I spent last week working in Brooklyn, NY at one of the freight terminals in the ABF Freight network of end of the line operations. In lieu of flying or driving to NY, I elected to take Amtrak and use public transportation, walk, and take advantage of ride sharing services to get around. As I knew my schedule would be mornings to early afternoons, I had time to explore Queens and Brooklyn for cool baseball stuff. I did find a few baseball fields around my hotel and a memorable Irish bar up the street – O’Neil’s Restaurant – which had tons and tons of character, great staff and bar hoppers, famous photos and sports memorabilia of celebrities who have graced the Irish establishment over the years, and a killer watermelon salad.

And of course, prior to arriving for my week of work in NY, I checked around my hotel for baseball fields, games, events, etc that might pique my interest. There were a few games being played in the Hamptons (Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League), Far Rockaway, north of NYC, and in Jersey but those were a little too far to travel to. I settled on a Wednesday night game in Queens at a somewhat familiar spot. Citi Field, the former site of the Shea Stadium, where I attended a game well over 25 years ago, would be where I would find a modern day baseball experience. Oh and the New York Mets were playing the Chicago White Sox.

This photo from the parking lot is a bit disappointing to see after the fact. I found out that there is a home plate plaque in the parking lot where home plate used to be at the now demolished Shea Stadium. If you look online at Mets history pages, you will see the plaque. I however, did not see the plaque even though I may have been standing right on it or walked right over it. For your next baseball trip to Citi Field, it is in this row, Row B in the middle of row to the right of the parking lines.

I had to stop and take in the Tom Seaver statue. The classic drop and drive pitching motion that made Tom Seaver a baseball legend is wonderfully depicted in this statue. Another “must stop and take in” spot for the baseball fan.

Section 508, Row 3, seat 5 – sounds interesting and way the heck up in the upper deck of the stadium. No worries, I used my ticket purchased online as sort of a general admission ticket to get access to the stadium and to explore its experiences. And let me tell you, there is so much to do at Citi Field, you almost (I mean almost) forget there is a Major League baseball game being played. Let’s start the tour with the Jackie Robinson tributes in the main gate area.

This exhibit of Jackie Robinson photos was impressive. The photos depicted Robinson’s life on and off the field, of him walking around Brooklyn Dodger’s Ebbets Field, and as a multi sport athlete prior to his days with the Dodgers. Some really great images and by they way, massive images all through out the main rotunda of the stadium. Great first impression and great start to my Citi Field experience.

If you read my blogs, you know how much I love visiting and photographing old baseball fields. I definitely would not put Citi Field in the old baseball field category. Despite being about 15 years old, it opened in 2009, Citi Field is the modern day professional baseball park experience. TVs everywhere, concession stands that only take cards (no cash), huge Jumbotron screens in several locations at the park, entertainment and eye candy for baseball fans galore. I started behind home plate and made my way around the stadium, starting behind the visitors dugout and heading out towards left field.

Courtesy of my MLB app, I discovered that one Justin Verlander would be starting for the NY Mets. I found Verlander pre-game running, playing catch, then throwing long toss from centerfield to the wall in right field. Very cool to see a sure fire first ballot Hall of Famer get ready to pitch in a Major League game. The guy still can bring it at age 40 something.

Here are a few famous Mets – Dwight Gooden, Keith Hernandez, Darryl Strawberry – who dominated Major League baseball in the storied Mets of the 1980s. These along with banners and plaques peppered throughout the stadium were really cool reminders of how good the Mets were back in 1980s. At one point, they had arguably the game’s best pitcher (Gooden) and most feared hitter (Strawberry) in their lineup. Somehow, they won the 1986 World Series against my Boston Red Sox. Still not sleeping through the night because of that series!!!

I stayed on the lower levels of the stadium through pre-game and the national anthem, then made my way up and up and up to Section 508. If you have vertigo or are afraid of heights, Section 508 may not be for you. It was the highest I had been to see a game since going to a pre-season Patriots game and sitting in the upper deck of Gillette Stadium. Yikes, it was way the heck up into the Queens sky. Here was my view…

Ok, it wasn’t that bad. The jumbotron in centerfield helped with the game action that I couldn’t make out with my old eyes. The Mets sprinted out to their positions, Verlander hopped out to the mound, and away we went – Mets vs White Sox.

Both the Mets and the White Sox were sitting right around .500 for the season with a little less than half a season to go. Every game at this juncture counts for teams like the Mets and White Sox, who are trying to claw their way up the standings and get into the playoffs any way possible. With Verlander on the mound and pitching well, the Mets chances increase tremendously. Wednesday night, Verlander would pitch a gem and the bats would follow up his great pitching with some timely hitting and a home run from 3B Brett Baty, which I was lucky enough to capture here. You just have to squint or enlarge the photo to see the home run ball rocketing out and over the right field fence.

And the big apple emerged and fireworks ensued…

I stayed in my assigned seat, or pretty close to it, for a few innings before seat hopping until the 7th inning. The ball park was probably 70 to 75% sold out if I had to guess so there were single seats just about every section that I hopped into. I always love watching the game from different angles, view points with the hope of a foul ball or home run ball. Wednesday night, no such luck other than the views.

I will say that Citi Field all lit up at night is an amazing spectacle. I left the game around the 8th inning and before I hopped in a ride share car back to my hotel, I snagged this photo from the parking lot.

Whether you are a Mets fan from the Tom Seaver days, the Strawberry/Gooden years, or you just became a Mets fan recently Citi Field is an Amazin’ Mets fan experience. Bars, restaurants, kiosks, fan experience events, TVs, jumbotrons, tons of modern conveniences, fan friendly layout – Citi Field is an awesome modern ballpark experience. The business of professional baseball in 2023 – The games and entertainment off the field/in the stadium often drives fans to the games (MLB) being played on the field. And Citi Field is no exception. An absolutely fun and entertaining night at the home of the New York Mets, Citi Field, Queens, NY.