Bobby Bonilla Day marks the anniversary of the New York Mets paying their one-time star.
Happy Bobby Bonilla Day — if you're retired baseball star Bobby Bonilla, that is. If you're a New York Mets owner or executive, maybe not so much.
Monday marks the team's annual payment to their one-time star, years after he left the game. It's become something of an ironic fan holiday, one that the team's ownership has even acknowledged with a bit of good humor.
Who is Bobby Bonilla?
Bonilla played professionally from 1986 to 2001, including two stints with the Mets -- 1992 to 1995, and then again in 1999.
A two-time All-Star with the club, he left before the 2000 season, with the team still owing him millions of dollars.
What is Bobby Bonilla Day?
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
That's where the ersatz holiday comes into play. The team struck a deal to defer the millions of dollars they owed Bonilla, with payments starting in 2011.
News
And, to his benefit, continuing through 2035.
Those payments of just under $1.2 million happen on July 1 every year, ergo the name Bobby Bonilla Day.
The deal worked out spectacularly for Bonilla — he was due about $6 million in 2000, but with interest, by the time the deal ends, he will end up having collected nearly $30 million.
