Jay Horwitz bobblehead doll giveaway on Friday night
Former Mets pitcher John Franco as get get plaque from Mets Jay Horwitz, left, of the Mets. Credit: John Roca
SAN DIEGO -- Davey Johnson, Jerry Koosman and Ed Kranepool are among the greatest Mets who have yet to be honored with modern baseball's ubiquitous tribute: the bobblehead doll.
But longtime Mets media relations guru Jay Horwitz will get his turn Friday night against the Tigers, and it's for a good cause.
The bobblehead will be given to fans who buy a special Social Media Night ticket for $35 through Mets.com/jaybobble. A portion of the proceeds will go toward "Hope Shines for Shannon," the organization started by friends in support of Shannon Forde, the longtime Mets media relations employee who was diagnosed last year with Stage 4 breast cancer.
"I can make fun of myself," said Horwitz, who has been introduced to a new generation of fans through his off-the-wall Twitter feed. "And people can make fun of me as long as it helps raise money for Shannon."
The bobblehead giveaway is an extension of a longtime inside joke among the Mets -- the unusual size of Horwitz's cranium. He wears a size 81/2 baseball cap, even bigger than the notoriously heady Bruce Bochy. And the last time Horwitz weighed his head, as part of a clubhouse dare, it tipped the scales at a team-leading 13.9 pounds.
His associates believe Horwitz's bobblehead doll to be perfectly proportioned, though Horwitz has few complaints. His hair looked too groomed and his shirt lacked his trademark mustard stain.
"It didn't look anything like me," he said. "It was too neat."
