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The New York Mets season began Thursday night on a rather amusing note — because why wouldn’t it for the Mets?
After the Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates’ 2026 rosters were announced, Tony Award winner Chris Jackson, who played George Washington in “Hamilton,” was brought onto the field for the national anthem.
Things went smoothly until he moved into the fourth line of the “Star-Spangled Banner.”
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Bo Bichette, Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets look on during the national anthem prior to the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Mets at Citi Field on Thursday, March 26, 2026 in New York, New York. (Dustin Satloff/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Jackson was supposed to sing “O’er the ramparts we watched”, but instead went backwards and repeated: “What so proudly we hailed”, before moving on to the rest of the anthem.
The mishap started as a bad omen for the Amazin’s, who shocked the best record in the major leagues last June 13 and missed the postseason when they fell to a 2-0 hole with new ace Freddy Peralta on the mound before recording an out.
A general view of the field before the first inning between the New York Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates on Opening Day at Citi Field on March 26, 2026 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
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However, they rallied with a five-run first inning, aided by sloppy Pirates defense, and stunningly knocked out reigning Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes. It was the first time Skenes had failed to get out of the first inning in his career, as he had always thrown at least two frames in his previous 55 starts.
Jackson also played “Benny” in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In the Heights.” He made his Broadway debut in 1997 in “The Lion King” as Simba. In an ironic twist, Jackson also played Derek Jeter in the earlier Broadway show, “Bronx Bombers,” which lasted less than a month.
Lin-Manuel Miranda makes his final performance as “Alexander Hamilton” in “Hamilton” on Broadway at The Richard Rogers Theater on July 9, 2016 in New York City. (Bruce Glikas/Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)
It’s a new look for the Mets after last year’s debacle. They moved on from Edwin Diaz, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo and brought in Peralta, Bo Bichette, Marcus Semien and Jorge Polanco. Top prospect Carson Benge also made his MLB debut Thursday.
