QUEENS, NY—A chilly Monday night in late April, “a school night” no less, as Mets designated hitter Jesse Winker was quick to add, is not the most conducive environment for fans to pack a ballpark; especially when the New York Knicks were hosting the Detroit Pistons at Madison Square Garden in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series, just 10 miles away.
Yet 35,430 fans packed into Citi Field and subsequently watched the Mets outlast the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 behind two Francisco Lindor home runs in the teams’ first meeting since last October’s NLDS, which New York took in four games.
“The crowd has helped a lot,” Lindor admitted. “This is home.”
Home has been practically impenetrable for the Mets, who entered the middle game of their series against Philly with a 10-1 record this season at Citi Field. Players and management alike can’t help but notice the difference in feeling within the ballpark compared to last April, when the Mets dug themselves into a hole that bottomed out at 11 games under .500 in May.
“It’s been really cool, really special to be a part of,” Winker said. “You can feel the energy and the excitement.”
A winning product has everything to do with it — an equation that so many owners in professional sports willfully ignore while obsessing over their bottom lines. After their run to the NLCS last season and signing Juan Soto to the richest contract in MLB history, the Mets rank sixth in attendance this year with an average of 36,589 fans per game.
Last year, they ranked 17th at 29,484.
“Our fans in general have been outstanding this year,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “It’s been fun coming to the ballpark. I get a sneak peek at some of the attendance numbers ahead of a homestand, and some of them I did double-takes where it’s like, ‘Wow, that’s really good for April.’
“Not only have the numbers been good on paper, but they have also felt like that in the ballpark. It’s exciting. Our players have talked about it. I think we all feel it when we’re here.”
A seemingly rabid fan base that is amidst a 39-year World Series drought undoubtedly senses that the franchise is on the precipice of a golden era in sustained contention. It’s something that it has never experienced, considering the Mets made the postseason in consecutive seasons just twice in its 63-year history.
With it comes a developing home-field advantage that gives the players a boost while creating as imposing of an environment as ever for the opposition.
Stearns is no stranger to this, even with this being just his second year in charge. He grew up attending Mets games at Shea Stadium, excited to be a part of the raucous late-90s crowds who could not wait to boo and heckle former Atlanta Braves reliever John Rocker.
“It feels like we have it right now,” Stearns said of the home-field advantage. “Good players help as well, but certainly, I think we have the ability. Our fan base historically has shown the ability to make this an uncomfortable place for opposing players. When I was on the fan side of this thing, it’s fun to come to a ballpark that’s an uncomfortable place for opposing players, and it’s a whole heck of a lot of fun for our players to see that when it happens.
“I think we are getting to that point where our players really enjoy this atmosphere and can take up their level of intensity to another notch. And on the flip side, it can get pretty hostile and loud for the opposition, as well. And that’s not a bad thing.”
The Mets’ hot start at home has helped fuel one of the best starts in franchise history. Only the World Series-winning 1986 club won more games in their first 23 outings than the 16 this year’s team has won.
Starting pitcher Tylor Megill, who tied a career-high with 10 strikeouts in 5.1 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit in Monday nigh’s win said it best: “It’s a great time to be a Met right now.”
“We got a lot of really good players, a really good clubhouse,” he continued. “I just think a lot of things stick. We have a lot of fun. Everyone’s pulling for each other. There is no selfishness. There’s a lot of selflessness. At the end of the day, we’re just trying to win one ballgame a day, and going from there, as well as getting our feet wet in the playoffs and making a push. That really motivates everyone who ends up getting there to want to chase that again, get back out there, and win a World Series.”
