The Mets Police

You can meet Jon Niese at Modell’s in Huntington on Saturday.

Yeah Shannon, so not hard running the blog when you are away.

The view from an East Side apartment. Yes, that's a sign from the mezzanine section of Shea Stadium. @Mets pic.twitter.com/NJK1suH061

— David Reich-Hale (@drhli) March 22, 2014

I think I have a solution to the Mets’ desire to have a full house while not annoying those who buy ticket plans.

This weekend the Mets are selling (sold? I wrote this Monday so I could travel today) $3.50 tickets.  That made people like me sad since I had paid more than that as part of my ticket plan.

The solution?

“Frequent flier miles.”  Let’s call them Mets Points and not bog down in how many points you get for what – the Mets have all kinds of smart executives who can take this idea and massage it.

When I buy an airline ticket I get miles.  What if when I bought a ticket plan I got Mets Points?

Sometimes I can redeem my miles for flights.  Sometimes I can fly to Phoenix for miles and $5 (did that last year.)  Sometimes I want to fly to Florida on the day before Thanksgiving and I can’t use miles because the flights are sold out.  I get it.

So what if I could take my Mets Points and cash them in for some tickets that otherwise are going to waste.  Maybe 10,000 Mets Points gets me into Mets-Nationals on a snowy Tuesday night.   Maybe a good Mets game costs me 25,000 points, or good seats are $20 and 50,000 points.  Maybe I can’t use Mets Points for the Subway Series

Sometimes I can use my frequent flier miles to get “stuff.”  I had enough miles at one point that I cashed them in for a bike.  Another time an Apple TV.

Maybe I could use Mets Points to get one of those Seaver replica jerseys.  Or a cap.  Or a hot dog.

Now what does this have to do with $3.50 tickets?  Imagine you got the following letter

Dear (Your Name),

Thank you for being a valued ticket plan holder of the New York Mets.

This weekend we are offering a blah blah $3.50 blah blah.

We also wanted to recognize you as someone who supports the Mets through thick and thin, and are adding 19,640 Mets Points to your account.  This weekend you can redeem x points for Thing Y or you can hold on to your points and turn them in for one of the offerings at mets.com/metspoints

So yeah, maybe you paid $25 for a seat someone else will pay $3.50 for – but maybe you could walk away with a cap or a hot dog or a Seaver shirt or something.

Maybe that would take the sting out of things for the die-hards, and allow the Mets to pursue their understandable goal of wanting fannies in the seats.

If others have suggestions how to make this genesis of an idea even better please share them in the comments.

As for “Mets Money” – I needed an image so I used that.  I never understood Mets Money.  If I remember correctly you could turn in $5 for 5 dollars in Mets money which had the spending power of five US dollars.  There was no benefit unless you were planning to run a blog in the next century and wanted a cool image.

 

I guess this is fun. I think with me and Seinfeld (a show I watched from week one because Jerry crushed it every time with Letterman back in the 80’s) I treat it like when everyone discovers your favorite band. It’s so mainstream now it kind of turns me off to it. Maybe some day Community shall be so-ruined.

Anyways, have fun, and good job as always by the Cyclones.  I wonder if the Cyclones owner knows the Mets owner.  Maybe they could bring fun to Queens.

Via the Cyclones

On July 5, 1989, the “Seinfeld Chronicles” aired on NBC for the first time and 25 years later, the Cyclones will celebrate the “show about nothing” that has left an indelible mark on popular culture. The first 2,500 fans in attendance will receive a Keith Hernandez “Magic Loogie” Bobblehead.  In addition, there will be non-stop Seinfeld themed entertainment from beginning to end. Yada yada yada…you’ll have an awesome night.

 

Here’s a look at some of the things we have in store for the evening:

• MCU Park will known as Vandelay Industries Park for one night only.
• Mailmen in uniform get to throw out a ceremonial first pitch (“Hello Newman!”)
• Anyone who has a business card indicating that they are in fact a “Latex Salesman” will also receive a free ticket to the game.  If we call the number and it’s some apartment on the Upper East Side, you won’t qualify for the freebie.
• Fans can visit the information table for an “airing of grievances.”
• Closest to the pin / whale’s blow hole competition (“Is that a Titleist?”)
• The foul poles will be known as Festivus Poles.
• “Low-Talking” PA Announcer.
• Elaine Dancing Contest
• Everyone Runs the Bases Post-game…but anyone named Jerry gets a head start (Take that Duncan Meyer).
• Game of “Risk” on the Concourse
• Cereal eating contests
• Anyone named George Costanza will be allowed to join our radio broadcast as a color analyst for an inning
• Players in puffy shirts for batting practice.

The options for in-game entertainment are endless and are sure to change between now and game day.  From “No Soup for You” after a visiting player strikes out, who knows, maybe the staff will even dress in velvet from head to toe.

Be sure to get your tickets early, as this night is surely to be one of the most popular of the 2014 season.  Single game tickets will go on sale Saturday, May 10th at 10 AM.  But if you follow the Cyclones on Facebook or Twitter, you will get access to a special pre-sale before the general public.  For more information please call us at 718-37-BKLYN.

Ironically my reaction is a Jerry-esque shrug and not excited “hmmph”