(photo from the Bridge and Tunnel Club)

Last spring I appeared on SNY’s MetsWeekly and said that I would not miss Shea Stadium. To me, there was nothing particularly special about the symmetrical, circular, cement structure that was cast from the cookie cutter of multi-use stadiums that became all the rage in the late 1960s and 1970s. And while there are memories of Shea I’ll always cherish, I stand by my original feeling — there’s nothing about Shea Stadium, the structure, that I’ll miss.

My dispassion for Shea was partially due to watching baseball games at Camden Yards, Turner Field, Nationals Park, and other “modern” ballparks. These new parks “got it”, meaning, whoever built them understood how to best connect the fan to the game, and make three hours at the park an enjoyable experience. After visiting a stadium like Camden Yards, I felt jilted upon walking into trash hole that was Shea. As a result, I looked forward to the opening of Citi Field.

Maybe my expectations were too high, because I’ve come away slightly disappointed. In comparison to Shea, it’s no contest — Citi Field is a much nicer place to visit, being new and comfortable and filled with features that place it miles away from Shea. But Shea Stadium was not where I set the bar, it was the other “new” parks (Camden and Turner are both over 10 years old now) — and compared to those, Citi Field falls a little short on delivering to the common fan.

Again, Citi Field is a beautiful park, a wonderful place to watch a ballgame — if you can afford it. I could do without all the Ebbets Field and Dodgers reminders, but the Wilpons’ fascination with Brooklyn doesn’t bother me nearly so much as what I’ll boil down as the “exclusivity” of the place.

I get that the park was built for revenue generation, and to take advantage of the Wall Streeters and corporate flunkies who have money to burn. That’s cool, I’d do the same thing if I was in charge. But there were some details here and there that give me the feeling that the average joe will be visiting a lot less often than he did Shea. In my first experience at Citi Field, the park was hosting a relatively meaningless college game on a cold and rainy Sunday in late March, yet already the pretentiousness of the place was apparent, whether it was the empty seats behind home plate, the glass-walled restaurant in left field, the $10 sandwiches, or the various “members only” clubs that identify seating categories and deny access to simple schmucks like myself.

The great aspect of the many modern ballparks is the ability for fans to enter for a nominal fee and roam around the ballpark, watching the game from various vantage points — both indoors and out. Multiple seating areas and stand-up bars make it easy for the transient fan. Perhaps you can’t get into the special members-only club and sip martinis with a corporate CEO, but at least you have the freedom to roam around, socialize, and take in the game from any of several angles — that’s the equalizer. From what I’ve seen and read, that equalizer may not exist at Citi Field. There’s no “general admission” or “standing room only” tickets listed on Mets.com, and the bleachers have gone the way of the dinosaur and the phone booth. “Promenade Reserved” is the cheapest ticket, ranging from $11-$27 depending on the game (apparently some teams are less “Major League” than others), so I guess that’s the equivalent of cheap nosebleed seats. But is that price low enough to bring in the economically challenged family more than once a year? Or is it the cost of the “experience” at Citi Field high enough to “keep the riff-raff out” ?

Bottom line: Citi Field is a beautiful place to sit and watch a ballgame. My hope is that every Mets fan gets a chance to do so.

Following up with the previous post, which mentions the smaller foul area around the park, check out the distance between first base and the photographers pit.

Below is a closeup.

This is a really minor thing, and neither a negative nor a positive detail, but it’s something that caught my attention. Mostly what I’m wondering is how many times will Carlos Delgado be stampeding into photo lenses and TV cameras chasing after popups. The wall in front of the pit and bordering the fans is a fairly short height, which means a player could both reach over but also get upended. It may take some getting used to.

Above is the view of the field from the field level, third base side.

Below is the view from the field level, down the right field line.

This is a random shot of the top of the dugout, which strangely had standing water on this rainy afternoon. You would think they would have pitched the roof of the dugout so that rainwater ran down. Small detail, I know, just mentioning it because that’s something my dad the housebuilder would point out.

Some notes:

– That outfield is BIG. Thank goodness the Mets have Carlos Beltran to roam that pasture, and Ryan Church in right. The corner spots are going to be tricky, because there are some strange angles and inconsistent wind gusts. Depending on which way the wind is blowing, balls may fly out of there or get knocked down — not unlike Wrigley Field.

– There is very little foul territory, much less (from my judgment) than there was at Shea. Who cares, right? Well, it means that more foul balls will go into the stands (yay! free baseballs!) which means less outs on foul balls. That means batting averages could go up, because at-bats that otherwise wouldn’t be extended, are extended. Good for hitters, not so great for pitchers. You thought John Maine had issues putting batters away before?

– It looks to me like righthanded hitters will have to really mash the ball to get it over the fence in left, which is both very high and a far distance from home plate. Could mean a lot of doubles for David Wright, though.

– Right field has a spot right down the line that looks pretty close. The official dimensions say it’s 330 ft. down the line, but it looks like that 330 stays for a good 20 feet across before the alley begins, which means Carlos Delgado might get some chip shots. But, my judgment could be off.