He estimated that he had watched about 20 games from that vantage, including one last year in which the Mets were down by 7 runs against the Atlanta Braves, and scored 10 in one inning to win. Mr. Brown seemed unfazed by the distance. The circular landing is less than 200 feet away from right field, and Mr. Brown groaned along with the stadium crowd when an an inside pitch nearly hit a Mets batter during this year's home opener against the Braves, the team's chief rival in the National League's Eastern Division. If you're a baseball fan, it just doesn't get any better than this. Even when the weather is not as cooperative, it does not deter fans.
Crowds also gather for crucial regular and post-season games.
The police, citing fears that the crowd would become too large, dispersed ticketless fans during the World Series last year and in 1986, Mr. Zale recalled. I knew we weren't getting in, but I knew this was the spot. You get the same view. Many of the fans watching from the landing on Monday, however, were there for the first time. Some had traveled from even farther than Long Island and were relieved to have something of a view, even if they didn't have tickets.