Stogie Exclusive: Mets Celebrate with Cigars

On Monday night the New York Mets clinched their division for the first time since 1988. There is plenty of news coverage about that in the New York papers and accross the web, but only at StogieGuys.com can you discover which cigars the 2006 National League East Champions were enjoying.

Willie Randolph, Manager

Skipper Willie Randolph had already told reporters that he would be puffing an Arturo Fuente Opus X Forbidden. According to media reports, the cigar was a gift from assistant trainer Mike Herbst. And quite a gift it was…

This rare Dominican cigar retails at around $30 per stick as part of a DVD gift set. The Fuente Opus X line is known as a powerful and often spicy Dominican puro made from the most select tobacco produced by the famous Fuente cigar family. It will be difficult for Willie to find a better cigar should the Mets find themselves winning in the playoffs.

Carlos Delgado, First Baseman

Delgado is a powerful slugger and, judging from pictures, he picked a powerful cigar. While the pictures available make it impossible to know for certain, it appears as though he selected a La Gloria Cubana Series R, probably the monster sized (7 inches by 58 ring gauge) no. 7 with a Maduro wrapper.

La Gloria Cubana was first made in Florida by (and primarily for) Cuban exiles until being “discovered” when they moved their operation to the Dominican Republic to expand production. Unlike their milder original line, the “Series R” returns to La Gloria Cubana’s Cuban roots with a spicy, full-flavored Ecuadorian wrapper surrounding robust Dominican and Nicaraguan filler. These behemoths cost $7 to $10 apiece, a drop in the bucket for Delgado who is pulling in $13.5 million this year.

David Wright, Third Baseman

Mets poster boy David Wright was also spotted enjoying a cigar as he clinched his first appearance in the post season. Again, it is difficult to tell exactly which cigar he chose, but we’re sure it is a La Flor Dominicana, and likely the rare 6 1/4 inches by 54 ring gauge Limitada II.

This special La Flor was limited to only 2,000 boxes back in 2002. It featured a Ecuadorian wrapper with a Dominican binder and filler. Like many of the others made by the company, it is quite strong… but it is doubtful that David ever found out what kind of cigar this was given that it was so thoroughly drenched in champagne.

[Photos appear courtesy of Hot Foot.]

–Patrick S