Mets won't hold Amazin' Day fanfest this winter despite wildly successful event last year

Last Jan. 25, the Mets held their first Amazin’ Day fanfest at Citi Field. An estimated 10,000 fans turned out to mingle with more than 50 former and current players, plus owner Steve Cohen and president of baseball operations David Stearns. Tickets went from $20 for kids to $950 for a VIP package.

Other than some overcrowding and angst about whether then-free agent Pete Alonso would re-sign (he eventually did), a good time was apparently had by all.

But the Mets are not bringing back the event this year.

A Mets spokesman declined to comment. The team has said Amazin’ Day would return in the future but was never expected to be an annual event. It’s much like how the Mets brought back a hugely successful Old-Timers’ Day in 2022 and then didn’t hold another one until 2025.

The Mets say the decision to not bring back Amazin’ Day in 2026 was made in August and is not related to the club’s questionable offseason. Longtime stars Alonso and Edwin Diaz left as free agents and the Mets traded away Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil.

If there’s a plan to replenish the roster for a World Series run, so far it is a mystery to most Mets fans.

The news that Amazin’ Day would not be returning in 2026 was met with mixed emotions from fans who attended — and thoroughly enjoyed — last year’s event.

“It was fantastic. It was great,” said Lisa Gangi, 49, a season-ticket holder from Roslyn. “But if they had it today, believe me, they would be booing and people would be protesting. People are not happy. What has happened is unbelievable. I have no trust in David Stearns. I don't trust him at all. This is New York. This is not Milwaukee.”

Jordan Simpson, a 26-year-old from Wheatley Heights, said Amazin’ Day was “from a fan experience perspective, they did it very, very well. It was great to have a lot of fans just together, and then also having the players just walking around. You got to interact with some of them. And the experiences were great. I mean, I had a blast.”

But would he go this year?

“As much as I enjoyed it and would have loved to have had it, I could only imagine what it would have been like if we had one, especially at this point,” Simpson said. “The vibe amongst the Mets fans is very, very different. It would have been a much more tense experience. Still fun, but more tense.”

Melissa Garrison, 33, drove down from the Binghamton area to attend Amazin’ Day. She said in a text message: “I originally was soooo upset they weren’t doing it again this year. But then after the offseason they’ve had I’m a little less upset. I feel like it would’ve just ended up being more unnecessary drama.”

Did Garrison have a good time in 2025? Uh, yeah. Remember, the Mets were coming off an unexpected run to the NLCS in 2024 and had signed Juan Soto away from the Yankees (Soto was supposed to attend Amazin’ Day, but canceled because of travel issues).

“I had a blast and I felt like everyone else did too!” Garrison wrote. “I got to meet David Wright, Starling Marte, Jose Butto, Christian Scott, Terry Collins, Matt Harvey, Josh Thole, Mike Piazza, R.A. Dickey, Darryl Strawberry, Cleon Jones, Art Shamsky, Bobby Valentine, Endy Chavez and a bunch of others! I would say my #1 highlight was getting to meet David! He was so nice and I have been such a big fan of his forever so it was just great to tell him how much I appreciated all he did as a Met.

“But it was great to just see tons of Mets fans running all over Citi Field being happy and excited talking about who they met and who they got pictures with. It was also fun to just catch players in the halls quick as they went from place to place.”

The Mets’ special events this year include a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the 1986 World Series-winning team and the Mets’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Valentine, Carlos Beltran and Lee Mazzilli. The dates have not yet been announced by the team.