When the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers left for California in 1957, New York, the largest city in the US was left without a National League franchise. William Shea an attorney tried to lure an existing National League club to the city. When his efforts failed he announced the formation of a third major baseball league, the Continental League. The National and American Leagues were worried about losing potentially lucrative markets to the new league so they decided to expand each league by two teams each, with the New York Mets and the Houston Colt 45's (Astros) being admitted to the National League in 1962.

They took their name from an 1880's ballclub the New York Metropolitans. The Mets played their first two seasons at the Polo Grounds before moving into Shea Stadium, their new purpose built home, which was one of the conditions on which the Mets were admitted to the National League. It is said that William Shea told the then New York Mayor Robert Wagner that he personally had to cable all the National League owners guaranteeing that the city would build the Mets a new stadium.   

The team set out to capture the fans left without a team when the Giants and Dodgers left for sunnier climes and all those fans that disliked the Yankees. The team colors reflect this with the blue of the Dodgers and the orange of the Giants.

The team started poorly and the first few seasons were unremarkable but everything cam good in 1969 when they won their first World Series, they won their second and only other World Series title in 1986.

The New York Mets moved to the Thomas J. White Stadium in Port St Lucie in 1988 from St Petersburg. In August 2003 the Mets signed a 16 year contract to continue holding their Spring Training in St Lucie, and the County commissioners approved an $8.7 million renovation budget for the Thomas J. White Stadium which included renaming it to Tradition Field.

One interesting feature is that the old stadium was plagued by bats, until the county arranged for the stadium to be bat proofed. In order not to make the areas bat population homeless the constructed a bat house that is 14 feet of the ground, which according to the county can accommodate 10 - 15,000 bats comfortably in its 160 chambers.

The New York Mets

Tradition Field
525 NW Peacock Blvd
Port St. Lucie
Fl 34986

772 871 2115 

New York Mets - Spring Training Schedule 2009