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Citi Field reflections

Marshmallowmilkshake Jul 11 2022 08:14 AM Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Jul 11 2022 10:39 AM

I made my first trip to Citi Field since 2009 for Friday's game, and had a nice time! Will sound silly, but it was emotional. Here are some random impressions: The good: The Seaver statue is perfect despite the issue with the number on the back. The size is impressive, and it's in a good spot for photos with the stadium in the background. I loved it. The Home Run apple in the parking lot. Also great for photos. The Hall of Fame and Museum was wonderful. I've been to a bunch of stadiums, and I don't see too many things like that - outside of Cincinnati, which is the gold standard. To see things like Swoboda's glove, Willie's spikes, Gil's uniform -- all fantastic. I wish I could have spent more time there. The Mets player murals were great. I know the team deservedly was criticized in the early years for not doing enough with the history. It was nice seeing the artwork and players popping up all over the stadium. I had a Nathan's hot dog, a Mister Softee soft serve in a helmet cap and a Shake Shack burger. We have Shake Shacks out here, but not the Nathan's or Mister Softee. Each transported me to my youth! And the helmet cap was different than what you get at the other stadiums, with an odd-but-cool skyline logo. Interactions with employees. I remember many encounters with the Shea Stadium workers that were not especially pleasant. But several ushers helped with with photos and struck up nice conversations. One was a little TMI, but that's OK. Even the guy working the ice cream stand went out of his way to help me with an extra bag because he saw I was trying to carry a lot of things. The memorabilia store was more of a museum, because I don't think those items are priced to move. But it was cool to see many of the things on display. There was a bin of batting helmets and no once seemed to care that I was sorting through to see the players and styles. I didn't get much in the Team Store, so I splurged on the $40 grab bag, which got me a framed photo with a large swatch of a Brandon Nimmo game -used jersey. I finally got to met Mr. Met and pose with Mrs. Met. I like mascots. The scorecard is great! I keep score, and many parks treat the scorecard has an afterthought. But the one in the Mets Magazine was nearly perfect. The LED boards are really neat!! Was nice to see a big section of the Iron Triangle removed. The slightly disappointing: I couldn't find my brick in the Fan Walk. The cattle chutes were up, which made it hard to walk around to see them. It might not be in the section the Mets told me it was in. (We did find it back in 2009.) Then it started raining, which ended the hunt, I splurged for the "Selfie Tour," which gets you on the field behind home plate and then up close for batting practice. But batting practice was washed out. They allowed us to stay out there longer than expected, but once you've taken a bunch of photos of the tarp, there's not much to do. Since the batting practice part was a key part of the tour, it seemed like there should have been some alternate plan there. The Mets aren't obviously can't help the rain, but if they're taking the money, it seems like there should have been some kind of back-up plans. We did get to walk through the tunnel to get to the field and see all the wall graphics, and peek into the media room as Buck was giving his pre-game media briefing. I like some of the caps the 7-Line Army designs, and was excited to hear it had a stand. But what was available was pretty limited compared to what is on the website. Minor beef. The line score was always on the rightfield board, but there's a flag in front of it that made it hard to read the info on it, at least for me in section 110.

