Mets Community Insider

The Mets hosted the Spring Clinic for Champions at their Spring Training home in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Around 80 Special Olympic athletes and their families participated in the baseball clinic at First Data Field. The athletes got to hit, field, catch and throw with Mets players and coaches including Steven Matz, Michael Conforto, Tim Tebow, Gary Disarcina and Tom Slater.  

The athletes enjoyed a beautiful day of baseball at First Data Field followed by a BBQ with their favorite ballpark fare. Each athlete received a Mets t-shirt and left with great memories of an unforgettable day!

The New York Mets and Delta Air Lines kicked off the Ya Gotta Read! program to help foster a love of reading in students. Ya Gotta Read! launched on February 11 to coincide with the start of Mets Spring Training and lasts for six weeks. The goal is for students to read 20 minutes every weeknight during the program. After students finish a book, they will answer a reflective question and hand it in to their teacher. The more books students read, the more Mets-themed prizes they will earn!

The student at each school who reads for the most minutes will win four Field Level tickets to a Mets game, be honored on the field during a pre-game ceremony and receive a $100 Citi Field Gift Card! The class at each school that has the highest total number of minutes read will win a pizza party with Mr. Met!

More than 7,500 students at ten elementary schools in Queens are participating in the program.

The Mets are partnering with Major League Baseball and Scholastic celebrate the 23rd Anniversary of Breaking Barriers: In Sports, In Life, the educational program designed to teach young students about the obstacles faced by Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson as he broke baseball's color barrier in 1947. The Breaking Barriers essay contest provides an opportunity for diverse students in all backgrounds in grades four through nine to submit an essay about barriers or obstacles they have faced or are still facing in their lives, and how they overcame those obstacles using values demonstrated by Jackie Robinson.

For the third year in a row the program will be available in Spanish, with contest entries accepted in Spanish as well.

The program will recognize ten national winners in 2019, which will include two Grand Prize winners and eight MVP winners split between two separate grade groups (Grades 4-6 & Grades 7-9). Click below to learn more about the program and contest details.

The Commissioner's Community Initiative program allows the Mets to enhance the lives of underprivileged and at-risk youth, the medically dependent or disabled, and senior citizens. This program provides complimentary tickets to 501 (C) (3) charitable organizations that allows members of the community to attend a Mets game that they otherwise would not be able to afford.

Please click below for more information on guidelines and eligibly.