The Mets will "feature a 1:40 p.m. start time" for all Saturday home games “between March 28 and May 25," according to Mike Puma of the N.Y. POST. Between June 1 and Sept. 21, the start time for Saturday games at Citi Field is "scheduled for 4:10 p.m.” Previously, the Mets “shifted between late-afternoon and night games on Saturdays at Citi Field” (N.Y. POST, 1/31). On Long Island, Neil Best noted the Mets “conducted a survey” through which they learned that “nearly 90% of those responding would prefer that Saturday home games be held in the afternoon rather than at night.” The Yankees “mostly go that route,” and now the Mets “are on board, too." What makes the Saturday start time change “particularly notable: It is a rare instance in 2020s sports of favoring in-person fans over those watching on TV.” Generally, media execs “favor prime time and ticket buyers favor daytime.” But baseball “still likes to think of itself as a relaxed, summertime outing that caters to folks showing up in person and enjoying the company of friends and relatives, including those who are children.” That is “much easier to accomplish at a day game,” and Sunday should "not be the only option for those who work and/or go to school during the week” (NEWSDAY, 1/31).