MFS62 Jul 11 2022 08:52 AM Re: Citi Field reflections

Welcome back! Glad to hear you had a good time. Later

Johnny Lunchbucket Jul 11 2022 11:34 AM Re: Citi Field reflections

Glad you enjoyed it. As someone who goes often-- My biggest current Beef With Citfield They redid the "OoT Scoreboard" which was always hard to read, and they made it different, but... also hard to read, just differently and actually, probably worse. --No need for the stupid oversized logos! Is it Cubs or Cleveland? Or, "hey looks like the Tigers are having a good game tonight against.. um, "the Splotches." --Still not enough area to show "every game at a glance" (58 years of technical advances but Shea is sitting there like, "these guys are amateurs.") --And because of that, it often "scrolls" so you lose the spot you were watching that you associated with the particular game(s) you're following --And what that happens, you have to watch it too long, AND YOU MISS THE PLAY ON THE FIELD. A second, smaller complaint that's actually MY problem but that Citifield contributes to: I'm not comfortable as a consumer paying ridick prices for a beer, THEN having that digital payment iPad thing basically say to you--in front of the guy-- "What are you, some kind of cheap-ass Fred Wilpon? Give this guy the "suggested" tip, already!!" And this in an "all card-payment" environment. --I feel like that puts me in an awkward sitch all around. I'm not only hating myself for this purchase to begin with (it's way too expensive, it makes you fat, and it just might make you WANT ANOTHER ONE and there are so many other, better things to do with that money) that it reminds me that the poor schlub who presented me with the beer and iPad probably isn't paid well, and me? I must be rich, because I'm about to spend $15 on an indulgence I'm about to flush down the toilet in 2 innings! But I also am telling myself, "all this guy did is 1. ask me for ID, 2. look at it for 1 second 3. turnaround and open a fridge door directly behind him and hopefully, reach for the right thing I asked for. 4. Present me with it... and an iPad. How do I respond to all this in a way that makes me feel as though I don't totally suck as a person? (what I should do is tip in cash, but sometimes all I got is a $20). Finally, A longstanding opinion I've held that was emphasized in my last Tuesday Night Mets game: Most "outfield" seating at Citifield sucks BHMC --Unless you're in like, the first row or two, SAY NO to [CROSSOUT]ALL seats[/CROSSOUT] OUTfield seats [CROSSOUT]that are not between first base and third base, [/CROSSOUT]ON ANY LEVEL. --That between first-to-third perspective is OUTSTANDING and the best part of the park: You're right on top of the game. It's great even up high! That's a secret, I'm sharing with the world! --BUT, other areas are not as good (that's no secret) --BUT BUT, the outfield pretty much sucks. --Especially center field. --If you have to be in the outfield, be in right field. Near the front, and in fair territory. Near the bullpen, in right, up close, those are good seats. Others IMO are not. --because you can't see the scoreboard. --because you often can't see the players. --Fair or foul? Caught, home run, shorthopped the fence, dropped, hit the fence directly? WHO THE FUCK KNOWS --And, when you go to look for the replay, YOU CAN'T SEE IT! --Finally, if you're not super close to the front of your section, like the first couple rows close, half the game there's a parade of slow-moving people walking along the long rows to go get a drink or pee or something. To me, that activity seems more acute in the outfield than it does between the bases, but it might just be that the outfield perspective sucks so much already, that I notice it more. --All that said, I generally *like* to be able to take in games from different vantage points--keeps it interesting. But I can say, after 13 years of this joint that I've been to enough game in center field, and in left field, that suck too much to be worth going to anymore.

Ceetar Jul 11 2022 11:50 AM Re: Citi Field reflections

I agree about the out of town scoreboard, and I'd apply the giant logo thing to the new ribbon boards as well, everything's a little overly designed. For things that are mainly information (pitch type, count, pitch count, scores, etc) just keep it simple and stagnant. The scrolling killed me last time, the old one was fine, except for the inning flips, which was just a simple programming thing that they never fixed (it would go TOP-1 two outs, to TOP-1 zero outs during the commercial break, before flipping to BOT-1 zero outs.) i'm resigned to the beer thing, but with the young kids and Covid i've only made it to a game or two a year, so it's still a splurge for me. If I was back to going to even 6+ games, I'd bristle a lot more. I've started tipping more on these things in general, just to a heightened understanding of the economics of that type of worker, and my growing disparity to it, but it's still mildly frustrating and I'm not even sure they get that money, or if like all Citi Field employees just split the tip money somehow. (probably still stiffing the dishwashers and the like) I agree about the outfield seating as well. The Big Apple Seats are all mostly fine, and the back of the Coke Corner is subject to some of the same stuff, but I think it's still kind of okay. If you're stuck with the OF, that's probably where I'd pick. It's sort of the trade-off of having the infield so on top of the game, but they probably should've curved it out a little more. That benefit becomes a drawback when you're "on top of" LF. I do kind of wish they'd make the second level wraparound as well. Build a little bridge from the top of the offices/building behind the Shea Bridge along the back (or front?!?!?) of the scoreboard and over to the left field landing.

roger_that Jul 11 2022 12:01 PM Re: Citi Field reflections

i've pretty much stopped going to the ballpark, any park. Expensive, inconvenient, uncomfortable, noisy, often surrounded by people who don't understand how to behave in public, plus I get home too damned late every time. Even after I moved out of NYC (I went to a few games at Citi, hundreds more at Shea), and I could comfortably drive to the ballpark in various towns, it felt like a hassle. I'm pretty sure I've been to my last in-person game, unless I feel social pressure to do so for some reason. I'm much more comfortable sitting on my couch and muting the commercials. Also screaming "Get off my lawn!" every so often.

Marshmallowmilkshake Jul 11 2022 12:55 PM Re: Citi Field reflections

My seat in 110, Row W was really good! Along the first base side, just past the base!

