The Secrets Behind the Iconic New York Mets Home Run Apple Revealed

— -- First introduced in 1980, the Mets' Home Run Apple has become an indelible icon of the famous franchise.

The original apple -- which lived at Shea Stadium -- is dwarfed by its successor at Citi Field. The original Shea apple was roughly 9 feet tall and 600 pounds, but the new apple measures 18 feet wide, 16 feet tall and weighs in around 4,800 pounds.

The apple at Citi Field was raised for the first time in a game when Mets star David Wright hit a home run on April 13, 2009, and has been raised more than 470 times since during the regular season. While the apple is traditionally only raised when a Mets player hits a home run, there has been one exception.

When the Yankees were forced to move one of their home games to Shea Stadium in 1998, former Mets star and then current Yankee Darryl Strawberry hit a home run, and the apple was raised for him.