Hiram Moreno
For many people, July 1 might be a meaningless day – unless it’s your birthday, of course. In the world of sports, there’s not much going on during a July 1, with many leagues around the world finding themselves in the off-season, although for baseball fans it’s a perfect day to make fun of the Mets: the “Bobby Bonilla Day.”
If you don’t know why this custom is held in the MLB, here at JefeBet we will explain everything in detail so that you understand perfectly why this day is celebrated and the reason that makes it so mythical within the baseball community.
Bobby Bonilla Day
Who is Bobby Bonilla?
Bobby Bonilla was an MLB player who served as a third baseman and left fielder during his MLB career, which began in 1986 and ended in 2001. During his career he was called to the All-Star Game six times, was a three-time Silver Slugger and had a World Series ring in 1997.
Also during his prime, Bonilla was one of the best MLB players you could find, which is why the New York Mets acquired him in 1991 from the Pittsburgh Pirates on a five-year, $29 million contract, which at the time made him the highest-paid baseball player in history, earning close to $6 million a year.
He was not only the highest-paid baseball player, but also the highest-paid athlete, ahead of the late center and NBA Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing ($5.5 million) and legendary NFL quarterback Dan Marino ($5 million).
Bonilla spent three and a half years with the Mets before being traded to the Baltimore Orioles in 1995 and then to the Florida Marlins, where he won the World Series in 1997. In 1998 he was sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he had a brief stint before returning to the Mets in 1999.
His second stint with the Mets was a disaster, with Bobby Bonilla hitting just .160 with 18 RBIs and four homers. Bonilla ended up being more of a star off the field than on it due to the constant fights with his manager. He also starred in an incident that is still remembered by the Mets, as Bobby Bonilla was seen playing cards with a teammate in the dugout while the team was losing the decisive game of the NLCS.
Bonilla was eventually released from his contract in 2000, but was still owed $5.9 million in salary for that season, which led to a financial mess that still continues to this day.
How did Bobby Bonilla Day come about?
Bobby Bonilla gave a few last gasps before leaving the Mets, knowing that his career was about to end and that he was no longer the same player he used to be.
Bobby and his agent went to Mets management with a proposal: instead of paying the 5.9 million dollars owed for the next year, they proposed to pay 29.8 million dollars for the next 25 years, starting in 2011, which equals an annual payment of 1.2 million dollars until 2035.
Both Bonilla and his agent knew very well what they were doing, and also that the Mets might be interested in that deal. Bobby Bonilla practically wanted to secure his retirement, and the Mets would be saved from paying what at the time was a high amount of money, since considering inflation, 1.2 million would end up being “a bargain”.
Fred Wilpon, who was a 50% owner of the Mets from 1986 to 2002 and a full owner from 2002 to 2020, made the decision in the late 1990s. At that time, the Mets had a guy named Bernie Madoff as their main investor, a man who was quite powerful financially and whose capital was used as funds by the franchise, making an annual profit of 13%.
Wilpon did some quick math in his head and came to the conclusion that the deal (again, taking into account the inflation that the payment would be subjected to over the years) was excellent for them, so he didn’t hesitate to accept. At the time, it was a good decision, although the story seemed too good to be true.
This was the case, since years later it was discovered that Bernie Madoff was the mastermind behind the largest Ponzi scheme fraud in history, with which he stole approximately $64.8 billion. Obviously, the Mets and Fred Wilpon ended up being affected by this, with all the math done by the then owner becoming completely obsolete and having put the team in debt.
Wilpon ended up losing as much as $700 million on this fraud, and was almost forced to sell the Mets in the 2009/2010 season before finally selling the franchise in 2020 to Steve Cohen.
And then… What happened to Bobby Bonilla?
The deal with Bobby Bonilla was already closed, and there was nothing the team could do to back out.
Payments to Bonilla began in 2011.Since then, the former baseball player wakes up every morning of July 1 with a written check worth $1.4 million (which will be $1.2 million starting in 2028) in his mailbox at home.
Furthermore, this old payment system will continue until his last payment is made in 2035, when Bonilla will reach the age of 72. Will they still be using checks then? Surely Bobby Bonilla will hope so, since this payment is far better than what he might receive from social security due to his advanced age.
As a result, many Mets fans celebrate “Bobby Bonilla Day” in a lighthearted manner, while fans of rival teams remind the franchise – at least until 2035 – that they are paying Bonilla “for free” and financing the life of a man who is no longer even associated with the organization.
