Citi Field

[nyce475]

Originally Posted by johnql

I think you and I were two of the few people who actually bought tickets to the game at CF.

wow, i actually bought 5 tickets were gonna go with a few friends...once the game was moved we had zero interest

we are all die hard mets fans who had never seen a jets game at shea and thought it would be cool to see a football game in our home stadium.

[RayNY]

Originally Posted by grimthorpe

Time to beat a dead horse again. For those who want to move the fences in because they believe Citi Field is a place where too many home runs meet untimely ends, consider the following:

According to Bill James, it was 10 percent easier for righthanded hitters to hit home runs in Citi Field than in other National League parks. In fact, right-handed hitters on the Mets hit two more home runs in 81 games in Citi Field than in 81 games on the road… the right handed opposition hit seven more home runs in Citi Field than they hit on the road.

It was the team, not the park. CF can't be called homer friendly, but it was not the home run graveyard many have made it out to be.

Incidentally, it was also 20% easier to hit triples at Citi this year but 5% harder to hit doubles. Overall, Citi suppressed run scoring by 5% compared to other ballparks, exactly like Shea did during its last three seasons. It's a pitcher's park, as it should be, but not nearly as punitive as some would have us believe.

I never thought it was Citi Field.

But I would still like them to move the infield up 7-10 feet so that people sitting up in promenade can see home plate without having to crane their necks over the person sitting in front of them. And so people in the promenade club can also see home plate.

[Jim Vaz]

Originally Posted by grimthorpe

Time to beat a dead horse again. For those who want to move the fences in because they believe Citi Field is a place where too many home runs meet untimely ends, consider the following:

According to Bill James, it was 10 percent easier for righthanded hitters to hit home runs in Citi Field than in other National League parks. In fact, right-handed hitters on the Mets hit two more home runs in 81 games in Citi Field than in 81 games on the road… the right handed opposition hit seven more home runs in Citi Field than they hit on the road.

It was the team, not the park. CF can't be called homer friendly, but it was not the home run graveyard many have made it out to be.

Incidentally, it was also 20% easier to hit triples at Citi this year but 5% harder to hit doubles. Overall, Citi suppressed run scoring by 5% compared to other ballparks, exactly like Shea did during its last three seasons. It's a pitcher's park, as it should be, but not nearly as punitive as some would have us believe.

Very good layout of facts. I agree we were just a terrible offensive team and we already saw a few good hitting teams like the Yankees hit a few homers out.
Citi Fields configurations are not as bad as what the media and critics told us. Good hitting teams always find ways to hit.

[mets16]

Yeah, I know Wright's homer tops the list, but for me, it was Sheffield's 500th home run. It was a nice night, and the fans embraced him for that moment.

[grimthorpe]

Originally Posted by RayNY

I never thought it was Citi Field.

But I would still like them to move the infield up 7-10 feet so that people sitting up in promenade can see home plate without having to crane their necks over the person sitting in front of them. And so people in the promenade club can also see home plate.

I understand your complaint. It is not off base, so to speak. However, moving home plate up 7-10 feet is way too much. Your solution would turn the place into Citizen's Bank Park, or at best just another average, ho-hum ballpark with cookie-cutter dimensions. It would lose much of its character and unique qualities that many of us enjoy. A whole brand of exciting baseball, with triples galore and occasional flirtations with inside-the-park home runs, would be lost. No thanks. Not over this.

This problem, and with all due respect, I think "problem" is too strong a word to describe what you're talking about, is not serious enough to justify such a measure, nor does it really affect that many people. A couple of sections? Not to sound like Marie Antoinette or anything, and I'm really not dismissing your point, but I just don't think this relatively minor issue justifies changing the features of the ballpark.

There are other seating options, however, some pretty good ones in fact, that fans can seek out if they're dissatisfied with last year's seating arrangements. Probably at a reduced rate next year. Now that we have a year under our belts in the new digs and have a much better understanding of the seating, we can make much more informed choices when considering future ticket purchases.

