The bullpen cart is making a comeback

by Tim Reilly March 06, 2018

Bullpen carts are back!

The Arizona Diamondbacks made it official when they announced that they will reintroduce a piece of baseball lore to a new generation of fans.

BREAKING: After a 22-year hiatus, the bullpen car is coming back. @dbacks will be first pic.twitter.com/cjEe83um4R
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) March 6, 2018

I love this. I absolutely love this, and not because I have deluded myself into thinking that this will somehow speed up the game (it won’t). I’m just a sucker for nostalgia.

The bullpen cart first made an appearance with the Indians in 1950, but didn’t become a full-blown fad in the game until the ‘70s. And believe it or not, it is the Mets that are actually credited as the first team, back in 1967, to use a baseball-themed bullpen cart. When that same bullpen cart was put up for auction in 2015, it sold for a whooping $112,500!

Baseball is supposed to be fun, and the bullpen cart is fun. Going to a game is meant to be a family experience, and kids will absolutely love seeing the bullpen car come out onto the field. If the Mets ever bring one back, SNY should have those camera’s ready to pan onto smiling faces of children throughout the crowd every time a pitching change is made.

Let’s double down on the fun and use the bullpen cart to pull a pitcher after getting knocked around, and drive them straight out of the stadium. That’s something I can really get down with.

Plus, Arizona is slapping a sponsor’s logo all over their bullpen cart. Maybe one day we’ll see The 7 Line help escorting pitchers to the mound at Citi Field? Make it happen, Darren!

In the meantime, the Mets need to get in on the bullpen cart revival. It's the offseason addition I didn't know I needed until right now.