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Baseball’s second color barrier

It was a problem Jackie Robinson outlined in 1972, days before he died. As he looked out at the crowd attending the World Series between the A’s and the Reds, the same crowd that was currently honoring him, he wondered aloud: Where are the Black people in baseball?

At the time, the legendary Hall of Famer didn’t mean the guys on the field — Black players were becoming a strong, important presence in Major League Baseball — but the managers in the dugout.

If Robinson were around today, he likely would be pointing out the lack of Black men and women in baseball’s front offices. And he would have witnessed the consistent decline in the number of Black players through the decades — from 18.7% in 1981 to 6.7% in 2016, according to SABR, the Society for American Baseball Research.

It was a haunting irony: Robinson, the man who broke baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers 74 years ago Thursday, was beginning to witness another color barrier. One that still exists.

“It all trickles down,” said baseball historian Rocco Constantino, author of “Beyond Baseball’s Color Barrier.”

“There’s the front office aspect of it, and the managerial aspect of it and that [comes from] the lack of Black players, and then you trace it back to the lack of African American participation at the youth level . . . and the rise of costs” to play baseball.

There are other repercussions, too.

“I can go to a baseball game and be the only African American in an entire section,” Hall of Fame reporter Claire Smith said. Smith is the first woman and fourth Black person to receive the J.G. Taylor Spink Award, given for “meritorious contributions to baseball writing.”

So why, as society generally begins to steer toward greater inclusion, is baseball lagging? And, more particularly, what steps can baseball take to change the course?

Half a dozen prominent men and women in baseball were asked that same question, and there was consensus — yes, it’s a problem and, yes, it’s solvable.

Frank Robinson PHOTO CREDIT: AP

Frank Robinson

  • Years as player: 1956-1976
  • Years as manager: 1975*-1977; 1981-1984; 1988-1991; 2002-2006 *began as player-manager
  • Teams managed: Cleveland, Giants, Orioles, Expos/Nationals
  • Notable achievements: As a player, 14-time All Star and two-time World Series Champion. American and National League MVP. As a manager, the first Black man to hold the position. Named 1989 American League Manager of the Year

Since Frank Robinson became the first Black manager in 1975, while also playing for Cleveland, there have been 263 different men hired to manage baseball teams, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Sixteen of them have been Black. There are currently only two Black managers in baseball: Dusty Baker, with the Astros, and the Dodgers’ Dave Roberts. Since 2007, only two Black men have been hired as first-time managers.

As for Black heads of baseball operations — the people like general managers or presidents who hire managers, make trades and generally decide how baseball teams are run – there’s just one, according to MLB: White Sox executive vice president Kenny Williams, who earned that title in 2012 after also serving 12 years as general manager there.

There are only three other minority heads of baseball operations: The Marlins’ Kim Ng, who is Asian, and the first woman to ever be hired as a general manager; Tigers GM Al Avila, who is Cuban; and Giants president Farhan Zaidi, who has Pakistani ancestry.

THE PAST: Where have you gone, Frank Robinson?

Dusty Baker, 71, is in his 24th season as a manager, and he knows baseball has a blind spot. It starts at the very top, he said, with the men in power suits networking and getting their mostly white friends big jobs.

“We don’t have any fraternity brothers or any friends, so to speak, upstairs that are doing the hiring,” of Black men as managers, said Baker, a three-time National League manager of the year. “How many probably qualified Black friends do most of the people upstairs have, period — in life or in the game? That’s where it starts. It also starts when baseball quit hiring former players for these positions and started hiring businessmen only.”

General managers used to come from a pool of ex-players, but that trend began to change in the 1980s, when it veered toward businessmen and lawyers. Baker didn’t have a GM that wasn’t a former player until 1985, two years after Sandy Alderson, formerly the A’s general counsel, ascended to the position.

Dusty Baker PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

Dusty Baker

  • Team: Houston Astros, current manager
  • Years as player: 1968-1986
  • Years as manager: 1993-2006; 2008-2013; 2016-2017; 2020-present
  • Teams managed: Giants, Cubs, Reds, Nationals, Astros
  • Notable achievements: As a player, a two-time All Star and World Series Champion. As a manager, three-time National League Manager of the Year. Has led his team to the playoffs for six of the last seven seasons he’s managed.

