PRESS RELEASE: METS TO CELEBRATE DISABILITY PRIDE NIGHT AT CITI FIELD ON JULY 7

FLUSHING, N.Y., July 5, 2022 – The New York Mets will host their first Disability Pride Night at Citi Field on Thursday, July 7 when they take on the Miami Marlins at 7:10 p.m. Gates will open to all fans at 5:10 p.m. 

Disability Pride Night at Citi Field will be a celebration of the many New Yorkers and Mets fans from around the world who are living with disabilities. The Mets will be honoring long time front office employee Tod Tillotson, a member of the deaf community who recently passed away, by renaming the Citi Field Mailroom in his honor. Tillotson spent 51 years in the Mets organization, most recently serving as a special services clerk. The Tod Tillotson Mailroom will be unveiled during a ceremony with friends and family at 5:30 p.m., and the Tillotson family will also be recognized in a special on field pre-game ceremony. 

An honorary first pitch will be thrown by Edy Lopez, a wheelchair softball player who participated in the 2022 Wheelchair Softball Tournament and Clinic at Citi Field in May. Members of the three participating teams will also be recognized on field pre-game, and the Wheelchair Sports Federation will be honored by the Amazin' Mets Foundation as the night's Community Hero. 

The anthem will be performed by Coralia Anazagasti in American Sign Language alongside singer Greg Banks. 

Before the game, former MLB and Mets Minor League outfielder Curtis Pride will be signing autographs in the Mets Hall of Fame and Museum from 5:45 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Pride was the first deaf player to play in the Majors since 1945 and is currently the head coach at Gallaudet University, a private university for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing.

Leading up to Disability Pride Night, the Mets have made numerous accessibility improvements to Citi Field, including the addition of a Sensory Nook, the installation of two adult sized changing tables and increasing accessible seating in the ballpark's club spaces. 

Fans can purchase tickets to this game and all 2022 Mets home games at the Citi Field box office, by visiting Mets.com/Tickets or calling 718-507-TIXX.