stay at Citi Field
Inking will be moved to more public part of stadium
By Jesse Sanchez / MLB.com
04/21/09 11:13 AM ET
Doc Gooden's autograph, scribbled on the wall of the exclusive Ebbets Club at Citi Field, will remain in the building.According to the New York Post, the Mets listened to a heavy fan outcry and decided to preserve Gooden's signature at the new stadium after initially saying that the signature would be wiped away.
The club will move Gooden's signature to a more public part of the stadium, the report said.
"We got a lot of calls on this, and it was a topic on [sports radio] all day, so we're going to listen to the fans," public relations director Jay Horwitz told the Post.
Horwitz said that the section of the Ebbets Club wall with Gooden's autograph will be put behind fiberglass at a to-be-determined spot in the park more accessible to fans. The section will be large enough for other former Mets stars, such as Mike Piazza, Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman, to add their signatures to Gooden's, or will allow for the creation of other formats for them to do so.
The Mets had initially planned to erase the signature after Gooden signed the wall last week.
"One of the guys that worked there asked me to sign one of the walls, so I did it. It wasn't like I was walking around with a Sharpie in my pocket," Gooden told the New York Daily News on Monday. "They asked me to sign the wall as a favor, as something for the fans to see. I was in there watching batting practice, and they had fans taking pictures with me by my signature, and I thought it was a fun idea.
"I definitely didn't think it was going to turn out to be this big deal. I didn't do anything intentionally for the Mets to get upset. I was just doing it for the fans."
Horwitz told the Post that the outcry to keep the signature was too great.
"This is a way for us to honor our past," he said.
Jesse Sanchez is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
