The New York Mets are turning back the clock 40 years today, opening Citi Field to alumni of the 1986 championship team hours before the 4:10 p.m. first pitch against the Miami Marlins.
But for the visiting Marlins, as well as fans who just want to watch the game, the pregame ceremonies packed with baseball royalty raise one important question â will nostalgia push back the scheduled start time, as elaborate pregame ceremonies sometimes do?
On July 18, the Toronto Blue Jays held a pregame ceremony at Rogers Centre to honor members of their 1992 and 1993 World Series champion teams. Those proceedings delayed the start of that day’s game against the Chicago White Sox by more than 40 minutes.
| MIAMI MARLINS STARTING LINEUP | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP: Tyler Phillips (RHP, #30) • 2-5, 3.52 ERA, 63 K | ||||||||
| August 1, 2026 • Citi Field, Flushing, NY • 4:10 PM EDT | ||||||||
| # | Player | Pos | B | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS |
| 1 | Otto Lopez | SS | R | 9 | 50 | 22 | .322 | .837 |
| 2 | Heriberto Hernández | LF | R | 16 | 43 | 7 | .236 | .782 |
| 3 | Liam Hicks | C | L | 14 | 60 | 3 | .280 | .790 |
| 4 | Xavier Edwards | 2B | S | 6 | 40 | 18 | .291 | .772 |
| 5 | Leo Jiménez | 3B | R | 2 | 9 | 1 | .210 | .606 |
| 6 | Kyle Stowers | 1B | L | 16 | 48 | 1 | .237 | .788 |
| 7 | Javier Sanoja | RF | R | 3 | 35 | 6 | .265 | .694 |
| 8 | Esteury Ruiz | CF | R | 5 | 10 | 25 | .254 | .839 |
| 9 | Griffin Conine | DH | L | 9 | 20 | 2 | .269 | .894 |
| Lineups subject to change. | ||||||||
New York Mets’ 1986 Reunion Details
The 1986 World Series Reunion & Celebration, brings back players from the franchise’s last title run four decades ago for a sold-out VIP brunch and a trio of moderated panels billed as “Championship Conversations.” Broadcaster Howie Rose hosts a session called “The Verdict” with Roger McDowell, Howard Johnson, Bobby Ojeda and Tim Teufel, according to the team.
Team historian Jay Horwitz leads a panel on the Game 6 comeback against Houston and the World Series itself, joined by Jesse Orosco, Kevin Mitchell, Mookie Wilson, Sid Fernandez and Lee Mazzilli. A third session, “No Filter” with SNY’s Andy Martino, features Darryl Strawberry, Kevin Elster, Doug Sisk, Keith Hernandez and Rafael Santana.
The Mets began rolling out alumni for interviews and video tributes to the championship run earlier Saturday, posting live coverage of the festivities from the ballpark. The celebration weekend continues Sunday with a Ray Knight bobblehead giveaway, part of a broader run of 1986-themed promotions tied to the anniversary.
| NEW YORK METS STARTING LINEUP | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP: Zac Thornton (LHP, #49) • 2-1, 2.43 ERA, 22 K | ||||||||
| August 1, 2026 • Citi Field, Flushing, NY • 4:10 PM EDT | ||||||||
| # | Player | Pos | B | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS |
| 1 | A.J. Ewing | CF | L | 7 | 28 | 14 | .268 | .746 |
| 2 | Francisco Lindor | SS | S | 9 | 25 | 2 | .233 | .749 |
| 3 | Bo Bichette | DH | R | 10 | 53 | 1 | .256 | .667 |
| 4 | Carson Benge | RF | L | 11 | 41 | 17 | .266 | .725 |
| 5 | Jared Young | 1B | L | 7 | 19 | 1 | .253 | .754 |
| 6 | Marcus Semien | 2B | R | 12 | 35 | 7 | .210 | .617 |
| 7 | Brett Baty | 3B | L | 6 | 33 | 5 | .220 | .616 |
| 8 | Tyrone Taylor | LF | R | 9 | 26 | 0 | .239 | .775 |
| 9 | Luis Torrens | C | R | 2 | 20 | 0 | .220 | .602 |
| Lineups subject to change. | ||||||||
New York Mets vs. Miami Marlins Preview
Nothing in the team’s official materials suggests the tributes will delay the scheduled first pitch. Every event on the schedule is billed as strictly pregame, meaning the ceremonial first pitches and brunch toasts should wrap well before Zac Thornton takes the mound for New York.
Thornton, who has posted a 2.43 ERA and 0.91 WHIP through his first stretch in the rotation, opposes Miami right-hander Tyler Phillips, who carries a 3.52 ERA into Saturday’s start.
The Marlins sit 56-55 and third in the NL East, clinging to National League wild-card contention, while the Mets have fallen to 47-64 and fifth in the division. New York is 32-5 this season when it scores at least five runs, a split that captures both the offense’s ceiling and its floor. The season series between the two clubs is tied 4-4 heading into Saturday, the ninth meeting of the year.
Both clubs arrive off mixed stretches. The Mets are 5-5 over their last 10 games, hitting .234 as a team but outscoring opponents by 15 runs in that span. Miami has gone 4-6 over the same window, getting production from shortstop Otto Lopez, who carries a .322 average, and Kyle Stowers, who has gone 11-for-38 with four homers lately.
A championship drought now stretching four decades hangs over every version of this roster the Mets reunion honors. The 1986 club went 108-54 and beat the Boston Red Sox in seven games for the franchise’s second title, joining the 1969 “Miracle Mets” as the only two in club history. New York reached the World Series twice more, in 2000 and 2015, without winning either.
This year’s group, playing under first-year manager Andy Green after a midseason change from Carlos Mendoza, sits well outside contention with the trade deadline looming on Monday. Saturday’s ceremony offers a reminder of what the franchise built once, even as the current roster works to avoid becoming a forgotten footnote in it.
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