[RayNY]

Ok so make it 5-7 feet instead of 10 if you think it's that big a deal. I think it's ridiculous that fans sitting in promenade behind home plate can barely see the batter at all. And what good is having a promenade "club" with windows to see the game if you can't even see the batter? What's the point then?

What matters most is that the team plays good baseball all around, regardless of how many triples they hit or how many inside the park home runs they flirt with. If the team simply plays well, nobody will be crying that Citi Field lessens the chances of triples. I don't see Phillie fans complaining that their championship caliber team has a lesser probability of hitting triples because of the dimension of CBP.

[grimthorpe]

Originally Posted by RayNY

Ok so make it 5-7 feet instead of 10 if you think it's that big a deal. I think it's ridiculous that fans sitting in promenade behind home plate can barely see the batter at all. And what good is having a promenade "club" with windows to see the game if you can't even see the batter? What's the point then?

What matters most is that the team plays good baseball all around, regardless of how many triples they hit or how many inside the park home runs they flirt with. If the team simply plays well, nobody will be crying that Citi Field lessens the chances of triples. I don't see Phillie fans complaining that their championship caliber team has a lesser probability of hitting triples because of the dimension of CBP.

I've seen plenty of pictures taken from the promenade seating behind home plate and there appears to be no problem at all viewing the batter. I sat in the 400 level with no obstruction at all, and I can't imagine the 500 level being different in kind.

From the lower level of the promende, I can see how the plexiglass panels and railings are problems, however. I have to assume those are the cause of your angst. But these can be corrected without screwing with the park's dimensions. And again, most importantly, you can choose to sit somewhere else next time if you didn't like those particular seats.

As far as the promenade club is concerned, they'd have to move the plate up around 50 feet in order to be seen from there. Obviously, the ability to view on field action was not a design priority, and moving the plate forward several feet will not change anything. Fix the obstructions but leave the dimensions as they are.

[Gary Dunaier]

Originally Posted by grimthorpe

As far as the promenade club is concerned, they'd have to move the plate up around 50 feet in order to be seen from there. Obviously, the ability to view on field action was not a design priority, and moving the plate forward several feet will not change anything. Fix the obstructions but leave the dimensions as they are.

Here's a view from inside the Promenade Club, behind the plate...


(Photo taken May 7, 2009. © Gary Dunaier. Link to upload on Flickr.com: here.)

Note that the pitcher's mound can be seen just behind the leg of the guy sitting on the right of the guy in the cap.

[RayNY]

Originally Posted by grimthorpe

I've seen plenty of pictures taken from the promenade seating behind home plate and there appears to be no problem at all viewing the batter. I sat in the 400 level with no obstruction at all, and I can't imagine the 500 level being different in kind.

From the lower level of the promende, I can see how the plexiglass panels and railings are problems, however. I have to assume those are the cause of your angst. But these can be corrected without screwing with the park's dimensions. And again, most importantly, you can choose to sit somewhere else next time if you didn't like those particular seats.

I've sat in the promenade seats behind home plate. Just the regular seats. And with the way the seating bowl is so close to the field, the angle of decent was so steep that the person sitting in front of me was blocking my line of sight to see the batter. My friends who were with me also agreed that it was an issue for them too. We constantly had to crane our necks over or to the side of the person in front of us in order to see the batter down there at home plate. It was quite frustrating. I've also read a few posters here who've had the same issues.

I know I can choose to sit somewhere else... but with all these other obstructions, I don't like the idea of having to make more compromises.

[Jim Vaz]

test test test

[Gary Dunaier]

Here's the view from the very last row of the Promenade level at Citi Field, behind home plate.


(Photo taken September 9, 2009. © Gary Dunaier. Link to upload on Flickr.com: here.)

[dabigyankeeman]

Not a baseball note, but its a Citi Field note. The concert that Paul McCartney did there this year is coming out in 2 weeks in a combo pack that has 2 cd's and 1 dvd of that concert. There also will be a deluxe version with 2 cd's and 2 dvd's with the second dvd having extra's like his performance on the Letterman show.

I will definetely pick this up, and i hope they get some good shots of the stadium in it.

By the way, that picture you just posted Gary is fantastic.

