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No offense to Jerry Koosman, but WFAN's Evan Roberts said Wednesday he doesn't like that the Mets are retiring the pitching great's No. 36 next season.
Koosman, who spent 12 seasons with the Mets and was a member of the 1969 world championship team, will become just the third Mets player to have his number retired, following behind Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza.
"This actually ticks me off," Roberts said. "And I say it again with the respect to Jerry Koosman. The New York Mets have done such a bad job in many ways. One thing they've done great that I have loved is how selective they are with their retired numbers. Hall of Fame is their criteria. And David (Wright) was going to be a fine exception as a lifelong Met. And now you're telling me -- and I believe this is a PR move by this ownership group and they announce it the day they're basically eliminated. That's when they do it? So they're going to give Jerry Koosman this honor. Then they're going to give it to Keith Hernandez, the late Gary Carter. They're going to give it to everybody?
"The Mets have actually done something right for the last 50 years," Roberts continued. "They have had a criteria that is really tough -- Hall of Fame, lifelong Met. And now because they're desperate to just, I guess, pack the ballpark once a year, 'cause they're going to do this every year."
Roberts conceded, however, that if any Met other than Seaver and Piazza should have his number retired, it should be Koosman.
Roberts' co-host, Joe Benigno, wasn't as worked up about the Mets' announcement but admitted it caught him off-guard.
"I was very surprised actually because ... the Mets have been very selective in numbers they retired," he said. " ... And I think both of us thought the next guy's number they were going to retire would be David Wright, even though he's not a Hall of Famer, because he was all-time Met, he played his whole career with the Met and all of that."
To listen to the segment, click on the audio player above.