Let's Road Trip Brewers 2025: Trip #8 - East Coast Up and Down

New York Mets – July 1-3
Citi Field: Capacity 41,922
2024 Attendance: 2,329,299 (Averaged 29,484, 10th in the NL and 17th overall MLB)

The Brewers swept their way into Citi Field to start the 2024 season against the Mets, and they also swept their way out of Citi Field: three games, 14 runs, and a great start to the season.  The road trip to Flushing, NY, has gone very well for the Brewers, going 27-21 since 2009 in their away games at Citi Field. With the exception of a long losing streak in 2016-2017, the Brew Crew has owned the Mets on their home turf, making this a welcome addition to the July travel schedule.

In 1962, the New York Mets launched their franchise, hoping to fill the void left when the Giants headed to San Francisco. 1969 brought a World Series title for the Miracle Mets, and they again reached the sport's pinnacle in 1986. Other than a brief glimpse of success, ultimately falling to the Royals in 2015, the Mets have been more of a joke than a dynasty. Steve Cohen’s purchase of the team in 2020 led fans to a false hope of big spending equaling big success. The spending happened, and nothing but dysfunction ensued until 2024. Now, there is actual hope in Mets-ville, but will it get fulfilled?

Temperatures should be heating up in early July, and many of the same tourist attractions that one would catch at a Yankees game work for Mets trips. Times Square and Central Park are just a river away, and Queens and Brooklyn offer numerous cultural activities. Located just outside LaGuardia airport, Brewers travelers can fly in and find easy rideshares to the stadium or lodging.

Citi Field replaced Shea Stadium in 2009, and its open concourses, intimate seating, and sightlines offer a better overall fan experience than Yankee Stadium. The atmosphere is still uniquely “New York,” from its giant apple to its Jackie Robinson rotunda; fans experience baseball at its finest…win or lose.

After this series, the Brewers hop a plane and make a getaway to Miami to celebrate Independence Day.

Miami Marlins - July 4-6
loanDepot Park - Capacity 37,442
2024 Attendance: 1,087,453 (Averaged 13,425 - ranked 15th out of 15 NL teams, 29th overall MLB)

Milwaukee struggled to get the runs across in their May 2024 journey to Miami, losing two one-run games. In the game, they brought the offense and home the victory, too.  The annual trip to South Beach is also a welcome sight to Brewers fans, though this particular journey over the 4th of July might be a bit muggy. The Brewers are 19-16 overall in their trips to loanDepot Park, even after dropping their last two series.

The stadium's first season of use was in 2012 (Marlins Park), and it was renamed loanDepot Park in 2021. It has a retractable roof, so the games are guaranteed to occur, which is a must for anyone making that long of a trip to catch a ballgame! The in-stadium nightclub may have closed, and the neighborhood around LoanDepot looks more like a residential zone, but the ballpark itself is beautiful outside and inside. The best part? A visiting fan can usually get 30-dollar prime area seating. I mean, it's all for sale...and no one's buying. Cubs fans rejoice, but the stadium employees and Marlins players aren't too impressed. The World Basic Classic proved that the stadium and the community can get excited when the product on the field is competitive, but Marlins ownership isn't too keen on that being the goal.

This "communidad 305" thing looks interesting. BYOInstruments? Soccer atmosphere? The fun can still occur if your team is strongly represented in the stands. Their bobblehead museum contains 400 of the old owner Jeffrey Loria's collection, but it's almost hidden behind a back outfield stairwell, so you might have to explore to find it.

LoanDepot Park sits in the southern part of the city, just west of Biscayne Bay.  If the roof is open, sightlines from the back of the first baseline are the place to be.  If closed...go party and play instruments, I guess! At 85 degrees and sunny, it's hard to complain. 

The Brewers finish the first half of the season at home versus the Dodgers and Nationals before enjoying the All-Star Break from July 14-17. Will Brewers fans be starting to plan their second-half playoff run? Or will everyone be wishing they could just stay on the beach?