Wild Thought: Did Mets Win Battle Of New Parks?
Today’s wild thought comes via an e-mail suggestion from Lisa Swan:
Here’s a wild thought for you for today – while I haven’t been to Yankee Stadium yet, I’ve heard a lot of not-so-great reports on it from Yankee fans. Is it possible Citi Field, which I have been to, might be better done? Certainly the security appears to be a lot nicer, and the food better.
Hey, it’s possible. I do think we need to give both new ballparks some time. There’s a chance that the Yankees might learn from the recent feedback and make some improvements to their new Stadium. I’m not counting on it. But, the possibility does exist.
To be candid, I haven’t seen much of the feedback on the Mets new park (from this past weekend). Why? I figure the chances of me going there are very remote. I went to Shea in 1974 and 1975 to see the Yankees play there. And, besides that, the only other times I went were: One time, as a favor to a friend, to accompany him to a game, in the mid-90′s. And, two times for a work function – once in 1999 and once in 2000. Therefore, since 1962, I’ve been to three Mets games in my life. And, that’s more than enough. Unless the Yankees were there to play them, I see no reason why I would want to go see the Mets play at home. But, then again, I’m a Yankees fan.
So, I can’t say if the Citi Field experience, to date, is better than the new Yankee Stadium experience. But, it’s a good wild thought. (Thanks Lisa.) If anyone has an opinion on this, please share it in the comments section below.
ill be honest, while i hate the mets, i do think citi field is gorgeous and i do plan on goin sometime this year
Did the Mets win the battle? It’s kinda hard to say. In recent years, I have to admit that my experiences in Shea have been far better than Yankee Stadium, when dealing with security. What has bothered me about attending a game @ Yankee Stadium is that they seemed like they were doing me a favor letting me attend, as opposed to Shea. I can bring my backpack with no problem to Shea. Yankee Stadium, I have to check it. I can post up and take pictures with no problem at Shea. I have to dodge LE and security @ Yankee Stadium. Security guards are much more approachable & accommodating @ Shea Stadium (and to an extent, Citi Field), than they were @ Yankee Stadium. I have pictures taken @ Citi, that I would never have been able to take @ the New Yankee Stadium, unless I bought a ticket.
There’s a chance that the Yankees might learn from the recent feedback and make some improvements to their new Stadium. I’m not counting on it. But, the possibility does exist.
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Renovations are not out of the question. When the “new” Comiskey opened in 1991 or 1992, it was a horrendous finished product. They’ve since spent a lot of time renovating the new stadium and, having been there both before and after the renovations, I can say that it’s now a fantastic ballpark. It’s certainly not unique in any way but they’ve made major improvements. Will the Yanks listen to their fans if there’s an outrcy? I don’t know. But it’s happened in Chicago so it can happen here too.
As far as the other issues are concerned:
-The security at Yankee Stadium has been horrible with respect to customer service for as long as I can remember. The security at Shea has always been more lax and, thus, more fan friendly. This isn’t anything new so I more or less never expected it to be a battleground.
-The food, yeah, there’s no doubt in my mind that the Mets won this battle.
-Finally, with respect to the actual facilities themselves, I haven’t been to either yet so I can’t judge. But based only on the pictures I’ve seen, I think YS is still the nicer park.
The problem I have with New Shea, Coors Field East, or Shitty Field is that is it like Ebbets Field Part Two with a tiny bit of the Polo Grounds thrown in for the heck of it. Baseball already has pseudo versions of Ebbets like Safeco and Coors, baseball didn’t need a third. I also hate the idea of a Jackie Robinson rotunda,too. Another one of Wilpon’s Brooklyn Dodgers obsessions which is in the wrong stadium, that should be in Chavez Ravine in So Cal where the Hollywood Dodgers play. I don’t care if I sound insensitive, but Robinson was never a Met! He broke ground with the Dodgers,I would even accept a Tom Seaver rotunda instead of this.In addition, the tip of the hat to the Polo Grounds are the green seats, not much of one since the Wilpons were hellbent on recreating the Brooklyn Dodgers mystique. The one thing that is truly Mets related is that corny Apple! The one thing that shows you that the Mets were not the Dodgers or the NY Baseball Giants is an apple……..
