Citifield Makeover

The 2010 Inside Cheez ballpark tour hit Queens this past weekend. It was my second trip to Citifield, the home of the New York Mets. My first trip was in April of last year, which I chronicled in this post, and the most glaring omission to the ball park, in my opinion, was the lack of Mets "flavor" in the ballpark.

Had the Mets done anything to rectify that problem? I was about to find out.

The first clue was right outside the front gates, the iconic "home run apple" (pictured above) is now a landmark just outside the "Jackie Robinson Rotunda", a great photo op and meeting place for fans, a al "the bat" at the old Yankee Stadium.

Also, on the wall of the exterior of the ballpark were tributes to past Mets greats, such as Casey Stengel and Tom Seaver (pictured above). I don't recall these being here last year, so in my book it's another nice job by Mets management to add a little Mets "history" to the ballpark. In addition, there are now stone plaques in the sidewalk commemorating great games in Mets history, such as Seaver's "imperfect game" or the "black cat" game.

Inside the ballpark, it was just as beautiful as I remember from last year, and then some. The Mets again took a page from the Yankees, and added historic Mets photos throughout the ballpark. Granted, Mets "history" isn't quite as awe-inspiring as Yankees history, but the photos add that Mets "flavor" that was clearly missing in 2009.

The Mets also renamed the outfield "bridge" after their old stadium (pictured above). At the game I attended, Ike Davis hit a home run onto the "Shea Bridge", a 450 foot shot.

Add to all that a brand new Mets museum (which I didn't get a chance to visit), and you've got an "amazin" upgrade from last year's Citifield inaugural.

Last year, I said the Yankees did it right, while the Mets missed the boat. This year, the Mets absolutely closed the gap. Citifield will never have the "feel" that the new Yankee Stadium has, but it's now a ballpark that Mets fans can be 100% proud of.