Ceetar Jul 11 2022 01:01 PM Re: Citi Field reflections

yeah, the field level OF stuff is only bad once you loop around into fair territory. Lots of standing room up top too, which good views.

Johnny Lunchbucket Jul 11 2022 03:11 PM Re: Citi Field reflections

i've pretty much stopped going to the ballpark, any park. Expensive, inconvenient, uncomfortable, noisy, often surrounded by people who don't understand how to behave in public, plus I get home too damned late every time. Even after I moved out of NYC (I went to a few games at Citi, hundreds more at Shea), and I could comfortably drive to the ballpark in various towns, it felt like a hassle. I'm pretty sure I've been to my last in-person game, unless I feel social pressure to do so for some reason. I'm much more comfortable sitting on my couch and muting the commercials. Also screaming "Get off my lawn!" every so often. While some of this is true, i appreciate as an experience "in the moment" for me, some live baseball is good for my soul-- "some" meaning not always, but in the "right amount" -- like, every Tuesday night. 10 or 12 games over 6 months--is about perfect, plus the occasional "work" related game or "wife-and-kid" kinda games

Edgy MD Jul 11 2022 03:35 PM Re: Citi Field reflections

Oriole Park at Camden Yards is still affordable, convenient, comfortable, entertaining, surrounded by people who are gracious to out-of-town fans, and accessible enough that your Uber or family member can pick you up and have you home in 20 minutes or less if you live within city limits. I think what roger's complaints add up to is that New York is really big, really noisy, and (not explicitly stated) really expensive. That's all a drag, and public transit has gotten dangerous and obnoxious again. Getting old sucks. The answer, as always, is to drop this notion of territorial exclusivity and allow everybody who wants one to have an accessible ball club in their vicinity. Nobody should have to drive two hours or more to see professional baseball. Griffith Stadium in Washington had a notch missing from its shape behind center field, because somebody had a house there and wasn't looking to sell it. We should all have a chance to live in a house like that. Every other neighborhood should have one. [FIMG=600]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b8/Griffith_1960.jpg[/FIMG]

roger_that Jul 11 2022 04:34 PM Re: Citi Field reflections

Edgy MD wrote: and (not explicitly stated) really expensive. No, I stated "expensive" explicitly. I've gotten very frugal in my old age, and a day at the park has, adjusted for inflation, gotten ridiculous. Just guessing, I'd say "1 mezzanine ticket = 3 movie tickets or 12 loaves of bread" in 1970, and now it's more like 8 movie tickets or a Toyota Rav4-ful of bread. Plus my couch is infinitely more comfortable than a hard chair.

Edgy MD Jul 11 2022 04:39 PM Re: Citi Field reflections

I'm sorry I missed that. But I gave you credit anyhow.

Johnny Lunchbucket Jul 11 2022 06:03 PM Re: Citi Field reflections

Fwiw, i think the notion that the public transport is "dangerous" is an exaggeration as is the idea one is surrounded by noisy creeps at Citifield. And it's expensive sure but so is everything here.

Edgy MD Jul 11 2022 06:07 PM Re: Citi Field reflections

That's certainly fair. I'm outside the city, of course, so I am living on second-hand info. I just get reports that from friends and family that for decades willingly lived and died on mass transit that they won't use it any more. Getting old is certainly a factor there.

Gwreck Jul 11 2022 07:14 PM Re: Citi Field reflections

NYC mass transit is maybe not *quite* as safe as it was in the pre-pandemic ridership peak years of 2015-2019 (not surprisingly, safety goes up with ridership) but it's certainly not unsafe. A couple disturbing incidents get outsized attention versus the vast majority of rides which are fine.

Gwreck Jul 11 2022 07:16 PM Re: Citi Field reflections

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Fwiw, i think the notion that the public transport is "dangerous" is an exaggeration as is the idea one is surrounded by noisy creeps at Citifield. And it's expensive sure but so is everything here. Agree. And, on the price thing: I still find that Baseball in New York is a tremendously accessible game: lots of variety in tickets, still reasonably accessible, you can bring in whatever food and drink you want (except booze) so you're not captive to whatever's being sold, etc.

Ceetar Jul 11 2022 08:44 PM Re: Citi Field reflections

movie tickets and bread have gotten expensive too. granted I'm outside the city so I don't ride as much as I used to, but the mass transit isn't safe thing is copaganda. It _is_ noisy, but it's also a baseball stadium, so that's kind of to be expected. There's also something alluring to a live event with your real two eyes out in public with other fans, etc, but admittedly, it's not for everyone. I do find in modern times I focus a lot more on the game in person than I do at home, being distracted by chores and life and responsibility, but the farther you are, the more hassle it is. I'm theoretically not far, but if I leave at 5 I'm not there until 6:30 and it's $30 to get there and $25 to park, and then I'm not back home until 11, best case.