As baseball steered toward the computational analysis of statistics in the late ’90s, the trend shifted again. Now, the preferred GM candidate for many is Ivy League educated, with a strong eye toward analytics, said Alderson, president of the Mets.

“Clubs are favoring that type of candidate over more traditional candidates. I think you have to look at, No. 1, whether that’s a good idea, and, No. 2, how to identify minority candidates with that background,” Alderson said.

He added: “The key is hiring at lower levels and bringing individuals in to create a pipeline. I think one of the problems, generally, that we have in the game is that the entry level, the internship level, there are some people who can afford to take on an internship and some people who can’t, and yeah, that has a big impact.”

Baseball internships pay less than first-year jobs at large tech companies or Wall Street firms, said Brian Cashman, general manager of the Yankees, who started his career with the organization as an intern. And since many of these analytic-minded candidates have degrees in business or statistics, the competition for them is fierce. A choice to start a career in baseball can sometimes fall to two factors: love for the game and the financial means to not take the highest-paying offer, Alderson said.

“It just comes down to how can we continue to find ways and initiatives to get an increase in the population within the Black community that will love the sport of baseball,” Cashman said. “There is a population. Is it represented enough as it should be in our industry? The answer is no.”

In 1999, then-commissioner Bud Selig sent out a memo requiring teams to interview minority candidates for five top-tier job positions, including general manager and manager, and though that mandate lives on today, it doesn’t always translate to minority hiring.

“There are people that are clearly qualified and clearly very respected in the game, [people] you never hear anything bad about [who don’t get jobs] and I just don’t know I can assume what’s not getting them their foot in the door,” Constantino said. “It’s mind blowing . . . A lot of places are filling the Bud Selig quota by interviewing Latin American candidates or women but not really hiring them, either.”

Michele Meyer-Shipp, a Black woman and MLB’s first chief people & culture officer, says she is glad the rule exists — but for it to work, there must be a deeper shift.

“The more I looked into this [rule], the more and more I realized that the rule is the rule and it’s words on paper,” she said. “We have to actually create an environment wherein we have the pipeline of talent to apply the rule to. It’s not good enough to find one person and put them through the process and check the box on the rule. We actually need to . . . get really intentional about looking across baseball and identifying the talent that we have in our pipeline right now.”

THE PRESENT: A Children’s Game?

Being good at baseball is an expensive endeavor.

color barriers in baseball

According to a 2019 study by the Federal Reserve, the average white family in the United States has a net worth of $188,200, compared with $24,100 for Black families. It’s caused a schism between talented kids who can afford to pursue baseball and those who can’t, especially as children are being asked to specialize in a particular sport early on, Constantino said.

“The rise of the cost of youth level baseball over the past couple of decades” has been a big part of homogenizing the sport, he said. “It’s become a country club type sport, where it takes a lot of money and a lot of year-round training and a lot of elite club travel ball that inner city, underprivileged youth don’t have access to.”

To have a good shot at advancing though the ranks, youth players have to play travel ball. The average annual cost to play on a travel team is around $3,700, according to a study conducted by USA Today. That can balloon to around $8,000 for training and tournaments. Tack on hundreds of more dollars for equipment.

One impactful fix would be financing travel ball, Alderson said, which would allow kids to get into the sport when they’re still young and potentially capable of developing the skills they need to go pro.

“And I don’t mean holding showcases,” he said. “I mean subsidizing players that want to participate in travel ball but can’t for financial reasons.”

That’s not to say Black parents don’t spend money on sports, but specializing in one sport, while also taking costs into account, means making difficult decisions. Parents of Black children rated the possibility of earning a college scholarship as 23% more important than white parents, according to a 2020 survey by the Aspen Institute. Basketball and football scholarships are more accessible than baseball: There’s a greater number of them and they pay out more.

Smith said the issues Black children face are also different from the ones faced by Latin American players. Over 27% of MLB players are Latino, and there are four Latino managers. A lot of it has to do with the different rules that govern scouting and signing international talent.

