Mo Vaughn thought he was being honored by the Mets when he walked in the Rotunda entrance of Citi Field for Sunday’s game against the Yankees and was greeted by a giant No. 42 statue, little did he know it had nothing to do with him.
“I was ecstatic, man,” said the former Met who was paid nearly $50 million by the team and played in just 160 games over three injury-plagued seasons. “But, then I started looking at the walls and it clicked.”
The walls of Citi Field’s rotunda are lined from floor to ceiling with photos memorializing Brooklyn Dodgers legend Jackie Robinson and his number 42.
Vaughn, who was on hand for a reunion of the lowly 2002 Mets didn’t stay long. Fans on the scene claimed he huffed and puffed his way out of the half empty stadium, but not before grabbing a pulled pork sandwich at the Blue Smoke restaurant beyond right field.
“I felt like I’d been had,” the slugger said pointing to his massive belly. “I mean, come on! It’s called a ‘Rotunda.’ Look at me … I’m rotund!”
“It was an honest mistake,” Mets COO Jeff Wilpon added. “The Carnegie Deli did immortalize Maurice with the Mo-Licious sandwich, I guess he just thought we were too.”
To prevent future confusion, the Mets have reached out to another former player, Butch Huskey, who also wore No. 42 before its league-wide retirement to let him know he would never be honored by the team for any reason whatsoever.
Huskey, like Vaughn, wasn’t thrilled by the revelation.
“Why not?” shouted Huskey. “They’ve got my number up in the rotunda! Why the heck is it called a rotunda then? I’m rotund!”
