The next New York Mets giveaway brings Amazin’ with slugger Yoenis Cespedes morphed into the perfect collectible.
In recent years, the New York Mets have had some Amazin’ (no pun intended) promotional giveaway days and nights at Citi Field including bobbleheads, t-shirts, socks, gloves, arm sleeves, bats, caps and wristbands. Many of those same items are on this year’s schedule including the latest Garden Gnome giveaway that has become a popular tradition with Mets fans.
After success in 2016 with Noah Syndergaard and 2017 with Jacob deGrom, the Mets are holding “Yoenis Cespedes Garden Gnome Night” this Saturday night May 5 when the Colorado Rockies are in Flushing for a 7:10 p.m. ET first pitch.
The first 25,000 fans in attendance will go home with the Cespedes Garden Gnome that is already a highly sought after keepsake for Mets fans.
.@keithhernandez can't wait to show off his Yoenis Cespedes Garden Gnome. pic.twitter.com/yk9PwXj8Q1
— SportsNet New York (@SNYtv) April 25, 2018
Win it before you can get it. RT for your chance to win all of this weekend’s promo items before we give them away.
Rules: https://t.co/8B93osZ8Cs pic.twitter.com/v894V8uqCQ
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 3, 2018
It’s gonna be May! Today is May 1…Check out all the Amazin’ promos we are giving away this month. #LGM https://t.co/sePvZZMcnW pic.twitter.com/cyC0UBiEhc
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 1, 2018
Don’t touch, @FlavaFraz21! ?
On Saturday, May 5 the first 25,000 fans will get a @ynscspds gnome courtesy of @newbalance. https://t.co/WMbCHTgjUX pic.twitter.com/W5VYi9f2Ao
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 29, 2018
“The Cespedes Gnome has been just as popular, if not more so, than any other gnome we’ve done,” said Mark Fine, Executive Director of Marketing for the Mets. “We only do one gnome giveaway each year so to make these a special collectible for our fans.”
And remember, this year the boxes for the gnome and bobbleheads will have an “Augmented Reality” element to them so make sure you download the MLB Ballpark App before you get to Citi Field. An image of Cespedes on the box will turn into video simply by using your smartphone.
Fans and collectors are clamoring over this garden gnome. I’ve been to tons of bobblehead giveaways over the years and there are plenty of them that look nothing like the actual subject.
In fact, I’ve interviewed many athletes about their bobbleheads and sometimes they just roll their eyes about it. But the gnomes and bobbleheads that the Mets have been producing are top notch and they’ve excited the fans, organization and the subjects with the superb attention to detail.
This Cespedes Gnome is no exception.
“We love the way it came out and so does Yoenis,” said Fine.
Given the popularity of past promotional giveaways like this and the Mets’ hot start to the season, there is the potential for a sellout crowd on Saturday night. While Citi Field has a seating capacity of 41,922, only 25,000 fans are getting a Cespedes Garden Gnome.
So if you want this special keepsake, you’re going to want to get your Mets stuff on and hope in your car or on the train a little earlier than normal to make sure you get in the ballpark in time to get one.
“As with any of our games, particularly weekend games, we stress to our fans to come out early to the ballpark and use public transportation channels.”
There are still some tickets left (mets.com/tickets), so there’s still an opportunity for Mets fans to get the latest in a series of giveaways that would be a terrific addition to your Mets “Fan Cave”. I have a pretty extensive collection of bobbleheads and other types of sports figurines and I think this Yoenis Cespedes Garden Gnome is about as good as it gets.
It’s got the sunglasses, arm sleeve, wristbands, chain and shin guards. It’s like you’re really taking Yoenis Cespedes home with you!
