Should the Mets start games earlier like the Yankees?

by Darren Meenan November 10, 2017 0 Comments

The Yankees announced that all Monday-through-Thursday home games in the month of April will start at 6:35 PM instead of 7:05 PM to "improve the fan experience of every guest at Yankee Stadium."

Of course the columnists and beat guys are on board. A lot of them commonly complain on Twitter when games go a bit longer than usual. God forbid you watch baseball and get paid for it!

#Yankees will start 7 games in April at 6:35 pm rather than the usual 7:10.
Our take: 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/Z2IxQzVS9T
— David Lennon (@DPLennon) November 9, 2017

Should the Mets and other teams jump on board? The Yankees didn't explain how the half hour head start will improve the fan experience, but here are some reasons for and against.

Pros:

It's cold in April, and the later the night goes, the colder it gets. That extra half hour could keep you a degree or two warmer. When the wind starts ripping off the Flushing Bay, take an extra 10 degrees off whatever it says on your weather app. Luckily for T7L, a lot of fans come unprepared, and we sell hoodies at the ballpark.
Kids at home can watch more of the game before bed time. Unless you gave your kid coffee, they missed almost all of the World Series with those 8:09 PM start times. That's a problem MLB has gotta fix. You need the young eyeballs on the game.
School is still in session, so if you're bringing kids to the game, that extra half hour might entice you to come on out to the ballpark. School is still in session in May though, so it would make more sense to just make all Monday-to-Thursday games the same 6:35 start time.

Cons:

Doing anything, even if it's a good idea, after the Yankees makes the Mets look like followers. Don't need to add more fuel to that fire.
If you work 9:00-5:00, it's hard enough to get to the game by 7:00 PM, let alone 6:30. Nobody wants to miss the first couple innings.
Orange and Blue Thing would have to start earlier on Thursdays as to not overlap the game. We'd manage.

Overall, I have no problem with 7:00 start times. I love the 4:00 Saturday starts, and night games on the weekends are fun. The league just absolutely has to fix the Postseason times, and maybe this is a little test to see how it's received. I totally get the whole advertising aspect and desire for a prime time slot, but the sport needs young fans who can actually watch the grand finale.

Baseball is changing. Which is exciting. But kids are sleeping at midnight. Should probably start these games a little earlier.
— The 7 Line (@The7Line) October 30, 2017

You want to get kids more interested in baseball. Build the sport. Get new eyeballs on the game. That's not happening right now.
— The 7 Line (@The7Line) October 30, 2017