A few days ago, MLB announced that the Mets would travel across the pond to face off against their NL East rival Philadelphia Phillies in a two-game series at London Stadium next June.
This got us at Empire Sports Media thinking about where else we would like to see the Mets play a game. Here are three places that would make an excellent fit.
Tokyo Dome
The MLB has played games in Japan before, most recently in March of 2019, when the Seattle Mariners played the Oakland Athletics in a two-game series that drew in more than 45,000 people each game.
Having Kodai Senga back in Japan is what makes the Mets an appealing team to play in the Tokyo Dome. Senga is currently having a successful “rookie” season in Queens. Before coming to the United States, the master of the ghost forkball pitched 10 seasons in the NPB, becoming one of the league’s top pitchers.
Having Senga return to Japan with his new team would be a massive draw, but a player could come to the Mets this offseason and make it a slam-dunk decision: Shohei Ohtani. If Ohtani decides to come to the Mets, having him and Senga return to play in Japan would be a can’t-miss event.
Hiram Bithorn Stadium
Hiram Bithorn Stadium is familiar with hosting MLB games, hosting 49 games since 2001. However, none have been played there since 2018. The Mets seem like the perfect team to be a part of MLB’s return to the Island of Enchantment.
Two of Puerto Rico’s greatest modern-day MLB players happen to play on the Mets ( Francisco Lindor and Edwin Díaz), which would undoubtedly provide quite a draw and some intriguing storylines.
The blue and orange were initially slated to play a series against the Marlins there in 2020 before Covid-19 caused the games to get canceled, so now that the world has returned to normalcy, why not have the Mets finally take the trip back to Puerto Rico?
New Aloha Stadium
In 1997, the Padres hosted a three-game series in Aloha Stadium that was quite the spectacle, but Major League Baseball has not returned since.
With the New Aloha Stadium being built, it is a good time for MLB to return to Aloha State. The Mets would not likely be the home team here, but they are a team that is historically willing to travel to play games, so MLB could offer them the opportunity to play in Hawaii.
A potential opponent could be the Padres, who hosted the 1997 series, and a Mets vs. Padres series would be so full of star power that it would make it must-see baseball.