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New York Mets fan Jerry Seinfeld unhappy with announcer change

By Phil Watson

Sep 17, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Comedian and New York Mets fan Jerry Seinfeld (right) talks with Chris Carlin (left) and Bobby Ojeda (center) on the Mets pre game show on SNY before a game between the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Comedian and New York Mets fan Jerry Seinfeld (right) talks with Chris Carlin (left) and Bobby Ojeda (center) on the Mets pre game show on SNY before a game between the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jerry Seinfeld has long been a die-hard fan of the New York Mets, but the comedian is more than a little annoyed that Bob Ojeda has been bumped from TV.

In the wake of SNY’s announcement that studio analyst Bob Ojeda would be replaced by former New York Mets pitcher Nelson Figueroa for 2015, one of the team’s celebrity die-hards took to Twitter to decry the move:

Ojeda had spent six years as a studio analyst for the Mets and was known—and liked—for being a bit of a loose cannon. He was outspoken and unpredictable.

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Ojeda had said he wanted to come back, but he and the network couldn’t come to terms, according to the New York Daily News.

Enter Figueroa, a Brooklyn native who pitched for the Mets in 2008-09.

“Getting to play for (the Mets) during a 19-year journey that’s taken me all around the world and now coming full circle back to New York to cover this team is truly amazing,” Figueroa said.

Ojeda, who apparently wanted a raise that SNY wasn’t willing to fork over, will likely pursue other broadcasting opportunities in the wake of a split reported as “amicable” by the New York Post.

The 57-year-old Ojeda is also a former Mets pitcher, going 51-40 in five seasons with the club, including an 18-5 mark with a 2.57 ERA and 1.090 WHIP during the 1986 World Series championship campaign.

He played 15 seasons in the majors with five teams, including the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees, but his career never got back on track after he was involved in a fatal boating accident during spring training in Florida before the 1993 season.

On March 22, 1993, Ojeda was boating with Cleveland teammates Steve Olin and Tim Crews when their boat slammed into a pier. Olin was killed instantly and Crews, who was driving the boat, died the next day.

Ojeda needed surgery to reattach his scalp.

Figueroa, 40, pitched for six big-league teams, most recently the Houston Astros in 2011, along with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Milwaukee Brewers in parts of nine major-league seasons. He retired after making four starts with Arizona’s Triple-A club in Reno in 2013, allowing 26 earned runs in 18.1 innings.

He also pitched in the Mexican League during a pro career that began in 1995 as a 30th-round draft pick by the Mets.

In 145 major league appearances, 65 starts, he was 20-35 with a 4.55 ERA and 1.459 WHIP. He pitched one shutout, a four-hitter against the Astros, on Oct. 4, 2009—a typical season-ending game with players much more focused on getting out of Dodge and getting to the airport.

The time of the game was just 2:23, proving that big-league games can go quickly when the players want them to.

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