I wanted to do a quick recap of my first trip to Citi Field. Had a little teaser here with some pictures. In the end, the Mets rallied to tie the game and won it in the 10th on a walk-off walk (shades of Kenny Rogers). The Mets played one of the worst games you can play and still win, but that's the sign of a good team: being able to take a day where you're off and put together a win. They got some help from the Braves who were 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position and who walked home the winning run, but a win is a win.
What I really wanted to recap was my experience of Citi Field. It couldn't be any different than New Yankee Stadium (NYS). Like night and day. In every aspect. NYS is almost an homage to a team that has been in the Bronx for a century. Citi Field is an homage to another team: the Brooklyn Dodgers. Amazingly, I couldn't find anything having to do with the Mets until I got to the Danny Meyer area "Taste of the City". And that's no place by the field. Yankee Stadium seems almost like a Cooperstown towards its past. Citi Field seems to pretend, as Mookie Wilson says in this NBC Sports article, that 1986 didn't happen. They seem to just want to erase all their history. The Yankees may not have done a good job with Monument Park, but the Mets put their championship banners, as Mets Police reveals, out of sight. The colors of Citi Field are green and black. The Mets colors are orange and blue. How exactly does that work?
The parks also play tremendously differently. At Citi Field, the key for pitchers is just to continue to throw fastballs away because it is so hard to hit a homerun out of that park. They will set records with the amount of triples there and the pitchers will be very happy, but I don't think they'll ever be much offense. That's opposed to the ballpark/bandbox/Little League Field in the Bronx which plays like Coors Field East. With Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes out of the Mets lineup currently and their offensive power somewhat depleted, the park playing big for them may actually play into their favor.
The architecture couldn't be more different, either. NYS is built almost like a cathedral and seems to follow one, constant design which harks back to the old days of the Old Yankee Stadium. Citi Field is a mishmosh (maybe a clusterfuck) of different designs. The Mets took nothing from Shea Stadium, instead they borrowed from Ebbets Field (outer design), PNC Park (bridge), US Cellular (seats in right field wall), Fenway Park (the right field roof), Camden Yards (many aspects) and a lot of other parks.. There's a group of suites here, a group eating area there, a glass enclosed restaurant here, a right field porch there. I'm not saying that it doesn't look nice or have a great feel, but I'm saying it just feels like a lot of different people wanted different things and compromised by putting them all in. Also, all the seats face home plate, which didn't really seem to be a huge convenience (actually made the cupholder placement more difficult). But the biggest problem with the seats was the obstructed view--you couldn't see left field and no place on the ticket did it mention that you had obstructed views. Oh...and the fact that like it's replacement, Citi Field wasn't filled and was quiet for most of the game.
The one place that Citi Field has a distinct advantage over NYS is in the food offerings and the prices. Ticket prices for all sections seem to be less in Flushing which is a nice change from the overcharging going on in the Bronx. Once you get into the ballpark, things seem to be about 15%-25% cheaper as well, with a much better selection. Taste of the City, a group of Danny Meyer restaurants, trumps anything that NYS brings out there. While I love the garlic fries at NYS, Citi Field has Pom Frites. NYS has Johnny Rockets; Citi Field has Shake Shack. I live across from Carl's Steaks and down the street from Brother Jimmy's and they're great, but I think the Mets just got more creative with their new ballpark's food offerings. The biggest difference is in the beer selection. Brooklyn Brewery came up with specialty beers for all the different food stands and they're $7.50 each (I believe). I went to El Verano Taqueria for food and the beer and enjoyed the Brooklyn Sabroso Ale. And they have Big Apple Brews (and I believe Sixpoint is in the works as well).
While on line at El Verano Taqueria, I heard the biggest cheer of the entire game. All of a sudden someone came running into the area and yelled "there's a streaker!!!". Well I have to say I'm disappointed I missed the first Citi Field streaker but was happy to know that Deadspin (video) and the New York Post (photos) could show me what I "missed" in person. It ends up that the streaker, according to Deadspin, won't be back at Citi Field ever again, so I may have missed out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (I think I'll be OK).
Overall, Citi Field was an enjoyable experience, although much different from New Yankee Stadium. I'm heading back in August and look forward to trying out some more of the food options. And hoping that unlike the game I went to, the Big Apple actually gets to rise!
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