Mets owner vows change from 'Phillies colors' in team's jersey ad patch
Steve Cohen plans to patch things up with New York Mets fans over an ad on the uniform.
In a partnership with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, the team wore patches on its jersey sleeves for the first time during Friday's home opener against the Miami Marlins.
But the patch design, which features the hospital's logo as a large white box with small red text, didn't really fit for a team traditionally decked out in blue and orange with blue pinstripes on its home jerseys, not to mention one that counts the red-and-white-branded Philadelphia Phillies as a primary rival.
The club announced the sponsorship agreement Thursday and showed off the new uniform patches in a photo online. The announcement and photo immediately drew scorn on social media — and Cohen, the Mets owner, revealed before Friday's game that he was also among the detractors.
"They're Phillies colors. And he agreed, and I agreed they should be more Met-appropriate," Cohen said.
Cohen, who bought the team in September 2020, said he had an email exchange with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital CEO Steven J. Corwin, and they agreed to make a change going forward.
"I was working hard last night," he added, drawing laughs.
This is the first season in which MLB teams are allowed to sell ad spaces on their jersey patches. The Mets are one of just a handful of teams to currently have a patch sponsor.
New York wore the red-and-white patches in Friday's 9-3 win over the Marlins. Cohen did not say when the new patches might be ready.
Check out some of the responses to the Mets' initial jersey patch design below:
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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