Edgy MD Jul 11 2022 08:56 PM Re: Citi Field reflections

I really am not trying to present propaganda. I'm just reporting what's been told to me. I've already happily yielded the point. My family has spent lifetimes in the hole. As passengers and employees — for whatever that's worth, but the impressions I'm reporting are purely anecdotal and and I acknowledge that any extraction from that is speculative. I'm happy to go to ballgames, and have said so above. The only thing that scares me about mass transit and ballgames is catching COVID from Chris Bassitt.

Ceetar Jul 11 2022 09:29 PM Re: Citi Field reflections

wasn't address you or anyone specific, there's a coordinated push by the fascist party to portray cities, and mass transit as dangerous, and crime as out of control, etc. It's all copaganda, and nonsense. And hell, NYC is poised to burn millions of dollars to perform security based on this nonsense, which is _ACTUALLY_ going to be spend giving overtime to cops to harass homeless people.

roger_that Jul 12 2022 04:02 AM Re: Citi Field reflections

Getting way off-topic here, but the smartest move i ever made is moving out of NYC just before the pandemic--I cannot believe that unmasked people by the dozens would be breathing in the same tightly packed sealed off space as I'm in for over an hour in the midst of a highly transmissible pandemic, and this would be perceived "Oh, well, life goes on, waddayagunnado?"

Marshmallowmilkshake Jul 12 2022 05:39 AM Re: Citi Field reflections

Maybe keep the off-topic, nonsensical police hatred in the non-baseball forums. Back to Citi. It was definitely more expensive than the other parks I've been to in recent years. I paid less to park overnight in downtown Pittsburgh on Tuesday than I did for four hours at Citi on Friday. But that's the difference between New York and other places. I factored that in when planning for the trip. Had I been more familiar with the area I could have probably parked further away and walked a bit. But it has been so long since I've been there, and I didn't want to spend time driving around. I bought the pre-pay parking through the MLB site and called it good. I love going to see games. In a good year I can get to four or five MLB games in person and probably twice as many minor league games. The closest MLB cities -- Chicago and Detroit -- are each about 2.5 hours away and the minor league park is four miles away. I just love everything about the experience. I don't have a problem taking public transportation. But last year we went to a game in Minneapolis. We got on the light rail at the airport, and within about two stops there was a loud confrontation between a group of people in the car and one of them kept tugging at his waistband as if he was about to pull a gun. Needless to say the trip got off to a rocky start, since I planned to use the light rail to get everywhere and now my wife was very uneasy about it. We had two other unpleasant experiences, though none as bad as the first. (One of the reasons I went on the PNC-Citi adventures by myself.)

Lefty Specialist Jul 12 2022 06:19 AM Re: Citi Field reflections

Gotta concur on the 'no cash, forced tip' stuff. We were in section 413 and had access to the Club behind us. Great, we thought, easy access to food and drink. But the help was so slow and stopping to chat with every customer it was ridiculous. Took me 10 minutes to get a can of beer, and then 'suggested' a tip on top of the $15 I just paid. That being said, the food was really good and really expensive. And I got one of those soft-serve ice creams in the Home Run Apple, too. The food probably cost more than the ticket by the end of the day.

roger_that Jul 12 2022 07:00 AM Re: Citi Field reflections

My last two trips to Citi I was a guest of my GF's business (she was entertaining clients, and pretty plush out-of-town clients at that) so I got comped to dinner seated at the Club, drinks, desserts, all kinds of chazerai. If it didn't cost $200 per guest, I'd be amazed. Maybe $300, taking transportation and parking into account. We could watch the game as we pigged out on any of twelves TVs, and then stroll about the park until we found our fancy seats eight rows behind the Mets dugout, and I got to explain the rudiments of baseball to a bunch of foreigners who'd never seen a ballgame in their lives. But I had more fun sitting in the bleachers on tix saved up from milk cartons. Who was bashing the police? I missed that.

Fman99 Jul 15 2022 05:19 AM Re: Citi Field reflections

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Finally, A longstanding opinion I've held that was emphasized in my last Tuesday Night Mets game: Most "outfield" seating at Citifield sucks BHMC My son and I have found this to be the case on multiple occasions. Every game we ever attended where we bought OF seats, we ended up going to the upper deck but behind the plate and finding a far more enjoyable view of the action.