Heading into the 2017 season the New York Mets were looking for their third consecutive playoff appearance. Their season peaked early, April 13th in fact, at 4 games above .500. The season unraveled from there as injuries piled up to both their lineup and starting rotation. The Mets ended April six and a half games behind the Washington Nationals after allowing 23 runs to their Eastern division rival on April 30th. They ended the 2017 season with a 70-92 record however despite the disappointing season there is no place I would rather be during the baseball season than Citi Field. It’s become a tradition of mine to attend a baseball game on the first Sunday of the NFL season. When I was in elementary school I would listen to Mike and the Mad Dog on WFAN in New York. To express their disinterest in a sporting event one of them would say “They could be playing this game in my backyard and I would draw the blinds.” This is why with the Reds and Mets wrapping up their four game series on September 9th I made the long journey to Citi Field. (The $14 Promenade Box tickets helped as well) rather than sit home and watch football. It was also an opportunity to watch Mets ace Jacob deGrom take the mound in person for the first time. He’s become my favorite Mets pitcher since joining the team during the 2014 season. For all the media attention and self-promotion fellow pitchers Matt Harvey and Noah Syndegaard receive I’d take deGrom with the season on the line. How can you not like a pitcher who comes to the mound to Lynard Skynyrd’s Simple Man?
- Not only was game played on first Sunday of NFL season, but the Men’s U.S. Open Championship was played across the street at the U.S. Tennis Center.
- The Reds had scored 4 runs in the previous three games in the series.
- Despite not having a Topps card to announce his spot in the lineup Nori Aoki extended his hitting streak to 8 games.
- The Mets had an opportunity to sweep a series at Citi Field for the first time in 2017. They ended their home schedule sweepless.
- Jacob deGrom’s performance added to his stellar statistics during day games, 17-8 1.99 ERA in 38 starts along with 271 strikeouts in 248.1 innings. deGrom’s strike out of Adam Duvall to end the 6th inning marked his tenth double digit strikeout performance of 2017; the Mets ace would finish the season with eleven.
- After striking out looking to end the top half of the 7th inning Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett was thrown out by home plate umpire John Smith. Reds Manager Bryan Price came out to argue as the 7th Inning Stretch was about to begin. Upon hearing the first few notes of God Bless America Price took off his cap and saluted the flag avoiding his own ejection.