New York Mets in the context of "New York Yankees"

During its four-century history, New York City has been known by a variety of alternative names and euphemisms, both officially and unofficially. Frequently shortened to simply "New York", "NY", or "NYC", New York City is also known as "The City" in some parts of the Eastern United States, in particular, the State of New York and surrounding U.S. states. New Yorkers also use "The City" to refer specifically to the borough of Manhattan.

Citi Field is a baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, in the borough of Queens, New York City, United States. Opened in 2009, Citi Field is the home of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. The ballpark was built as a replacement for the adjacent Shea Stadium, which had been demolished shortly before Citi Field's opening.

Citi Field was designed by the company Populous. The $850 million baseball park was funded with $615 million in public subsidies, including the sale of New York City municipal bonds that are to be repaid by the Mets with interest. The payments will offset property taxes for the lifetime of the park.

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the defensive numbering system used in baseball, the pitcher is assigned the number 1. The pitcher is often considered the most important player on the defensive side of the game, and as such is situated at the right end of the defensive spectrum. There are many different types of pitchers, such as the starting pitcher, relief pitcher, middle reliever, lefty specialist, setup man, and the closer.

Traditionally, the pitcher also bats. Starting in 1973 with the American League and spreading to further leagues throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the hitting duties of the pitcher have generally been given over to the position of designated hitter, a cause of some controversy. The National League adopted the designated hitter in 2022; as of 2025, the Japanese Central League is the highest level of competition to not use the designated hitter position.

The Grand Central Parkway (GCP) is a 14.61-mile (23.51 km) controlled-access parkway that stretches from the Triborough Bridge in New York City to the Queens–Nassau County line on Long Island. At the Nassau County line, it becomes the Northern State Parkway, which runs across the northern part of Long Island into Suffolk County, where it ends in Hauppauge. The westernmost stretch (from the RFK Bridge to the BQE) also carries a short stretch of Interstate 278 (I-278). The parkway runs through Queens and passes the Cross Island Parkway, Long Island Expressway, LaGuardia Airport and Citi Field, home of the New York Mets. The parkway is designated New York State Route 907M (NY 907M), an unsigned reference route. Despite its name, the Grand Central Parkway was not named after Grand Central Terminal.

The Grand Central Parkway has a few unique distinctions. It is only one of four parkways in New York State to carry an elliptical black-on-white design for its trailblazer, the others being the Henry Hudson Parkway, the Jackie Robinson Parkway, and the Cross Island Parkway, all in New York City. Other parkways in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island use the state-standard design, while the Belt-system parkways use a modified version of the Long Island regional parkway shield with the Montauk Point Lighthouse logo. In addition, it is one of the few parkways in the state to allow truck traffic to any extent. The section shared with I-278 allows for all trucks under 14 feet (4.3 m) high.

William A. Shea Municipal Stadium (/ʃeɪ/ SHAY), typically shortened to Shea Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City. Opened in 1964, it was home to the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1964 to 2008, as well as the New York Jets of the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 to 1983.

The stadium was named in honor of William Shea, who was most responsible for bringing National League baseball back to New York after the Dodgers and Giants left for California in 1957. It was demolished in 2009 following the opening of the adjacent Citi Field, the ballpark built to replace it and the current home of the Mets. The former footprint of Shea Stadium is part of Citi Field's parking lots.

William Alfred Shea (/ʃeɪ/ SHAY; June 21, 1907 – October 2, 1991) was an American lawyer, philanthropist, civic leader and sports team owner. He co-founded the law firm of Shea & Gould in 1964 and established the Continental League with Branch Rickey, which was instrumental in breaking down the Major League Baseball expansion barrier leading to approximately half of the existing MLB teams being accepted into Major League Baseball, including the New York Mets whose home stadium, Shea Stadium, was named in his honor from 1964–2008. Shea was a minority owner of the Washington Redskins prior to selling his interests to Jack Kent Cooke and served on the boards of the NFL's Washington Redskins, MLB's New York Yankees, and the NHL's New York Islanders, among many others. Shea was an ardent supporter of many civic, children's and Catholic charities, including, the American Ireland Fund, the National Center for Disability Services, the Foundation for Children with Learning Disabilities, Catholic Charities, and Little League Baseball. Shea was offered shares of the New York Mets in exchange for the services rendered on behalf of the City of New York regarding the team; however, Shea turned down the offer, stating he would not accept monetary gain in exchange for something he considered a civic action.

Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher is also called upon to master many other skills in order to field the position well. The role of the catcher is similar to that of the wicket-keeper in cricket.

Positioned behind home plate and facing toward the outfield, the catcher can see the whole field, and is therefore in the best position to direct and lead the other players in a defensive play. The catcher typically calls for pitches using PitchCom, or hand signals. The calls are based on the pitcher's mechanics and strengths, as well as the batter's tendencies and weaknesses. Essentially, the catcher controls what happens during the game when the ball is not "in play". Foul tips, bouncing balls in the dirt, and contact with runners during plays at the plate are all events to be handled by the catcher, necessitating the use of protective equipment. This includes a mask, chest and throat protectors, shin guards, and a heavily padded catcher's mitt. Though rare, some chest protectors may extend lower to provide some shield to the genitalia; wearing a pelvic protector or cup, depending on the case, is preferred and more common.

Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB), Ryan pitched for the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers. After his retirement in 1993, Ryan served as chief executive officer (CEO) of the Texas Rangers and an executive advisor to the Houston Astros. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 in his first year of eligibility, and is widely considered to be one of the greatest pitchers of all time.

Ryan was a right-handed power pitcher who consistently threw pitches that were clocked above 100 miles per hour (161 km/h), being one of the first pitchers to officially be able to do so. He maintained this velocity throughout his pitching career, being known as one of the top pitchers in Major League Baseball into his mid-40s. Ryan was also known to throw a devastating 12–6 curveball at exceptional velocity for a breaking ball.