[RayNY]

I've seen those pictures too. But nobody stands up the entire ballgame. If you're sitting down during a packed day like I was (Mets Phillies Santana pitching), you will see nothing but the back of people's heads when trying to look down at the batter.

[dstoffa]

Originally Posted by Gary Dunaier

Here's a view from inside the Promenade Club, behind the plate...


(Photo taken May 7, 2009. © Gary Dunaier. Link to upload on Flickr.com: here.)

Note that the pitcher's mound can be seen just behind the leg of the guy sitting on the right of the guy in the cap.

You can see that the view from the PC was compromised for additional DAP seating behind the plate. The concrete at nearest those two seats is different then the concrete behind it (up against the club glass).

Don't know if the Mets botched this, or the architect didn't look at the code (and had to add additional seats) and didn't see this coming to the seating bowl could have been set back enough to allow everyone to see the batter.

Cheers!
-Doug

[nymdan]

Originally Posted by dstoffa

You can see that the view from the PC was compromised for additional DAP seating behind the plate. The concrete at nearest those two seats is different then the concrete behind it (up against the club glass).

Don't know if the Mets botched this, or the architect didn't look at the code (and had to add additional seats) and didn't see this coming to the seating bowl could have been set back enough to allow everyone to see the batter.

Cheers!
-Doug

Right. In the small area of the prom club not blocked by the handicapped seating, you can see home plate.

[Gary Dunaier]

Originally Posted by dabigyankeeman

Not a baseball note, but its a Citi Field note. The concert that Paul McCartney did there this year is coming out in 2 weeks in a combo pack that has 2 cd's and 1 dvd of that concert. There also will be a deluxe version with 2 cd's and 2 dvd's with the second dvd having extra's like his performance on the Letterman show.

I will definetely pick this up, and i hope they get some good shots of the stadium in it.

By the way, that picture you just posted Gary is fantastic.

Was there ever any doubt?

I was at all three shows, so you know I'll be getting the Paul McCartney collection. On Paul McCartney's website there's a sample video from the show, and while most of it appears to be "generic" footage - in this context, "generic" in the sense that the focus is on him and the band, so he might be playing anywhere for all we know - there is a nice sweeping view of Citi Field, at approximately 2.25 into the song, including the lit "Citi Field" atop the Citi Vision board.

"Good Evening New York City" will be out November 17.

[nymdan]

The disks have a baseball-stitching design on them:

[dabigyankeeman]

Originally Posted by nymdan

The disks have a baseball-stitching design on them:

Neat, i hadnt seen that!

[Jim Vaz]

Yes believe it or not the other team in NY has also had its day.
Maybe someday we can do it one more time again...

Found these on www.metspolice.com
10/28/86
enjoy

[Bleeding Pinstripes]

Originally Posted by Jim Vaz

Yes believe it or not the other team in NY has also had its day.
Maybe someday we can do it one more time again...

Found these on www.metspolice.com
10/28/86
enjoy

Stop living in the past!

[JohnCropp]

Originally Posted by Bleeding Pinstripes

Stop living in the past!

Yankee fan... says stop living in the past...

[yankies4life]

Originally Posted by Bleeding Pinstripes

Stop living in the past!

mets fans are a very interesting bunch. they like to live in the past and yet their slogan every year involves the future. why cant they live in the present time?

im only kidding mets fans

[JohnCropp]

Originally Posted by yankies4life

mets fans are a very interesting bunch. they like to live in the past and yet their slogan every year involves the future. why cant they live in the present time?

im only kidding mets fans

How about you go **** yourself... right now.

[mets16]

Jesus H. Christ. The Yanks just won the World Series and come into the Mets thread to bust balls? What would make you d-bags happy? Another one? I think this 2009 one will be drilled into the baseball community for the next 20 years. Don't worry, nobody is forgetting you won. Take your trophy and shut up.

Great pictures btw Jim. I was watching my 94 Rangers and 86 Mets parade tapes yesterday. Way cool.

[Bleeding Pinstripes]

and im shure they day you guys beat us you will make shure we never forget it.