Lee Mazzilli, Bobby Valentine enter Mets Hall of Fame Saturday
lee mazzilli will enter the Mets Hall of Fame on Saturday afternoon alongside Bobby Valentine, giving the club a home-weekend ceremony at Citi Field that starts before the first pitch of the series. The induction comes with a Friday giveaway, a Saturday pin for the first 15,000 fans, and Carlos Beltrán set for his own number retirement and induction in September.
Citi Field Weekend Honors
The Mets will induct Mazzilli and Valentine during the weekend homestand against the Marlins, turning the three-game set into a Hall of Fame stop for fans in the ballpark. The first 15,000 fans through the gates Friday will receive a Bobby Valentine disguise giveaway, and the first 15,000 fans through the gates Saturday will get a Mazzilli and Valentine players pin.
Mazzilli is expected to walk out to his old position with Brooklyn-Italian fans cheering, a detail that gives Saturday’s ceremony a direct tie to his time with the club. Valentine is being recognized for the franchise’s modern playoff era, placing him in a different lane than Mazzilli but in the same class.
Beltrán And The Weekend Series
Beltrán is the third member of the Hall of Fame class, and his number 15 will be retired with an induction ceremony in September. That leaves Saturday’s event as the public-facing opening of the class, with the weekend crowd getting the first in-park recognition.
The timing also sits inside a late-May series that still carries standings weight. The Mets entered Friday at 23-33, 4.5 games out of the third National League Wild Card, while the Marlins arrived at Citi Field at 26-31 and five games back in the same race.
Meyer, Peralta, Scott
Friday night’s opener was scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET with Max Meyer on the mound for Miami and Freddy Peralta starting for the Mets. Saturday’s game was set for 4:10 p.m. ET, when Tyler Phillips was lined up for the Marlins and Christian Scott for New York.
Janson Junk was scheduled to start the Sunday finale at 1:40 p.m. ET for Miami. For fans at Citi Field, the series offers baseball first and ceremony second, with the Hall of Fame honors woven into a home stand that still sits in the middle of the race.
