I'm new to the city and still figuring out how game audio works at bars. Tuesday the Mets play at 6:40 and I live up by 190th. My local place has six TVs and the bartender said sound is usually "whatever the room wants." Problem is the Knicks and Rangers are both playing that night. Is there any bar in Inwood / Washington Heights / maybe Marble Hill that actually puts on the Mets sound, even if it's in a back room? I don't care about happy hour, I just want Howie and Keith? (or whoever is on SNY?) not just captions. If this is a dumb question, sorry, I usually watch at home.

In Inwood? Good luck. Most of the places up there lean hard Yankees/Rangers/Knicks. If the Knicks game is even close, you're listening to Mike Breen and Clyde. Your best bet is to go early, maybe 6ish, sit at the bar, and ask nice. A quiet Irish pub on Broadway will sometimes put the Mets game on a back TV with a tiny speaker if nobody's claiming the room. But if it's a playoff Knicks game? forget it. You might have better luck taking the A down to Hell's Kitchen where the Mets backers gather? I don't know exact spots.

YES!! This is my weekly battle up here!!! I cannot do captions for baseball, especially Mets games, the rhythm gets lost! Have you tried the little soccer place on 207th? They have like 12 screens and sometimes put audio on the back room for baseball if you ask early. But if Rangers/Knicks are on MSG at the same time, their main speaker is hockey/basketball. The only real trick I've found is a Mets fan club meetup. The official ones usually reserve a side room and the organizer gets the bar to put SNY audio on the small speakers. Maybe there's one for Tuesday? I haven't looked for the schedule.

A few things to separate here: getting the game on a screen is usually easy, but getting bar audio is a different negotiation. At most Manhattan sports bars, the main speaker is one feed only. The bartender or manager decides based on the loudest group, the market for the team, and whether one game has playoff implications. A Tuesday regular-season Mets game against, say, a non-mets-friendly opponent has almost zero chance of beating a Knicks/Rangers regular-season game on MSG if the room is crowded.

Your best move is to call around 4:00 or 5:00, not right before first pitch, and ask: "Can you put the Mets on a TV in a back room or near the window, and do you have a zone where I can hear SNY audio?" Places with multiple zones—like an upstairs, a back room, or outdoor sidewalk seating—can often set a small speaker to the Mets feed. In my experience in upper Manhattan, two or three Irish bars on the east side of Broadway will do this on a slow weeknight if the main room isn't full. If the Knicks or Rangers are in a tight fourth period, you'll likely lose audio anyway.

Also, do not expect the SNY broadcast audio if they're using a streaming service that's 30 seconds ahead of the cable feed. That drives everyone crazy with people reacting at different times. If you're willing to travel, Astoria and Woodside have more Mets-leaning rooms, but I would still call ahead. It's less about finding a "Mets bar" and more about finding a place with a spare zone and a nice bartender.

I’m new at this too and I tried a place by Travers Park last month for a Mets game. They flipped on the TV early, but the sound was the Rangers game the whole time. I asked the bartender and he said "if the Mets are losing by the seventh, nobody wants to hear it." So I just watched the little box score on my phone. Do those bars in Astoria that advertise "Mets fans welcome" actually play the sound, or is that just wall decorations? I don't want to schlep from Ozone Park to Astoria on a weeknight if it's not real.

Thanks everyone. I guess I should just call around. @bike_lane_lou that's helpful about the zones. I didn't know bars could do multiple speakers. @DumboSunset I looked up a meetup group after your post and there is one in Manhattan Tuesday, but it's all the way on the Lower East Side. Might be too far for a weeknight. Has anyone ever just brought a tiny AM radio and one earbud to a bar? Is that weird? I feel like that could be my backup if the main room has the Knicks on.

Earbud at the bar isn't weird if you're solo and camped in a corner. It's a little anti-social, but so is staring at a muted TV and refreshing the box score. Just know the radio call is usually a few seconds ahead of the TV feed, so you'll hear the call before the pitch on screen. That ruins the surprise for me. Could also try the MLB app on phone with earbud and just watch the TV with captions. But the bartender might think you're a weirdo if you're sitting there with one ear in. Nobody really cares. Some of the Astoria places @OzoneParkOllie mentioned are legit but more for big games. On a Tuesday they'll put it on if enough Mets fans show up.

Oh my god the audio delay with the app drives me insane!!! I once had the radio call say "it's outta here!" while the pitcher was still getting the sign on the bar TV. Never again!! But the Howie Rose radio call is so worth it if you can sync. Have you tried an old-school AM radio? Sometimes the little radio is less delayed than the app, depending on your phone signal. I've asked a bartender to put the game on the side TV with captions and then I use the earbud for radio. Not perfect but it's the best compromise. What's this meetup group on the Lower East Side? I might do that once in a while if it's a Mets backer meetup. But I hear the Manhattan Mets bars are getting harder to find.

To answer DykerNewbie directly: yes, I've done the AM radio route. The legality is not an issue in a bar; you're not disturbing anyone. The practical issue is exactly what CollegePoint_C said about the delay. If the bar TV is on cable or satellite, the AM signal or a good radio app will likely be ahead by anywhere from a few seconds to half a pitch. You can sometimes stop the radio feed on a smartphone app and manually buffer it to match the TV, but that's a lot of fiddling for nine innings. An old transistor radio is fun but you can't pause it.

I've had better luck using a small Bluetooth earpiece with the Audacy app and just accepting the spoilers. One trick: if the bar has SNY on mute but captions turned on, put your phone face-down and listen to the radio call, then glance up after the pitch to see the replay. You still get the sound you want without ruining the live look quite as much.

Also, if you're going to call around, don't ask "are you a Mets bar?" Ask specifically: "Do you have a back room or side speaker you can set to SNY for a 6:40 game, and when do Rangers/Knicks pregame start?" If the person says "we can switch it if enough people ask," that's the real answer: it's a maybe until first pitch.

Ok I tried the one earbud at my local place last night for the later West Coast game. Honestly not bad. The bartender saw it and just made a joke about me betting on the game. The delay didn't bug me because I wasn't staring at the TV much. My question now: for these Mets fan meetups, do they post in this forum or somewhere else? I'd rather watch with a group that already has the sound figured out. I did a quick search and saw some old posts but nothing current. If anyone knows a regular Queens group, let me know. DykerNewbie if you go Tuesday maybe we can compare notes.

Honestly, the meetup thing can be hit or miss. Some are just 20 people in a back room with one TV and no real sound because the bar only gave them a speaker for the pregame. The good ones are usually organized on other sites and the leader will post the TV count. @OzoneParkOllie if you're in Ozone Park, you're better off trying a place on Woodhaven or Cross Bay that has a regular older crowd. They might flip on Mets if the Knicks aren't down to the wire. In Astoria, I've seen bars that basically ask you to sit in the back porch area to hear the game, which is fine in good weather. In bad weather, it's a crapshoot. I'd lower expectations for Tuesday: find a seat at a low-key bar, have one earbud in, and be ready to bounce if the room gets loud.

Thanks all. This was more complicated than I expected for a Tuesday game. I'm going to call two spots this afternoon and ask bike_lane_lou's exact question. If nobody can give me real sound, I'll probably just watch at home with the radio app and save the bar for a night when the Mets are the only game. I'll report back here if the plan works or if I end up watching the Knicks with captions again.