Take me out to the ballgame

October 2, 2008 10:21 AM

Mets Fans! My accountant just saved me $10,000 with the IRS. I would very much like to thank him in a way he can accept with a small gift. He's a huge Mets fan, is there a book or something I can send to show my appreciation? I'm not a sports fan at all and I won't be taking him out to dinner or some event (my husband might object, heh.)
posted by eatdonuts to shopping (22 comments total)

As a Met fan he probably won't want to think about baseball until March 2009, but if you think he can handle it try: The Bad Guys Won
posted by Mr. X at 10:27 AM on October 2, 2008

New York Mets Vintage World Series Films DVD

Relive both Met's World Series victories: 1969 New York Mets vs. Baltimore Orioles & 1986 New York Mets vs. Boston Red Sox. All the classic moments of the New York Mets 1969 and 1986 World Series Championships.
posted by netbros at 10:29 AM on October 2, 2008

I'm sure they'll bve selling off pieces of Shea pretty soon, so maybe you can splurge for some of that. On the other hand, I'm sure that you can buy a framed photograph of one of the memorable moments at Shea: The Beatles, um, the Buckner thing, Clemens/Piazza... As a baseball fan, I love old timey photographs of stadiums.
posted by jsavimbi at 10:29 AM on October 2, 2008

Jimmy Breslin's account of the 1962 Mets: Can't anybody here play this game?

Or a souvenir from Shea Stadium which just closed for good.

And a whole new bullpen, another quality starting pitcher and Manny Ramirez.
posted by cjets at 10:31 AM on October 2, 2008 [1 favorite]

The big deal right now in Mets Nation is the closing of Shea Stadium, and the memorabilia is out there.

First, there are two DVDs he might like, assuming he doesn't have them already. One is The Essential Games of Shea Stadium, and the other is Shea Goodbye. The first contains several entire games, plus some memorable moments in addition, while the other is more of a composed piece about the stadium.

Lots more stuff can be found at the Mets' section of the MLB shops.

Then, if you're feeling $900 worth of appreciation for him, you could order him a pair of Genuine Shea Stadium Seats.

Of course, what any Mets fan really wants is a bullpen that can get us to October, but that might be a bit beyond your means.
posted by Doctor Suarez at 10:34 AM on October 2, 2008 [1 favorite]

You can get him a pair of old shea stadium seats for ~$869. Now that is a great gift!
posted by Paleoindian at 10:34 AM on October 2, 2008

If you have a chummy, outside-of-work relationship with your CPA, then by all means reward him with the Mets gift.

If it's a standard, by the books relationship, however, I'd suggest a more modest reward, such as the introduction of a new client.

Accountants are supposed to save clients big bucks where it's legal. That's their job. A generous reward makes it appear that you lack knowledge of this, and are a naive client.
posted by Gordion Knott at 10:42 AM on October 2, 2008

Seconding the above notion that a Mets-themed gift would be in particularly bad taste right now, but if you must, then something Shea-related would be smart, since this is the time for last-ditch memories of that awful* place.

*I won't miss it myself, though I'm really looking fwd to the new one.
posted by rokusan at 10:55 AM on October 2, 2008

(As an example of what I mean by 'bad taste right now', note that if I gave my Mets-loving buddy a Mets hat or gift right now, he'd tell me to shove it right up my ass, thanks for rubbing salt on his wound, etc etc.)
posted by rokusan at 10:57 AM on October 2, 2008

Oh! keep it coming! I'm looking up those programs as we speak. Just want to spend less than $100 or so. Thank you all! I don't know anything about sports!

Gordion:
Mike is my chum and been doing my taxes for years now since my dad had a stroke - almost like a dad-figure during tax season. I don't mind at all sending him a thank you, and I don't think that there's anything harmed by being a bit grateful for folks out there doing their job well. This world is difficult enough - particularly in the service world like this - and it behooves me to be thankful for someone who came in on his downtime to help my husband and i. This wasn't a routine tax filing. Of course it's not necessary, and I disagree that sending a thank you is naive and ridiculous.
posted by eatdonuts at 10:58 AM on October 2, 2008

So... Mets fans, would one of the 'Last Programs' be a bad choice for a game? He wears his Mets Fan watch all the time...
posted by eatdonuts at 11:00 AM on October 2, 2008

I am also a Mets fan...definitely thirding the Shea Stadium seats. Or you can wait until they start giving away other items from the stadium.