“With Latin American players, you can spot a kid that’s 13, 14 years old, see the talent and you can sign that child,” she said. “You can tuck that child away in an academy because that child, unless he’s Puerto Rican, isn’t subject to the draft. There’s more certainty in pursuing the player in Latin America, and baseball is able to say, we’re more diverse than ever . . . but players of color and African Americans are not interchangeable.”

Compared to international players scouted at an early age, Black American children have to pay their own way, choose to specialize in a predominantly white sport, display their talents in expensive showcases and tournaments, and hope for the best.

They can say, we’re more diverse than we’ve ever been, and yet, hidden in those numbers is the disappearing of the Jackie Robinson legacy.

-Claire Smith, Hall of Fame reporter

THE FUTURE: Reaching out for more

But there are ways to remedy this, Meyer-Shipp said, adding that baseball is making strides in the right direction.

There are programs dedicated to youth outreach and bringing baseball to communities that may not have the ability to support the sport. And since 2012, nearly 20% of all first-round selections in the MLB Draft have been Black. Major League Baseball also has instituted a “Diversity Pipeline Program” meant to spot early on which minority candidates can begin to be groomed for either roles that are on-field or in baseball operations.

Baseball has worked to integrate Black men and women into league roles: Michael Hill, who interviewed for the Mets GM position but was passed over for Jared Porter (later fired for sending unsolicited sexually explicit texts to a female reporter), is now MLB’s vice president of on-field operations, a position that makes him the league’s top disciplinarian. Ken Griffey Jr. was named senior adviser to commissioner Rob Manfred. Tony Clark is the head of the players’ association, though that’s chosen by the players union.

MLB and the players association have also committed $10 million through 2024 to The Players Alliance, which helps fund programs set to improve representation of Black Americans in all levels of baseball.

“I think we all acknowledge that we have a lack of representation, and the good news is that there is a keen laser focus on doing all that we can to address that in some really proactive ways,” Meyer-Shipp said.

Not attracting Black players early on means missing out on some of the best talents of a generation, Smith said. Frank Robinson was a standout basketball player and could have gone that route. Jackie Robinson was a football and track star. When Black children feel alienated from the sport, either due to cost or lack of representation, they’re less likely to choose it as they get older.

THE EPILOGUE: What About Mookie?

If baseball wants to attract Black kids, Constantino said it could start by marketing Dodgers star Mookie Betts, arguably one of the top five players in the game. Betts is a former American League MVP and was the player who handed out food to the homeless before Game 2 of the 2018 World Series, and gave out masks, food and hand sanitizer during this pandemic.

Mookie Betts Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers catches a fly ball at the wall during Game 7 of the NLCS in October 2020. Credit: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

“Players in the ’80s grew up watching Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, and Jackie Robinson was a mythical figure to them,” he said. “And right now, they [only have] Mookie . . . They need to do a better job of getting Mookie out there because how could you ask for a better role model?”

And until baseball tries to do that, there aren’t going to be kids who want to be like Betts. They’d rather be like LeBron James, the megastar of the NBA, or Patrick Mahomes, the extremely talented, extremely likeable Kansas City quarterback (his dad was Mets pitcher Pat Mahomes.)

“You’re not setting up role models for kids,” Smith said. “There’s no Michael Jordan. There’s no LeBron James. Baseball didn’t [initially] get involved in social justice issues [like Black Lives Matter] until the players did.”

All of which means that baseball needs to be more intentional if it wants to grow its Black fan base. And get its Black players back. And its Black managers. And its Black GMs.

“To me, it’s a menu of things that need to be done in order to rekindle that interest and ultimately end up with more minorities and women leading front offices,” Alderson said. “I think there are ways it can happen but I think it requires some attention.”

Illustrations by Neville Harvey/Newsday

Nick Fanti: Life in the minors

'I knew he was special'

Chapter 1

'I knew he was special'

When Nick Fanti began playing baseball as a child, he didn't want to go anyway near the pitcher's mound. By his senior year at Hauppauge High School, the lefthander was attracting scouts for his pitching ability. Now he'll try to use that to get to the majors.

Lakewood BlueClaws/Mike Dill

The Fanti famiglia

Chapter 2

The Fanti famiglia

As the youngest of five and the only boy in the Fanti family, Nick Fanti said it was like he had five moms growing up. The tight-knit group made an effort to travel the 120 miles from Hauppauge to Lakewood, New Jersey, to see Fanti pitch as often as possible. Fanti also had support from his host family, the Hoffmans, who are BlueClaws season-ticket holders.

