Play ball!

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

About four months removed from the San Francisco Giants winning the 2010 World Series, Baseball Nation is just about to embark on another enduring journey.

Last weekend, I ventured down to Port St. Lucie with friends and family to catch a few Mets games. We usually go toward the end of March — right about the time when managers/general managers are finalizing the Opening Day rosters and lineups.

I was fortunate enough to see the Mets win both games. They defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 16-3, on Thursday. (A good revenge victory against my publisher’s favorite team.) Then, on Saturday, the Mets beat the Braves, 8-2. (A good victory against my old roommate’s favorite team.)

But Spring Training also benefits local economies. For example, St. Lucie County, where the Mets have spring training, has a 13% unemployment rate in February, according to the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation. There likely are a lot of visitors throughout March who are visiting the county simply to come watch the Mets play baseball. But it’s not just the economics of having a Major League Baseball team play in a particular county, it’s also about how so many fans are able to catch their favorite teams for a whole lot cheaper.

The Mets tickets we purchased were roughly $12 — and the seats were better than any seat I would have in the regular season at a pro game.

I know I love going down to Port St. Lucie to watch the Mets, as do other Mets fans around Palm Coast. And it’s not just the Mets, either. Plenty of Flagler County residents enjoy the fact that they can travel a few hours by car to watch their favorite teams, in (most of the time) beautiful weather at affordable prices.

To talk sports with Andrew O’Brien, send him an e-mail at andrew@palm coastobserver.com.