the annual pilgrimage and the abomination
So yes, I love baseball.
Early last spring, one of the social groups at my synagogue decided to sponsor a trip to Citi Field. They chose Sunday afternoon, September 20, when the Mets were scheduled to play the NY Yankees. We have fans of both teams in our congregation, and the organizers hoped that at least one of the teams would still be in playoff contention this late in the season. I ordered tickets.
Fast forward to September. The Mets are leading their division. The Yankees are trailing the Blue Jays, but are definitely in contention for the wild card spot. And the Sunday afternoon game became a Sunday night game, the ESPN Game of the Week.
The evening began well. We parked in our favorite lot on Roosevelt Avenue, across the street from the ballpark. There's no safe place to cross before the game, so we had to climb up the stairs to the 7 train, then climb down again to get into the ballpark. We arrived before the gates opened, so we got on line and waited...We listened to the music -- the Mets fight song from way back in the 1960's:
After awhile, the song got a bit...repetitive.
From our vantage point we could see the Billie Jean King Tennis Center -- they're putting a dome on the Arthur Ashe Stadium, I believe. And I was able to spot planes as they circled towards La Guardia Airport -- Citi Field is thisclose to La Guardia.
The frist 15,000 fans to enter the stadium got a Matt Harvey Fathead giveaway. Yes, we got our Fatheads. (It's a wall decal.)
Our seats were ...interesting. Field level, which gave us access to the clubs, but out in left field. Way out. Way, way out. So we started at the club level, and grabbed a bite to eat. The view from the club level is awesome:
We ate, picked up our souvenir Mike Piazza jerseys (part of our group package) and found our seats.
And the view from out seats.
The Home Run Apple:
Those lights between the flagpoles? A plane coming in for a landing.
There were a lot of Yankee fans in the house. In our section, there were as many people in pinstripes as in blue and orange Mets gear.
The first surprise of the night? Mike Piazza threw out the ceremonial first pitch!!!! Later in the evening, Doc Gooden and Mookie Wilson would be featured on the big screen as well -- nice that our heroes come back to visit.
Matt Harvey on the mound:
CC Sabathia on the mound:
It was a cool evening, with the breeze blowing off Flushing Bay, and we were all glad we brought jackets.
The evening started well. The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
And then Matt Harvey left the game after 5 innings...and the team fell apart. Four errors and an ineffective bullpen, you had to wonder if this was the same team that dominated their division. Were those the 2015 Mets or the ghost of the 1962 Mets on the field?
Early in the evening, the cheering was loud for both teams, each "Let's Go Yankees" answered with an equally joyous "Let's Go Mets". But by the end of the evening, you would have thought you were in the Bronx.
We left after the bottom of the 8th, made our way back to the train station, back to the parking lot. Got into the car and turned on the radio, just in time to hear the last out of the game. Final score 11-2 Yankees.
Early last spring, one of the social groups at my synagogue decided to sponsor a trip to Citi Field. They chose Sunday afternoon, September 20, when the Mets were scheduled to play the NY Yankees. We have fans of both teams in our congregation, and the organizers hoped that at least one of the teams would still be in playoff contention this late in the season. I ordered tickets.
Fast forward to September. The Mets are leading their division. The Yankees are trailing the Blue Jays, but are definitely in contention for the wild card spot. And the Sunday afternoon game became a Sunday night game, the ESPN Game of the Week.
The evening began well. We parked in our favorite lot on Roosevelt Avenue, across the street from the ballpark. There's no safe place to cross before the game, so we had to climb up the stairs to the 7 train, then climb down again to get into the ballpark. We arrived before the gates opened, so we got on line and waited...We listened to the music -- the Mets fight song from way back in the 1960's:
After awhile, the song got a bit...repetitive.
From our vantage point we could see the Billie Jean King Tennis Center -- they're putting a dome on the Arthur Ashe Stadium, I believe. And I was able to spot planes as they circled towards La Guardia Airport -- Citi Field is thisclose to La Guardia.
The frist 15,000 fans to enter the stadium got a Matt Harvey Fathead giveaway. Yes, we got our Fatheads. (It's a wall decal.)
Our seats were ...interesting. Field level, which gave us access to the clubs, but out in left field. Way out. Way, way out. So we started at the club level, and grabbed a bite to eat. The view from the club level is awesome:
We ate, picked up our souvenir Mike Piazza jerseys (part of our group package) and found our seats.
And the view from out seats.
The Home Run Apple:
Those lights between the flagpoles? A plane coming in for a landing.
There were a lot of Yankee fans in the house. In our section, there were as many people in pinstripes as in blue and orange Mets gear.
The first surprise of the night? Mike Piazza threw out the ceremonial first pitch!!!! Later in the evening, Doc Gooden and Mookie Wilson would be featured on the big screen as well -- nice that our heroes come back to visit.
Matt Harvey on the mound:
CC Sabathia on the mound:
It was a cool evening, with the breeze blowing off Flushing Bay, and we were all glad we brought jackets.
The evening started well. The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
And then Matt Harvey left the game after 5 innings...and the team fell apart. Four errors and an ineffective bullpen, you had to wonder if this was the same team that dominated their division. Were those the 2015 Mets or the ghost of the 1962 Mets on the field?
Early in the evening, the cheering was loud for both teams, each "Let's Go Yankees" answered with an equally joyous "Let's Go Mets". But by the end of the evening, you would have thought you were in the Bronx.
We left after the bottom of the 8th, made our way back to the train station, back to the parking lot. Got into the car and turned on the radio, just in time to hear the last out of the game. Final score 11-2 Yankees.
Visiting from NaBloPoMo.
ReplyDeleteSorry the evening didn't turn out like you had hoped. :/ On the UK side of Kentucky, it's all college basketball. Not much going on for baseball fans around here.