The Mets’ latest brush with Hollywood has turned into a messy little fan story, and Emma Stone is right in the middle of it.
Stone was at Citi Field this week as part of the production for The Catch, the upcoming baseball-romance movie set for a 2027 release. She was even spotted in the dugout with Juan Soto before a game against the Dodgers, while filming continued around the ballpark during the series.
But the bigger conversation came from how the Mets made room for the shoot.
According to the X account “Knicks Memes,” the team reached out last week to a season ticket holder of 29 years and offered what was presented as a seat upgrade. The explanation, the account said, was that it had been “a tough season” and the fan had been with the club for a long time. The reality was different: those first-row seats in right field were needed for Stone and Chris Pine to film scenes.
The fan, expecting better seats, was instead moved to the 16th row on the first-base side. That switch is what set off the backlash, with many fans arguing it was not an upgrade at all. The original seats had offered a prime field-level view in the outfield, and the move left the longtime supporter feeling like the team had put the production ahead of honesty with a loyal customer.
Stone’s time around the game wasn’t limited to the dugout, either. She later interacted with players, and Soto took part in a scene as well, adding a brief acting credit to a résumé already packed with stardom. Both teams reportedly wore their standard uniforms to make the filming work.
The backdrop to all of this is a Mets season that has gone badly enough that the club sits near the bottom of the NL East. That only sharpened the reaction when word spread that a 29-year season ticket holder had been shifted for a movie crew.
For some fans, it looked like a practical tradeoff. For others, it was a bad look for an organization already trying to navigate a difficult year.
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