SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Syracuse baseball fans aren’t used to going to games in April. After all, there hadn’t been one since 2019, before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. That changed on Tuesday when the Syracuse Mets hosted the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders in the AAA season opener.
Famous former New York Met Mookie Wilson was on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch and to sign autographs. Before the game, Wilson said that many people were anxious to see a ballgame again.
“I think that all the baseball people just wanted to be able to get back to the ballpark,” Wilson said. “There’s no better place to be on a nice sunny day. It’s about that family feeling.”
The Mets had several other promotions for the occasion, including a bucket hat giveaway to the first 1,000 fans and postgame fireworks. Fans came out in droves for the game, almost doubling the average attendance from last year. Mets’ Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations Mike Tricarico is encouraged by the early turnout.
“Coming into this season, we’ve seen an increase in the amount of tickets we’ve sold,” Tricarico said. “We’re happy to have those fans to the ballpark and provide that affordable family fun.”
For the start of last season, the Mets limited capacity and required masks to be worn to games. Tricarico said he is glad that these restrictions no longer limit fan engagement.
“We’re excited to be able to operate going into this season as more normal, where the entire stadium is opened up,” Tricarico said.
Grady Foster, a local fan, is one of many to bring her entire family to the game.
“It’s exciting to have a team like this in our backyard,” Foster said.
The Mets’ schedule runs straight through the last week of September.