Lakewood BlueClaws/Mike Dill

'Can you do it in three months?'

Chapter 3

'Can you do it in three months?'

Lakewood pitching coach Brian Sweeney, who's also the coach for Team Italy, asked Nick Fanti, 20, if he would be able to pitch in the World Baseball Classic in three or four years. Then in December 2016, Sweeney asked Fanti if he could pitch in the 2017 WBC in March. Fanti threw a scoreless inning and struck out Mets utility man T.J. Rivera in his lone relief appearance against Puerto Rico.

WBC Inc.

The no-hitter

Chapter 4

The no-hitter

Fanti made a name for himself on Long Island when he threw back-to-back no-hitters in high school. On May 6, he added his first professional combined no-hitter when he went 8 2/3 innings without giving up a hit against the Columbia Fireflies. His roommate, Trevor Bettencourt, closed out the game with a strikeout to preserve the no-no. Two months later, Fanti tossed a no-hitter of his own against the Charleston RiverDogs.

Lakewood BlueClaws/Mike Dill

The last game

Chapter 5

The last game

After the BlueClaws beat the Kannapolis Intimidators in the final game of the season, Fanti said goodbye to his teammates, fans and host family and headed back to Long Island for the offseason -- one step closer toward achieving his dream.

Lakewood BlueClaws / Mike Dill

Tale of the tape: Aaron Judge vs. Jose Altuve

Yankees rightfielder Aaron Judge and Astros second baseman Jose Altuve are two of the leading candidates to win the American League MVP award, announced after the World Series.

But for the next week or so, they will be opponents in the ALCS. Here is the long and short of it when comparing Judge and Altuve.

Height

Jose Altuve is 5-foot-6

Aaron Judge is 6-foot-7


Jose Altuve stats

  • Regular season
  • .346 average
  • 24 home runs
  • 81 RBI
  • 112 runs
  • 204 hits
  • 32 steals
  • .410 OBP
  • .547 slugging

  • Postseason (through ALDS)
  • .533, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 5 walks

Longest home run:

435 feet

May 15 at Marlins Park off Miami’s Dustin McGowan.

Average distance of home runs:

378.29 feet

Aaron Judge stats

  • Regular season
  • .284 average
  • 52 home runs
  • 114 RBI
  • 128 runs
  • 157 hits
  • 9 steals
  • .422 OBP
  • .627 slugging

  • Postseason (through ALDS)
  • .125, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 5 walks, 16 strikeouts

Longest home run:

496 feet

June 11 at Yankee Stadium off Baltimore’s Logan Verrett.

Average distance of home runs:

415.48 feet

How the Yankees, the World Series and the presidency are connected

The Yankees are the most storied franchise in sports, having won 27 World Series titles. But despite having won a title an average of every four years during their history, a strange trend has emerged in the last six decades.

Since 1958, the Yankees have not won a World Series with a Republican president in the White House.

During that stretch, they have won at least one championship almost every time a Democrat was president (the lone exception being Lyndon Johnson).

Here’s a look at the strangely coincidental run the Yankees and the White House have had over the past 60 years:


Republican Donald Trump (2017-present)

0 championships so far. Last year, the Yankees lost a dramatic seven-game American League Championship Series to the eventual World Champions, the Houston Astros. This year, the Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics in the Wild Card round before losing to the Boston Red Sox in four games in the American League Division Series.


Democrat Barack Obama (2009-2017)

1 championship. The Yankees won the World Series in 2009. It was the only World Series the Yankees played in during Obama’s presidency.


Republican George W. Bush (2001-09)

0 championships. The Yankees lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2001 World Series and to the Florida Marlins in 2003.


Democrat Bill Clinton (1993-2001)

4 championships. The Yankees beat the Atlanta Braves in the 1996 World Series, then the San Diego Padres in 1998, the Braves again in 1999 and the Mets in 2000.


Republican George H.W. Bush (1989-1993)

0 championships. The Yankees did not reach the playoffs in any of these seasons.


Republican Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)

0 championships. The Yankees lost the 1981 World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers.


