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May 28, 2010 citi field John Fitzgerald

Citi Field Earned Its Stripes (So to Speak)

Yankees fans are notorious for proclaiming if and how a player has “earned his Yankees stripes.” It’s a bit ridiculous and it can get incredibly annoying to have a conversation with someone who insists a player on the level of Mark Texeiria wasn’t REALLY a Yankee until [insert appropriate Yankeeography episode title here] happened.

But… I get it. They want to feel like a guy is worthy of their support. They want everyone to know that they won’t blindly accept a player just because he is drawing a hefty paycheck from Yankee Baseball Industries & Merchandising Supply Co, Ltd.

Newsday’s David Lennon makes the case that Citi Field had its moment of Mets fan acceptance this past week, as the Mets steamrolled the Yankees and the Phillies:

I think it is fair to say, though, that the Mets new park has established its identity. Fans were rightfully upset last year when they noticed that the place looked nice and it had great food and all, but it just didn’t seem like home. The franchise did some improvements to address that, such as the Mets Hall of Fame and the Hodges and Stengel entrance and the banners depicting former Mets on the perimeter. [Citi Field finds its identity]

It’s an interesting theory and it makes perfect sense. Whether you think the Mets are now on their way to the postseason or not, you won’t forget this past week for a long time.

Whether you will now forget all of the negativity that has surrounded Citi Field up to this point is another story. But it seems like the Mets may have settled into their new home.

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John Fitzgerald is an independent film/TV producer. In 2007, he followed former Mets 2B Wally Backman and his minor league team for the TV show, "Playing for Peanuts." Click here for DVD ordering information NOTE: $5 from each sale goes to maintenance costs of MetsToday.com
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  1. gary s. May 28, 2010 at 5:18 pm
    ebbets, er i mean citifield aka citicavern did not allow a home run by an oppsing batter (sorry, francisco cervelli:welcome to the land that jeff wilpon built),. so that's abig advantage.plus reyes finally showed up.the great wall of flushing can intimidate a lot of hitters (sorry david wright) and make a lot of mediocre pitchers better if they can pitch to contact (dickey, takahashi). i believe maine had a 2.1 era at home last year.now, if we can just find a way to win on the road
  2. planethardball May 28, 2010 at 5:45 pm
    so, what are you saying, gary? do you like citi field now? did you like it before?
  3. gary s. May 28, 2010 at 6:41 pm
    phb, i'd like it a lot more if the fences weren't so high and far away (i know izusudude, it's working in our favor..lol) and if the wilpons weren't charging 2-3 times more than they should for seats.i'm a baseball fan.give me a good seat and a hot dog and i'm happy.to me, the rest of the stuff is overkill and just there to fill the owners pockets.case in point regarding the wilpons greedy ways.i checked on stubhub for tonite's game in miller field vs brewers..field level seats 15 rows behind mets dugout cost $35.the same seats at the house that the wilpons built would be an average of about $150.why does the same seat in milwaukee cost 4 times more in flushing. Greed is the answer.i could understand if the price was double.BUT 4X HIGHER?? I despise the wilpons.
  4. Tom May 28, 2010 at 8:34 pm
    35$ for field level isn't bad….Remember this is New York, the Mets are a "good team" with a lot of fans. You pay more to see that…

    That being said, it really is a very nice park. I prefer it to the new yankee stadium, just seems to be bigger all over the place. Plus better parking, haha

  5. @planethardball May 28, 2010 at 9:32 pm
    Hey Tom – take it easy on labeling this a "good team." I think we need a few weeks of good play before we even start talking about 85 wins. As far as the Mets having "a lot of fans," I haven't seen many of them at Citi Field yet this year, so I'm not sure the law of supply and demand supports your theory on why Mets fans pay more for tickets.
  6. @planethardball May 28, 2010 at 9:33 pm
    Well said. Or typed. Whatever.
  7. Tom May 28, 2010 at 9:38 pm
    "good team" was in quotes for a reason.

    And its not so much supply and demand, but look at some other teams. There are a lot of clubs who wouldn't even sell out if they made the playoffs, and their stadiums are practically empty during the regular season (Marlins/Nats/Rays, etc), so comparably the Mets do have a large and loyal fanbase. They also have a high payroll and a brand new stadium.

    Hopefully that clarifies it a bit more.

  8. @planethardball May 28, 2010 at 11:11 pm
    Point taken. But I would counter that having a large and loyal fanbase – and the Mets clearly do – doesn't justify higher ticket prices. The only thing that would justify that would be the supply and demand for tickets. Hiking prices just because it is presumed that the fan base is too loyal to say "no thanks" is bad business sense and it treats the fans like garbage.
  9. gary s. May 29, 2010 at 12:20 am
    phb, excellent..could not have said it better my self.it is the height of arrogance and bad business to hike seat prices 300 per cent to a loyal fan base.the wilpons had a decision to make when they built the new stadium and the pricing of tickets.treat the fans fairly or treat them like garbage..they chose the latter and that is why i detest them.
  10. isuzudude May 30, 2010 at 1:50 pm
    stop the presses! gary, are you now showing SUPPORT for the dimensions at Citifield? I guess it's kind of hard not to when the Mets' home record is as good as it is.