Mets.com, backed by Major League Baseball, is the “official” team site. ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Associated Press, Yahoo!, AOL, Fox Sports offer national perspective, often spillovers from the next source: beat writers.
New York is legendary for its media coverage. Every day the New York media is prowling the Mets clubhouse for news and tidbits. Whether it’s the New York Times, New York Post, New York Daily News, Newsday, blogs, tweets and columns are the print source for material on the Mets radio and TV flagship stations (SNY and WFAN). SNY hosts Mets-centric programming with commentary from Mets beat writers, past and present New York sports talk show hosts, former Mets players and Met bloggers.
The Internet is the fast news provider in the world. As newspaper circulation shrivels, websites, blogs, forums, chat rooms, podcasts and video blogs are springing up everywhere. By 2010, we have a Mets web site for every possible niche – news, gossip, fantasy, farm teams, commentary, satire, history, walk-offs, name it.
Beside the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, no team in major league baseball has more content-related sites than the New York Mets. Depending on your source, your choice of search engine and your free time to research, there is no less than 109 Mets-related sites or blogs on the Internet.
So, why another Mets web site?
On October 25, 1986 I watched Game 6 of the 1986 World Series locked, alone, in my dormitory room at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. In the moments after Buckner’s error and Vin Scully said, “… here comes Knight and the Mets win it!” I remember the camera shaking as it scanned Shea Stadium and I thought, “I should be there.”
It was the single greatest moment in Mets history and, even though I watched it on live television, I felt like I missed it. The only way to really experience that moment was to be at Shea Stadium in the middle of 55,078 fellow Met fans.
That is why I write about the Mets. Writing, sharing thoughts and stories, opinions, then hearing from Met fans by e-mail or in the comment section, is like being at Shea (or Citi Field). You can sit in a section, any section, and talk with fans about the Mets, the game, the strategy, whatever.
I love sharing memories from some meaningless game in August 1974, your first Mets game ay Shea, a chance meeting with a Met, who is the greatest Mets second baseman of all-time or last night’s win or loss.
Being a Mets fan since 1972, I lived through the Seaver trade, Lee Mazzilli, Craig Swan and finishing 63-99 in 1979 (including a tie) and winning the final six games to avoid losing 100 games. Those are my memories from my generation. Whether you are a Mets fan since 1962 or 1992, there will be a shared experience for everyone who is a Mets fan, regardless of generation.
Mets360.com allows us to continue the conversation. I hope you find the content fresh and original. I hope you will take a moment and share your thoughts in the comment section or by e-mail.
How will Mets360.com be any different than my other favorite Mets sites?
Mets360.com will produce all original content. Our analysis may be based on a news item, but we’re not in the news breaking business. Will we offer the latest news headlines as part of the menu? Sure, but why do exactly what a couple dozen sites and blogs are already doing.
Once a story breaks, Mets360.com will provide a unique perspective that will originate from asking different questions, coming at the news from a different angle, setting the events in context. Instead of suffering through the suffocating norms that include a series of links to third-party sites or an excerpt from a previously published report, Mets360.com will develop and present stories in a thoughtful and uniquely engaging presentation.
The content on Mets360.com is compiled and written by professional journalists. Thanks to the support of the New York Mets we will have opportunities to provide exclusive feature content.
Mets360.com will provide readers with unique, interactive promotions and contests. Our goal is to make your Mets360.com experience fun and interactive.
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You can follow us on Twitter @Mets360.
Authors:
John Strubel: john@mets360.com
Brian Joura: brian@mets360.com
brian joura’s Mets360 