Democrat Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)

2 championships. The Yankees won back-to-back World Series, beating the Dodgers in both 1977 and 1978.


Republican Gerald Ford (1974-1977)

0 championships. The Yankees lost the 1976 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds.


Republican Richard Nixon (1969-1974)

0 championships. The Yankees did not reach the World Series in any of these seasons.


Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969)

0 championships. The Yankees lost the World Series in 1963 to the Dodgers and in 1964 to the Cardinals.


Democrat John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)

2 championships. The Yankees beat the Cincinnati Reds in the 1961 World Series and the San Francisco Giants in the 1962 World Series.


Republican Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961)

3 championships. The Yanks won the World Series in 1953 to cap off a run of five straight titles. They won again in 1956 and 1958. The Yankees also lost three World Series in this span, 1955, 1957 and 1960.

The Yankees, the Mets and 3 MLB games in NYC today

The Yankees host the Royals at Yankee Stadium at 1:05 p.m., followed by the Mets with a doubleheader against the Braves at Citi Field starting at 4:10 p.m.

Game 1: Yankees vs. Royals — Game story | Boxscore

Game 2: Braves at Mets, Game 1, 4:10 p.m. | Boxscore

Tonight: Braves (Fried) at Mets (Lugo), Game 2, Shortly after Game 1 ends

Derek Jeter: The Captain’s most memorable moments for the Yankees

The defining moments of Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter is set to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Photo Credit: Getty Images / Al Bello

The First Hit

May 30, 1995

With shortstop Tony Fernandez injured, the Yankees called up highly touted prospect Derek Jeter for a cup of coffee.

The 20-year-old went hitless in five at-bats in his major league debut. In his second career game on May 30, Jeter earned his first major league hit, a single through the left side of the infield off Mariners pitcher Tim Belcher. After 13 games in “The Show,” Jeter was sent back down to Triple-A when Fernandez returned.

Photo Credit: AP / Gary Stewart Read more

Opening Strong

April 2, 1996

Jeter was slated to begin the 1996 season as the Yankees’ starting shortstop by new manager Joe Torre despite initial hesitation from owner George Steinbrenner.

Batting ninth on Opening Day, Jeter smacked his first career home run off Cleveland’s Dennis Martinez in the fifth inning of a 7-1 Yankees victory. The dinger ended any doubt that Jeter was ready, setting the tone for his 1996 Rookie of the Year campaign.

Photo Credit: AP / Tony Dejak Read more

The Maier Catch

Oct. 9, 1996

In Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS against the Baltimore Orioles, the Yankees trailed by one run in the bottom of the eighth with Jeter at the plate.

The shortstop swung at the first pitch from Armando Benitez, sending rightfielder Tony Tarasco back to the wall. As Tarasco reached up, soon-to-be folk hero Jeffrey Maier reached out, pulling the ball out of play and into the stands. Tarasco contested that 12-year-old Maier interfered, but rightfield umpire Richie Garcia ruled it a home run for Jeter. The Yankees won the game, the series, their first AL pennant since 1981 and the World Series, kickstarting a dynasty that produced four titles in five seasons.

Photo Credit: AP / Ron Frehm Read more

All-Star MVP

July 11, 2000

Jeter lost in fan voting to Alex Rodriguez for AL starting shortstop ahead of the 2000 All-Star Game, but with Rodriguez unable to play Jeter took full advantage.

In the 71st midsummer classic, Jeter became the first Yankee to win the game’s MVP award after going 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. He picked up hits off Randy Johnson, Kevin Brown and Al Leiter, including a two-run single off Leiter in the fourth inning to give the AL the lead.

Photo Credit: AP / Ed Reinke Read more

Subway Series

October 2000

In his fourth World Series, Jeter had his most outstanding performance.

The Yankees shortstop was key to the Pinstripes’ Subway Series victory over the Mets in 2000, especially with his performance in Game 4. Jeter went deep on the first pitch of the game off Mets starter Bobby Jones, later adding a triple. In the series-clinching Game 5 win, Jeter smacked another home run to even the score in the sixth inning. He was named series MVP, becoming the first player to win both All-Star and World Series MVPs in the same season.

