Take me out to a Ballgame - NY Mets

On Thursday, with baseball season well underway, Mr M and I made our second trip out to Queens in a week to go to a Mets game. We took the 7 train to Mets-Willets Point Station, arriving at 2pm, just in time for the 1pm start. You see, a baseball game goes for 3-4 hours, sometimes more, so you don’t want to get there right at the start. (Unless of course you want to hear the anthem, then you should be there at the start).

After a detour to the Mets Shop so Mr M could buy a Mets Cap, we climbed almost to the top of the stadium to our very decent $17 seats (plus a little more for tax and some other rubbish charges).  And, always surprised at how many people are in this city (although really by now we shouldn’t be), we stared around at the 3/4 filled, even on a Thursday afternoon, stadium.

Now you can tell I’m not really a sports fan as I haven’t told you the most important detail, like who the other team was.  But I didn’t really come for the game. I came for the all American experience. An experience made up hotdogs, crackerjacks, pretzels, ice-cream* and cotton candy, all at very unreasonable prices, dedicated fans, music, cheering and, lastly, baseball. But my favourite part of going to a ballgame is the seventh inning stretch, or more specifically the song "Take me out to the Ballgame", which I missed because I was buying an overpriced coffee.

Really, if you go to a ballgame, try not to miss the song, which is in the middle of the seventh inning, not the end as I previously thought. FYI: the entire game is 9 innings.

On our way out we saw a very entrepreneurial man with his dog, offering photos for cash. The dog was everything my dog (at home) isn’t, calm, well-behaved, dressed in Mets paraphernalia and smoking a pipe. When I approached the dog to put a dollar bill in his tip jar, I leant over and said ‘Thanks buddy’. His response, to lift his paw for a handshake – too cute!

Oh yes, and the Mets won (and the Cincinnatti Reds lost)

* You can get your ice-cream in a plastic baseball cap  (helmet) for little bit extra - a perfect cup measure for cooking.

So you want to go to a ballgame?

Yankees or Mets?

Having been to both, if I could only go to one, I would say Yankees - the stadium, although new, feels more traditional, and, at least from my very limited experience, there was more atmosphere and the ground sweepers dance to YMCA. Now my husband is officially a Mets fan (with the cap and all) he may disagree.

NY Yankees (Yankee Stadium Bronx)

• Getting there
  Subway - 4, B or D train to 161st St/Yankee Stadium (be aware that B and D trains vary a bit depending on day/rush hour)
• Tickets/Seating
  An Insider’s Guide to the new Yankee stadium – This blog is no longer updated, but has some good general advice about buying tickets, getting there and seating options.

NY Mets (Citifield Stadium Queens)

• Getting there
  Subway - 7 train from Midtown to Mets/Willets Station ($2.25)
  Long Island Railroad - Port Washington Line train from Penn Station to Mets/Willets Station ($3.75)
• Tickets/Seating
  An Insider’s Guide to going to a Mets game