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The New York Mets season began Thursday night on quite a hilarious 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 got off without a hitch until he moved onto 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 in reverse and repeated, “What so proudly we hailed” before moving on to the rest of the anthem.
The mishap started off as a bad omen for the Amazin’s, who choked away the best record in the major leagues on June 13 last year and missed the postseason, as 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 prior to 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 stepped up with a five-run first inning, with the help of shoddy Pirates defense, and stunningly knocked reigning Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes out of the game. It was the first time Skenes had failed to get out of the first inning in his career, having 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 former Broadway show, “Bronx Bombers,” that lasted less than a month.
Lin-Manuel Miranda performs his final performance as “Alexander Hamilton” in “Hamilton” on Broadway at The Richard Rogers Theatre on July 9, 2016, in New York City. (Bruce Glikas/Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)
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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 on Thursday.
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