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Steve Cohen didn’t become baseball’s richest owner by leaving opportunities on the table.
And that is why he and the Mets want you to Seymour Weiner.
Roughly a month after Weiner, the 97-year-old World War II veteran, went viral for being the Mets’ honored veteran of the game on Opening Day, the team released an ad Wednesday starring the old-timer–turned-meme as a way to promote the team’s upcoming $1 hot dog night April 30.
It’s the exact kind of bit Cohen has embraced since buying the team of his youth in 2020, turning a joke on its head to benefit the team. Cohen has joked about presenting a check to Bobby Bonilla, who, at 61, is still on the team’s payroll, in an attempt to turn the team’s comedic history into a positive.
Hence, more Weiner.
A lifelong Brooklyn native, Weiner (pronounced “wee-ner”) grew up rooting for the Dodgers and told The Athletic he was in the Ebbets Field stands on April 17, 1947, when Jackie Robinson got his first hit as a Dodger. When the Bums left for California in ’58, he became a Mets fan.
Weiner has enjoyed his time in the spotlight and gave the Mets his blessing to use him for the promotion. According to The Athletic, his daughter, Beth, emailed the team after Opening Day as a thank-you for having them and to say her dad really enjoyed the day and all that came with it. She left the door open for a reunion by saying, “If you’d ever want to use us in any ad campaign, we’d love it.”
At Weiner’s age, he’s heard all the jokes and said the publicity wave is “probably one of the highlights of my life.”
“To me, it’s been so enjoyable,” Weiner said. “In no way does it annoy me. Just look at all the notoriety I got out of it!”
Weiner won’t be at Citi Field for Tuesday’s promotion because cold April evenings and his age don’t go together, but his family will. For now, he is the latest comedic bit the Mets have learned to embrace under their new regime.
“We had this idea of Dollar Dog Night,” Mets chief marketing officer Andy Goldberg said to The Athletic, “and we were, like, well, what would be better than Seymour Weiner?”
