The Mets Police

I kinda like this one and not sure why.  Maybe I could wear it to yacht club or something.  Whats weird to me is this is a snapback.  I don’t think a snapback will fitting in with my yachting friends.

Interesting!  Just in from CNBC

 

Billionaire investor Steve Cohen is retiring from the trading floor at his hedge fund Point72.

The prominent hedge fund investor, who also owns the New York Mets, will continue his role as the co-chief investment officer at Point72, which Cohen converted from S.A.C. Capital Advisors in 2014 after lofty insider-trading settlements.

“He is taking a break from trading his own book and he feels he can have a greater impact by focusing on running the firm, driving strategic initiatives, and mentoring and coaching the next generation of talent,” a spokesperson at Point72 said. (via CNBC)

This gives Steve more time to focusing on hiring big salary executives who don’t understand Mets fans.

Now only if we could get GARY Cohen to step back so we can bring Wayne back home.

It was fun to see everyone else wake up yesterday and realize that people aren’t going to Mets games.  There was a LOT of discussion about in on social media.

Over at Van Hagar The Media Goon, the MG had a good rant:

…let’s into how they treated longtime season ticket holders that have had tickets since Shea Stadium. They used to get perks with the plan level purchase. Playoff strips, special events, special gifts, etc. And your tenure counted for as long as you had your tickets. Now your tenure level is tied into how much you spend plus the years you have had your seats. Basically I think the Mets hired one of the Cell Phone company VPs because they are treating their fans like phone customers. “Special deal for new customers. Get this shiny thing and money off your bill. Wait you are an existing customer and want the same thing? Hahaahhaahahahahah”

Anyway, read MG’s entire rant, well worth it and as always ON POINT.  He reminds us that Dance Teams, Light Shows and Fancy Scoreboards do not make for creating baseball fans.

I think the issue is “The Third Wild Card.”  That’s not baseball.  What are we even doing.  The idea of the additional playoff spots was (a) to make more TV money and (b) to keep fans interested.   24,392 showed up last night.  The town hasn’t exactly caught Mets fever.

On Twitter, @Batbeat2 had a great point – maybe this is what happens when you let the Yankees own the town for 30 years.  Maybe the Mets  fans like me have gotten old, and there are just far fewer behind us to replace the now empty seats.

A lot of the discussion on social media seemed to center around how hard it is to get to Citi Field.  What?   Now while I understand it can be a pain in the neck from NJ, it’s not like this is a new thing.  The Mets have been playing in that area since 1964.  Was Shea Stadium easier to get to because it was 15 feet closer to Manhattan?  Citi Field is actually closer to the subway and the LIRR if we want to be ridiculous about it.

I think the bill has come due on all of it.   Steve and Co focused on gimmicks.  They build around a guy who told the paying customers to screw off.  Vulhar Pete.  Jerking around the plan holders.   ESPN switching game times.  Ghost Runners.  Three Wild Cards.   The DH.   Late playoff starts.   Food prices.  The hassle of entering the stadium..  You can’t bring a laptop in.

You can argue that none of those things are a big deal and just get over them – but you add them all up, and yeah, maybe it’s not worth going to Citi Field.

I think Steve and Co got this all wrong.  The move isn’t flashing screens.  The move is actually the other way.  Get back to an old style ballpark feeling. People seem to like Wrigley and Fenway.  Maybe some organ music and a manual scoreboard would do you better than idiots dancing on the dugout.

That said, even if you do all that – there are three Wild Cards, and MLB has taught us we can just dip in on October 1st since none of this matters.

 

Steve, do you think maybe the marketing is all wrong?

Monday September 11, 2023 home vs. Arizona: 25, 230

OK maybe there was some sort of 9/11 component to that.

Tuesday September 12, 2023 home vs Arizona:  33,506

Monday September 12, 2022 for a team that would win 100 games; 28,081

Monday September 14, 2021,  the 70-72 Mets drew 19,057

Monday September 16, 2019, the 77-73 Mets drew 28,505.  Surely comparing a Monday September 16th to a Monday September 16th is fair.  And we can’t say the weather was poor last night.

Monday September 19, 2016 off a World Series appearance,  29,665 came to see the Mets host Atlanta.

Monday September 14 2015, vs Miami,  27,320 showed up.

And 10 years ago in 2014 on Monday September 15, 23,027 came to see the 72-79 Mets play the Marlins.

Steve, I don’t know what to tell you.  You’ve got a team in playoff contention.  Maybe nobody cares about a third wild card, I know I don’t.  Maybe there are more people turned off by Lindor than the media (who he talks to) realize.  Maybe Grimace is fun for a bored beat reporter and your Partnerships team, but it didn’t pack the place.

Steve, I warned you last year when The T-Shirt Army Section started being 2/3 full.  It was a major warning sign.  You blew me off publicly on twitter.

21,694 Steve.  Look at this photo.  Don’t look at his thumb.  Look at the eyes on “Mr. Smile”

21,694.

 

So the way to make this cool is to make it permanent.  Then it becomes a quirky part of Mets history like the mule and the apple.

If this is a one week thing it’s kinda lame.   So keep it.

Of note, note it’s the “SVP of Partnerships” commenting – so this is appears to be some sort of deal with McDonalds and not just an organic thing.   We’ll see how else this manifests itself.

Any idea how burger chain Shake Shack feels about this?

Also much thanks to the Mets media team for sending images.  Makes a difference.

 

NEW YORK METS CELEBRATE FAN APPRECIATION WEEKEND BY REVEALING COMMEMORATIVE PURPLE GRIMACE SEAT AT CITI FIELD

FLUSHING, N.Y., September 16, 2024 – As the New York Mets enter their final homestand of the 2024 regular season, punctuated with fan appreciation weekend from Sept. 20-22, the team today announced the installation of a commemorative purple seat to honor the beloved McDonald’s character Grimace and his special connection to Mets fans at Citi Field. Following Grimace’s iconic first pitch on June 12, the Mets went on a seven-game win streak and fans embraced Grimace from then on as a special symbol for this exciting season.

“It’s been great to see how our fanbase created the Grimace phenomenon following his first pitch in June and in the months since,” said Mets SVP of Partnerships Brenden Mallette. “As we explored how to further capture the magic of this moment and celebrate our new celebrity fan, installing a commemorative seat ahead of fan appreciation weekend felt like the perfect way to give something back to the fans in a fun and unique way. This enables our fans to be a part of the Grimace fun, while enjoying a game at Citi Field.”

The one-of-a-kind commemorative purple seat will be located in section 302, row 6, seat 12, and will be available for purchase for all remaining home games this season. Individual tickets for all home games at Citi Field are currently on sale and can be purchased online at Mets.com/Tickets or by calling 718-507-TIXX.