mets

What’s the Cost of Running Onto Citi Field?

Johan Santana #57 of the New York Mets celebrates with his teammates after pitching a no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals at CitiField on June 1, 2012 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The no-hitter was the first in in Mets history. The Mets won 8-0.
Worth it?

So, remember Rafael Diaz, the guy who ran on the field and celebrated with the Mets after Johan Santana’s no-hitter? (You will recognize him in the above pictures as “the one in jorts.” You also recognize him in this video as “the guy getting slammed by security.”) Well, back then, he spent two nights in jail and missed his son’s birthday party, but yesterday, he was officially sentenced. The final verdict? One-hundred hours of community service; $1,000 fine paid to the city; $4,000 fine paid to the Mets. (They could use the cash!) And no visits to Citi Field for a year, though the Mets have officially banned him for life anyway. (Though a funny mustache and crazy hat disguise could probably sneak past security.) Is all that worth it? The money doesn’t seem too oppressive, and hey, he might do some good with that 100 hours anyway. But being banned for life from Citi Field? Well, actually, we can’t quite tell if that’s a punishment or a reward.

What’s the Cost of Running Onto Citi Field?