The New Yankee Stadium looks like the Classic 1923 stadium with the 1976 remodel BUT with a futuristic update.It still looks like the Yankees play there as opposed to the Dodgers or Giants(to a much lesser degree) playing in New Shea/Coors Field East! You can’t tell that the Mets play there from most reports and from what I’ve seen. At least at first sight, the New Yankee Stadium is undoubtedly “Yankee Stadium”.
Someone mentioned the Cell in Chicago? It is much better now than it was when it first opened. The ownership listened to the criticism of the fanbase and responded accordingly. I went in the early 90s and it wasn’t bad BUT didn’t have the magic of a retrofield like Camden Yards. I was there last year and was able to go to Wrigley and the Cell again. THe Cell looks much better now and has a better architectural look that is more classic baseball, rather than a cookie cutter stadium. Even though I can’t stand the Cuddly , Cute and Cowardly Cubbies, their park is something else…People who praise Fenway, should see a game in Wrigley…Fenway is so much uglier! And yes, the new ownership has made it much less dumpy BUT it still doesn’t compare to Wrigley.
The Mets’ ties with the Dodgers are stronger than their ties to the Giants, always has been. Jackie Robinson Day was also held @ Shea back in 1997, so it’s not surprising that he is associated with the Mets.
I’m just waiting to hear this press release from the Yanks:
“Steinbrenner brothers to provide free bread to those poor fans who attend costly Yankees games.”
The Mets’ ties with the Dodgers are stronger than their ties to the Giants, always has been. The Mets’ ties with the Dodgers are stronger than their ties to the Giants, always has been. Jackie Robinson Day was also held @ Shea back in 1997, so it’s not surprising that he is associated with the Mets.
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Other than adopting orange into their unis and bringing Willie Mays back to New York, I never saw any connection between the old Giants and the Mets.
As far as Jackie Robinson/Dodgers, the Mets made a conscious decision to adopt the departed ballclub’s mantle. It seems logical since the Yanks certainly won’t encroach on the history of an old rival. That being said, it still speaks to how the Mets glom onto stuff that isn’t even theirs in order to get press and attention. I’m not saying the shouldn’t honor Jackie Robinson — of course they should — but it’s just exactly what you’d expect a dumpy team like the Mets to do: pass themselves off as the custodian of another team’s history.
The question remains: why the hell don’t the real Dodgers build more of a bridge to their past? Sure no one in LA would give a crap but it would be good for marketing purposes, at least.
MJ wrote:
There’s more than you think:
http://tinyurl.com/be7ssq
There’s more than you think:
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Kinda, sorta, not really.
Apart from the color orange and the lettering on the ballcap, I still don’t see it.
The article cites the fact that the Mets played at Polo Grounds before Shea was built. True. But the Yanks played at Polo Grounds before Yankee Stadium was built and the Yanks also played at Shea in the 70′s.
The article also cites the original owners of the Mets as part of the old Giants’ ownership group. OK. But owners in baseball have always been very clubby. Didn’t John Henry own a share of the Yanks way back when? Aren’t there other examples of owners owning multiple clubs over their lifetimes?
I’m not sure that article convinces me that the Mets have much of the Giants’ bloodline in them.
MJ wrote:
The away uniform of the NY Mets was taken from the New York Giants, they use the same uniform albeit in one different color, blue. So everytime you see the Mets playing in Chicago, LA San Fran etc they are playing in an old NY Giants uniform. The symbol comes from the Giants and the cap with the same color button ,too. The Mets also didn’t play in Ebbets Field they played their first two seasons in the Polo Grounds!That’s a link,trust me. The ownership group is also part of it as well. I mean c’mon if one can’t see the link they might have to get your bloody eyes checked! I had neighbors in the 70s who were NY baseball Giants fans(and became Mets fans) who jubilated when Mays came back. This might be a function of age too, because I remember so many Mets fans mentioning both the Dodgers and Giants when I was a kid in reference to the Mets. I’ve also heard Don La Greca( a rabid Mets fan) of the Michael Kay show make this sort of distinction as well. He actually claimed to see more of the baseball Giants in the Mets (with the cap, uniform,playing in the Polo Grounds) rather than the Dodgers.
Steve,good call on the article. It’s great to expose some people to some history they didn’t know ………..
I mean c’mon if one can’t see the link they might have to get your bloody eyes checked!
