Rising in the standings

Go ahead, ask us. Do you want to go to Trivia Night at the Syracuse Mets again, wondered the text from terrific daughter Elisabeth. Sign us up, I replied. Last season, our first attempt at matching our wits in the Metropolitan Room at NBT Bank Stadium as the Syracuse Mets played on the field below,…

Totality awesome

At 3:20 p.m. Monday in Syracuse, N.Y. Was the walk onto the center field warning track worth it for my dear wife Karen and I on Monday afternoon at the Syracuse Mets’ NBT Bank Stadium worth it? As mid-afternoon looked like midnight, I aimed my iPhone a little ways away from the eclipsed sun and…

That’s the pitch

Hey batter batter. Why did I strive to snag individual game tickets for the Syracuse Mets opening day 2024 the moment they became available? So we could be right here to see the first batter of the season. Yes, that is the Mets dugout. Friday’s game at NBT Bank Stadium was blustery and delightful both…

Cold weather, hot team

A different tailgate. It was so cool outside at noon Friday that we decided it was wiser to partake in our traditional Opening Day tailgate pregame festivities in Elisabeth and George’s living room rather than the stadium parking lot. That doesn’t mean we gave up on pregame festivities altogether. 39 degrees and here we are.…

One great player, HoJo was

The good, old days. Howard Johnson’s first two major league managers were Sparky Anderson for the Detroit Tigers and Davey Johnson for the New York Mets, a member of the audience at the Syracuse Mets open house reminded him during the Q and A session Saturday. Could there be a more buttoned-down or loosey-goosey managers…

Coming up this season …

Step right up. Syracuse Mets General Manager Jason Smorol raised the enthusiasm level for the upcoming 2024 season by detailing what’s to come at NBT Bank Stadium through September. Exciting young players. Great food. The solar eclipse, glasses provided. Fireworks. Open base paths for the kids. Boozy Sundays for the grownups. My ears perked up…

Meet the Met

He’ll sign until … Howard Johnson was a big part of the New York Mets’ 1986 World Series championship squad. Befitting that hero status, Syracuse Mets fans filled the NBT Bank Metropolitan Room for Johnson’s open house autograph session. He signed smiled, smiled and signed. In fact, officials had to cut the session short to…

Baseball, please

A cold day in March. I’m telling you they’ll be out on this baseball field in less than four full weeks. Interesting that the schedule-makers have scheduled Opening Day for the Syracuse Mets at NBT Bank Stadium for Friday, March 29. The field looked a little icy and dicey as my dear wife Karen and…

Bring on Opening Day

First in line. A big day late in winter is always the Syracuse Mets Open House. In addition to former New York Met star Howard Johnson as guest speaker, individual game tickets went on sale at 10 a.m. sharp Saturday. My dear wife Karen and I left our house early enough to be the first…