The Syracuse Mets Plan to Make Their Return

By Jesse Cook

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse baseball returns May 4 as the New York Mets’ minor league affiliate, the Syracuse Mets, is set to open at home against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders.

Taken away in 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic, Minor League Baseball reworked its divisions and affiliations, drastically changing the look of its many leagues.

Syracuse’s director of broadcasting and media relations Mike Tricarico said that the new system will look very different from normal. He said, “Our league is going from fourteen teams to twenty teams, so the former International League has become the Triple-A East League.”

Instead of marching out on three-to-four game serieses, their campaigns will last six days with breaks every Monday. When they start a homestand or embark on a road trip, they do so for a full week.

Last season, the absence of league play forced Major League teams to keep a small group of players participating in intrasquad games. While most teams kept these teams at their regular Minor League ballparks, the Mets left Syracuse empty, tossing their prospects to a facility in Brooklyn, much closer to Citi Field.

“We actually didn’t have any players in Syracuse last year… all of the Mets players who were on more of a taxi squad were at an alternate training site down in Brooklyn,” said Tricarico.

He continued that the return of players alone will be a great relief, especially because they can return to a different feel in the stadium itself. He said, “After more than a year without baseball, here in Syracuse, and really all over the country, we’re excited to get back, I know the fans are excited to get back, and we’re excited also to open a newly renovated ballpark.”

“… You know there’s not a whole lot better than—on a warm summer night—go to the stadium, grab a hot dog and a soda, go and sit down, and watch some baseball.”