Mets feeling home advantage as Citi Field attendance booms
Mets fans during the home opener at Citi Field on April 4. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
It’s widely known that David Stearns grew up a Mets fan, but now in his second year as the president of baseball operations, he prefers to focus on a brighter future rather than the franchise’s darker history.
So when Stearns was asked Monday about a childhood worrying for the inevitable disaster to occur, typically at the hands of Atlanta or the Phillies, he denied that to be the case. Stearns had different priorities than Mets-induced anxiety attacks, a chronic ailment he’s working diligently to eliminate from Flushing entirely.
“I was never waiting for the other shoe to drop,” Stearns said Monday afternoon. “I was really excited to go to Shea and boo John Rocker.”
Now Stearns is in the business of fostering the next generation that shows up to boo Bryce Harper, who was loudly harassed every time he stepped to the plate Monday night during the Mets’ 5-4 victory over the Phillies at Citi Field. The prevailing vibe, however, was of a celebratory nature for the crowd of 35,430 as Francisco Lindor homered twice, Jesse Winker also went deep and Tylor Megill struck out 10 as the first-place Mets improved to 16-7, including 10-1 at home.
“It’s a great time to be a Met right now,” Megill said.
Or even be in the building, as the early attendance numbers already are living up to Steve Cohen’s hopes for this season. Remember it was Cohen who expressed disappointment with last year’s turnout for the Mets’ remarkable playoff pursuit. And for once, the owner’s spring training comments actually put a dent in what had been unconditional love from the fan base (even after Cohen had committed a record $765 million on Juan Soto).
But Cohen has to be smiling now, as these Stearns-constructed Mets, along with his own $325 million investment, have transformed Citi Field into one of New York’s hottest nightspots, just as the owner imagined. Heading into Monday, the Mets ranked seventh in average attendance (36,705). That’s only two spots below the Yankees (41,106), with the Dodgers on their usual No. 1 throne (52,120).
The most telling comp? The numbers from last year that drew Cohen’s ire, when the Mets were 17th in attendance (29,484). The fact that Citi Field already is outpacing those figures by a whopping 20% — during a frigid April while kids are still in school — speaks volumes about where the ’25 Mets are in relation to their sky-high expectations. A year ago at this time, they were coming off a three-game series against the Pirates that averaged just over 18,000 a night.
“You have to give credit where credit’s due there, and that’s to our fans,” Winker said. “It’s a tough place to come in and play and we’re going to need them. They’re going to carry us.”
The players have noticed, too. Lindor delivered two of the most stirring moments from the four-game sweep of the Cardinals, the first an upper-deck walk-off homer in Friday’s win, followed by a leadoff blast that nearly landed in the same spot to spark Sunday’s victory. In Monday’s series opener, Lindor picked up right where he left off, smacking another leadoff shot and then adding a three-run blast in the seventh that looked like insurance (5-0 lead) but ultimately became necessary.
“The crowd has helped a lot with that,” Lindor said afterward. “This is home.”
Everyone at Citi probably had flashbacks to Lindor’s Game 4 grand slam that sunk the Phillies last October, and when you’re stacking memories like these, it’s a powerful stimulant, one that was noticeably absent the previous April.
“Last year was not like this,” Lindor said over the weekend. “So I appreciate the fans coming out and giving us love and supporting us. We play for them. So we definitely do feel it whenever they’re in the stands, and they’re pushing us. It feels like a real home-field advantage.”
The relationship has been working. Despite the often lousy conditions for baseball by Flushing Bay, the Mets’ 10-1 start at Citi Field ties the 2015 team for the best in franchise history. The pitching staff’s 2.18 ERA is the second-best at Citi through 11 home games (2.06 ERA in 2021).
On a somewhat less quantifiable front, the Citi fans chose to give the subpar Soto a standing ovation as he strode to the plate Friday night and he rewarded them with a tying, run-scoring single. He entered Monday night with RBIs in three straight games, including three Sunday, his most in a Mets uniform. Soto said afterward that he has felt an adrenaline boost from the Citi fans.
All of this suggests that Citi Field is turning into a 10th man for the Mets, something that Cohen’s billions can’t necessarily buy or Stearns can manufacture from scratch. But when you combine these ingredients, with leadership and clubhouse chemistry to match, the winning formula can produce a true home-field advantage.
“It feels like we have it right now,” Stearns said. “Good players help, as well ... So I think we’re 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.”
Maybe not Rocker level yet. But something for the Citi fans to aspire to.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
