This Is What Blue and Orange Playoff Baseball Is Like

For over half a century, the Mets' traditional colors have been blue and orange.  For the past eight seasons, the Mets have not played a postseason game.  For the past six seasons, Citi Field has looked more green (as in the color of empty seats) than it has blue and orange (as in the color of Mets fans hootin' and hollerin' at their favorite team).

For those of you who don't remember how Amazin' it sounded whenever the Mets played deep into October...

For those of you who want to know what a sea of 42,000+ screaming fans clad in blue and orange would look like...

Heck, for those of you who just aren't into empty seats...

This is what Citi Field would look like when (if?) the Mets crash the postseason party.

Kudos to the Royals, Orioles and their fans for putting on a wonderful show during the month of October, a show that has still not ended (blame those pesky Royals for not knowing how to win a game in regulation).  Both fan bases have upped their game during the postseason and have made it a joy for non-Royals and non-Orioles fans to watch each team's push to win their first pennants in approximately three decades.

If only the Mets front office had their TVs tuned to these games, they'd know how beautiful a scene like the ones depicted above could be at Citi Field.  But alas, the front office isn't fond of a blue-and-orange October in Flushing.  They like all things green, as in the money they'd rather keep than spend on quality ballplayers who could lead them on a deep October run.  So until there's a drastic change from the way things have been done in the past, don't expect a sea of blue and orange at Citi Field anytime soon.

Kansas City's payroll in 2014 was $92,185,521, which is almost 150% more than the $38,176,000 the team doled out to players in 2011.  Baltimore's 2014 contractual obligations totaled $107,466,653, the first time in the 21st century the team passed the nine-figure mark in payroll.  Both teams play in small markets.  The Mets do not.  But despite playing in a market that dwarfs that of the Royals and Orioles, New York's 2014 payroll was lower than both Baltimore and Kansas City, as Mets players earned $84,951,365 this past season.

It's a blue October in Kansas City.  It's an orange month in Baltimore.  It's neither color at Citi Field.  Green is the new blue and orange in Flushing, because that's the only color you'll see in the stands in October there.  The empty green seats are far less exciting than the colors at Kauffman Stadium and Camden Yards.

Are The Mets Worried About Empty Seats In September?

I have been a Mets mini-plan holder since 2002. When the Mets moved into Citi Field last year, I decided to purchase a second mini-plan. I will not be renewing my seats next year because my better half has a full season ticket package and we plan on splitting those tickets in 2011.

When I first became a mini-plan holder, I was thrilled to have tickets to so many games in the same seats. After the Mets moved from Shea Stadium to Citi Field, the demand for tickets was great. In fact, I had numerous parties inquiring if I had any extra tickets to sell. Then the Mets fell out of contention long before the last day of the season and the requests for my tickets subsided. When I tried to sell my tickets to games I couldn't attend on StubHub, there were times I could not find a buyer, even after I had marked down my tickets to as low as $4.86.

This year, the fans have stayed away from Citi Field in droves. In 2009, the Mets averaged 38,941 tickets sold per home game, ranking seventh in the major leagues in home attendance. This year, the average home attendance for Mets games has dropped to 33,335. They now rank 12th in the majors in home attendance.

Whereas the Mets sold 92.7% of their available seats in 2009, they have only sold 79.4% of Citi Field's seats this season. Small market teams like the Milwaukee Brewers are selling more tickets to their home games (on average, 34,655 Brewers tickets are sold per home game) than the Mets are.

Earlier this week, I received a phone call from the Mets ticket office. I was offered two free field level tickets to a future Mets game to be played this season. The representative explained that the Mets were offering these free tickets to their mini-plan holders as a measure of goodwill to thank us for supporting the team. I thought this was very kind of them, but there was one catch. The tickets would not be mailed to the recipient. They would be left at the will-call window at Citi Field, where they could be picked up on the day of the game.

I don't know about you, but at first glance, it appears as if the Mets are concerned that by giving fans their free tickets in advance of the game, those tickets would find their way on StubHub. Once there, they could either be sold cheaply to another party (although it would still represent a profit to the mini-plan holder), or they might remain unsold and the seats would remain empty.

By making the fans pick up their tickets at Citi Field on the day of the game, there's less of a chance that the tickets will be re-sold online or that the fans picking up the tickets will not use them, since they are already there.

The Mets know that their decrease in home attendance will only continue during September, with the Mets out of contention and games against other non-contenders such as Pittsburgh, Milwaukee and Washington. They do not want fans to come to Citi Field dressed as empty seats. Of course, they're going to say the right thing, like "we want to thank you for your support", but any intelligent Mets fan can see right through it. The Mets want fannies in the seats in September and apparently, they're willing to give away field level tickets (i.e. the seats that TV cameras pan to regularly) to save face and to try to retain their mini-plan holders' business.

Let's just say that I didn't fall for it. There will be at least two field level seats that will remain unused for an upcoming home game. I guess I should expect the ticket office to call me again this winter when I don't renew my two mini-plans.