Photo Credit: AP / Amy Sancetta Read more

The flip

Oct. 13, 2001

The Yankees were down 2-0 in the 2001 ALDS, but held to a 1-0 lead in the seventh inning.

With Jeremy Giambi on first, Terrence Long hit a Mike Mussina pitch to rightfield for a double. As Shane Spencer played the ball in right, Giambi rounded third. Spencer’s throw missed the cutoff man along the first-base line, but along came Jeter — from shortstop! — to save the day, gathering the ball and making a backhand flip to catcher Jorge Posada, who swiped Giambi for the final out of the inning. The Yankees won the series in five games.

Photo Credit: AP / Eric Risberg Read more

Mr. November

Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 2001

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks forced the entire baseball calendar to be pushed back in 2001, Jeter and the Yankees were only up to Game 4 of the World Series against the Diamondbacks when the final day of October came around.

The game reached extra innings, and as Jeter stood at the plate, the clock struck midnight, marking the first World Series moment ever in the month of November. Moments later, Jeter smashed a fly ball to rightfield for a game-winning homer, tying the series at 2-2. Arizona won the series in seven games, but Jeter picked up a new moniker.

Photo Credit: AP / Bill Kostroun Read more

The Dive

July 1, 2004

As the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry reached its peak in 2004, the clubs battled into extra innings on July 1 at Yankee Stadium.

In the top of 12th with two outs and runners on second and third, Boston’s Trot Nixon hit a popup along the third base line. Jeter gave chase and made the catch along the line at full speed. Unable to stop, Jeter dove over the wall, tumbling over the photographers’ well and into the first row of seats. Jeter arose from the crowd with some marks and bruises to show for it and left the game the next inning, but his teammates picked him up, winning the game in the 13th inning.

Photo Credit: AP / Frank Franklin II Read more

Hit No. 2,722

Sept. 11, 2009

The Yankees’ all-time hit list is littered with legendary names – DiMaggio, Mantle, Ruth. For 72 years, Lou Gehrig sat atop the list with no one coming within sniffing distance of his 2,721-hit mark.

But in 2009, it became inevitable that Jeter would make the record his own. On Sept. 11, Jeter stepped to the plate in the third inning, smacking a ball down the line past a diving first baseman for career hit No. 2,722.

Photo Credit: AP / Bill Kostroun Read more

Hit No. 3,000

July 9, 2011

The Captain singled in his first at bat of the day, earning hit No. 2,999.

In his next at-bat, Jeter crushed a ball almost halfway up the Yankee Stadium bleachers in leftfield off Tampa Bay’s David Price, becoming just the second player ever to hit No. 3,000 with a home run after Wade Boggs. Jeter wasn’t done. He went 5-for-5 that day with two RBIs and a stolen base.

Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac Read more

Walking off

Sept. 25, 2014

Derek Jeter reached on an error in the top of the seventh inning in his final game in the Bronx. That would have been his final at bat at the Stadium, but a ninth-inning Orioles rally tied the game and forced the Yankees to the plate once more with Jeter due up third.

Jose Pirela led off with a single and Antoan Richardson came in to pinch run. After Brett Gardner bunted Richardson over to second, Jeter came to the plate for his final at-bat in the Bronx. The Captain went with the first pitch he saw, driving a single to rightfield, scoring Richardson from second base and sending Yankee Stadium into a frenzy one last time with the walk-off win.

Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac Read more
Derek Jeter career hits database

Take a closer look at each of Derek Jeter’s 3,465 career hits.

Numbers retired in Monument Park

Derek Jeter joins these Yankees to have their number retired by the club.

Derek Jeter: Salute to the Captain

Newsday’s 2014 documentary tells the story of what Jeter meant to Major League Baseball, its players and fans during his 20 seasons.

360 View: Mets Opening Day at Citi Field

Mets

360 View: Mets Opening Day at Citi Field

The scene at Citi Field before the Mets opened the 2017 season vs. Braves

Alt Video TextPlay 360° Video

Experience the Mets 2017 Opening Day with a 360-degree video of the sights and sounds inside and out of Citi Field. (Newsday / Jeffrey Basinger, Robert Cassidy)

Note: On mobile devices, the 360-degree video experience can be viewed only in the YouTube app.