With opening day fast approaching for Major League Baseball, it’s time for New York Mets fans to dust off their hats and show off their team pride – and get free admission to the museum.
The team has officially declared Saturday, March 25 as the first annual meeting amazing daya city-wide celebration of the team affectionately known as the Amazin’ Mets since their unlikely first World Series victory in 1969. The day includes a number of events and activities, but the Art and baseball fans will be happy to know that wearing their favorite Mets gear will get them free admission to the Metropolitan Museum of Art— both in the Fifth Avenue and Cloisters locations — all day.
The first 500 people dressed in orange and blue Mets can also get the same benefit at the Brooklyn Museum (without entry to the Thierry Mugler special exhibition).
Normally, general admission to the Brooklyn Museum is $16. The Met raised the price of its adult ticket from $25 to $30 in July, but allows New York state residents and students from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to pay whatever they wish .
The Mets hat. Photo courtesy of Gabi Manga.
It’s unclear if fans should wear official MLB merchandise, or if the beloved “The Mets Hat”– a delicious mix of the logos of the team and the museum of the same name – will be enough to make you benefit from a free entry in one or the other of the institutions. (The cap’s designer, Gabi Manga, has reportedly been in touch with the Mets about making the cap – which he’s selling to benefit charity – available at Citi Field, the team’s home stadium in Flushing, Queens.)
The Mets are coming off their second-best regular season in franchise history, with 101 wins, shy of the 1986 World Series-winning team. The 2022 team, however, failed to clinch the division in the final days of the season and lost in the first round of the playoffs, leaving fans hungry for another shot at playoff glory.
Mets owner Steve Cohen, an avid art collector, has had a busy offseason, winning expensive player deals — acquiring Justin Verlander, new offers for Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil and Edwin Díaz — as if he these were top-notch trophy artwork. The team’s payroll leads the league at $336 million, leaving Crosstown rivals the New York Yankees far behind at just $268 million.
With star closest Díaz already suffering a season-ending injury in the recent World Baseball Classic, it remains to be seen if this year’s Mets will have what it takes to end a championship drought. 37 years old. But for true Mets fans, hope is eternal, especially now that there’s Amazin’ Day to celebrate.
UPDATE: The Met’s senior vice president of external affairs informed Artnet News that all team merchandise, official and unofficial, will count toward free entry. “It will be a super generous rendition,” he wrote in an email. “Any equipment and powerful left-hand relievers are also welcome! LGM!”
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