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Sorry, apart from the colors, I just don’t see it.
MJ wrote:
Like I said they started their inaugural season in the Polo Grounds, the Mets WEAR the old NY Giants away uniform that actually included blue at one time and looks exactly like the old Giants away uniform and the old Giants cap that was Blue at one point too! Every away game the Mets are not wearing the Dodgers uniform BUT the old NY Baseball Giants away uniform. What more does one need? Tell you what, find me the Mets game where Mets wear an old Brooklyn Dodgers uniform during an away game…. You can’t because it doesn’t exist! You might have this reaction because you didn’t know the history of the team in question, being younger etc so on. When Mays came to the Mets, it was like the return of a prodigal son. And Raf just mentioning only Mays, it must be a case of not knowing the history of the Mets, Dodgers, and NY Giants. Even after knowing about the uniform, you still doth protest? Bad bloody job, mate……..I mean talk about being in denial…….
Even after knowing about the uniform, you still doth protest? Bad bloody job, mate……..I mean talk about being in denial…….
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The colors are PART of the uniform. I’m not denying the colors/uniform aspect of it. You’re not following what I’m saying.
I’m saying that playing 2 years at Polo Grounds and having had an owner that was once part of an ownership group of another team doesn’t provide enough connection since there are enough instances where these things took place for other teams that dilutes its relevance to this topic.
Whatever, what the hell do I care? Further, what the hell do YOU care?
I’m fully aware of the Mets playing in the Polo Grounds, as well as the return of the prodigal son, Willie Mays. For the record, I wasn’t the one who entered Mays into the discussion, it was MJ.
Anyway, you cannot deny that the Mets have played up their Dodger roots either, what with the acquisitions of players like Duke Snider & Gil Hodges. Sandy Koufax was a regular at Mets camp, but I think that was because he was a friend/teammate of Fred Wilpon. Regardless, it’s another Dodger connection to the Mets.
I’m aware the Mets took their colors from the 3 NY teams; Blue & White from the Dodgers/Yankees, Black and Orange from the Giants, and pinstripes from the Yankees. The NY on their caps is in the Giants’ style, the Mets on the home uniform is in the Dodger style, the New York on the road is in the Giants style.
Nice find on the article, Steve.
Raf wrote:
Raf, my bad mate on Mays. Sorry about that.The Wilpon Mets have really pushed the Dodgers roots to the fore no doubt( because Freddy Coupon is a Dodger lover) BUT the fact remains that both teams have a legacy on the Mets .I’m in my 40s so I remember the hype that came from former Giants fans in the 70s, especially when Mays came back. Like I’ve said in the past, I grew up with Mets fans and the older folks always mentioned what it was like when both teams were in town.
The Giants also wore blue check this out and those uniforms I talked about:
http://exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org/dressed_to_the_nines/uniforms.asp?city=New%20York&league=NL&sort=year&increment=9&pos=37
MJ wrote:
The analogy I’ll use is that you are presenting me with a dungheap and saying that it is a bunch of roses! I’m just saying if it smells like a dungheap it’s a dungheap. Don’t mind the scatological references, we’re talking about Los Metropolitanos anyway!
But getting back to the stadiums, New Shea/Coors Field East building that houses the Robinson rotunda is ridiculous. I agree with you on priciple regarding Los Mets stealing another franchise’s storied player BUT they have their own history. They have won two World Series and appeared in 3 in the years since their inception whereas the loathsome Cubbies haven’t even been in one since God knows when. If it was Willie Mays rotunda,I could even live with that BUT Robinson? That was downright goofy. The great failure of Shitti Field is that it is a mish mash of the other fields that already exist that are aping Ebbets Field already! As hated as the Mets are by some,they do have some sort of history and Freddy Coupon is under some sort of delusion that they are Dodgers! What a shame for those fans that follow the team with 3 different hats,3 different jerseys, 3 different colors now(Black, Orange and Blue) and still get no respect! Don’t you wish the Yanks had so many stupid variations on their uniforms?
Thanks, Steve, for this post.
I wrote this weekend that I thought Mets management took a cue from Disney in a lot of things with the ballpark. Good for them:
http://subwaysquawkers.blogspot.com/2009/04/citi-field-welcome-addition-to-city.html
What’s going to be interesting to watch is which stadium becomes the cooler place for the casual fan.