Steve Cohen is not mincing phrases relating to New York Mets followers.
Addressing the media down in Port St. Lucie, Florida, the place the Mets maintain their spring coaching, Cohen’s pointed remarks a few myriad of matters raised eyebrows. However one remark particularly might draw the ire of his membership’s loyal fan base.
“That basically bothered me, 18th in attendance once we’re proper in the course of a pennant race,” Cohen stated, by way of Manny Gomez of NJ Advance Media. ”I’ve stated this earlier than, the collection towards the Nationals, proper earlier than the ultimate Philly collection. I feel there have been 18,000 followers within the stadium throughout an incredible pennant race.”
It is necessary to take Cohen’s statements with a grain of salt. Whereas he’s (largely) right that the Mets finished 17th in average home attendance during the 2024 season (29,484 followers per sport), the staff was nicely on its option to the postseason by the collection he referenced in his instance.
As an alternative, it might be extra correct to say that quantity was skewed by, say, an 0-5 begin in April or failing to climb over the .500 mark earlier than June rolled round. Nonetheless, that attendance determine does stand, and it does not look nice for a staff that had the very best payroll within the sport whereas enjoying within the largest metropolis within the nation.
Of observe, the Mets completed behind groups just like the Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies and Seattle Mariners in common fan attendance final season, to not point out the same old suspects just like the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and others. That first group of groups ought to reinforce the purpose Cohen was making.
However is Cohen proper to name out Mets followers for not displaying up in 2024? It is sophisticated.
Firstly, the billionaire proprietor does not own SNY, the Mets’ TV community, which eliminates a possible income stream for Cohen. You won’t assume that is a giant deal, however Cohen did not make his fortune working damaging stability sheets 12 months after 12 months. Subsequently, he depends closely on ticket gross sales to recoup a few of his funding.
No matter fan engagement, although, Cohen does make investments considerably in New York’s on-field product to a fault, as demonstrated by the historic 15-year, $765M contract he gave outfielder Juan Soto this previous winter. And that ought to imply one thing to Mets followers after years of stingy habits by the Wilpon household.
In the end, it would take a couple of magical season for Mets followers to totally purchase in, however Citi Discipline was electrical throughout final 12 months’s postseason, providing a glimpse of what might lie forward for New York’s attendance prospects.
