I’m always far less jazzed for the opener when they start the season on the road.
METS ANNOUNCE CITI FIELD OPENING DAY DETAILS
FLUSHING, N.Y., April 12, 2022 – The Mets will host their home opener at Citi Field, Friday, April 15, at 1:10 p.m. against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Citi Field parking lots will open at 9:40 a.m. and gates will open at 10:40 a.m.
To kick off the festivities, the Mets will unveil a Tom Seaver statue in a pre-game ceremony beginning at 10:30 a.m. Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen will be in attendance, along with Tom’s widow, Nancy, their two daughters, Sarah and Anne and Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza. The statue will be located to the right of the Home Run Apple in front of Citi Field. Tom Seaver’s grandsons, Thomas and Tobin, will throw out ceremonial first pitches prior to the start of the game.
Tom retired in 1987, but the Mets thought they would wait until the man died to put up a statue. That sin is forever on the Wilpons.
The statue of Tom Seaver features his iconic drop and drive delivery and is two times life-size to scale. The statue is 10 feet high from the granite pitcher’s mound and 13 ½ feet in length. The total weight of the statue is 3,200 pounds (2,000 pounds of bronze and 1,200 pounds of structural stainless steel). The granite mound came in nine separate pieces that weighed 33,600 pounds and added approximately three feet in height.
The annual Shea family floral presentation, a tradition that dates to the first Opening Day at Shea Stadium in 1964, will begin approximately 35 minutes before first pitch. Bill Shea was instrumental in bringing National League baseball back to New York. Members of the Shea family will be on hand to present Mets Manager Buck Showalter with a good luck floral arrangement.
April 15 marks the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s historic major league debut, breaking baseball’s color barrier in the process. Players, managers and coaches on all 30 major league clubs will wear the number 42 on the back of their jerseys along with a commemorative sleeve patch. The Mets will celebrate the day by recognizing Jackie Robinson Foundation scholars who will take the line with the Mets. Additionally, the first 25,000 fans will receive a Jackie Robinson Brooklyn Dodgers T-shirt.
Prior to the start of the game, the Mets will honor and recognize fallen NYPD officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora, who tragically lost their lives in the line of duty in January. New York jazz recording artist Anaïs Reno will perform the National Anthem and the New York City Police Department will present the colors. In the middle of the seventh inning, NYPD police officer Makiah Brown will sing “God Bless America.”
Ahead of the game, the Empire State Building will be lit blue and orange beginning at 7:30 p.m. on April 14 and will continue through April 15 for the home opener.
The Mets encourage fans to take mass transit to Citi Field for the Mets home opener. Mass Transit is the fastest and greenest way to Citi Field.
Fans can purchase tickets to all 2022 Mets home games at the Citi Field box office or by visiting mets.com/tickets or calling 718-507-TIXX.
