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Meaningless Rant

Centerfield Oct 01 2018 06:42 PM

I mentioned here a few times that my son's theater group was asked to sing the National Anthem before the game yesterday. This is, of course, super cool, and nothing is meant to take away from the opportunity given to my son and his friends. But I couldn't help coming away from the event feeling incredibly disappointed about how the Mets handled things. ShortCenter was super excited to go. I think his excitement built even more when they were told to report an hour and a half before gametime. The kids were told they would have to leave their families and go into CitiField to prepare. My son brought a brand new baseball, a sharpie, and a few old ticket stubs just in case the group got to meet someone special. Singing the anthem itself was great. They were introduced, they sang on the field, and got a kick out of being on the Jumbotron. How often do you get to sing in front of 30,000 people? After they sang they were escorted off the field. Eventually, by the bottom of the second, he made his way to our seats. I was disappointed to learn that the group was ushered into a room to rehearse. When the time came to sing, they were led to the field. When they finished, they were brought back to the rehearsal room, then eventually allowed to go to their seats. No one from the Mets came to greet them. No player/former star/TV personality, came by to say a word. They weren't given a hat, a t-shirt, a program, a sticker. Not even vouchers for food. When we told people that ShortCenter was going to sing, we heard some cynical remarks. "Great way for the Mets to sell tickets to 20 families that otherwise wouldn't be there." We wanted to think otherwise, but it's pretty hard to argue that this wasn't the case. We paid face value for our group tickets. They were decent seats (Section 107) but not great. We could have bought them on StubHub that morning for a fraction of the price. Just annoying. Here was an opportunity for the Mets to make the smallest of gestures. One autograph session from Steven Matz, or Seth Lugo could have made a few kids Mets fans for life. A simple give away means 20 kids from West End Secondary would be wearing Mets gear to school today. But nothing. Hard to imagine that this franchise will find a way to put together a winning team when they manage to screw up something as easy as this.

metsmarathon Oct 01 2018 06:53 PM Re: Meaningless Rant

i am curious if other teams do give away free stuff to the people coming in for anthem singing. even if none other do, though, it seems like such a simple and obvious way to spread goodwill, and at such a minimal cost, too.

Ceetar Oct 01 2018 07:05 PM Re: Meaningless Rant

I thought typically they allowed these groups on the field behind home plate for BP and the like. Which would also be the perfect time to have someone stop by and say hi and sign a few autographs or something. I could see how the logistics of doing that during the game (especially the last game?) could be trickier. Mets have typically been meh about over-exposing/overloading players to this sorta off the field meet and greet grind. I wonder if that was Horwitz born and if it'll change.

Centerfield Oct 01 2018 07:11 PM Re: Meaningless Rant

Even if signing autographs is too much trouble, come in, take a picture, hand out stickers. Something. Talk about mailing it in.

Centerfield Oct 01 2018 07:37 PM Re: Meaningless Rant

i am curious if other teams do give away free stuff to the people coming in for anthem singing. even if none other do, though, it seems like such a simple and obvious way to spread goodwill, and at such a minimal cost, too. I don't know about anthem singing, but both the Mets and Yankees run on-field clinics for kids during the summer. Both are great events, but not surprisingly, the Yankees go the extra mile while the Mets leave a bit to be desired. Keep in mind, this event is usually meant for season ticket holders and other VIP types, so it's in the best interest of the club to keep everyone happy. We had the opportunity to go to the Mets clinic because a friend of mine worked at Citi, and we went to the Yankee one because a buddy is a season ticket holder. Mets Event: *Kids get ushered in. They are greeted by a Mets employee, given instructions. *On field clinic featured Tim Teufel, Dan Warthen, Bob Geren. Parents got to watch from the stands. *Afterwards, kids were ushered into the picnic area behind the bullpen. Kids and parents got a prepared bag lunch. Sandwiches, chips, soda/water. *Someone from CitiBank came by to say thank you. *Event ended, given a swag bag, we had to leave. *Had about 2 hours to kill before gametime, so we wandered around the Flushing Harbor. Not much there, but we found a small restaurant/bar. Had a few drinks while the kids hung out. *Made our way back in to watch batting practice, then the game. Yankee Event. *Kids get ushered in. Greeted by Yankee employee, given instructions. *On field clinic featured Goose Gossage, Mickey Rivers, Randy Velarde. Parents got to watch from the stands. *Afterwards, kids and parents were ushered into some club. Hot buffet lunch with a carving station. Offered beer and wine. *At the end of lunch, kids were brought into the press room. All the kids were given a notebook and pens and fake press passes. *Assistant GM Jean Afterman came out and gave a small speech about how press conferences work. Reporters ask questions, manager and players answer, etc. *Brian Cashman came out, pretended it was an actual press conference, and took questions from the kids. Jean Afterman hung around to moderate/educate, saying that this type of question would/wouldn't be proper, etc. *Guided tour of Monument Park *We were brought to RF, to watch batting practice before the gates opened to the general public. Because it was a private session, each kid got 2-3 souvenir balls. *Given a swag bag. Allowed to roam around the stadium, spend money where ever we saw fit until the game started.

