There are plenty of different things that the New York Mets could take away from the Philadelphia Phillies in an effort to finally steal the NL East back. It could be their ability to build a successful starting rotation. It could be the coherence of their payroll construction. Likewise, it could even be the Phillies ability to make the postseason while simultaneously carrying a top payroll in baseball. Instead, the Mets chose to copy what the Phillies are doing in the food vending department.
Concessions are what make the return to the ballpark special. Aside from MLB games returning to their home ballparks, the sights and smells of new food options at the yard almost make the price worth the admission.
Heading into the postseason last season, the Phillies debuted their version of the 9-9-9 challenge at Citizens Bank Park. Overall, the trend gained viral attraction in 2024 and has been spreading across every ballpark imaginable. The challenge entails consuming nine beers and nine hot dogs within nine innings of a baseball game.
The Phillies have a 9-9-9 Challenge box for the Postseason 😭
— MLB (@MLB) October 3, 2025
It comes with 9 "fun size" hot dogs and 9 "petite" beers, and even features a scoreboard to keep track of your progress 🤣 pic.twitter.com/UsIFJzS4gg
Mets copying Phillies 9-9-9 challenge is an odd move
As of Monday, the Phillies, Mets, and Giants are the only MLB teams that have offered a marketed version of the 9-9-9 challenge. The Phillies charged $54.99 back in October, and the Mets and the Giants will likely follow with a similar price point. The Phillies were the first ones to offer the fun challenge to fans, and the Mets jumped on the same bandwagon. The two boxes look nearly identical, with a row of five beers and hot dogs followed by a row of four beers and hot dogs. The Phillies also provided a personal scoreboard across the front so fans can keep track. The Mets' announcement doesn't display the front of the box, but it's difficult to imagine that wasn't copied as well.
What's additionally puzzling about the promo is the dumbed-down version of the challenge as a whole. When the Phillies initially launched the promo, it was clear that the hot dogs were “fun size” and the beers were more like flights than anything else. Fans roasted the Phillies for not offering full size for either of the two. Knowing what kind of unwanted attention that got, why would the Mets do the same thing?
Of all the things the Mets could steal from the Phillies, a challenge box was the best they could come up with. It just goes to show, when it comes to baseball, the fans, or the food, the Mets will always play second fiddle to the Phillies.