The Definition of Love

The Mets got swept by the Braves on Thursday. Larry Jones, two more ribbies in Game 2. What more is there to say at this point?

That’s why I’d like to focus on something else (after the jump):

I was thinking about the people at the doubleheader today. Now think about this: People that were there for all or any of the 18 innings on Thursday were either misplaced ticket holders to the Saturday, August 27th game who instead had to see a game on Thursday, or more incredibly, people who made the conscious decision to buy tickets knowing full well that this could be 18 innings of misery, which it wound up being.

To the people who went to the doubleheader, and there weren’t many, bless your heart. You are the definition of fan, and you should be loved. I know the Mets have done some good things by fans who had to sit through long rain delays this season (I was a beneficiary of that). But I’ll go so far as to say this: If you were at Thursday’s doubleheader, you deserve to not only have guaranteed tickets to the first World Series game at Citi Field, but you deserve to be in the front row. You deserve the cushy seats behind the plate. Because you’re who the Mets should want to have the best experience. Those people who were there Thursday, those are your real fans, Wilpon family. These are the people who are there for you when times are tough, you should have them by your side the next time things are good. I just hope they’re not using walkers and canes by then.

I’d like to think I’m good at blasting the organization when they do something dumb. So under the premise that puppies and babies need positive reinforcement just as they need to be told “no”, I’m going to give the Mets credit for something: Before the first game the team had a tweet contest, where the first person in the park to tweet back got to throw out the ceremonial first pitch of the ball game (and no, the winner wasn’t Chris Schwinden.) Think about it: a fan in the stands got to go onto the field and throw a ceremonial first pitch to Ronny Paulino (amazingly, he caught it.) That’s pretty freakin’ sweet if you ask me. If there’s one thing I can impart onto the Mets new ownership, whoever they may be and whenever they may get here, it would be this: the Twitter first pitch thing? More of that.

The Mets aren’t the most ineptly owned team out there … not as long as the McCourts own the Dodgers, Peter Angelos owns the Orioles, and Jeffrey Loria owns the Marlins. But they’re mentioned in that group, which is enough. The Mets need to bring back the loyal fans that they’ve lost, not because the team was bad but because the Mets have destroyed the relationship with their fans to the point where they can’t hold on to them through the bad times. The community work they do is wonderful. So is the charity work. We’ll never forget the role the Mets played in the mental healing of the city after what happened ten years ago. But what I’ve always wished they would do more of is to gain touch with the normal everyday Met fan. Reaching out to the bloggers and giving them their own media sessions is great. Bringing more former players back to meet the fans in the rotunda was a nice touch. Having them bring out the prizes for the trivia contests is also very nice.

But that Twitter first pitch contest was really cool. It strikes me different than all the rest. The next step is to do it on a day that was actually on the schedule, and not a day that was scheduled at the last minute and no corporate sponsor made themselves available to throw out the first pitch at the last second. In fact, let’s take that a step further: You should do it before every home date for the rest of the season. You want to give the fans something to make them feel like they’re more than an attendance figure? That’s a great place to start. Fans will remember that … especially the one that wins the contest. I know the bit about bringing back all of Thursday’s fans to a World Series game is a pipe dream, even though I think they all deserve it. But doing this first pitch thing before every home game the rest of the season? This can happen.

Sure, fielding a winning baseball team is the easiest way to bring fans to the park. But let’s face it, that might not happen for a while for reasons that were under the Mets’ control. And while the team didn’t embarrass themselves this season, it could still be a while before they’re truly back to where we want them. If you don’t want attendance to totally sink to the bottom of the league, then it’s time to get creative through this period. First pitch via Twitter? Creative as hell. It should only be the start.