41Forever Oct 01 2018 07:40 PM Re: Meaningless Rant

My kids have sung the anthem - and played instruments -- as part of school groups. And in my new role I've worked closely with the teams in our area for pre-game activities and watched these things up close. (Recognizing that this was mostly the minor league and just a handful of MLB experiences.) My guess is that from the team's perspective, the young singers are getting a thrill being out there and performing on the field in front of 30,000 people. There are about a zillion things going on in that half hour before the game, especially if there is a ceremonial first pitch, color guard and goodness knows what else. I can see the logistical challenges of getting a player in there, and the demands on their time are tremendous. It's a little easier much earlier, during batting practice. Now, could the Mets have some "I sang the anthem at Citi Field" certificates made up to distribute? Certainly. If teams can hand out a "My first game at Comerica Park" certificate, they can create one for anthem singers and give them something to remember the event. Out of curiosity, did they give something to the head of the group to distribute later? When I gave school groups tours of the newspaper, I've have pencils and stuff for each of the kids, but would give them to the teacher in an envelope to give out later. It was just easier that having the kids carry them around or on the bus. Sounds like a pretty cool experience for the little guy!

Ceetar Oct 01 2018 07:51 PM Re: Meaningless Rant

I do wonder if that was a bit of "last day of the year" stuff. But it's not surprise the Mets flopped it. They do some cool outreach type stuff but never seem to go that extra mile. I assume I'll experience and rant about some of this stuff myself in the comings years, depending on my success rate at badgering my daughters to be all-in on baseball.

DocTee Oct 02 2018 12:24 AM Re: Meaningless Rant

Earlier this year the championship baseball team from my school was allowed on field to watch BP Several Mets (and some Pirates) came by to sign autographs, and Frazier engaged in some great banter-- giving his bat and batting gloves to some of the kids who were ribbing him. Hard to imagine the Mets doing that for a group of college kids and not some middle-schoolers. Sad and sorry to hear of your kids' disappointment.

Fman99 Oct 02 2018 01:00 AM Re: Meaningless Rant

i am curious if other teams do give away free stuff to the people coming in for anthem singing. even if none other do, though, it seems like such a simple and obvious way to spread goodwill, and at such a minimal cost, too. I don't know about anthem singing, but both the Mets and Yankees run on-field clinics for kids during the summer. Both are great events, but not surprisingly, the Yankees go the extra mile while the Mets leave a bit to be desired. Keep in mind, this event is usually meant for season ticket holders and other VIP types, so it's in the best interest of the club to keep everyone happy. We had the opportunity to go to the Mets clinic because a friend of mine worked at Citi, and we went to the Yankee one because a buddy is a season ticket holder. Mets Event: *Kids get ushered in. They are greeted by a Mets employee, given instructions. *On field clinic featured Tim Teufel, Dan Warthen, Bob Geren. Parents got to watch from the stands. *Afterwards, kids were ushered into the picnic area behind the bullpen. Kids and parents got a prepared bag lunch. Sandwiches, chips, soda/water. *Someone from CitiBank came by to say thank you. *Event ended, given a swag bag, we had to leave. *Had about 2 hours to kill before gametime, so we wandered around the Flushing Harbor. Not much there, but we found a small restaurant/bar. Had a few drinks while the kids hung out. *Made our way back in to watch batting practice, then the game. Yankee Event. *Kids get ushered in. Greeted by Yankee employee, given instructions. *On field clinic featured Goose Gossage, Mickey Rivers, Randy Velarde. Parents got to watch from the stands. *Afterwards, kids and parents were ushered into some club. Hot buffet lunch with a carving station. Offered beer and wine. *At the end of lunch, kids were brought into the press room. All the kids were given a notebook and pens and fake press passes. *Assistant GM Jean Afterman came out and gave a small speech about how press conferences work. Reporters ask questions, manager and players answer, etc. *Brian Cashman came out, pretended it was an actual press conference, and took questions from the kids. Jean Afterman hung around to moderate/educate, saying that this type of question would/wouldn't be proper, etc. *Guided tour of Monument Park *We were brought to RF, to watch batting practice before the gates opened to the general public. Because it was a private session, each kid got 2-3 souvenir balls. *Given a swag bag. Allowed to roam around the stadium, spend money where ever we saw fit until the game started. Boy, this comparison made me super sad.