At the end of spring training, the Army Black Knights will renew their longstanding tradition of hosting a professional team at West Point for a ballgame. They’ll play the New York Mets at 3 p.m. ET on March 31, it was announced. Tickets will be reserved for cadets and the West Point community.
“We are excited to have the New York Mets back at West Point before the start of the 2017 Major League Baseball season,” Army athletic director Boo Corrigan said in a statement. “This is a great opportunity for our cadets and the entire West Point community.”
There have been eight meetings all-time between Army and the Mets. The two teams played in 1963, 1965, 1967, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1979 and 1984. Not surprisingly, the Mets are 8-0 in those games.
“Sandy Alderson and I were so inspired by our visit to the West Point campus last year that we wanted our players to have that experience,” Mets owner Jeff Wilpon said in a statement. “The Mets are proud to be able to continue the strong bond we have with our military and this is a new way to show our appreciation for the sacrifices and bravery of our nation’s armed forces. We are looking forward to the game.”
Army has been hosting professional teams at West Point since 1914. They last played a pro team in 2013, when the New York Yankees visited at the end of spring training. The Yankees won that game 10-5. Army has played the Yankees a total of 22 times, tied with the Giants for the most all-time.
The Black Knights are 4-64-1 all-time against pro teams. Their last win came in 1944, when they beat the minor-league Montreal Royals. That was two years before Jackie Robinson played for Montreal.
The Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals will play an exhibition game at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, on April 1. The Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins played a regular season game at Fort Bragg last July.
