Viewers tuning into SNY’s broadcast of Friday’s Grapefruit League game between the New York Mets and the Washington Nationals received an added treat, also getting a chance to see the delayed SpaceX Falcon 9 launch.
The highly anticipated rocket launch was supposed to take place on Wednesday from the Kennedy Space Center in Merrit Island, Florida.
Unfortunately, the planned launch was abruptly halted and postponed with about two minutes left on the countdown clock due to a malfunctioning transporter erector. The same thing happened on an attempt on Thursday night, leading to another attempt on Friday.
This time the launch was successful, which was fortunate timing for those who both wanted to tune into some spring training baseball and catch a bit of the launch.
In the bottom of the eighth inning of the Mets-Nationals matchup in Port St. Lucie, Florida, just over 100 miles from the Kennedy Space Center, the launch could be seen quite clearly in the background of the broadcast.
The SNY broadcasters for the game, consisting of play-by-play Steve Gelbs and game analyst Keith Hernandez, were pretty amazed at what they were seeing.
“Is that a… Is that a rocket launch? I gotta cut off what I’m saying if we are looking at a rocket launch,” said Gelbs. “Do you know what rocket that is? Is that a SpaceX?
“Let’s hope it’s not coming this way, Steve,” said Hernandez. “That is cool. Look at that, that’s unbelievable.”
“These cameras are just sensational,” added Gelbs. “That is apparently Falcon 9 from SpaceX. Very cool, look at that.”
The launch of SpaceX Falcon 9 was visible from Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, where the Mets were taking on the Nationals.
It got the attention of the @SNYtv crew.pic.twitter.com/NLquSc2Eu1
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 16, 2024
Credit to the cameraman zooming all the way into the rocket in the air, as it was actually a pretty clear shot for those watching at home.
Considering the Mets were trailing 7-3 at the time of the rocket shot on the broadcast, it’s probably pretty safe to say that Mets fans tuning into the game were more than content with a brief cutaway from the on-field action.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.