As if hats, uniforms, gloves and cleats weren’t enough, now we will have custom and team-specific sock designs thanks to a new partnership with sock making company “Stance”. This partnership was first announced by Chris Creamer of SportsLogos.net.

According to ESPN, “The multiyear deal, whose financial terms are not being disclosed, will start in earnest with the 2017 season, but some signs of the partnership will appear as soon as this year’s All-Star Game, when Stance will offer a Home Run Derby sock and a sock for both the National and American League rosters.”

The aforementioned socks that will be worn during the All-Star Game.

ESPN also sat down with Noah Garden, the executive vice president of business for the league. He said that “We wanted to give teams the chance to express themselves creatively in a nontraditional way,” said Noah, “Socks are an often-overlooked but very important part of our game, and when Stance came along, it seemed like a logical extension for us.”

While this is cool, and 95% of the time players will wear their socks down (which would cover up any creative sock, I don’t want to see a lot of action on something that is supposed to be covered up. Imagine Mr.Met and weird orange stripes going up and down a uniform? Yeah, I don’t want to picture that either. While it’s cool to wear for fun, it’s not an on-field look.

Thing is, I’ve only seen three socks (from the above image) so I won’t speculate what is going to happen next year, I just hope it wont be distracting and something that we frown our heads upon in twenty years.

Citi Field is still a relatively new stadium. Entering it’s eighth season of baseball, Citi Field is known for it’s amazing food offerings, like Blue Smoke on the Road, Shake Shack, Pat LaFrieda steak sandwiches, Nathan’s Hot Dogs, Two Boots Pizza, El Verano Latin cuisine, and restaurants like the Pat LaFrieda Chop House and the Acela Club.

However, these last two years, new food options have entered the ballpark, and after doing some tastings during last Saturday’s Brewers vs Mets game, we have composed a food review post for your featuring the new options at Citi Field, on The Plus In Mets Plus. 

Part of the catch of The Plus In Mets Plus is the fan interactions that go on to compose the article. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to come through with the tweet that I sent out. Rao’s eliminated their Lemon Chicken option, so that went out the window, and Papa Rosso turned out to be Pizza only, and it seems to be made from an identical oven that was used to make Two Boots, so I decided to try truly different options.

Other than Papa Rosso, a few other “new” options I didn’t try were “PRESSED” BY JOSH CAPON, Dan & John’s Wings, and new options in Mama’s of Corona inside the World’s Fair Market.

The first stop on Niko’s tour of Citi Field options was Fuku’s Chicken Sandwiches, which is a member of the Momofuku group. Fuku’s flagship restaurant is in the East Side, but their signature Spicy Chicken Sandwich has made the trip to Long Island, which is served with pickles and a certain special sauce thats adds spice. I was very pleased to taste the sandwich, and it’s comparable to a ChickFilA chicken sandwich. 

The location of Fuku is good, next to the “Catch of The Day” in right field, and they also serve “Fuku Fingers” and regular french fries.

FUKU RATING: 9.5/10

The next stop on my culinary tour was perhaps my favorite. While it’s not enough for a full meal, PIG GUY NYC, and their now famous “Bacon on a Stick” is available for $7  without any toppings. PIG GUY is located in a kiosk near the World’s Fair Market in the corner near section 105.

I had seen shots of the Bacon on the Stick throughout last year and this year on Twitter, Citi Vision and those who have been tweeting #NikonMets. I was always a little skeptical, as I was worried about how much meat I would get for seven dollars. However, this post was a perfect opportunity to see what the buzz was about, so I decided to get a piece of Bacon with the sweet & savory sauce ($1.50 extra) and I got a no-fat thick slab of bacon. I was amazed. I had some history with PIG GUY NYC, as they are very active on Social Media, and I’ve participated in one of their pig roasts prior to a The 7 Line Army outing in 2014, but I did not expect the taste that I experienced when I devoured the meat (Oh the power of bacon).

PIG GUY BACON RATING: 10/10

Part Two of “Culinary Citi”,  featuring Box Frites, “Milk Bar” cookies and Keith’s Burgers will be published on next weeks The Plus In Mets Plus.