But if you want, I have some authentic Shea Stadium dirt from the final game at Shea.
posted by alice ayres at 11:01 AM on October 2, 2008

LOL jrod, did the fans tear up the stadium when the game was over?
posted by eatdonuts at 11:04 AM on October 2, 2008

@ eatdonuts - the last program would be a 'eh' choice.

One of the things I got for my boyfriend (a die hard Mets fan) is a "This Guy Loves the Mets" t-shirt.



Everyone (especially him) LOVES the shirt, especially fellow Met fans. I have been to a *lot* of Mets games and events, and I have never seen anyone else in the shirt. It sounds like Mike is one of those guys who would appreciate the shirt.
posted by alice ayres at 11:10 AM on October 2, 2008

well, not like at yankee stadium where they actually won. though a mets fan, i live two blocks away from yankee stadium. needless to say, the yanks' final game was 'everyone gather at my place' day. all of my friends came back with signs from the bathroom, pieces/shreds of seats, screws, etc.

the opposite was true of the mets final game. a lot of the fans left early, disgusted and upset by the mets' loss to the marlins. security was tight. i didn't see anyone trying to take anything. in fact, i saw one guard help someone get some dirt.

off topic, i just picked up my photobook/scrap album of the game a la CVS, and i'm pretty psyched for the memories.
posted by alice ayres at 11:23 AM on October 2, 2008

jrodsgirl: the opposite was true of the mets final game.

The key problem there is that the Yanks had their closing ceremonies before the game, but the Mets made everyone stay afterward, which is unbelievably stupid.

More importantly, IANAL and IANACPA, but I'm very curious to read the opinion of one/either on this. To me, this kind of thing looks like someone could (mistakenly, but easily) misinterpret as bribery. There may be rules about what your accountant can accept from his clients.
posted by mkultra at 11:43 AM on October 2, 2008

this kind of thing looks like someone could (mistakenly, but easily) misinterpret as bribery

I think there's a few people reading too much into a simple, inexpensive 'thank you gift.' I'm pretty sure Miss Manners would agree with me in saying some of you all are just a bit too jaded.

:)
posted by eatdonuts at 12:14 PM on October 2, 2008

bribery is giving officials something to give you favor. that is not anything like a thank you gift to a private company/person. Private entities can favor whoever they want. and you can pay private entities whatever you agree on.
That is nothing like bribery
posted by alkupe at 12:20 PM on October 2, 2008

I think it's awesome you're considering this as I've also considered it in the past. That said, events since then have taught me that rewarding people in an over the top fashion (even if they did wonders for me) for merely doing their job tends to make things awkward. So I second Gordian's advice above:

Accountants are supposed to save clients big bucks where it's legal. That's their job. A generous reward makes it appear that you lack knowledge of this, and are a naive client.

Stick to something simple (as in, under $100 and non-sentimental).
posted by wackybrit at 12:27 PM on October 2, 2008

Mets fans, would one of the 'Last Programs' be a bad choice for a game? He wears his Mets Fan watch all the time

I'd agree that the program would be 'eh.' They're generally light on content and heavy on ads and what do you do with it?. Judging by the fact that he has a Mets watch, I'd suggest something that he can use (like the watch) such as Shea Stadium shot glasses or coffee mugs.
posted by cjets at 3:33 PM on October 2, 2008

I think it depends in part on how big your final bill with him is. If this is a business CPA job and you're paying him $2000 then a $100 gift isn't really outrageous (it's about the same as a dinner or cocktails, otherwise known as the oil of the business world). If it's just personal taxes and he's only charging you $200 or so then you'd want to keep the gift much more modest, no matter how ecstatic you are.

Certainly with lawyers, around whom I've spent more time, the personal thanks after a case can be very much appreciated and varies from books to stuff to hang on the walls or executive toys. But it also depends on how personal your relationship is.
posted by dhartung at 3:37 PM on October 2, 2008

i bought him the Met's book above and will write a lovely thank you letter. he really did go out of his way for us and it's not even a fraction of the service he provided us for. it's nice to feel appreciated and i really do think sometimes doing a little token of thank you is warrented.

thank you all for your help and guidance!
posted by eatdonuts at 9:21 PM on October 2, 2008