Sunday, April 29, 2012

Why should Yankee players and fans have to keep Mickey Mantle's open?

There was a whole to-do in the media this weekend about how the Mickey Mantle's restaurant is in financial trouble, and may have to close. They haven't paid rent for four months, and may be evicted soon. (Imagine that!)

So Bill Liederman, the former owner of the place, is trying to raise one million dollars to keep the restaurant open. He has been trying to hit up retired Yankee players like Goose Gossage and David Cone for $10,000 each, and current players as well, and seemed annoyed that they weren't jumping to do so. "Their agents just laugh," he complained about the current team.

And this morning, I heard Liederman being interviewed on 1010 WINS asking for fans to donate $1,000 or more each and "band together" and save the restaurant, because "most Yankee fans have been there." To which I say, you have got to be kidding me in expecting fans -- or anybody -- to give money for this!

I guess I missed when a restaurant with an unusable website, serving overpriced, lousy food, with terrible service from wait staff and bartenders alike (check out the reviews online for the place -- they're brutal!), became a charity. Especially when the place's owners haven't bothered to pay their rent for this entire year.

Am I supposed to be outraged that the landlord is trying to evict them? Absolutely not. He's not running a charity, either. Of all the worthwhile things that people can spend their money on, and donate their money to, and Liederman is trying to keep a tourist trap open? No thanks, I'll pass. Especially given what a jerk Liederman is. Let me explain.

I can have a long memory on things. And I remember the stunt Liederman pulled when he owned the place. In 2004, when the Boston Red Sox beat the Yankees in the ALCS, it was naturally one of the most horrible times ever for Yankee fans. So what did Liederman do? He announced that he was renaming the place from Mickey Mantle's Restaurant to Ted Williams' Restaurant through the end of the World Series. He also sold Red Sox hats in the store.

I was appalled over that, as were many, many Yankee fans, who called and showed up to complain. That was a terrible time, and to have the owner of Mickey Mantle's, whose restaurant's existence was based on Yankee fans, do such a thing was ridiculously tasteless. Way to kick your fan base in the stomach, dude.

Then Liederman had the gall to say that The Mick gave him the idea: "His spirit came to me when the game was over and said, 'Bill, let's do this for my favorite player. Let's put Ted's name up there for a week,'" Liederman told the press at the time. How ridiculous.

Since Liederman's "joke" didn't go over well with either the Yankee fan base or with the Mantle family, the sign was pulled down within a few days, and he ended up selling the place within the year.

Now he's back in the picture, trying to get Yankee fans and players to give their hard-earned money to keep it open. To which I say, why don't you hit up your beloved Red Sox Nation for donations, dude? Sell your scheme somewhere else. I ain't buying it.


What do you think? Tell us about it!


3 comments:

Uncle Mike said...

John Posterior. If I can't use the more popular version of that to describe him.

Mickey said on a Number of occasions his favorite player growing up was Stand Musial - whose Cardinals were playing the Red Sox in that series. If he'd temporarily renamed it Stan Musial's it might have worked... except Stan already has one named after him in St. Louis.

I haven't been to Mickey's since that day CC had a no-hitter going in Tampa and Girardi was ready to take him out anyway. (You know how I feel about pitch counters.) It's not as bad as Lisa says it is, but it's bad enough. Save the memorabilia, auction it off for charity, and let the place face away.

If Rusty Staub's place, which was known for great food, Toots Shor's, Al Schacht's and Runyon's couldn't last forever, let's not think Mickey's is sacrosanct just because it has his beloved name on it.

Anonymous said...

"...beloved name..."? Only a Yanker fan would deify an alcoholic loser. The next thing you're going to do is make a saint of CC Sabathia, because he can eat more pork sandwiches than anyone!

At least Mantle could recognize the true greatness of Stan Musial, even if he couldn't attain it himself.

Uncle Mike said...

Only a Yankee Fan would deify an alcoholic loser?

Mickey Mantle: Alcoholic who won 7 World Series with the Yankees.

Dwight Gooden: Alcoholic AND cocaine addict who won 1 World Series with the Mets... and 2 with the Yankees.

Darryl Strawberry: Alcoholic AND cocaine addict who won 1 World Series with the Mets... and 3 with the Yankees.

Keith Hernandez: Cocaine and tobacco addict who won 1 World Series with the Mets... and 1 with the St. Louis Cardinals.

You can't win, Freshy.

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