A Hint of Spring at Citi Field

The New York Mets celebrated their annual spring training sendoff event on Thursday by inviting fans to Citi Field, where they were given a tour of the team’s clubhouse, a chance to win raffle prizes, and witnessed the packing of the equipment truck.

This is the third time the Mets have organized a spring training sendoff event, which started in 2016 to celebrate the team’s first World Series appearance in 15 years.

The Mets’ General Manager Sandy Alderson was also there for a Q&A session, and talked aboutthe team’s preparations for the upcoming season.

“We brought in a number of players, free agents, former players, and some others,” Alderson

said. “We started preparation for this season at the end of last season.”

The raffles were drawn after the session with Alderson was over, with prizes including the team

gear and free tickets to the games.

One lucky fan, Matt Toy, won an all expenses paid trip to Port St. Lucie, Florida – where he will

have an opportunity to witness the Mets’ spring training in action.

“I’m excited, I can’t wait,” Toy said. “My parents were ticket holders for the ’86 season actually

so ever since then, I was born into it.”

He also expressed his excitement for the Mets’ upcoming season, despite their failure to make

the playoffs in 2017.

“I think bringing Jay Bruce back was big,” he said. “I’d like to see them make maybe one or two

other moves but as long as everybody stays healthy we can make the playoffs.”

Bruce, a three-time All-Star, played with the Mets for a year before being traded to Cleveland

back in August. He resigned with the team back in January for a three-year, $39 million deal.

Former Mets player Edgardo Alfonzo was also at the event for meet and greet, where he took

photos with the fans and engaged in brief conversations.

Alfonzo played for the Mets from 1995 to 2002, and is currently the manager of the minor league

baseball team, the Brooklyn Cyclones.

 Of his job as Cyclones manager Alfonso said, “It’s good, I’m liking what I’m doing right now. As a former player, I can relate to the players more.”